China Eastern A330 MU TSA-SHA STE+ traveling in Y (Photos Aplenty)
Feb 4, 2014, 10:48 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 54
China Eastern A330 MU TSA-SHA STE+ traveling in Y (Photos Aplenty)
This is another trip report by me, however to the disappoint of many this flight is taken in economy class. However I'll have detailed information on how a ST E+ is treated on China Eastern Airlines on a short-haul international flight. Should be interesting. Let's roll.
MU5098
TSA-SHA
Departure 5:15PM
Arrival: 7:20PM
Flight Time 1 hour 55 Minutes
For reasons unbeknownst to me, Chinese airlines rarely provide an easy way for you to assign yourself a seat pre-flight, so pretty much you'd have to be at the airport early and select the seat you'd like. And most of the tourist groups have their seats in the back of the airplane, however for me I was able to score an exit row seat at check-in.
Here is the seat map on this China Eastern A330.
TSA is a rather small airport, and most of the ground operations are handled by the EVA air staffs, contrary to TPE where China Airlines staff operates most of the ground handling on behalf of foreign carriers. The largest aircraft flying out of TSA is either an A330 or 767, I don't think any other big birds fly out of this airport, the airport is centrally located within the city, and connected by several bus lines and Metro lines run underground the airport.
SkyPriority is in place at the check-in Lobby.
I arrive only about an hour and half prior to departure, so the lines have thinned.
Something had happened to me at the security check, I had taken my Vanguard tripod with me, but was intercepted at the security check because it was in violation of carry on items. So I had to return to the check in area and check my tripod. The agent gave it a First Class priority tag and fragile stickers.
I was provided a lounge pass due to my Skyteam Elite+ credential, so I was invited to this lounge that is shared by pretty much all airlines elites flying out of TSA.
The lounge is located upstairs from the departure area next to a duty free store, and the entrance to the lounge is gated by thick privacy doors shrouding it in mystery.
This is the seating area, not huge but sufficient, and finding a seat was no problem at all. Be aware though, for smokers though there is no separate smoking lounge, and in fact the entire airport is smoke free.
The buffet area. There is dim sum, rice with minced pork, meat and vegetable stew, variety of soft drinks and alcoholic beverage, and coffee.
Here is what I had served myself.
Boarding was called for passengers with priorities (babies, wheelchairs and business class), so I headed down to the departure area.
The seating area is pretty cool, not your standard stadium seating like at most airports, if I'm traveling with F&F, it'd be pretty chill here too at the general waiting area.
The A330 that will take me to Shanghai, woohoo
I boarded through the SkyPriority Lane, and quickly found my seat.
Woohoo, plenty of legroom at the exit row at the rear section of the aircraft.
FA jump seat is right across from my seat.
Here is a little surprise. I was greeted by this wonderful FA, who said to me "Thank you Mr.Chen for flying with us today, here is something we've prepared for you to enjoy on this flight, and if you'd need any assistance please let me know, my name is xxxxx." Well this really surprised me, since I'm a GM on Delta so definitely not an elite on China Eastern. So it was a really nice gesture for MU to recognize Skyteam Elites and provide amenities.
FYI, you may request everything show here from an FA, but the fact they brought them to me and greeted me by my name was above and beyond my expectations. Big props to the China Eastern flight crews!
Since the flight was very short, air time was probably around 1 hours and 30 minutes, so dinner services started as soon as we hit cruising altitude.
Not a bad meal for the peasant class on this short haul flight.
It's surprising even on such short flight, Chinese people can't seem to hold their bladders, there is always people congesting the four toilets in our section of the aircraft. So I'm obligated to show a photo of the toilet bowl before abuse. It's quite disgusting even though I was the first person to step inside it.
