Shanghai Airlines Review (Shenzhen to Shanghai Hongqiao)

Shanghai Airlines 767 parked at Shenzhen- Copyright Navjot Singh

Shanghai Airlines 767: Copyright Navjot Singh

Route: Shenzhen Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport

Departure date and time of flight: 09:30am on the 13th of September 2010

Flight Number: FM9370

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). There was no alcohol served on this flight. The orange juice looked like an “orange sludge” that had been out of date. Take a look at the photo and you’ll see what I mean. It was not drinkable- so I returned it back immediately. The cabin crew seemed not to care much and just smiled. Instead I opted to drink just water and even that was with caution!

Comments regarding the first meal:

Breakfast- which didn’t look like breakfast at all - was served around half an hour after take off. A cardboard rectangular box was offered for “breakfast”. I carefully opened the box to find a whole host of junk food inside (like most airline meals on most Chinese airlines).

There was a carefully packed “fruit slices” box. This contained four cubes, 2 slices of watermelon and 2 slices of normal melon (these two fruits are favourite with Chinese people). There was a spongy tasting chocolate muffin (it tasted like soft bread with a horrible yeast taste and smell to it).

As normal per Chinese airlines, there were two packets that contained the following: One was “dried beef cube sweets” while the other contained “sweet roasted peanuts”. The “dried beef sweets” were interesting. It tasted a bit like beef but imagine that some sugar has been put into your beef- that’s what it tasted like. The peanuts were good. But is this food good enough for breakfast? No, not really.  

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks was offered after the meal. Again, no alcohol was served.

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:

I believe that on Shanghai Airlines, so many improvements can be made. The toilets need to be cleaner. The cabins are filthy and need to be cleaner. The seat IFE needs to be maintained properly. The in-flight food is a disgrace; however I fear that this would not improve as it’s the same for most Chinese airline companies. The staff speak poor English and this needs to be addressed seriously (i.e. what if there is an emergency?). Again like before, I fail to understand why this airline is part of the Star Alliance- has the Star Alliance group lost their sense of aviation quality?

For the in-flight meal, they should consider serving a hot breakfast (Chinese or western); or a selection of nice sandwiches. Not the bits and pieces of junk food that they serve on these domestic flights’. It just ruins the image of the airline and the country- especially if you are flying with a company that puts itself in the same bracket as that of other “Star Alliance” airlines.

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

The aircraft was not clean. As with most aircraft that are operated by Chinese airlines, the cabin had a strong stench of urine and an air of discomfort. I fail to understand why this is so. The toilets are filthy and had no tissue paper. The seats were comfortable enough for a domestic flight lasting for less then 3 hours I would say. However, I would think twice before flying with this airline company if I have to again. For long haul flights I would refrain from flying with them at all for many of the reasons outlined above (food, smell, health issues, language problems etc.).

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 5