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Quick China Eastern JFK-PVG review
There's been some heated conversation about China Eastern on the boards lately, I thought I would share my experience in biz class last week between JFK and PVG. Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised, and I have flown to Asia two to three times a year for the last 6 years on business (and quarterly to Europe, all in business class, so I have some perspective).
PROS: - No smoke or smoke smell in cabin at all! Maybe not a "pro" per se, but I was worried about it given past reviews so I saw it as a pro. - Food was fantastic. I had western, salmon dish on the way out and while sure it was just salmon, may have been one of best meals I have had in years. Note on this same trip I had Singapore Air Book the Cook Lobster Thermador, and I'd rather have the salmon any day. Also, got Chinese breakfast before landing, also very good. - Loved the hard product. I am 6'4" and I was able to lay down fully stretched with a few inches to spare. I almost always have to lie in the fetal position given my height including on Cathay. This was very nice. - Service was excellent. Now I say this with a nod to poor English speaking skills. But my flight attendant struggled and then got someone who was better with English to answer my question. But beyond that, they tried very hard. One time I used the limited Chinese I had, and the flight attendant lit up and spent 5 minutes with me teaching me new phrases and fixing my pronunciation. This was a very nice gesture/effort, especially when sometimes it seems like some US flag carrier attendants could care less about speaking to you in English. -My transfer in PVG was very easy, compared to others on the forums. Also the lounge in PVG was huge (food offer fairly limited though). CONS - They could use better English, but with 4 people in the biz cabin westerners, and a good effort at service, this wasn't a big deal and honestly understandable. - Entertainment/movies limited. I loaded plenty on my tablet, since I was kind of expecting this. - Amenity kit didn't have ear plugs. I bring my own, but that's a bit strange. - I will say as an aside, my 4 hr "local" slight on an older single aisle plane to Chiang Mai was right out of the 80s, clearly not updated. But, I cared a lot more about the long haul, then the short connection. But that flight was a bit ... outdated. Subject for a different time. Let me know if I can help with anything more specific, but I would say I enjoyed this flight MUCH better than my return on a Korean Air A380. |
Thanks for the review! Booked SIL on a PVG-JFK (actually ICN-PVG-JFK, courtesy of DL's routing rules) flight later this year and hoping that she lucks out on non-smoking pilots. Otherwise I'm not too worried about the MU leg. The outbound on CA though..
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Thanks a lot for the review, johnhbriggs. I am happy to hear about your positive experience, and also how your experience rated against other Asian airlines. I recently booked a business class trip on China Eastern for an open jaw from LAX-PVG-SIN, and BKK-PVG-LAX on the return. Based on other reviews I have read, I have been bracing for the worst, and was optimistically viewing it as an adventure. Now I feel a bit better that flying China Eastern in business class might not just be a trip to endur, but to also enjoy. I also have flown business or first class to Asia the past few years, mostly on Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.
The review covered a lot, but just curious about beverages. Did China Eastern provide water bottles, or do you know if it was it an issue to requesting additional water or other beverages? How did your experience on China Eastern surpass the experience flying Korean Air on an A380? I have not flown Korean Air before, it would be great to learn more about how they compare. |
Sorry for the delay Conde.
First, with the water, they gave me a water bottle early in the flight and when I emptied it I just brought it to the galley and they refilled it from the larger ones they had. Never an issue .. though during the longer down/sleep times they didn't "patrol" the cabin like Singapore or some others tend to do. But found that to be minor, I just walked 20 steps. Korean Air: it was a 2x2x2, and the seat was very uncomfortable. It felt a few degrees off lie flat, was not long enough so that my 6'4" frame had my feet sticking over the end, and the pillow/seat combination was one where if you used the pillow on top of the headrest, it was too much, but the headrest wasn't enough on its own. Also, the Korean Air FAs for wine filled a tiny glass a third full. I don't drink a lot on planes, I like to stay hydrated, but after a long week and a dinner on the plane, it took about 5 fills to have one, normal, real life glass of wine. Couldn't enjoy wine with dinner so to speak. Asked them one to at least fill the tiny glass up more than halfway but didn't happen. So mainly the seat. But small other things. For what it's worth, I do not think MU for service is as good as Singapore Air or even China Airlines (through TPE), but the costs can often be such a huge difference. The seat though was so comfortable and I slept so well. So the hard product is better than Singapore in my view, where if you dont get a bulkhead you have to twist a bit to get your legs in the footwell. Lastly, again, I remind I had no cigarette smoke. That's a deal breaker for me, and was my biggest fear. Hopefully you have none either. |
Can I ask where you were seated? Were you in a bulkhead seat? Sometimes those have a little deeper footwell. I'm 6'5" so trying to pick a good seat on this flight. Recommend the main part of the cabin or the mini-cabin up front?
