- Introduction: A Suite Way To Get To Sydney
- Review: China Southern Business Class A380 Los Angeles To Guangzhou
- Review: China Southern Business Class Lounge Guangzhou Airport
- Review: China Southern Business Class A320 Guangzhou To Singapore
- Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class Lounge Singapore Airport
- Review: Singapore Airlines New Business Class A380 Singapore To Sydney
- Review: Air New Zealand Lounge Sydney Airport
- Review: Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge Sydney Airport
- Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class Lounge Sydney Airport
- Review: Singapore Airlines New Suites A380 Sydney To Singapore
- Review: Andaz Singapore
- Review: SATS Premier Lounge Singapore Airport Terminal 3
- Review: China Eastern First Class 777-300ER Singapore To Shanghai
- Review: China Eastern First Class Lounge Shanghai Airport
- Review: China Eastern First Class 777 Shanghai To Los Angeles
China Eastern 544
Shanghai (PVG) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Monday, February 5
Depart: 1:20PM
Arrive: 9:05AM
Duration: 11hr45min
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 1L (First Class)
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 my seat, 1L. The cabin was identical to the one on the previous flight, with a total of six private suites.
China Eastern 777 first class cabin
China Eastern 777 first class cabin
China Eastern first class suite
Unlike on my previous flight, I was happy to find that there were a few more amenities this time around.
China Eastern first class seat
China Eastern first class seat
Since I didn’t post a picture of it in the previous installment, I should mention that each first class suite has a small closet to the side of it.
China Eastern first class closet
Already waiting at my seat on boarding was a proper pillow and blanket. The blanket was pretty substantial, while the pillow was quite thin. Fortunately there were some empty seats in first class, so I was able to grab an extra pillow later on.
China Eastern first class pillow & blanket
Waiting on my tray table upon boarding was a “welcome aboard” note, and on the ottoman was an amenity kit, pajamas, and slippers.
China Eastern first class tray table & ottoman
China Eastern first class pajamas, slippers, and amenity kit
The amenity kit had Salvatore Ferragamo amenities, and was reasonably well stocked, with a comb, eye mask, earplugs, dental kit, facial mist, hand lotion, and lip balm.
China Eastern first class amenity kit
Then there were a pair of sturdy slippers with the China Eastern logo on them.
China Eastern first class slippers
The pajamas were alright. They were brown in color, and felt pretty warm and not especially high quality, so I didn’t end up keeping them.
China Eastern first class pajamas
China Eastern first class pajamas
Also waiting at my seat on boarding were a pair of headphones, a bottle of water, and some Chinese newspapers.
China Eastern first class headphones, bottled water, and reading materials
While not to the level of Bose headphones, they were still quite good.
China Eastern first class headphones
A minute after settling in, one of the flight attendants asked if I wanted some champagne, water, or orange juice. I ordered a glass of champagne, and was also brought a warm towel. Much like on the last flight, the flight attendant asked how she could address me, and also told me that the flight time would be 11 hours.
China Eastern first class champagne, warm towel, and welcome card
A moment after I was served a drink I was given the menu and drink list for the flight, and the flight attendant immediately wanted to take my order for both meals. China Eastern’s menus are valid the entire year, as they have different pages for each month, so I guess that’s pretty efficient on their part (and it’s probably also why they always want to immediately collect the menus).
China Eastern first class menu & wine list
All business class passengers and some economy passengers boarded through door L1, so it was quite busy during boarding. Eventually two other first class passengers showed up. They were both low maintenance — I didn’t see them eat or drink anything during either of the meals, so I basically had two flight attendants to myself.
At 1:05PM the main cabin door closed, and by 1:15PM we began our pushback, and at the same time the safety video was screened.
Pushing back Shanghai Airport
At 1:25PM we began our taxi, and at 1:45PM we were cleared for takeoff on 34L. I was pleasantly surprised that there was no wait for takeoff.
Taking off from Shanghai Pudong
As we climbed out I browsed the airshow for the flight (which indicated that the flight time would be closer to 10hr30min, rather than 11hr).
Airshow enroute to Los Angeles
Airshow enroute to Los Angeles
Airshow enroute to Los Angeles
I decided to watch the movie “Masterminds” from the inflight entertainment selection. I thought it was hilarious and dumb, which is my kind of movie. 😉
Much like the previous flight, this one also had Wi-Fi, which was free but slow.
