   Route: Xiamen Airport to Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport Departure date of flight: March 28 2015, 10.50pm Flight number: MF8185 Flight duration: 1 hour 10 minutes Class: Economy Class Aircraft type: Boeing 737-800 Punctuality of the flight: This short-haul flight departed from Xiamen to Hangzhou. My experience of Xiamen Airport was that it came across as one of the cleanest and efficient airports in China (only from my personal experience). Like every other building and airport terminal in China, space doesn’t seem to be a major issue as there is plenty of that here – they certainly have invested a lot here. The best part of the flight were the views. While landing into Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport, the plane makes a turning over Binjiang District, providing a full on view of the river and West Lake, as well as the whole of the beautiful Binjiang area (where I lived for over a year). Any baggage issues: No issues- I only had hand luggage. Comments on the check-in staff and any issues: No check in issues. Everything went perfectly smoothly at check-in at Xiamen Airport. The check-in gates for domestic flights to second and third tier cities, such as Hangzhou, are located in the A-section of the departures building (though this may change later). Comments regarding the pre-meal service: Herbal Chinese tea, orange juice and some other drinks, including tea and coffee. Comments regarding the first meal: For this short-haul flight, we were served with a packet of salted peanuts. Comments regarding the drinks service: A second round of drinks were offered before (orange juice and water), during, and after the meal. Plenty of milk, coffee, and tea. Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any): None Comments regarding the second meal (if any): None Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew: The cabin crew seemed proud to work for Xiamen Airlines, and provide a very warm and friendly service. The airline has a nice livery, which has recently been introduced. Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): Xiamen Airlines fleet consists of a mixture of Boeing aircraft, namely 787, 757 and 737 aircraft, with a variety of new Boeing 737-700/800/900NGs. All of the 737 aircraft come in the following configuration: Economy Class seats have a pitch of 32 inches, and a width of 18 inches First Class seats have a pitch of 38 inches, and a width of 21 inches (some aircraft have Economy Class seating). Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 10  Snacks on-board Xiamen Airlines: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  The spacious domestic terminal at Xiamen Airport: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  The domestic terminal at Xiamen Airport: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Xiamen Airport has a major maintenance facility- usually you see the Boeing 747 or a Boeing 777 parked. On this occasion, there was a Cathay Pacific 777, KLM 747-400, and an Evergreen 747-200F (pictured): Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Xiamen Airport has a major maintenance facility- usually you see the Boeing 747 or a Boeing 777 parked. On this occasion, there was a Cathay Pacific 777, KLM 747-400, and an Evergreen 747-200F (pictured): Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Route: Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport to Xiamen Airport Departure date of flight: March 28 2015, 10.50pm Flight number: SC1174 Flight duration: 1 hour 10 minutes Class: Economy Class Aircraft type: Boeing 737-800 Punctuality of the flight: This short-haul flight departed on time on a rainy and dark evening in Hangzhou. This was rare because even under normal weather conditions, most flights are delayed in China, and for the flight to depart to depart on time during rain was something to cheer about, I guess. Any baggage issues: No issues- I only had hand luggage. Comments on the check-in staff and any issues: No check in issues. Everything went perfectly smoothly at check-in at Hangzhou Airport. The check-in gates for domestic flights to second and third tier cities, such as Xiamen are located in the A-section of the departures building (though this may change later). For an airport the size of Hangzhou, it is somewhat underused and quieter than it should be (the international departures terminal is practically dead quiet 80% of the time). Comments regarding the pre-meal service: Herbal Chinese tea, orange juice and some other drinks, including tea and coffee. Comments regarding the first meal: For this short-haul flight, we were served with a packet of salted peanuts. Comments regarding the drinks service: A second round of drinks were offered before (orange juice and water), during, and after the meal. Plenty of milk, coffee, and tea. Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any): None Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew: The cabin crew seemed proud to work for Shandong Airlines, and provide a very warm and friendly service. Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): Shandong Airlines fleet consists only of Boeing 737 aircraft, with a variety of new Boeing 737-700/800/900NGs. All of these aircraft come in the following configuration: Economy Class seats have a pitch of 32 inches, and a width of 18 inches First Class seats have a pitch of 38 inches, and a width of 21 inches (some aircraft have a only Economy Class seating). Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 10  My souvenir photo of Hangzhou's underused airport terminal: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Shandong Airlines in-flight offering from Hangzhou to Xiamen: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Route: Qingdao Liuting Airport to Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport Departure date and time of flight: 17:28 on the 23 March, 2015 Flight Number: MU2381 Flight duration: 1 hour 50 minutes Class: Economy Class Aircraft type: Airbus A321 Punctuality of the flight: The flight departed on time and landed on time. Any baggage issues: No issues- the bags arrived on time and in one piece. Comments on the check-in staff and any issues: Qingdao Airport is located on the outskirts of the city, with around a 30-mnute drive required from the downtown. Even though Qingdao is an international airport (Lufthansa flies using their A340-642 aircraft three times a week, at the time of writing). No check in issues. Everything went perfectly smoothly at Qingdao Airport. I arrived around five minutes prior to the check in counter being closed. Comments regarding the pre-meal service: Drinks, excluding alcohol, included tea and coffee were served. The beautiful thing about flying with China Eastern is that they are one of the few airline companies in China that offer sugar and milk powder separately. Comments regarding the first meal: A delicious helping of Chinese pork and rice (hot meal) was served straight after take-off. This was accompanied with a small tray containing four cherry tomatoes, and a packet of mustard pickle (hot and spicy!). Comments regarding the drinks service: A second round of drinks were offered after the meal. No alcohol was served, but plenty of milk, coffee and tea. Loved it. Comments on the in-flight system (if any): The IFE system was only activated once during this flight- prior to take off (for the safety demonstration). The PVT screens are not placed behind every seat but overhead. Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew: The cabin crew were professional and polite. Just a normal flight, without any incidents. The level of English spoken was good, too. Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): This Airbus A321 aircraft for China Eastern has a seat configuration of 3-3 with an all economy seat set up. The plane was very clean and had the latest IFE system installed. The staff were professional and could speak some adequate amounts of English. Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best):10  Pork with rice: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  The four cherry tomatoes: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Meal box: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Hot and spicy mustard pickle: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh   Shandong Airlines Boeing 737-80NG parked on a rainy night at Qingdao Airport: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh Route: Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport to Qingdao International Airport Departure date of flight: March 22, 2015, 20.50 Flight number: SC4776 Flight duration: 1 hour 10 minutes Class: Economy Class Aircraft type: Boeing 737-800 Punctuality of the flight: This short-haul flight departed on time on a rainy and dark evening in Hangzhou. The city had been experiencing a thunderstorm all afternoon, and there seemed to be no end to the horrible weather. However, remarkably, this didn’t stop flights from departing on time. This was rare because even under normal weather conditions, more times than not, flights are delayed in China, and for the flight to depart to depart on time during rain was something to cheer about, I guess. Any baggage issues: No issues- I only had hand luggage. Comments on the check-in staff and any issues: No check in issues. Everything went perfectly smoothly at check-in at Hangzhou Airport. The check-in gates for domestic flights to second and third tier cities, such as Qingdao are located in the A-section of the departures building (though this may change later). For an airport the size of Hangzhou, it is somewhat underused and quieter than it should be (the international departures terminal is practically dead quiet 80% of the time). Qingdao is only less than 45 minutes away from Hangzhou, but it is a world away: Qingdao has clearer skies and a seemingly much better lifestyle because of it being a coastal city. Comments regarding the pre-meal service: Herbal Chinese tea, orange juice and some other drinks, including tea and coffee. Comments regarding the first meal: For this short-haul flight, we were served with a packet of salted peanuts and a packet containing cream crackers. Comments regarding the drinks service: A second round of drinks were offered before (orange juice and water), during, and after the meal. Plenty of milk, coffee, and tea. Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any): None Comments regarding the second meal (if any): None Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew: The cabin crew seemed proud to work for Shandong Airlines, and provide a very warm and friendly service. Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): Shandong Airlines fleet consists only of Boeing 737 aircraft, with a variety of new Boeing 737-700/800/900NGs. All of these aircraft come in the following configuration: Economy Class seats have a pitch of 32 inches, and a width of 18 inches First Class seats have a pitch of 38 inches, and a width of 21 inches (some aircraft have a only Economy Class seating). Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 10  Interior of the Boeing 737-800NG belonging to Shandong Airlines: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Peanuts served on Shandong Airlines: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Lemon flavored cream crackers: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh |
 Navjot Singh inside an Airbus A320 cockpit of British Airways at Heathrow Airport About Airline PRThis is a special section on Airline Branding, and Airline Public Relations written by me on all the flights I have been fortunate enough to have been on. These are not records taken from somewhere else, but are actual flights I have been on. Most of the flight trips are officially sponsored by the airline companies in order to promote their certain routes, and aircraft. Airline promotion and PR related work in the aviation industry is one of my expertise. 
Navjot Singh at a Chinese Military Airfield
Watch exclusive videos below taken in the cockpit of a Boeing 777-300ER in-flight over Chinese Airspace.
Special thanks goes to Turkish Airlines B777-300ER Cockpit Video 1B777-300ER Cockpit Video 2
Archives
July 2024
Airlines Reviewed
All
Proud media partner of QATAR AIRWAYS
|