🇨🇳China Eastern Airlines MU736 Premium Economy Class review Sydney-Shanghai Pudong
Due to low demand for Chinese language contents, from this post onward, our website will be posting in English only.
I took this flight on 18 January 2020.
I happened to notice that China Eastern Airlines was offering return flights between Sydney and Shanghai on certain days of the week for just around RMB5,200 (A$1125) when I was deciding which flight to take home for the Lunar New Year at the end of 2019. By comparison, if I wanted to travel in premium economy on Cathay Pacific, I'd be paying almost double. I bought the ticket without hesitation. I could upgrade to business class by paying an additional 30,000 Eastern Miles. Unfortunately, there were no upgrade seats available on the day of my departure.
I arrived in Sydney the day before my flight, so I booked a night in a modern and cosy hotel called Citadines Connect Sydney Airport. The hotel is within walking distance of the domestic terminal and was reasonably priced. The design of the room was modern and simple.
A nice king-size bed for me to sleep on.
Other corners of the room.
You could have a spectacular view of the airport from the hotel.
As my flight home was at 9pm, and I was checking out at noon the next day, I spent the afternoon in the public area of the lobby waiting for the shuttle bus I'd booked when I checked in to take me to the international terminal.
My experience of staying in this hotel was great, except that there weren't many restaurants and convenience stores next to the hotel. You had to order food and snacks from Uber Eats.
The one-way airport shuttle cost me 7 AUD.
Most of the flights shown on this screen have now returned.
As I had bought some souvenirs for family and friends, I went downstairs to do the first step of the TRS.
Premium Economy passengers had their own check-in counter, which saved me a lot of time.
The airlines offered a paid upgrade option at the check-in counter.
Checked in, it was time to go through immigration and security.
Then I went to this office to complete my TRS application. For at least a year, this office had been moved to a location near Gate 10. At that time there were many tourists travelling abroad for holidays, I helped a middle-aged man to translate his words to an ABF officer so that he could complete this TRS application.
We could see from the advertisements that the Lunar New Year was just around the corner.
We spotted an Air China A330-200 scheduled to fly to Chendu that night. The airlines have suspended passenger services between China and Australia from March 2020.
A Qantas Boeing 747-400. Sadly, it was also taken out of service due to the pandemic.
Lounge access wasn't included in the premium economy class ticket. I bought a one-time Dragon Pass on Taobao for RMB150 (AUD31.5). I had already visited the lounge in the morning when I flew business class on China Eastern Airlines.
The old AMEX lounge was closed and under renovation to become a Plaza Premium lounge.
After the receptionist checked my digital Dragon Pass, I took the escalator downstairs.
An Emirates Airbus A380.
A Qatar Airways Airbus A380.
The rice and chicken had gone cold and the staff hadn't added more stir-fried chicken with plum sauce in time.
The roasted vegetables were too dry and also cold.
The broth for the wonton noodles was just warm, it could not heat up the noodles and wontons...
The chow mein was far too greasy.
Slices of bread, butter and jam.
Salads, cakes and cheese.
Nuts, crisps, and biscuits.
Coffee machine.
There was a wide range of drinks in the fridge.
This was my dinner for the evening, I would say it was only edible.
Despite the tight schedule, I managed to take a shower.
I boarded my flight back to Shanghai at gate 36.
This Airbus A350-900 with registration B-306Y would be flying to Shanghai that night as MU736. The aircraft was delivered to China Eastern Airlines in February 2019.
This gate has a slightly longer jetway. Many of the passengers were Chinese students, like me, on their way home for the holidays.
It was my first time flying on China Eastern Airlines' Airbus A350-900.
Only Chinese newspapers were provided.
The premium economy class of the China Eastern Airlines Airbus A350-900 is in a 2-4-2 configuration, with a total of 32 seats.
At the back of each seat in Premium Economy Class is a large personal entertainment screen. Underneath the screen is a literature holder.
Similar to the business class seat on a narrow-body jet, the tray table is stored in the armrest.
A pillow and blanket. The remote control for the personal entertainment system is stored on the divider between two seats. The seat pitch is 38 inches, which was sufficient for the 10-hour overnight flight.
The seat pocket holds the safety information card, the CAAC magazine, the airline shopping catalogue, the Global Times tabloid and a pair of inferior earphones.
Each passenger in premium economy class was given a bottle of high-quality, domestically produced mineral water.
No smoking and fasten seatbelt signs are all digitised on the Airbus A350-900.
The Premium Economy cabin was about half full that night.
An AirAsia Airbus A330-300.
There are two USB ports and a universal power socket on the centre armrest.
A safety demonstration video was played.
An Emirates Airbus A380.
A Qantas Airbus A330.
After a Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200 took off, it was our turn.
An amenity kit was provided containing an eye mask, a comb, a pair of buds, toothpaste and a toothbrush.
I was also given a pair of cloth slippers.
The in-flight entertainment system was very interactive.
The plane took off from Sydney, turned around and headed north.
This plane is Wi-Fi enabled. However, you'll only get Chinese 'Internet', it's also slow and unstable.
Perhaps it would be better to call it a late-night snack rather than dinner. Anyway, the beef pasta was very tasty, as were the potato salad and fruit slices.
The flight attendant came later to serve a roll.
And a vanilla ice cream.
After my late dinner, I walked to economy class to stretch my legs. The economy class cabin was almost full. Most of the passengers were Chinese, but I also noticed a lot of Western faces.
The cabin crew regularly walked around the cabin to serve water and orange juice. One drawback was that the lavatory was not properly cleaned.
The early breakfast service began after the plane entered Chinese airspace from Guangdong. This time I chose the minced pork chow mein. To my surprise, it tasted good. The fruit slices and yoghurt helped me to feel less oily in my mouse.
The croissant tasted great even after being reheated on board.
The in-flight maps had lots of modes to help you follow the flight path.
Arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport's S1 satellite terminal, which opened at the end of 2019.
Disembarked from the plane.
The S1 Satellite Terminal is an extension of Terminal 1. Passengers must go through immigration and customs at Terminal 1.
An automated people mover would take me from S1 to Terminal 1.
Picked up my luggage.
I arrived at Pudong Airport a little early. So I waited a bit and then took the airport shuttle bus to Hongqiao Railway Station. From there I took the high-speed train back home. Little did I know that this would be my last normal international trip by Chinese standards.
Steve Says
Overall, I was very pleased with my experience in Premium Economy Class on the China Eastern Airlines A350. It cost slightly more than economy class, but you got a much better experience. The check-in was efficient, the seat pitch was excellent, the food tasted good, the flight attendants were helpful and you could even upgrade to business class with 30,000 extra points. The only downside was the toilet, which wasn't cleaned properly.
Dinner in the Skyteam lounge was a nightmare, but it wasn't included in the Premium Economy product.
If you're a fan of our content, why not buy us a coffee? We're the Ningbo Flyers and your support helps keep us soaring. Plus, caffeine is basically liquid gold and we can't function without it. Thanks in advance for your generosity!