The flight arrived on time at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. Since I was seated at the back of the plane, and it was a completely full flight, so it took me a long time to get out of the aircraft. There wasn't huge lines at the immigration, so I cleared it quickly and headed down to the baggage claim area. In my previous trips on MU, I think I mentioned how awful the baggage handling process is, however this time the priority tagged bags all came out first, so I was able to quickly get my bags and doubled checked whether if my tripod was damaged. Everything checked out okay, and I'm a happy camper.
Shanghai is not my final destination, I had to transit to the Hongqiao Railway station to connect onto a HSR to Hangzhou. To people who are unfamiliar with Air to Rail transfers, here is what you'd do.
Subway Line 10 is connected by this path outside of the airport terminal 1, just follow the path and you'll hit the Subway entrance. You can purchase a subway ticket to Terminal 2 or Railway Terminal for 3 RMB.
The subway in Shanghai is relatively clean.
On the way out just insert the ticket into the slot at the exit gate, voila you'll be right inside the Railway terminal. And there is another set of security check to enter the waiting area. So from arrival to boarding my train to Hangzhou, total time taken was around 55 minutes, not so bad.
Here is what the High Speed Rail train look like from inside.
Bad news is I didn't have a seat assignment, so I got a standing ticket for my one hour ride to Hangzhou. However you can always go to the meal car in the mid-section of the train, and you may find seating there.
Here is what the HSR station look like in Hangzhou, quite grand.
FM851
SHA-TSA
Departure: 9:00AM
Arrival: 10:45AM
On the return journey, I had to take all the transport in reserve, so I had to board an HSR to Shanghai, then ride the subway to Terminal 1 and fly back to Taipei.
I arrived at the Hangzhou East Rail Station in the early morning, 4:20AM I arrived at the station and boarded the Train on time at 5:18AM.
This is the lobby at the HSR station.
This train has 5 stops along the way to Shanghai, so it only hit about 196KM/H, but in my previous rides the top speed was record 296KM/H for express service with two stops.
A passing train on an adjacent rail
Showing off the camera capability of my Samsung S4. very very quick focus onto the firework while traveling 196KM/H.
The check-in was so so slow at the airport, even with the priority lane the service was slow taking care the passengers in front of me. I really don't know what the deal is, but passengers were very rowdy and rude to the check-in agents. And then a check-in agent announced they'd check in first for all passengers boarding a KE flight to GMP, since apparently it was close to boarding time and they'd want to ensure all passengers can board the flight. So these people cut the line to the front, however the SkyPriority lane was unaffected.
My check in was a breeze, the agent asked what seat I'd like and I request again the same exit row seat in 61J. I don't know the exact rules for checked bags for Elite+, but I had checked three bags including my Tripod since I knew for sure they wouldn't let me board with it on me. So three bags, and no questions raised for any weight or number limits.
The lounge was very very busy. Self Service buffet had a couple of choices, with fried noodles and Chinese rice cakes with vegetables. Drink tables are located at both end of the seating area, but they don't have a ice machine, and the soft drinks are served out of cans, rather than drinking taps.
What I had served myself, Chinese rice cakes.
Charcoal mocha, umm interesting!
To be honest, it is a shame that there isn't a Skyteam standard lounge in either PVG or SHA, these contract lounges are very poor in quality and allow way too many CC holders in. There is kids running around, businessmen talking very loudly in their local dialects, glasses being dropped, toilets flushing. I actually made a sound recording for about one minute to document how much noise there is going on at the lounge, it was absolutely comparable to a Zoo. To my rejoice, there is a smoking room just outside the lounge, so I spent some quality time there prior to boarding.
Boarding was called, and I boarded through the SkyPriority lane, which was completely empty so I passed everyone and got on my way to my seat.
I was seated in the same exit row toward the aisle, but these four bulk head seats were empty, so I moved myself there once the aircraft door was shut.
This set of flight crew were so apathetic toward the passengers, I wasn't greeted by my name nor was handed any amenities. The flight crew used the bulk head row to traversing between the aisles, it didn't really bother me but at least be polite about it, no excuse me or thank you was said, and a male FA just simply shoved my feet over while I was slouched in my seat. It was absolutely unacceptable behavior of the flight crew.