About 30 minutes after takeoff the meal service began. The menu read as follows:
The drink list read as follows:
First I was brought a tablecloth, along with a warm towel and a glass of champagne. China Eastern serves Perrier-Jouet champagne in first class. That’s a respectable champagne, though I’d think of it more as a good business class champagne than a first class champagne.
China Eastern first class lunch — champagne and warm towel
About 10 minutes later I was brought a selection of canapés, described as marinated arctic shellfish with a vegetable roll, and a foie gras open sandwich. That came with a side of some breadsticks, as well as warm mixed nuts. Personally I don’t like foie gras, though the presentation was quite nice, at least.
China Eastern first class lunch — canapé
Next up my table was set for the meal service, including being offered a personal bread basket.
China Eastern first class lunch — table setting
The garlic bread was delicious.
China Eastern first class lunch — bread basket
A few minutes later I was brought the appetizer.
China Eastern first class lunch — appetizer
The appetizer consisted of lobster medallions and mashed potato with herring roe. The lobster was incredibly chewy and still hard due to being frozen, while the mashed potatoes were frozen solid. Like, I couldn’t cut through them with a fork.
China Eastern first class lunch — appetizer
Next was a potato and beef soup, which was fairly good.
China Eastern first class lunch — soup
Then there was a salad with French dressing. The salad was simple, but I loved the dressing, which was super-spicy.
China Eastern first class lunch — salad
After being served the salad the flight attendant approached me with a concerned look on her face. “I’m very sorry, you chose the king prawns, but we only have prawns. Is that okay?” Hah. The dish tasted okay. It certainly wasn’t restaurant quality, but it wasn’t inedible either.
China Eastern first class lunch — main course
I was stuffed at this point, but the food just kept on coming. Next up was a cheese course, which was quite large.
China Eastern first class lunch — cheese course
Then a big and tasty fruit plate.
China Eastern first class lunch — fruit plate
And lastly dessert. The flight attendant just automatically brought me both to try, even though I told her I was stuffed. That included an ice cream sundae, and some sort of pudding cream dessert with wafers. While I only had a bite of each, they were very good.
China Eastern first class lunch — dessert
The meal service was efficient, and was done just 75 minutes after it started. The crew was well intentioned and couldn’t have been more attentive, given that I was the only passenger eating. As far as the meal itself goes, meh. The meal was huge, but the quality left a lot to be desired, from the frozen appetizer to the mediocre main course.
By the time the meal was finished the crew had set up a little display on the table in the front of the cabin, with soft drinks and some packaged snacks.
China Eastern first class snacks & drinks
China Eastern first class snacks
At that point I asked to have my bed made. I asked if it was possible to take the two center seats (since they turn into a double bed), though I was told “it’s not possible.” I didn’t push too much further on that, though it seems like they have some policy against one person trying to sleep in the double bed (unlike Singapore Airlines, which allows it). While they made my bed I checked out the lavatory at the front of the cabin, which didn’t have many special amenities.
China Eastern first class lavatory
China Eastern first class lavatory amenities
The bedding was fairly decent. The duvet was comfortable and light, while the pillow was too thin for my preference, though I managed to get a second one. While there was a mattress pad, it was more like a sheet than a mattress, and didn’t add much extra comfort.
China Eastern first class bed
China Eastern first class bed
China Eastern first class suite
I love the automated blinds that China Eastern has in first class on the 777s, where you can close all three window shades with the push of a button.
China Eastern first class windows shades
I ended up going to sleep about 1hr45min after takeoff, as we were off the coast of Japan, about to start our Pacific crossing.
Airshow enroute to Los Angeles
For the first half of the flight I didn’t wake up once, though during the second half of the flight we hit some significant turbulence, which woke me up a few times. The turbulence was consistent for many hours, and woke me up several times.
Airshow enroute to Los Angeles
I finally woke up again 90 minutes before landing, as we were off the coast of the US.
Airshow enroute to Los Angeles
Airshow enroute to Los Angeles
Airshow enroute to Los Angeles
Almost immediately I was asked if I was ready for the pre-landing meal. The pre-landing menu read as follows:
I found it strange that they served a lunch-style meal pre-landing, rather than breakfast. The flight was a redeye leaving in the afternoon and arriving in the morning, so you’d think they’d serve breakfast. I’m not sure what their logic was here.
Service began with a warm towel.
