THE JOURNEY BEGINS
Around one day before my trip to Switzerland, I decided to do a random day trip to Shenzhen all by myself.
The main reason was that I had around 13,000 Air China points that were about to expire, and this was my last chance to use them. I looked at Air China first, but then I found Shenzhen Airlines Business Class for only around 18,000 miles, just about 3,000 more than Air China Economy.
I also hadn't flown Shenzhen Airlines since I was a little kid, so I don't really remember what it was like. On top of that, the flight was on their A321neo, the only lie-flat narrowbody Business Class in mainland China. I've never been on a lie-flat narrowbody business class before, so I really wanted to try it.
This trip was also a big milestone for me because it was my first time actually leaving the airport and exploring a city completely by myself.
Flight routing
- 1ZH9114 - Business - Beijing → Shenzhen - Airbus A321neo
- 2HU7714 - Business - Shenzhen → Beijing - Boeing 787-9
PEK
I woke up at 5 AM. I wasn't even tired. My dad drove me to the airport, and my solo trip officially began.
The check in counters were shared with Air China. I was first in line, so check in was really quick.
A nice and easy start to the trip.
Not only did Shenzhen Airlines use Air China's check in counters, but they even used Air China boarding passes.
I guess that's normal since Shenzhen Airlines is part of the Air China group.
Security was pretty quick. There was a small Business Class lane, so I got through in just a few minutes.
AIR CHINA LOUNGE
There isn't a separate Shenzhen Airlines Business Class lounge, so Shenzhen Airlines passengers use the same lounge as Air China.
It's pretty big, with a good selection of food and drinks. The only thing is, it feels outdated.
Overall, not bad, but not amazing either.
Since I was alone, this means my dad wasn't with me, so I decided to grab something healthy.
I wonder if Apple's legal team knows about this 😂
This "Apple product" actually tasted really good.
HEADING TO THE GATE
Because my gate was at T3D, I had to take the train. ARRRRRRRGH >:(
If T3C and T3E are cities, then T3D is basically a desert.
Very few people, very few shops, very few restaurants, and I didn't even see a lounge.
BOARDING
Here she is, B-32DT. The A321neo that took me to Shenzhen.
There was a dedicated lane for Business Class, so boarding was really quick.
Here's the bulkhead seat on the left.
The bulkhead seats had a lot of footroom, but they were locked when I tried to select them. Probably reserved for Gold and Platinum members.
I recommend choosing the bulkhead seats on the right side because there is no window.
The left side bulkhead seats have a window right across from the flight attendant's seat, which would be pretty embarrassing.
Here's my seat: 3A.
The seats are in a 2-2 configuration, so not everyone has aisle access. But hey, I should be grateful that I got a lie-flat seat on a narrowbody aircraft. And I only paid the airport tax and fuel surcharge, which was 220 RMB ($32.5 USD).
When I sat down, the flight attendant came over with hot towels.
For the welcome drink, I went with the classic: orange juice.
Alright, here's a seat tour.
On the side, there's a shared console between you and your neighbor, seat controls, tray table, IFE controller, literature pocket, and a "privacy divider" that doesn't do anything.
The tray table is pretty big.
But the footwell…… 🤮🤮🤮
Above the footwell, there's a coat hook and a small storage space.
The blanket was placed there, but it was really thin. I think it was probably the same ones they use in Economy Class.
And above the small storage space, there's the IFE.
I didn't even dive into it yet, and I already knew it was going to be bad. Just look at how boring the interface is.
Seriously??? That's all??? There are only 7 movies and 7 TV shows in total.
I was expecting the same amount of content as Air China since Shenzhen Airlines is part of the Air China group.
The audio selection is a little better though, but only by 4 more options.
But honestly, who really listens to these when you already have a phone?
There's also a seat chat feature, but nobody uses it.
At least the flight map was good.
But when I chose English, it was mixed with English and Chinese. For me, I don't really care since I'm Chinese, but it could be a problem for foreigners.
There's also a slightly bigger storage space (still pretty small) where you can find the power outlet, a bottle of water, and noise cancelling headphones.
Since the IFE was so bad, I did not use the headphones, so I don't know if the quality is good or not.
In front of the seat, there's a place to put your shoes.
Lastly, here's a dead bug stuck in the window.
Kinda jealous. He didn't even have to pay any miles or the airport tax/fuel surcharge for Business Class.
Ok, so we pushed back and taxied on time.
When the plane lined up for the runway, I saw PEK's "Terminal 0", which is where all the business jets and government aircraft fly from.
Some business jets.
bye beijing
When the seatbelt sign turned off, I tried out the bed.
My feet were kinda trapped because of the tiny footwell. But hey, this is a narrowbody aircraft.
Here's the "first class suite". No fancy amenities, but it does the job.
FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD
When I got back to my seat, breakfast service started.
I started with some "healthy stuff".
10 minutes later, the food arrived.
There were two options, Chinese and Western. I went with the Western option: omelet with sausage, beans, potatoes, and some vegetables.
But then there was also a mysterious Chinese appetizer with chili sauce on the side? What a weird combination.
The main course was actually pretty good. The chili sauce with the omelet was surprisingly good and really went well together. But the appetizer thingy? It was way too salty.
This meal was very interesting. I was really hungry before eating, but after eating it, I was super full and stayed full all the way until dinner. Because of that, I didn't even eat lunch in Shenzhen. The portion wasn't even that big.
THAT WAS QUICK
After breakfast, I started getting tired, so I slept for the rest of the flight. When I woke up, it was already time to descend into Shenzhen.
Star Alliance livery!
A final look at B-32DT.
The plane parked at the satellite terminal. It opened in December 2021, so it still felt really new.
The only downside is that I had to take the train😭
Lastly, here's a little gift for anyone with trypophobia. Your'e welcome 😁
Thanks for the FR! The seats are Collins Parallel Diamond, which used to be very popular - for example, Air China installed them into B748s, B77Ws and B789s, and quite a number of other airlines also have them. Honestly speaking, I don't understand the (former) popularity these seats: they are very bulky, but don't have any privacy and the footwells in non-bulkhead rows are abysmal. For today's standard these seats should be considered as mid-haul business class, so their best use is exactly for narrowbodies.