Our inbound flight arrived at 5:30AM, and our connection was at 7:35AM, so we had about two hours to make our connection. Upon arrival we walked down a long hallway towards immigration, which was down a level from the arrival concourse.
Xiamen Airport arrivals hall
Xiamen Airport immigration hall
Another 787 had arrived just a few minutes before us, so there was a fairly substantial line already — not huge, but several dozen people. There were two lines — one for “foreigners,” and one for “Chinese nationals.” As you’d expect, we got in the line for foreigners.
Xiamen Airport immigration line
Everyone had to queue for one specific officer, and there were probably two dozen people ahead of us. We waited and waited and waited, and after around 30 minutes we were next in line. At this point another immigration officer came over and said “you have visa? You can use Chinese line.”
I’m not sure if this is always the case, or was just the case since there was no one in the Chinese line, but it’s certainly something I wish I had known earlier.
By the time we were out of the immigration hall it was 6:10AM, so that whole process took a while.
At that point we were in the arrivals area, and tried to find our way to the domestic departures area. The signage was lacking, though a helpful staff member pointed us in the right direction, and told us to walk right to the very end of the terminal and then go to the second level.
Xiamen Airport arrivals area
Sure enough, eventually we found ourselves in the check-in hall.
Xiamen Airport check-in hall
Xiamen Airport check-in hall
There was a Sky Priority check-in area, so we went there to retrieve our boarding passes for our flight to Chengdu.
Xiamen Airlines first class check-in
Xiamen Airlines first class check-in
At that point we followed the signage to the security checkpoint and gates.
Xiamen Airport departures hall
Given how much time the process had taken up until now, I was happy to see that there was a separate first & business class security channel.
Xiamen Airport priority security lane
Xiamen Airport priority security lane
Before we could go through security, an officer had to verify our boarding passes and passports. I found the decorations on the officer’s desks t be sort of awesome/bizarre, from Despicable Me keychains to a fish tank to (what looked like) decorative food. I figured this was a one off, though this wasn’t the last security desk fish tank that we saw on this trip.
Xiamen Airport security lane decorations
Xiamen Airport security lane decorations
Airport security in China is super tight. Even though I didn’t set off the metal detector, I still got a full body pat down. It had to be the most thorough pat down I’ve ever gotten at airport security (it was probably the most intimately I was touched on this trip, which is saying a lot), and it was by a female officer. That doesn’t bother me, but it’s interesting that there doesn’t seem to be a rule where you can only be patted down by someone of the same gender, as seems to be the case just about everywhere else in the world.
Our flight was departing from gate 20, and was scheduled to board at 7:05AM. At this point it was around 6:30AM, so we still had a bit of time, and figured we should check out the Xiamen Air lounge.
Xiamen Airport departures hall
We followed the signage towards the Xiamen Air First Class Lounge (Chinese airlines typically market the forward cabin on domestic flights as “first class” rather than “business class”), which was located towards the end of the terminal.
Xiamen Airport departures hall
On the way I of course had to stop to snap some pictures of planes, including the same 737 that I was expecting would take us to Chengdu.
Xiamen Air 737
Sure enough, there was a beautiful-looking Xiamen Air lounge located towards the end of the terminal on the right.
Xiamen Air Lounge exterior
Xiamen Air Lounge entryway
Inside the entrance was a reception desk with a friendly staff member who scanned our boarding passes and admitted us, and reminded us that we’d have to leave pretty soon.
Xiamen Air Lounge reception
Before I talk too much about this lounge, let me say that my expectations of domestic lounges in China are really low. I think domestic lounges in China rank among the worst lounges out there. However, this lounge was shockingly beautiful, by far the nicest lounge I’ve seen operated by a mainland Chinese airline… and this was a domestic lounge no less. The lounge was modern, had elegant leather chairs, and was peaceful. Maybe this would be one of the best airport lounges I’ve been to in mainland China?