This guy seem to hate all passengers and doesn't really want to be on the flight or doing his job as a flight attendant. @_@
This is what they claim to be meticulously prepared breakfast for the peasants, umm passengers!
The buns and dim sum were rock hard, I only had the small slice of water melon and then returned the tray and went to sleep.
One thing I do like to note is that the economy seats were very comfortable, and I think the recline angle is deeper than DL economy plus, with the seat reclined I was in a very comfortable lounge position. However the downside is that there is no PTV, only drop-down displays are available every couple rows.
Another titbit of interesting information about China Eastern flight is that the pilot make absolutely no announcement of any kind, it is completely silent from the cockpit, either that they don't speak English or that they simply forgot. But I had observed this absence of cockpit announcement from both flights, so it must not have been unintentional.
This is the Shanghai Airlines's A330 that returned me to Taipei.
I think I'm done with China Eastern for intra-Asia travels, their services or lack of services are absolutely atrocious, and only relief is that they are relatively safe and can get you to your destination in one piece with all your belongings.
I'll update with photos of the West Lake once I have the pictures ready, Hangzhou is a pretty amazing city minus the smogs and congestion problems.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers
MU5098
TSA-SHA
Departure 5:15PM
Arrival: 7:20PM
Flight Time 1 hour 55 Minutes
For reasons unbeknownst to me, Chinese airlines rarely provide an easy way for you to assign yourself a seat pre-flight, so pretty much you'd have to be at the airport early and select the seat you'd like. And most of the tourist groups have their seats in the back of the airplane, however for me I was able to score an exit row seat at check-in.
Here is the seat map on this China Eastern A330.
TSA is a rather small airport, and most of the ground operations are handled by the EVA air staffs, contrary to TPE where China Airlines staff operates most of the ground handling on behalf of foreign carriers. The largest aircraft flying out of TSA is either an A330 or 767, I don't think any other big birds fly out of this airport, the airport is centrally located within the city, and connected by several bus lines and Metro lines run underground the airport.
SkyPriority is in place at the check-in Lobby.
I arrive only about an hour and half prior to departure, so the lines have thinned.
Something had happened to me at the security check, I had taken my Vanguard tripod with me, but was intercepted at the security check because it was in violation of carry on items. So I had to return to the check in area and check my tripod. The agent gave it a First Class priority tag and fragile stickers.
I was provided a lounge pass due to my Skyteam Elite+ credential, so I was invited to this lounge that is shared by pretty much all airlines elites flying out of TSA.
The lounge is located upstairs from the departure area next to a duty free store, and the entrance to the lounge is gated by thick privacy doors shrouding it in mystery.
This is the seating area, not huge but sufficient, and finding a seat was no problem at all. Be aware though, for smokers though there is no separate smoking lounge, and in fact the entire airport is smoke free.
The buffet area. There is dim sum, rice with minced pork, meat and vegetable stew, variety of soft drinks and alcoholic beverage, and coffee.
Here is what I had served myself.
Boarding was called for passengers with priorities (babies, wheelchairs and business class), so I headed down to the departure area.
The seating area is pretty cool, not your standard stadium seating like at most airports, if I'm traveling with F&F, it'd be pretty chill here too at the general waiting area.
The A330 that will take me to Shanghai, woohoo
I boarded through the SkyPriority Lane, and quickly found my seat.
Woohoo, plenty of legroom at the exit row at the rear section of the aircraft.
FA jump seat is right across from my seat.
Here is a little surprise. I was greeted by this wonderful FA, who said to me "Thank you Mr.Chen for flying with us today, here is something we've prepared for you to enjoy on this flight, and if you'd need any assistance please let me know, my name is xxxxx." Well this really surprised me, since I'm a GM on Delta so definitely not an elite on China Eastern. So it was a really nice gesture for MU to recognize Skyteam Elites and provide amenities.