China Eastern first class warm towel
Then my tray table was once again fully set up, including being offered a bread basket.
China Eastern first class table setting
First up was a caesar salad, which wasn’t great. I don’t like bacon so I picked around it, and it was weird that the croutons were served in a plastic container next to the salad.
China Eastern first class meal — salad
For the main course I had the shrimp with vegetables and rice, which was disgusting. It’s hard to describe, but it just tasted so bland and mushy and microwaved and just bleh.
China Eastern first class meal — main course
China Eastern first class meal — main course
To finish off the meal I was served a small fruit plate.
China Eastern first class meal — fruit plate
About 30 minutes out we began our descent, and the crew prepared the cabin for arrival. As usual, the views of the California coastline were beautiful. Both the first class flight attendants and the cabin manager stopped by my seat to thank me for flying with China Eastern.
View over California
View approaching LAX
At 8:40AM we touched down on runway 24R, and from there had a 15 minute taxi to our arrival gate at Tom Bradley International Terminal.
Taxiing LAX
China Eastern first class bottom line
China Eastern first class was alright, though the soft product left a lot to be desired. On the plus side, the crew was friendly, and I appreciate the free (but slow) Wi-Fi. Furthermore, while I had issues with the pilots smoking on my first ever China Eastern flight, this wasn’t an issue on either of these flights.
This is also the best first class hard product offered by any Chinese airline, as it’s a suite with a door. While you can get better first class products from the US to mainland China with a connection, this is probably the best nonstop first class product you’ll get.
China Eastern has some room for improvement when it comes to the quality of their food, though. While the meal was huge, the quality wasn’t great.
How does this compare to what you were expecting from China Eastern?
The report is interesting, but it’s even more interesting to see the replies and how some fools are blinded into thinking chinese air carriers are the best. The microwaved dish seriously looked horrible, even my home cooked food is better than that.
And yes while US carriers may be poor in some aspects, they are certainly better than the crap that chinese airlines offer
@Stanley
I just want to say it correctly..do not want to say ..."they are hongkongnese etc.." and offend someone...So best chinese F is CX while BR and CI in C ...
@Myles Yes, CX is Chinese. What else would they be ethnically, politically, or socially? Haha. Are they their own breed if not then? Oh my. Yup. You reminded me of the nasty experiences that Lucky mentioned in his previous posts. Yuck. I would not find it pleasant either.
Now that we found out that even a great hard product in F does not guarantee a good F product...MU like CZ in F have a great hard product but the soft products are poor till disgusting..still remember Ben's CZ A380 and A330 F experiences from the tri colour rice aka dog food, to over early arrival preps(ckearing his bed too early) which turnes out they still have 90 min till landing..the cabin crew spreading...
Now that we found out that even a great hard product in F does not guarantee a good F product...MU like CZ in F have a great hard product but the soft products are poor till disgusting..still remember Ben's CZ A380 and A330 F experiences from the tri colour rice aka dog food, to over early arrival preps(ckearing his bed too early) which turnes out they still have 90 min till landing..the cabin crew spreading themselves in F suites as well as a mother with 2 children in a suite which were not F pax at all..the only one F toilet used by the entire crew and leave their brown markings as well as odour behind...so tell me folks...in all of these points...what part of F experiences in a chinese carriers are enticing to make you fly with them?? If I may CX is still the only chinese carrier which can offer a premium F exerience...some of you will be shouting..he called CX chinese...so please correct me...I am not so keen in this aspect..no pun intended!
@Myles yup. You’re right. Both BR and CI are quite good in their own right. I guess I am just a bigger fan with CI. Absolutely true on those seats. Extremely comfortable and very chic especially the cabin layout on CI. As Lucky said, love the wood panel finishing. They have that for business and premium economy. Oh my, how I could not agree with you anymore about the US3. Nothing special or premium about...
@Myles yup. You’re right. Both BR and CI are quite good in their own right. I guess I am just a bigger fan with CI. Absolutely true on those seats. Extremely comfortable and very chic especially the cabin layout on CI. As Lucky said, love the wood panel finishing. They have that for business and premium economy. Oh my, how I could not agree with you anymore about the US3. Nothing special or premium about them. I remember compared to JAL and DL business offering, I was much more impressed by Japan Airlines. Excellent sushi, because I can still remember it after ten years. I cannot remember anything from DL as it was nothing to be cheering for in terms of quality and presentation. The service was decent though.