Xiamen Air Lounge seating
Xiamen Air Lounge seating
There was even some sort of a tea room setup. I’m not sure if this was just a decorative piece or is sometimes used (anyone know?), though it sure looked nice.
Xiamen Air Lounge Xiamen Airport
Xiamen Air Lounge Xiamen Airport
In the far corner of the lounge was the dining area and buffet.
Xiamen Air Lounge dining area
Xiamen Air Lounge dining area
There was also a rack with magazines and newspapers.
Xiamen Air Lounge magazines & newspapers
The lounge had large circular windows overlooking the apron, where there were several 737s parked.
Xiamen Air Lounge view
In terms of the food and drink spread, it wasn’t terribly impressive, but I also wasn’t really hungry after sitting on a plane for the past 15 hours. If nothing else I appreciated all the fresh flowers in the display setup.
Xiamen Air Lounge snack selection
As an aviation geek I also liked the Xiamen Air 787 model airplane.
Xiamen Air Lounge 787 model airplane
I’ll let the pictures of the food mostly speak for themselves.
Xiamen Air Lounge snack selection
Xiamen Air Lounge snack selection
Xiamen Air Lounge snack selection
Xiamen Air Lounge snack selection
Xiamen Air Lounge snack selection
Xiamen Air Lounge snack selection
Xiamen Air Lounge snack selection
Xiamen Air Lounge snack selection
In terms of drinks, there was a selection of wine, juice, coffee, tea, and a fridge with soft drinks and water.
Xiamen Air Lounge wine
Xiamen Air Lounge juice
Xiamen Air Lounge coffee & tea
There was one lounge attendant who just seemed to be “supervising” the buffet. She looked at me like I had two heads when I snapped pictures of each individual item at the buffet. Fortunately she didn’t actually say anything.
At this point we noticed that our boarding passes to Chengdu didn’t have our Delta SkyMiles numbers on them, so we went to the reception desk and asked the lounge attendant if she could add them. There was a bit of a communication barrier, though eventually she proceeded to take a picture of both of our boarding passes with her smartphone, and then through some app sent them to someone. She then said “we add.” Sure enough, the miles posted, even though it was a rather odd system she was using, and we never received updated boarding passes that reflected our SkyMiles numbers.
At around 6:50AM we left the lounge and headed in the direction of our departure gate.
Walking to our departure gate Xiamen Airport
We quickly realized that gate 20 would be one of the remote stands, based on the signage pointing right, and the buses we saw parked outside the window.
Buses to remote stands at Xiamen Airport
Sure enough, this was a mega gate area with hundreds of passengers seated.
Xiamen Airport departure gate
Xiamen Airport departure gate
At exactly 7:05AM boarding was called. There was a separate priority line, though as we tried to board we were told to please wait, as there was a special bus for premium passengers. After waiting for just a few minutes, she motioned for us to go.
Xiamen Airport departure gate
While there was a large bus to the left, there was also a smaller premium bus to the right.
Xiamen Air first class bus
The bus was comfortable — it had seating for just eight people, and everyone just left their bags at the front of the bus. All business class passengers showed up almost immediately, and off we were to our plane.
Xiamen Air first class bus
Xiamen Air first class bus
However, much to my surprise we didn’t pull up to a 737, as expected, but rather up to a 757. Woot, we had a last minute aircraft swap!
Xiamen Air 757 Xiamen Airport
Xiamen Air Lounge Xiamen Airport bottom line
Typically flying within China isn’t an especially enjoyable experience, but I was very impressed by our experience with Xiamen Airlines. Even though we were flying domestically, the lounge we had access to was probably the nicest lounge I’ve visited in China. On top of that, the fact that they have a separate comfortable business class bus is a nice perk.
Xiamen Airport was easy enough to transit, though the long wait at immigration was a bit annoying. However, I’ve found long lines to be pretty normal at major Chinese airports.
Over all I found Xiamen Air to be a cut above the rest.
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