Originally Posted by
Leverage
Are you on China Eastern from PVG - DPS? Transcon from US to China and back was fine. But my PEK - DPS flight was pretty bad. They were only serving beer, wine and Chinese food. Only 1 bottle of white wine the entire flight (it was finished after 4 people ordered for pre-flight). Only a single meal (no snacks) on a 8+ hour flight. No amenity kits, lack of US movies, and crew didn't lift a finger the entire flight. Hard product was fine though.
You must have been on a slower bird. That flight takes under 6 hours from wheels up to touchdown. When I took it last year I thought it was an OK experience for the convenience of not having to transfer. Meal was filling enough and I definitely had enough red wine. The seats in business were slanted though, not MU's new lie flats. I'm not sure if the seats have changed.
Overall I recommend MU to anyone flying to China in business class now. They are better than the US carriers across the pacific and have the same seat as Cathay for a much cheaper price in general. If I were connecting on a tight connection to other places in Asia I'd avoid any Chinese connection due to their horrible air traffic control policies. The smoking does happen and it is noticeable but it doesn't bother me much. If you're really sensitive to smoke then don't fly on a Chinese carrier. Another bonus of MU is free wifi on their 777's which isn't half bad speedwise as long as you don't mind the Chinese blocking of certain websites. I'd rather have the MU wifi speed and price than the junk wifi I paid $29 for on United a few weeks ago.