Short Haul Domestic flights in China are wild
Top quality food, long delays, it's quite fun to fly in China
China is a fascinating country with a vastly different culture from Western cultures. During my travels to Beijing and Chengdu to experience the airlines operating in the country, I had the opportunity to sample the services of the flagship carrier, Air China. Join me as I share my insights into the experience.
Delays, Delays.
In China, the military's management of air traffic control rather than the civil aviation authority presents a unique challenge to air travel within the country. Military exercises often result in significant disruptions, leading to rerouting and, in extreme cases, ground stoppages for civilian air traffic. These interruptions can persist for durations ranging from one to six hours, causing substantial delays and logistical complications for air transportation within the region.
During the boarding process, our flight was announced as delayed for an unspecified duration, leaving passengers without a clear explanation. No compensation or provisions, such as water, were offered during the wait, creating an uncomfortable experience. Fortunately, the delay lasted approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Our journey to Beijing, the country’s capital, was on a 12-year-old A330-300 operated by Air China.
The seat and IFE
The economy class section at the rear of the aircraft featured Aeronomic seats in a 2-3-2 configuration, likely installed in 2012 when the aircraft commenced service. The entertainment system offered an extensive selection of movies in both Mandarin and English.
If you are a 2000s retro fanatic, this experience is for you. The overall design of the seat and IFE screams the early 2010s, with bright first-generation LED screens and very simplistic yet functional plastics like the cupholder and coathook.
Pushback and safety video
While there is some retro aesthetic, the screen was cumbersome, and the user interface was very slow. It took several seconds for the selection to load.
After about 40 minutes on the ground, the doors were closed, and as we pushed back, the safety video played—this is one of my favorites so far. With Chinese references like the mountainous lagoon and panda, Air China tried to represent its culture best onboard.
This photo is from another flight, as I couldn’t catch it on the A330 flight.
Meal service
Anyway, back to our CTU-PEK flight. Just as we reached cruising altitude, the onboard service was initiated—and it caught me off guard.
See, in Europe, on a two-hour flight, you would either get a small sandwich or just drinks. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened the meal box and saw fried rice with a salad and congee (a Chinese savory dessert). Drinks were also served twice. Once before the meal and once after, I found this process rather unique - something European airlines should copy
The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful. Most passengers either spent the time watching movies or sleeping (the flight was quite late at night, touching down at PEK just before 11 PM)
I spent my two hours looking out the window and watching the flight map—which, unfortunately, wasn’t interactive.
Overall, it was an exciting flight - I suggest you try Air China one day.