A couple of days ago I wrote about how China Eastern will start flying to Pittsburgh... for a very limited time. Essentially the airport is trying to court more international airlines, and somehow they've talked China Eastern into operating two charter…
We're seeing a ton of growth from Chinese airlines, and generally speaking that comes in the form of more routes between large international hubs and smaller markets in China (for example, you can now fly nonstop from LAX to a dozen cities in China).…
Since 2009, China has had a “one route, one airline” policy. Under this rule, only one Chinese airline can operate each longhaul route. There are a few markets where there are exceptions (like Shanghai to Frankfurt), but in a vast majority of longhaul…
We've seen airlines introduce themed planes to all kinds of different degrees. On the most basic level, there are some planes that have a special livery that's showcasing a partnership. For example, Alaska has a 737 with a Disney theme, though the interior…
After a long layover, I was so ready to get onto my longhaul flight to Los Angeles and get some proper rest. I once again boarded through door L1, where I was greeted by the cabin manager and one of the first class flight attendants, and escorted to…
I had a long layover in Shanghai, as my flight was arriving from Singapore at around 5:30AM, and I was continuing to Los Angeles at 1:20PM. Upon arrival I made the long trek from my gate to the immigration and transfer area. I think we arrived at the…
I boarded through the forward door, where I was greeted by two flight attendants and walked to my seat, 1L. China Eastern's 777 first class cabin is intimate, and consists of just six seats. I can't help but feel like it's perhaps not the most efficient…
My China Eastern flight from Singapore to Shanghai was departing at 12:25AM. I had to check out of the Andaz at 4PM, so headed to the airport shortly after that. I wanted to get some work done, and Changi Airport is about as pleasant of a place as anywhere…
This caught me completely off guard. I had no clue that Shanghai Airlines (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Eastern) was taking delivery of Boeing 787s, though I also can't say I was paying that much attention. What's much more surprising…
Hello from Los Angeles! After flying from Singapore to Shanghai in China Eastern's (sort of) first class, I connected to Los Angeles. The flight from Singapore to Shanghai was only "sort of" first class because I had the longhaul first class seat, though…
Hello from Shanghai! I'm slowly working my way back to the US, and am flying from Singapore to Los Angeles via Shanghai. One cool thing about this routing is that both of my flights are operated by Boeing 777-300ERs, featuring first class suites. As…
For years China has had an annoying policy when it comes to the use of personal electronics inflight. Specifically, you're not allowed to use your smartphones or tablets on Chinese airlines, even if they're in airplane mode, and even during the flight.…
For those of you not familiar with Amex Offers, it’s a program available through most Amex cards, where different cards are eligible for different savings and bonus offers. In many cases the offers can be huge, and more than offset the annual fee on…
I'm in the process of completing a Delta Platinum Medallion status challenge, and am trying to decide what my status requalification plans look like for next year. Do I want to go for Diamond status, Platinum status, or no status at all? Yesterday Tiffany…
The Chinese aviation industry is growing at a rapid pace, and we've seen so many new routes added lately. By 2024 China is expected to overtake the US as the world's largest passenger market, and by 2035 they expect to transport 1.3 billion passengers…
Starwood has really been an industry leader when it comes to their innovative partnerships with other travel providers. This has come in a few different forms. For example, Starwood has partnered with Uber to offer bonus Starpoints for Uber rides, which…
China Eastern owns Shanghai Airlines, hence both earn miles with SkyTeam airlines. They were serving the Shanghai to Hong Kong routes with A320/A321s and A330s respectively, so I chose the latter, and luckily it was priced at the same cheap $64 one way…
China Eastern had an incident at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport on October 11, which could have ended in disaster, as one of the worst aviation accidents in history. Basically an Airbus A320 was taking off, while an A330 was crossing the runway at exactly…
On a more lighthearted note... Qantas is known for their dedication to premium branding. For example, Qantas has worked with Neil Perry and Mark Newson on their lounge food and decor, respectively. The airline has extremely consistent branding, which…
While our last flight on China Eastern was extremely underwhelming, based on our layover we figured out that China Eastern was on to us. I was curious to see how this flight would compare, as a result. This flight was operated by one of China Eastern's…
This is where the China Eastern experience goes from disappointing to downright amusing. We arrived at Shanghai Pudong Airport at around 11:30AM, plenty early for our 2:05PM flight to Colombo. China Eastern operates out of Terminal 1, which I believe…