@ Stanley
It is okay to compare and enjoyed some comments here. I travelled both CI and BR. But both become very interesting when they got the reverse herringbone seats..both have good service and from time to time a great catering..at the moment..I find BR C a hint better lately..with good catering, PJ and solid FAs...CI is on the right track...if both continue the great development...they could be the best chinese carriers, leaving CX...
@ Stanley
It is okay to compare and enjoyed some comments here. I travelled both CI and BR. But both become very interesting when they got the reverse herringbone seats..both have good service and from time to time a great catering..at the moment..I find BR C a hint better lately..with good catering, PJ and solid FAs...CI is on the right track...if both continue the great development...they could be the best chinese carriers, leaving CX behind elevating to SQ standards..HU and XM are also on the right track but need to solidify its achievements and service to make a name and win loyal pax..
Now the hard and sad part..I am not a fan of any US3...the food are just sad to bad..I appreciate they have full bed on coast to coast direct flights or longer domestics..lately Jetblue is the only one which interests me..nice food and service as well as the mini suite, if you are lucky to snag one..Internationally I won't take the US3 even for double miles bonus etc..great service (attitude+ execution), outstanding catering like TK or OS, great seats and amenities to feel comfortable during the flight are the important factors for me...at the moment the best premium cabin regarding price and all the factors I said...is QR in C which is way better than its nearest rivals...regarding F best overall experience is AF...forget that AF has no suits like EK or SQ but the overall service on board, on the ground, in the lounge combined with great F&B..still beats all those suits gimmicks...LH F is offering the same amenities but no so polished and attentive as AF..so in the end of the day..the human factor in executing all these great stuffs is the the prime factor.. if is not with heart and commitment to your product , to your job, it is just a senseless product and will be forgotten and punished by pax not to fly again..
@Myles thanks for that. That is true. OMAAT does a pretty good job in their reports. I would also agree with you that MU can do a better job in terms of quality and presentation for their food. They are not comparable at all to the likes of Emirates and Singapore, but then again there is also a price variation as well. I think it is fair and reasonable to compare the different carriers. For...
@Myles thanks for that. That is true. OMAAT does a pretty good job in their reports. I would also agree with you that MU can do a better job in terms of quality and presentation for their food. They are not comparable at all to the likes of Emirates and Singapore, but then again there is also a price variation as well. I think it is fair and reasonable to compare the different carriers. For example, I think CI does a much better job in terms of quality and service when compared to CZ. I even prefer them over Eva Air. I think Delta is better in terms of long haul, but they are a joke when compared to Asian regional routes.
@Stanley
Thanks, the feeling is mutual.. ..frankly..I only flew once with MU and CZ in C. Both were originating from EU. MU was okay, the western course is okay, seat was herringbone which was great and FAs were solid, actually no big issues as a C product. That is way I am shocked to see this MU F report...this does not make me try F at all..
Regarding CZ in C...Ben is doing...
@Stanley
Thanks, the feeling is mutual.. ..frankly..I only flew once with MU and CZ in C. Both were originating from EU. MU was okay, the western course is okay, seat was herringbone which was great and FAs were solid, actually no big issues as a C product. That is way I am shocked to see this MU F report...this does not make me try F at all..
Regarding CZ in C...Ben is doing a great job reporting it...it is actually almost the same experience as I had..CZ is just okay. The best mainland chinese carriers I have experienced till today are HU an XM both in C..I both had 4 flights and in all ocassions very good to outstanding...probably that is why I expect a lot from MU and CZ..I experienced the oriental touch of the service without sacrificing the western standards..they were not that fluid in english but the service attitude as well as execution were great without any hints of uncertainty or lapses..no offence to anyone but I as always compare the chinese carriers with CX and SQ..I know them well as I have been travelling with them since my childhood..so the point of to be fluent in english is a must to me as well as a very good service attitude and execution...
@Myles haha. I get you. I would be pissed, too. I do want to say thank you for your honesty. I actually quite concur with you on many of your comments. I guess I just felt that MU is better than CZ. I was not at all impressed with CZ catering and service in J. Had better experience in MU F, but then again not fair for me to compare business to first class.
@stanley
I agree...a balance of both is better depending on the route and pax. I have to say CX's noodle with duck is one my fav snack...I should not have been so frank about the typical chinese snacks...but it angers me in how low and cheap this MU F dining was...If I have to pay hard cash for this I will surely be pissed...which ever intern. carrier should always know in how to fulfill certain...