FYI, you may request everything show here from an FA, but the fact they brought them to me and greeted me by my name was above and beyond my expectations. Big props to the China Eastern flight crews!
Since the flight was very short, air time was probably around 1 hours and 30 minutes, so dinner services started as soon as we hit cruising altitude.
Not a bad meal for the peasant class on this short haul flight.
It's surprising even on such short flight, Chinese people can't seem to hold their bladders, there is always people congesting the four toilets in our section of the aircraft. So I'm obligated to show a photo of the toilet bowl before abuse. It's quite disgusting even though I was the first person to step inside it.
The flight arrived on time at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. Since I was seated at the back of the plane, and it was a completely full flight, so it took me a long time to get out of the aircraft. There wasn't huge lines at the immigration, so I cleared it quickly and headed down to the baggage claim area. In my previous trips on MU, I think I mentioned how awful the baggage handling process is, however this time the priority tagged bags all came out first, so I was able to quickly get my bags and doubled checked whether if my tripod was damaged. Everything checked out okay, and I'm a happy camper.
Shanghai is not my final destination, I had to transit to the Hongqiao Railway station to connect onto a HSR to Hangzhou. To people who are unfamiliar with Air to Rail transfers, here is what you'd do.
Subway Line 10 is connected by this path outside of the airport terminal 1, just follow the path and you'll hit the Subway entrance. You can purchase a subway ticket to Terminal 2 or Railway Terminal for 3 RMB.
The subway in Shanghai is relatively clean.
On the way out just insert the ticket into the slot at the exit gate, voila you'll be right inside the Railway terminal. And there is another set of security check to enter the waiting area. So from arrival to boarding my train to Hangzhou, total time taken was around 55 minutes, not so bad.
Here is what the High Speed Rail train look like from inside.
Bad news is I didn't have a seat assignment, so I got a standing ticket for my one hour ride to Hangzhou. However you can always go to the meal car in the mid-section of the train, and you may find seating there.
Here is what the HSR station look like in Hangzhou, quite grand.
FM851
SHA-TSA
Departure: 9:00AM
Arrival: 10:45AM
On the return journey, I had to take all the transport in reserve, so I had to board an HSR to Shanghai, then ride the subway to Terminal 1 and fly back to Taipei.
I arrived at the Hangzhou East Rail Station in the early morning, 4:20AM I arrived at the station and boarded the Train on time at 5:18AM.
This is the lobby at the HSR station.
This train has 5 stops along the way to Shanghai, so it only hit about 196KM/H, but in my previous rides the top speed was record 296KM/H for express service with two stops.
A passing train on an adjacent rail
Showing off the camera capability of my Samsung S4. very very quick focus onto the firework while traveling 196KM/H.
The check-in was so so slow at the airport, even with the priority lane the service was slow taking care the passengers in front of me. I really don't know what the deal is, but passengers were very rowdy and rude to the check-in agents. And then a check-in agent announced they'd check in first for all passengers boarding a KE flight to GMP, since apparently it was close to boarding time and they'd want to ensure all passengers can board the flight. So these people cut the line to the front, however the SkyPriority lane was unaffected.
My check in was a breeze, the agent asked what seat I'd like and I request again the same exit row seat in 61J. I don't know the exact rules for checked bags for Elite+, but I had checked three bags including my Tripod since I knew for sure they wouldn't let me board with it on me. So three bags, and no questions raised for any weight or number limits.
The lounge was very very busy. Self Service buffet had a couple of choices, with fried noodles and Chinese rice cakes with vegetables. Drink tables are located at both end of the seating area, but they don't have a ice machine, and the soft drinks are served out of cans, rather than drinking taps.
What I had served myself, Chinese rice cakes.
Charcoal mocha, umm interesting!
