jpdx

MU and CA are both fine. Just make sure to get a flight that's a continuation of some international flight. Decent, new planes, and upgrades are yours for the asking. As for cancellations and other nuisances, listen to moondog's advice.

bhd87

From SHA, I can take Air China's 777, 777-200, or the 747-200. Which is the best for First Class? I cant find any pictures of what it looks like.

From PVG, I only have much smaller aircraft available to me. Is it better to fly from PVG or SHA?

moondog

hongqiao is better because it is closer to town and has 6x as many flights, though the "closer to town," bit is somewhat offset by the chaos factor.

tmk, ca doesn't have any 742s and only a handful of 744s have the spiffy first class (at most, one flight per day).

bhd87

Sorry, I meant 747-400.

From a booking site:

Departure time: 08:55(SHANGHAI SHA) Date: 7/11/2006 Airport tax: Ą50
Arrival time: 10:45(BEIJING PEK) Duration: 1 hr 50 min Route: Non-stop

So, would you say the "best" airplane to go on is the 747-400 in First? Does Air China have a lounge in SHA?

Also, is this "spiffy" First Class the same as the JFK-PEK route? IE Click Here

And lastly, who should I book through? (Elong doesnt allow me to really purcahse them now and they dont do pre-assigned seats)

Thanks so much!

bhd87

I see I can book thru Expedia, but no pre assigned seats. Is there any way to get pre assigned seats?

Any seat maps of the 747-400?

Thanks

JHattery

I was referring to the tendency of "most" mainland Chinese to not believe in lines, and to rush out of their seats at almost the moment the wheels hit the runway (OK - a slight exagerration, but not much of one).

I've not experienced delays per se in my travels to from PEK/SHA/PVG/NGB/SZX/CAN/Tianjin/Changxi/Xiamen/etc.

But, make sure you actually have a paid ticket in hand. Many's the time I've arrived at the airport and been told I am not actually booked for that flight. Stand your ground and don't move until you're ticketed. But, have proof of a paid seat in order to do so.

Other than that, the planes do indeed travel through the air just like UA's do.

Regarding the boxed lunch, I'd avoid the unpeeled fruit (if included) unless you've built up some consitutional resistance.

bhd87

Maybe the 1st Class Seat looks like this, or has AC Equipment changed since last February?

Click Here

moondog

most likely, yes. you might to call ca to find out which flights, if any, offer the new config.

PresRDC

Flying MU in F from SHA to PEK tomorrow. On the 3 PM A300 flight.

Is there a dedicated F check-in line?

Is there a lounge (I know they have one in PVG)?

Flying MU because I've been negotiating a JV with them for the past two weeks and figure I should give them a chance.

moondog

Yes and yes. But, I suggest you avoid getting to the airport with too much time to spare; lounge or no lounge, Hongqiao is a terrible place (only marginally better than a train station IMO).

PresRDC

Thanks moondog.

What time would you arrive for the 3 PM flight? Is this, in your experience, a flight likely to be canceled?

moondog

I would target 2:25p and not feel the slightest bit stressed. However, I would allow myself 40 minutes to get to the airport even though I can usually get there in 20 because traffic jams happen.

As a matter of fact, I can't think of many other flights on this earth that are more cancel prone that that sucker (I've seen it on both ends). It's a lot cheaper to leave your big, old airbusses on the ground in SH than it is to fly them to BJ and back. Of course, "likely" isn't all that "likely"; just much more "likely" than other cases.

The good news with respect to both of your questions is that your F ticket is pretty much equivalent to gold in Hongqiao. Aside from not having to bother with lines, tmk you should be able to get a boarding pass issued on the spot for pretty much any fight with open seats (rebooking is a little more complicated than that for the rest of us).

bidhere23

You can get some good last minute flights from Shanghai to Beijing and back on elong.net. If you either buy ahead at a 60% off rate or at last minute you can fly for around 500 RMB. All of the airlines in my opinion are the same here in China. China Airlines is partnered with United so miles accrue. Hainan is considered by my Chinese friends to be the worst but I found them considerable to CA. They don't have alot of aircraft so you could be waiting a while if there is a delay.

moondog

This has not been my experience. 60%+ discounts (<y450) are fairly rare in the SHA-PEK market. I just searched 5 days out and y680 (40% off) was the lowest I found (and only on a handful of flights). PEK-SHA tends to be a bit better, but can also be pricey during the summer.

PresRDC

Thanks. SHA is defiantely efficent in processing passengers.

I ended up getting called back to Beijing today and booked myself on the Noon MU flight from SHA to PEK (the A330 flight). I got there early enough to transfer to Shanghai Airlines' 10:55 flight, and switching was very easy. Problem was that FM canceled the flight at the last minute (we were on the bus to the plane). The ground staff at SHA does not speak very good English, so it was hard to communicate, but I was able to get back on the Noon MU flight. Of course, my bag was put on the 12:35 CA flight, so I ended-up waiting in PEK for an hour for it to arrive. Had I just left well enough alone and stuck with my original flight, it would have been better.

Still, I don't know why a foreigner wouldn't buy an F ticket on this route. They are cheap (US$226 one-way) and, you're right, you are treated much better in the event of a problem.