RealHJ

It could be a matter of personal preference, and also catering can vary quite a lot from flight to flight and choice from choice even on the same flight on the same airline. E.g. on CI sometimes the food is really...barely edible (and only if you are really hungry), while at other times it's pretty good...even on the same flight, there can be a big difference on the menu items (one is quite good, other is really not good at all). That is generally true across many (most?) airlines.

DL2SXM

wow, that's pretty horrendous. Why in the world would Delta make a large, expensive capital investment in China Eastern? MU has some really cheap fares on JFK - PVG - NRT in J, $2600 RT. After reading that last post on the pilots smoking and the wifi constantly resetting, I don't think its worth the price to try them, not even for a $2600 J ticket.

moondog

1. The investment wasn't especially large
2. China is projected to be the largest aviation market in the world within 5 years
3. I'm not a fan of MU by any means, but they have been continuously improving over the course of the past 20 years, and I can't say the same thing about the US3
4. DL believes there are potential gains to be realized by aligning schedules with MU

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.

moondog

Isn't there a nonstop flight between TYO and DEL?

DL-Don

Not on a SkyTeam partner.

I'm on a around-the-world fare so unless I want to spend thousands and thousands more, I had to stick with available fares on SkyTeam partners.

moondog

Ah, I got you.

I agree with you that transferring in PVG is an awful idea, as does a friend of mine who used to work for NW and DL (I won't provide additional details about him here).

For this reason, I am dubious about the expected "synergies" between DL and MU. Anyone who wants to fly to interior cities should stick with airlines that serve them from outside of China.

That having been said, I maintain the position that MU is now a better airline than DL.

DL2SXM

A few comments about terminal 1 at PVG. I took Delta out of PVG terminal 1 the other week and in fact, we had to be bussed to the plane, a 747 nonetheless. However, boarding was very orderly and the MU staff made sure business class got on the bus first followed by everyone else, so it really didn't even matter.

For the lounge situation, Delta had notes handed out that apologized for the inadequate lounge facility in terminal 1. It also said that a brand new, state of the art lounge was being built and would be ready sometime later in 2016.

As for the pilots smoking, especially on a brand new 773, I actually find that hard to believe. I mean, where else are they going to smoke but in the flight deck. No way, in a brand new plane, are pilots going to smoke with all that sensitive equipment around.

Justin026

In fairness, the large majority of DL-Don's complaints are about the Shanghai hub and not the airline. China Eastern did downgrade his plane and served mediocre food. We don't know about the luggage (2 airlines involved and probably a third party).

I flew through PVG late last year. The airport is a real mess, my bad experiences were Delta check-in, immigration, lounge and the boarding process. Delta did hand out three notices apologizing for various issues.

Overall, I suspect third parties determine a lot of your customer service "experience" at at PVG, and that the airlines have less leverage than in other places.

But the China Eastern flight Sydney to Shanghai was fine, as was the Delta flight onward to Detroit.

One idea to reduce stress would be to break the journey in Shanghai. I stayed two nights downtown using the 72 hour transit-without-visa program, hat tip to FT for informing me about it. Then you are entering and exiting PVG "normally."

bubbashow

Careful there DL2SXM.....you get in trouble for not following the doom and gloom "sky is falling" mentality around here.

I agree with everything you said. I have had to be in PVG twice over the past six months. I was shocked that even starting to board a FULL 747 from a bus gate, the MU staff got it done in 30 min....pretty orderly as well.

I simply do not see the "DISASTER" that people are calling terminal 1. Is it the nicest in the world? No. Is it perfectly adequate while construction is underway for improved facilities? Absolutely. I'd gladly take PVG over CDG ANY DAY for a connection.

I agree with you on the smoking...some are posting issues of 20 years ago as if they are current.

DL-Don

Not me. My international to international connections have gone as smooth as silk for me at CDG lately. Of course, there happened to be no "labor actions" during my transits.

DL-Don

By the way, still no bag. No one has answered the China Eastern baggage number in Delhi all day. I'm trying and my hotel is as well. We're pulling the phone number right off the lost luggage form.

The Delta App claims my bag was delivered to PVG; there's no way to trace it from there through the China Eastern system until we get in contact with the baggage service folks.

DL-Don

OK... the checked bag arrived. Given there is only one China Eastern flight PVG-DEL per day, getting it flown in on the next day's flight is about as good as I can expect. I did get confirmation from the DL App that the bag was delivered from NRT to baggage claim 1 in PVG in a timely manner.

I still don't recommend believing the transfer desk that you don't have to claim the bag in PVG and recheck it. Next time, if there ever is one, it's the manual process for me.

moondog

I gather you were being sarcastic with this post? (MU pilots who smoke don't really care how new the plane is).

PayItForward

While I have only flown 11 flights (connecting, domestic, international) on MU and far from an expert, I will fly them again simply because their pricing is too attractive to write them off. Do I get less comfort than when I fly DL as a PM, most certainly YES. Are their lounges due for upgrades.. YES. But for what they charge, I am willing to choose them when the schedule permits.