I travelled to Tibet in April 2026. There are no direct flights from Europe, and the cheapest flight in business class was from Budapest to Shanghai to Chengdu. From Chengdu to Lhasa, I booked a domestic flight. The flight was operated by Shanghai Airlines, which is part of China Eastern Airlines.
I took a taxi from downtown Budapest to the Airport. The taxi driver told me his life story: he had worked as a policeman for 29 years, but he had been bullied so much by his superiors that he quit and went to work as a taxi driver.
Budapest Airport has three terminals. Terminal 1 is only used for general aviation. Terminal 2A and 2B are next to each other. Shanghai Airlines uses Terminal 2A.
Check-in was quick, efficient, friendly, informative, and helpful.
A lounge invitation card was given to me.
The central airside part of the terminal.
I went through fast track security and the automated passport control for EU citizens. Both were quick, then I was looking for the lounge.
Budapest is a main destination in Europe for Chinese airlines.
Shanghai Airlines use Plaza Premium Lounge.
The lounge is after passport control (non-Schengen). There was a queue to get in, the lounge was overcrowded, and the staff was overwhelmed by the high number of guests.
The choice of food was actually not bad.
It was however impossible to relax in such a crowded place. The terminal itself was actually much more quiet.
Boarding was very quick.
The check-in agent told me that this plane had four classes, including first class. This came as a surprise to me. There's no actual first class cabin, but the first row has four seats with slightly more space. Service is the same as in business class.
Business class (excluding the above mentioned first class) has 7 suites on the sides and 6 pairs of suites in the middle in a 1-2-1 configuration, with a total of 26 enclosable suites. The suites are visually beautiful, fairly spacious, modern, and offer one of the best hard products in business class among all airlines.
There was a pillow and a blanket on the seat when I arrived.
The controls:
The screen:
The amenity kit:
Slippers:
The only faux-pas was the headphones which were economy class quality.
The sliding door of the suite:
A welcome drink was offered. I had some orange juice.
A hot towel was also offered.
Push-back was at 12:23 for a scheduled departure time of 12:30. An expected flight time of 10 hours and 10 minutes was announced (block time is 11 hours and 5 minutes).
Sightseeing tours are available at Budapest Airport using an old Ikarus bus. These tours go actually very close to the departing aircrafts.
An old Tu-154 seen during taxi.
Terminal 1.
We took off at 12:33.
The weather was perfect, and we had a great view of Budapest.
The screen shortly after take-off.
Let’s have a look at the menu (meal orders were taken before take-off).
Some packed nuts were first served.
I ordered some champagne and white wine for my lunch.
Lunch started with a soup and an appetizer: Rucola, Mozzarella with Cocktail Tomatoes and Ham.
Main course was fish for me: Grilled Bass with Cashew Soy Sauce, Vegetables and Rice.
I had a Selection of Cheese and Fresh Seasonal Fruit to finish my lunch.
Lunch was quite good but not extraordinary. The choice of food was excellent with four options for the main course. Quality was quite good but not as good as on some other carriers. Service was quick and efficient, and the very friendly cabin crew spoke good English.
The lavatories were kept very clean during the entire flight.
I slept very well for almost two hours after lunch. The "suite" was comfortable for sleeping. The seat converted into a bed was long enough and the padding was thicker and softer than on most other planes, although the space for the feet was a bit narrow. The pillow and the blanket were comfortable.
I had a look at the choice of movies after I had woken up. The choice of movies definitely did not compete with Emirates, but most passengers should be able to find enough interesting movies for the duration of the flight.
The IFE screen is large and responsive, easy to use, and you can use the smartphone-size screen of the remote control to follow the flight map.
I had some coffee liqueur and chocolate with my movie.
A second service started about five and a half hours after departure.
The appetizer was Goose Liver with Pear Jelly and Balsamic Salad.
I had Beef with Fried Egg Rice.
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
I slept more towards the end of the flight.
We landed in Shanghai at 04:38 and were at the gate at 04:45 for a scheduled arrival time of 05:35.