To be honest, it is a shame that there isn't a Skyteam standard lounge in either PVG or SHA, these contract lounges are very poor in quality and allow way too many CC holders in. There is kids running around, businessmen talking very loudly in their local dialects, glasses being dropped, toilets flushing. I actually made a sound recording for about one minute to document how much noise there is going on at the lounge, it was absolutely comparable to a Zoo. To my rejoice, there is a smoking room just outside the lounge, so I spent some quality time there prior to boarding.
Boarding was called, and I boarded through the SkyPriority lane, which was completely empty so I passed everyone and got on my way to my seat.
I was seated in the same exit row toward the aisle, but these four bulk head seats were empty, so I moved myself there once the aircraft door was shut.
This set of flight crew were so apathetic toward the passengers, I wasn't greeted by my name nor was handed any amenities. The flight crew used the bulk head row to traversing between the aisles, it didn't really bother me but at least be polite about it, no excuse me or thank you was said, and a male FA just simply shoved my feet over while I was slouched in my seat. It was absolutely unacceptable behavior of the flight crew.
This guy seem to hate all passengers and doesn't really want to be on the flight or doing his job as a flight attendant. @_@
This is what they claim to be meticulously prepared breakfast for the peasants, umm passengers!
The buns and dim sum were rock hard, I only had the small slice of water melon and then returned the tray and went to sleep.
One thing I do like to note is that the economy seats were very comfortable, and I think the recline angle is deeper than DL economy plus, with the seat reclined I was in a very comfortable lounge position. However the downside is that there is no PTV, only drop-down displays are available every couple rows.
Another titbit of interesting information about China Eastern flight is that the pilot make absolutely no announcement of any kind, it is completely silent from the cockpit, either that they don't speak English or that they simply forgot. But I had observed this absence of cockpit announcement from both flights, so it must not have been unintentional.
This is the Shanghai Airlines's A330 that returned me to Taipei.
I think I'm done with China Eastern for intra-Asia travels, their services or lack of services are absolutely atrocious, and only relief is that they are relatively safe and can get you to your destination in one piece with all your belongings.
I'll update with photos of the West Lake once I have the pictures ready, Hangzhou is a pretty amazing city minus the smogs and congestion problems.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers
Last edited by Lulu Chen; Feb 7, 2014 at 2:26 am
Feb 5, 2014, 3:41 am
#3
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: LGW
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, TK Elite, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 420
A lovely, well written report, thanks for taking the time.
It was interesting to see the lounge at TSA. I will be there in a few weeks on the TSA to HND flight with JAL. Did you happen to notice if they use the same lounge?
It was interesting to see the lounge at TSA. I will be there in a few weeks on the TSA to HND flight with JAL. Did you happen to notice if they use the same lounge?
Feb 5, 2014, 3:45 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 54
That's the only lounge in the airport I think.
Feb 6, 2014, 5:46 am
#8
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: DFW...at the moment
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Plat, Hyatt Diamond, HH gold
Posts: 609
Feb 7, 2014, 12:42 am
#10
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Disney Land
Programs: Lifetime Plat; SQ PPS; AA Platinum
Posts: 123
Kudos for braving the crowds during the CNY holiday season. I usually stay in Shanghai or make sure i'm out of the country a day or two before new years eve.
I would have thought the train station in Shanghai or Hangzhou would have been chaos, but it looked ok. I suppose it's because you were travelling during the tail end of the holdiay and people have already gotten to where they needed to be.
Its a pity about the air quality as Hangzhou is quite pretty when the sky is blue. The aqi in Shanghai has been quite good recently (less than 100) and the city cracked down on the fireworks so relatively quiet as well.
I would have thought the train station in Shanghai or Hangzhou would have been chaos, but it looked ok. I suppose it's because you were travelling during the tail end of the holdiay and people have already gotten to where they needed to be.
Its a pity about the air quality as Hangzhou is quite pretty when the sky is blue. The aqi in Shanghai has been quite good recently (less than 100) and the city cracked down on the fireworks so relatively quiet as well.