@stanley
I agree...a balance of both is better depending on the route and pax. I have to say CX's noodle with duck is one my fav snack...I should not have been so frank about the typical chinese snacks...but it angers me in how low and cheap this MU F dining was...If I have to pay hard cash for this I will surely be pissed...which ever intern. carrier should always know in how to fulfill certain F dining standards..decent solid choices as well as execution are cumpulsory..it is just a shame to see this in one if Asia's big airline which often code-shared with AF or KL..if I have a AF ticket on a MU metall..and served dinner like that..sorry I have to censor myself now!!..let us say..Paris will be burning!
@ Tony I prefer JL over CX catering
@The nice Paul never knew about Endre’s dire economic situations. Thanks for the update. The horror for us all to know that sometimes he has to turn right instead of left, but he does always think he is right.
@Myles I understand your point. I wish U.S. carriers would offer more non-western choices as well to be perfectly fair. It seems that US carriers offer minimal or no choices from other international cuisines or snacks.
@Mai H. FYI: oriental is meant to describe a thing not a person. You should just say Asian. To use oriental to describe an Asian person would be considered discriminatory.
Everything except the seat looks just soooooooo cheap. They should really learn something from Hainan.
OMG! It’s so extra that Lucky kindly decided to update this TR. Thanks.
@YULtide
I always ask for whomever is waiting for me at the airport to have a sign saying SPIDERMAN. I always get my last name though :(
@Zortan
They will offer you as soon as you finish your meal. If you refuse and want it done later or if they don't offer you, just wait until meal is over and they are no longer runnning up and down the aisle, approach one on duty, smile and tell her, him:
Sorry, could you help me out with the bedding?
@Junse
You can call it what you want..but if you are an internat. carrier and just say you have foreigners on board who do not eat or appreciate the local snacks, isn't it better to offer some western snacks as well..Ben did not pictured some of them, has he??
You are right and I say it to you frankly I do not appreciate ducks tongue or chicken leg...that is honesty!
@Myles
I'd argue with you on the snack choices, you need to stop being so arrogant and ignorant about other culture's local snacks. Where those offerings are pretty normal for many Asians, and Chinese like duck tongues and the toufu(they are quiet pricy as they are hard to make). I find the offerings to be good as they are some traditional snack offerings of China, just like how Emirates serves Arab dates in first and...
@Myles
I'd argue with you on the snack choices, you need to stop being so arrogant and ignorant about other culture's local snacks. Where those offerings are pretty normal for many Asians, and Chinese like duck tongues and the toufu(they are quiet pricy as they are hard to make). I find the offerings to be good as they are some traditional snack offerings of China, just like how Emirates serves Arab dates in first and also at the bar, I just think it is a good way of showing the airline's culture and where they are from. And MU do have other snack options on the menu if you are not pleased by many of the snack on display and some are pretty good.
I am oriental/asian, and am embarrassed by that "food." I cannot believe ANYONE would actually pay for that? Thank you.
@Lucky
Curious how you respond when asked how the FA may address you. There are so many possibilities. Is it Ben, Mr Ben, Mr Lucky, Mr Schlappig, Sir....? Or do you have fun and invent a title, like Your Excellency?
@ YULtide -- LOL, you gave me some ideas there. But I always just say "Ben."
@MH` Hear that.
I once had the "pleasure" of flying YYZ-PVG and back on MU in economy. Service was crappy, food was disgusting, and they kept on telling people to turn off their cellphones.
Before flying back, I requested kosher meal for the flight. It was a significant improvement over what the guy next to me was having.
...I just watched in youtube how you make a sawdust mousse...it is practically crushed cookies and flavoured whipped cream in layers...very First Class indeed!!...they can afford to present French publications but not French desserts from Lenoitre or Laduree !?!...MU F is really killing it !!
..as we are all in full shock...that another shocker like a sawdust mousse could give us the rest!! ...what on earth is a sawdust mousse??..oh forget that I ask!!...
Ummm, why is no one talking about the “sawdust mousse” pre-landing dessert?!? :)
"Perrier Jouet is a good business class champagne but not first class" ? ?
Hah! Pretentious and clueless ninny ( no offense intended). What's that quote about knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing? It doesn't quite fit but is not too far off the mark in respect of your ongoing champagne silliness.
The food indeed looks quite bad judging by the pictures above.
