CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES (Shenzhen Int. Airport to Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport), AIRBUS A320-200

8/1/2015

Route: Shenzhen Baoan International Airport to Zhangjiajie International Airport

Departure date and time of flight: 20:00 on 2nd August 2015

Flight number: CZ3991

Flight duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Class: Economy Class

Aircraft type: Airbus A320

Punctuality of the flight:

The flight departed on time and landed on time. Zhangjiajie airport is located on the banks of the enormous Tianmen Mountain and is surrounded by mountains from all corners. Coming into land at night is quite an experience for the passengers, and I am sure it is an experience for the pilots, too. The arrivals hall has no security…you get off the plane, and walk to the baggage carousel, collect your bag and off you go! (China is safe, they say…and who’s going to attack a mountain resort!).

Any baggage issues:

I had a large backpack, weighing around 12kg, which I checked-in as hold luggage. This was the first time I had taken a trip with a backpack, and without much hand luggage.

Top Tip: If you are going to be travelling around China for a few days by yourself or even with your family, and if you don’t want to carry all that heavy luggage with you, then you can leave it with the concierge at most decent hotels (provided you are also going to be staying at that hotel!). I stayed at the Vienna Hotel in Shekou (sounds more glamorous than it is – but it does the job…complete with bed bugs!), and they let me to keep my four pieces of large luggage for a week for free. It was a massive weight off my shoulders, as that also contained my laptop. And for once in my life, I did not really dress up to fly (you have the make the effort, right?). Just a pair of track suit bottoms and a selection of quality t-shirts for the five days was sufficient for the trip. This trip to Zhangjiajie, Jiuzhaiguo and Chengdu was to hike and burn the calories and enjoy the single travelling experience. In order to prepare myself for the trip, I punished myself by hiking up Nanshan hill in Shenzhen every day for three-hours at a time to get my body in shape and ready for the hike.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Just drinks (non-alcoholic), and including tea and coffee.

Comments regarding the first meal:

A box containing lots of biscuits in all shapes and sizes...as well as a pickle to put on the crackers (who eats crackers with pickles?)

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks were offered after the meal. No alcohol, but plenty of milk, coffee and tea.

Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any):

None

Comments regarding the second meal (if any):

None

Comments on the in-flight system (if any):

None

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort):

This Airbus A320 aircraft has a seat configuration of 3-3 with an all Economy Class seat set up. The plane was clean and the toilets were clean too. It was not full at all. Not bad a flight after all. The crew were friendly, too.

Dinner box: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh

Biscuit: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh

A cookie: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh

Another biscuit: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh

...and the pickle that goes with the crackers: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh

The arrivals hall at Zhangjiajie: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh

About Airline PR

This 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.

This section of the website will grow in time, and will include detailed reviews of the in-flight meals, the airline seats, the comfort of the overall trip, the customer service both at the check-in-desk as well as by the Cabin Crew; and how good the assistance has been by the airline staff. All the reviews are honest, fair, firm, and non-biased.

I am proud to have worked with some of the largest PR agencies, and some of the most powerful airline brands in the world, including but not limited to: Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa German Airlines, Air China, Turkish Airlines, British Airways, TAP Air Portugal, Air Malta, Air France, KLM, CityJet, and many others.

All the flights I have taken in my life are documented on this weblog except for any flights that were taken before 2003. These included Syrian Airlines (747SP in 1985), British Airways (2003 to Dubai), Aeroflot (IL-62, and IL-86 in 1989) and a few others. I regret not documenting them because I never thought of doing that back in those days.

I am hoping to bring to life the joy of reviewing airlines.

Note Regarding Photos

For all media reviews, special permission has been granted from the airline authorities, and even from airport authorities for the photos/videos taken on-board the aircraft and on the ramp because it is strictly forbidden to take photos and videos on and around the aircraft without permission.

The purpose of this blog is to provoke thought, inform, intrigue and amaze you.

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Navjot Singh at a Chinese Military Airfield

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Special thanks goes to
Turkish Airlines