Shanghai Airlines (Guangzhou Baiyun Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao FM9316)

Route: Guangzhou Baiyun Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport

Departure date and time of flight: 18:35pm in December 2012

Flight Number: FM9316

Flight duration: 2 hours 10 minutes

Class: Economy Class

Aircraft type: Boeing 767-200

Punctuality of the flight:

The flight was on time and landed on time as well.

Any baggage issues:

No issues- the bags arrived on time and in one piece.

Comments on the check-in staff and any issues:

The check-in staff were polite, and professional. There was no problem what so ever.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Choice of drinks (tea, coffee, orange Juice, apple juice, lemonade, or coca cola). Gone are the days when alcohol was not served on domestic flights, but now that has changed and it is served. I opted to drink just water and even that was with caution!

Comments regarding the first meal:

Dinner was served around half an hour after take off. A cardboard rectangular box was offered for “dinner”. I carefully opened the box to find a whole host of junk food inside (like most airline meals on most Chinese airlines). A separate tray containing a circular piece of ham and some simple vegetables were accompanied with a boring bread bun. There was a neatly packed “fruit slices” box. This contained 2 cherry tomatoes, and 2 cubes of melon.

The main dish was either an option of chicken and noodles, or beef balls and rice. I opted for the chicken with noodles.

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks was offered after the meal. There was alcohol offered (Tsingtao beer and Harbin beer).

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):

In this 767 there was no IFE. To make matters worse my seat light was not working (and neither was the seat light of other nearby seats that I tried), the “channel” and “volume” button was not working either, and to make matters worse the “flight attendant call button” was not working either!

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

Some of the staff were professional but their English level was below par international standards- perhaps Survival 2 or A1 in accordance with the European CEFR standard! (For Flight attendants’ the required English level should be around B2 globally!).

Improvements that could be made:

While Shanghai Airlines does have new planes, it goes without saying that the Boeing 767-200 is rather ancient and needs to be cleaned inside. On the whole it is perfect for a short haul flight.

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

The aircraft was cleaner than how Shanghai Airlines used to have their aircraft in the past. It seemed like that the aircraft was previously flown by TWA (Trans World Airlines) of the USA (I found out this piece of information from the galley because most of the galley material has the original TWA titles printed on it.)

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 7