I once flew Y in MU and I was shocked by their food quality - the worst airline food I was served in my life.
Quite ironic that Shanghai is traditionally known for abundance of good food, but the airline from Shanghai is serving that terrible food.
@ BrewerSEA
We need to be kinder to Endre. When he first appeared on here he constantly bragged about only ever travelling paid First, but recently he refers to paid First *and Business*.
Times are clearly hard for Endre: he seems to have suffered some dreadful economic calamity that has required him to move himself further back in the plane.
Who knows whether or not this was his own fault - maybe he spent too...
@ BrewerSEA
We need to be kinder to Endre. When he first appeared on here he constantly bragged about only ever travelling paid First, but recently he refers to paid First *and Business*.
Times are clearly hard for Endre: he seems to have suffered some dreadful economic calamity that has required him to move himself further back in the plane.
Who knows whether or not this was his own fault - maybe he spent too much time on OMAAT, generously giving himself to correct all our erroneous opinions about ... well, about everything. Because, let’s just say it: unless we know what Endre thinks, none of us really knows what we ourselves should be thinking.
Thank God for Endre.
And may he quickly work himself out of his current dire financial straits, to get back to the very front of the plane where, clearly, he deserves to be lording it over the rest of us.
/end sarcasm
Pick your meals based on the catering location should be the best choice on MU. CN3 are just far behind in food and service. If MF or HU has a convenient route, fly them instead. I only fly MU due to the lucrative SPG crossover reward which should be gone when SPG is incorporated into Marriott Rewards.
I'm asian and I dont like china eastern catering either. I've honestly preferred AA catering over CX and JL the last year or so.
I know mainland china has different cuisine than Hong Kong, but ive never had a bad meal on CX. But I do enjoy my western options on AA>
I wonder how this compares to AA or UA, both of whom fly PVG-LAX? Or spend about 2 1/2 hours more and fly JL and ANA?
BrewerSEA
I love how the phrase "Haters gonna Hate" gives people a license to say anything, no matter how douchey or ridiculous, and label any future criticism,
Like someone once said... Having class is one of those things that if you need to say you have it, you obviously do not have it.
I actually find some of these comments more interesting than the articles sometimes.
I love turbulence and can sleep through it.
Is sfo-hkg on singapore not the best first class product from the us to china? Or maybe you do you not consider hong kong a part of china
Sounds better than I expected! Question though: how do you ask a flight attendant politely to make your bed? It’s something I’ve always wondered about as someone who’s never flown premium cabins.
Some people need to get a grip. It's his blog and he can write what he wants.
Pretty bad food again. When will these folks wake -up; they appear unconscious.
Having had China Eastern economy food, it's the only airline food I've ever refused. Combine with the rest of their service issues, avoid.
@BrewerSEA I was just thinking the same thing. He also said before he almost always flies paid first or business, so he contradicts himself. He has to be either bored or confused. He should create his own blog where he is the only blogger and reader. It should be one paid F or C at a time or one dollar at a time or I only know how to comment that I paid for it...
@BrewerSEA I was just thinking the same thing. He also said before he almost always flies paid first or business, so he contradicts himself. He has to be either bored or confused. He should create his own blog where he is the only blogger and reader. It should be one paid F or C at a time or one dollar at a time or I only know how to comment that I paid for it every time. No one hates his comments; just hate him for being so stupid and annoying. He almost has no reason to read Lucky’s blog. He just has no friends. If he pays for it all the time, he does not need the art of earning and redeeming miles. If he were so rich he would either never need to redeem those miles or he would never need to mention it. I know super wealthy people and they never mention their privileged status. You can just see it and feel it on your own accord every time.
I do suggest people not to make biased comments on the food. At least for me, those food look pretty decent as in the pics. For me, I still do not how to eat sandwiches tacos without the stuff being falling off when I hold it with my hand. Eating all those raw and tasteless vegetables in the salad is completely unacceptable. Steaks with all the blood over is very disgusting and only wild animals...
I do suggest people not to make biased comments on the food. At least for me, those food look pretty decent as in the pics. For me, I still do not how to eat sandwiches tacos without the stuff being falling off when I hold it with my hand. Eating all those raw and tasteless vegetables in the salad is completely unacceptable. Steaks with all the blood over is very disgusting and only wild animals like eating it. But there are people who like those type of food, period.
Hey lucky...
