With my annual leave trip back to China coming to an end, I decided to squeeze in a quick trip to Taiwan before heading back to London, which I’ve never been before. Of course, experiencing new airlins was also a big part of the plan. China Airlines, EVA Air and Starlux Airlines all have excellent reputations, and this time I managed to try the first two.
For the outbound, I chose China Airlines’ Shanghai Hongqiao to Taipei Songshan route. I redeemed the business class ticket using Virgin Atlantic points:14,500 points plus 377 RMB, which is pretty good value. The timing worked well, and both SHA and TSA are very close to the city centre, making the journey especially convenient.
I arrived at Hongqiao Railway Station by high-speed train and happily planned to walk straight to the airport. But as soon as I exited, I was confused – why were there only signs for Terminal 2? Where was T1? Turns out you actually need to take the metro to get there. Thankfully it’s only two stops on Line 10, with a covered walkway to the Terminal upon exiting the metro staton.
There were quite a few people flying to Taipei, but I used the dedicated business class check-in counter.
There’s also a priority lane for security, though the whole airport felt pretty empty that day.
Time to check out the lounge. Options in T1 are fairly limited. You can go to V01 or V03 with the invitation card, or use it as a 100 RMB dining voucher. Since both lounges also accept Priority Pass and DragonPass, it’s actually better value to use it as a voucher.
But I couldn’t be bothered to optimise, so I just went straight to V01, the China Eastern Airlines lounge.
The space is very large. The décor is a bit dated, but honestly, by the standards of Chinese airline lounges, I am impressed by its design.
At first I wondered why it was completely empty. Turns out everyone was inside the dining area.
Setting aesthetics aside, Chinese airport lounges usually do quite well on food. The hot options that day included:
- Provence-style roast chicken
- Beet and potato curry
- Stir-fried preserved greens with mushrooms and tofu
- Blanched Cantonese greens
- Beef pasta with black pepper
- Mixed grain rice
- Beef soup
- Red bean pumpkin soup
- Spicy pork, tofu snacks, sweet potatoes and pastries
Plus a small oden station:
China Eastern’s lounges are known for their signature noodle station:
I ordered scallion oil noodles, which is a Shanghai specialty.
Before leaving, I tried the massage chairs:
No wonder no one was using them – they’re paid but the price was reasonable.
Time to board. Priority went first to business class and the airline’s own top-tier Paragon, followed by other elites.
The aircraft was an Airbus A330. Here’s a look at the business class cabin:
A very old-school 2-2-2 configuration, and the hardware definitely shows its age. Since tickets issued via Virgin Atlantic can’t be managed on China Airlines’ website, I had to call their customer service to select seat 1A.
Standard seat controls and power outlets are available, but given it’s just over an hour’s flight, I didn’t really bother with anything.
The screen is quite small and positioned a bit far away, so not the most comfortable for viewing. That said, the content selection is actually quite decent.
Let’s take a look at the meal. First of all, the menu itself is beautifully designed.
The wine list:
I had pre-selected the seafood rice online.
The tableware is very thoughtfully done, and the presentation is excellent. Abalone is a premium ingredient in Chinese cuisine and having it on a plane is quite an experience. That said, the flavour leaned a bit sweet, not entirely to my taste.
There isn’t much service to speak of on such a short flight, but everything still felt professional and attentive. The passenger next to me was probably a top-tier elite – he was personally greeted by the crew upon boarding. A little later, probably after checking the manifest, they started addressing me by my surname as well.
And that wraps up my first (brief) experience with China Airlines. Departing from Taipei might offer a better experience, and this was an older aircraft on a very short route, so it’s hard to call it outstanding. However, everything was solid, and the abalone rice was definitely a highlight. I’ll write about EVA Air next so we can compare.
Recent Comments