DL-Don

So... I flew NRT-PVG-DEL yesterday and overall the experience was HORRIBLE!!!!!!

1. Upon arriving in PVG from NRT, the plane was diverted to a bus gate (was suppose to be a jetway gate according to the DL app).
2. A guy with two artificial knees does not do well carrying a roll-aboard and a briefcase down rain soaked metal stairs... I left my third hand at home.
3. Once inside the terminal, lo and behold, there's the "Transfers" desk. I showed them my boarding pass for DEL, my passport and my luggage claim ticket. I asked if I needed to claim my bag and they told me no. I followed a staff person to a nearly abandoned security station and went through the metal detector with no problems.
4. I'm now in the international departures section of terminal 1. After a bit of a walk, I find the Business Class lounge (#22) down an escalator. (Later I find out that all the up escalators are out of service.) Inside the lounge was like an oven. The food looked disgusting (nothing I would eat and I'm pretty adventurous) so I grabbed a soda and a bottle of water. I decided rather quickly that the terminal itself was more comfortable than the lounge oven.
5. I discover the DEL flight is now leaving from a "bus gate." When I get there, it seems the prior flight to Taipei was delayed. After a while, they started boarding Taipei but soon after started boarding DEL. Many of the people headed for India were literally knocking people over to get through the gate and on the bus. There was no call for early boarding or business class, it was simply a desperate throng trying to leave the gate as if there was a fire.
6. Once on the plane, I discover that the new 1-2-1 A330 seating shown on the seat map had been downgraded to the older 2-2-2 seats. Those seats were the most horrible business class seats I have ever experienced. Of course they were not lay flat but the lumps and bulges in the seat made sitting for 7 hours a painful experience.
7. Once underway, the meal was only a slight improvement over the swill offered in the lounge. I few bites of chicken and a diet coke and I surrendered.
8. Landing in Delhi 30 minutes late and after another 45 minutes waiting for baggage, I discover that my checked bag is missing. Fortunately, I have a few days clothes in the carry-on but not the business suits in the checked bag. If the bag doesn't show up soon, I'll be in shorts or khakis for the business meeting.

I cannot recommend ever flying China Eastern especially not out of the h*ll-hole that PVG terminal 1 seems to be. In addition, don't believe the folks at the transfer desk that tell you the bag will be transfer to the new flight automatically.