Also, were you on the afternoon or midnight departure from JFK? What was the timing of the meal service? |
I’m going to be in Economy on CDG-PVG (work policy) and I’m really wondering what it’s going to be like. I hope it will resemble the Economy experience of China Southern, which was quite good. I wonder if my SkyTeam Gold status will make any difference. |
Originally Posted by Concerto
(Post 29919402)
I’m going to be in Economy on CDG-PVG (work policy) and I’m really wondering what it’s going to be like. I hope it will resemble the Economy experience of China Southern, which was quite good. I wonder if my SkyTeam Gold status will make any difference. |
Really? I am prepared to believe that this will indeed be the case, as most of the Chinese airlines I have been on have yielded pretty good experiences. Contrary to what I have been told by those who think Chinese airlines are awful. |
Originally Posted by Concerto
(Post 29925683)
Really? I am prepared to believe that this will indeed be the case, as most of the Chinese airlines I have been on have yielded pretty good experiences. Contrary to what I have been told by those who think Chinese airlines are awful. |
does china eastern do stopover in shanghai with an award ticket booked through korean? I want to do hkg to pvg to lax. would it still be 62.5k points?
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I thought catering from the outports is significantly better than ex-China. Hope you get decent food on the PVG-JFK leg!
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I flew JFK-PVG-SIN on MU a few months ago:
The Bottom Line: Nice planes, modern lie-flat 1-2-1 seating, decent video, food OK at best, service courteous, professional and efficient, no smoke. The details: JFK check in counter in terminal 1, opens 4 hours before departure. Long line for economy pax, but 2 skypriority lanes on the left we're empty. Check in quick, and they also printed my connecting boarding pass to SIN.Priority security line on left also empty and quick, bypassing long regular line. MU uses Air France lounge by gate #2 , (turn right exiting security), nice enough, decent food, self serve bar, Nespresso machine, showers available. At gate, separate line for skypriority, clearly signed and well apart from regular line. Passports and boarding passes checked to make sure you are in the right line. 777 in nice condition, large lav, 1-2-1 seating in biz, angled facing the window. Very basic amenity kit, slippers, bottled water at seat. Nice video system, large screen, somewhat limited selection. Multi-power outlet + Usb at seat. The one line movie descriptions are amusing, such as “the story is not sophisticated, but never easy to guess, it will be chasing after by the fans of the science fiction all the time”. That was for Blade Runner 2049. Hot towel in a dish, then OJ, water or a thick sweet champagne before departing. FA introduced herself, handed me the menu and waited while I decided on choice of Western or Chinese, choice of entree (chicken or beef) and choice of beverages including 5 decent wines (California zinfandel for me). She reported flight time of 14:40, so we would be together for about 16 hours. Flight departed 5 min early. After takeoff, PJ’s offered. Then another hot towel, bag of nuts, and your chosen beverages. A little later dinner was served in courses, and the steak was medium and tender. Unfortunately, this was the best dish of all the legs I flew. Portions were small by American standards, but reasonable, and wine refilled. FA’s we're hustling and responded instantly and politely to any request. They're not chatty-friendly like DL FAs, but they addressed me by name and are efficient. While not fluent in English, they know enough to communicate and do the job. Menu lists cake and ice cream, but not for night flights, so if you have a sweet tooth grab a bag of cookies from the Air France lounge for the flight just in case. Also, If you like Splenda or another fake sugar in your coffee or tea, grab a few packets from the lounge, as there is only regular sugar on board. Mid-flight snacks and breakfast on arrival were just OK, a little lower quality than the DL domestic meals. About an hour before landing, the FA stopped by to inform me of our arrival time and the local weather. There had been no overhead announcements since the safety video before takeoff, making for a pleasantly peaceful flight.I was upfront, used forward lav several times, no smoke. We arrived PVG a few minutes early. Entering immigration area, went to far left side for int'l connections in same terminal, (TWOV on far right side is if you are connecting in other terminal). Already had boarding pass so no waiting and used self-service kiosk/gate, quick and easy. Lounge 36 is first thing on left after security, plenty of space, especially upstairs, a nice food and beverage selection, showers. PVG-SIN was a newer A330, with same 1-2-1 seats. Similar service and menu, pleasant and efficient, no smoke. SIN-PVG was an older A330 with 2-2-2 seating using 165-degree almost flats and an old video system. With 24 seats but only 5 passengers, service was very personal and pleasant, and the FAs we're happy to engage in conversation. As a midnight to 6am flight it was mostly sleeping, with breakfast just prior to landing. No smoke. PVG-JFK was the same as the flight over, except with a bit larger menu, as it was a daytime flight. Hope some of this helps if you are considering giving them a try! |
Honestly Chinese airlines aren't bad at all. I think some of the bad reputation comes from delays, but also cultural/language barriers, but the staff whether its gate agents or FAs are usually nicer than the US3.