Those headphones btw were made by Audio-Technica and I believe they should be no problem...
Also, nice review!
Seriously, the two center seats are more expensive than the single suits.,!? Even SQ do not charge the center suits in the A380.
Ben why didn't you just originally select one of the center seats instead of the window seat then you could have juts put the privacy divider down and you have a double bed
Frankly this looked a lot better than what I would have expected from China Eastern. Pretty decent in fact. Sure the food sucked but that's the case on Cathay too.
I think the reason that you are not allowed to use the double bed is because they are being considered a separate cabin on China Eastern. The two center seats that convert into a double bed are being sold with the cabin class "U", which you can identify on Expertflyer. They have a different price with the other four individual first class suites and first class passengers are unable to choose these seats. In essence,...
I think the reason that you are not allowed to use the double bed is because they are being considered a separate cabin on China Eastern. The two center seats that convert into a double bed are being sold with the cabin class "U", which you can identify on Expertflyer. They have a different price with the other four individual first class suites and first class passengers are unable to choose these seats. In essence, if the crew allows you to use the double bed, they would be "upgrading" you to a higher cabin class.
@Endre
You fly paid first and business? I never would have guessed that from the fact you mention it in a comment here every single day for the last year or so. Nobody cares...
How do you approach the subject of really bad food? Do you mention it to the crew or come up with a plausible reason to not eat a specific course? I'm not sure what to do here myself.
See how Foie Gras is made, that'll leave you scarred for life...
@ Ben
why was not it possible for you to try the double bed? Did they gave you a decent reason why?
Or were they just to lazy to prepare for you or were these those seats used by the crew?
If there was no decent reason than it was not acceptable to deny you the chance to try it!
First of all thanks Ben! It is a great report. To answer your question, NO...MU does not fulfill my expectations of a leading airline with a great F product. Yes, the hard product is good, but the soft products are more Bus. Class like than First. In the first meal you have 5 different main choices, impressive--yes. But the execution of your choice, is mediocre as its best..frozen mashed potatoe..yuk!..instead of king prawns...normal prawns...and again...
First of all thanks Ben! It is a great report. To answer your question, NO...MU does not fulfill my expectations of a leading airline with a great F product. Yes, the hard product is good, but the soft products are more Bus. Class like than First. In the first meal you have 5 different main choices, impressive--yes. But the execution of your choice, is mediocre as its best..frozen mashed potatoe..yuk!..instead of king prawns...normal prawns...and again the typical MU excuse...again! Do not let me start with the second meal with that horrible main choice ...seriously in which class would anyone try that...sick bag pls! Have you tried those Chinese snacks in tiny packs?...chicken feet?...duck tongues?...stinky tofu slices?...well at least the signs of the can drinks are facing all forward...hurray what a win!...No, fragrant stones hanging in the lav this time? and no smoke odour...wow, they finally understand the regulations...
Sorry, to be so frank...I would not pay hard cash or miles to fly MU F with all these negatives...
All these make BR or MF in C a far more better experience!
@Z,
Agree. Everyone has a different taste of food. I never comment a certain type of food good or bad, all I say is whether I like it or not. For me, China eastern food quality is well above major US and Europe airlines.
I’ve flown them twice and I totally agree - the food was awful - the seat and bedding adequate but I’d avoid it from now on choosing either JAL or CX
The main for the second meal looks like a normal dish that could be served in many Chinese café that is certainly edible, while not gourmet. Though only judging from the photo, I am curious of the objectivity of your reaction for the food, mostly based on your own food experience, could be. Don't make me wrong, it's just that I have seen tons of western and non-western bloggers having very contradictory comments on the...
The main for the second meal looks like a normal dish that could be served in many Chinese café that is certainly edible, while not gourmet. Though only judging from the photo, I am curious of the objectivity of your reaction for the food, mostly based on your own food experience, could be. Don't make me wrong, it's just that I have seen tons of western and non-western bloggers having very contradictory comments on the same food in their reports, which makes me wonder if some bloggers should just stick with the western option while writing a trip report.
Great review! I was looking forward to you trying out the double bed. A bit disappointed in their policy. Guess it's to prevent passengers fighting over who gets the bed.
Flying exclusively in business or First class (paid ticket: haters gonna hate), this review is interesting. While the seat looks comfortable, the food looks very bland and the lounge offering is poor. I'll stick to my favourite first class services from Cathay and Japan Airlines.