Compare this to yesterday boarding my SFO-PVG flight. The gate agent yelled at the guy in front of me "HAVE YOUR PASSPORT READY" in a scowling voice. And when he finally stepped aside to let me through, she yelled at me "CHINA VISA!" I told her yes I have a China Visa, and almost questioned if she wanted me to open it up for her, and she yelled again "CHINA VISA!!!!" Yes I can do that, but the service was just god-awful. If you want passengers to be ready, you can communicate a bit better. "Have your passports out and please open up to your China Visa page" or something would be helpful. I mean honestly, no counter staff will ever yell at you like that and will gladly flip through your passport to double check your visa. As for FAs, the US3 just seem to yell at their foreign customers too. I frequently see Chinese travelers confused about the Polaris menu and think they need to select appetizer/salad, but you're just choosing the main dishes. I've never seen an FA just stop and explain in a courteous manner. I feel like when Chinese flight attendants approach me (I'm Asian American), and I respond in English, they seem to apologize and then try to explain their best in English even if it's not the best explanation. Seems the equivalent to the US3 would be to just yell louder in Chinese at me right? I also do fly Chinese domestic a lot, and while the hard product is often dated in economy, the overall experience with food service and professionalism with the crew at least seems to make me wonder how the US3 can ever fix its service issues. |
Originally Posted by moondog
(Post 29925375)
I think you will enjoy it.
Originally Posted by moondog
(Post 29925778)
MU was among my least favourite airlines 20 years ago, but they have honestly made great strides. Sure, they have a delay problem, but this really isn't their fault.
Meal service began after take off, without a drink from the bar to begin with. It was the lower end of culinary excellence, but it really wasn’t as bad as all that because the catering was from a French company. I had the braised beef with small penne pasta. There was plenty Tsingtao beer and the red wine was perfectly drinkable. During the flight, snacks, sandwiches and drinks were available from the galley. Breakfast consisted of hot Chinese noodles with beef, or omelettes, all pretty good. Service was not particularly friendly, nor was it unfriendly, just normal. Each time I went to the galley I got the snacks and drinks I wanted, but you have to let the FAs pour the drinks. There were no liquors, just beer and wine. In-flight entertainment was pretty good, against my expectations. There was a good selection of Chinese traditional and pop music, a slightly mediocre and pale classical and light music selection, and many other music options. There was a very good choice of films, including a few I hadn’t got around to seeing yet (for example, Victoria & Abdul). Most interesting was the large Chinese and Asian film selection and, upon recommendation of my Chinese seat mate from Shanghai, I watched the imaginative and fantastic Legend of the Demon Cat (Japan) and the modern comedy Perfect Couple (Hong Kong). For me, these IFE systems provide a chance to see or hear things I normally wouldn’t bother with. I found it hard to sleep on the flight because of the flight times (departure 13h25, arrival 06h25 local). My third China Eastern segment was the flight from Shanghai to Jeju (PVG-CJU). Going through the international transfer process was a bit time consuming but I eventually made it to the good China Eastern lounge, where I had a shower and some decent food including soup noodles. This flight was on an A330-300, painted in SkyTeam colors, which we boarded at a remote stand. It was full of Chinese holidaymakers going to Jeju. I had seat 73L, right at the back of the aircraft, which was a lot less comfortable than the previous flight. It took ages to make it to the head of of the runway for take off. In-flight service consisted of water bottles only. The rest of the flight time was taken up filling out the landing and customs cards for South Korea. All of these flights were pretty well on time.So my China Eastern ordinary (economy) traveler experience was very positive. I would definitely fly this company again, and it was good to try out the economy class first. It’s always better to start at the bottom and work up! |
Nice review! I usually fly MU back to Canada in economy as they have a great schedule that really makes it easy for me. Usually the cheapest, too.
Originally Posted by Concerto
(Post 30055461)
I managed to snag seat 70J, which is where the fuselage begins to taper towards the rear and the three-seat lay out on the window side becomes a two-seat layout. 70J affords quite a lot of aisle space. This is one of the rare times that an economy class seat has not hurt my back and I found the comfort and general legroom really more than acceptable.
As for food, after mediocre meals on my first flights, I started pre-ordering the Asian Vegetarian meal as it's reliable and pretty much tastes like mild-curry Indian food. |
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