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This week I flew Air China Business Class PEK to SYD\u00a0with a short stop in Shanghai. \u00a0I arrived at the Beijing Capital Airport and headed for the business class checkin at Terminal 3. \u00a0The business class\/first class checkin area is to the far right hand side of the terminal as you’re looking at the counters. \u00a0 I was promptly greeted and checked in. \u00a0I then proceeded to security. \u00a0Once arriving at the security area I looked for a business class line as the other lines were very long. \u00a0I finally found one on the far left hand side of the security area. \u00a0It was not easy to see with the crowds. \u00a0There was only 1 person ahead of me in the line.<\/p>\n
I proceeded quickly though security and headed to my gate. I personally find the restaurant choices somewhat disappointing in the Beijing airport and the food at the Air China lounges isn’t typically very good either. \u00a0 There is a Starbucks, but it was on the opposite side of the terminal from my gate.<\/p>\n
From the gate we took a bus out to our plane. \u00a0There are only 18 business class seats and 9 passengers, again, a pretty empty flight. I used miles to upgrade from coach to business class. \u00a0The flight from Beijing to Shanghai is only about 1 hour and 15 minutes. \u00a0The flight was unbelievably bumpy. Interestingly, the captain was Australian and very funny…though I’m not sure most of the plane got his jokes.<\/p>\n
![\"Air](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/files\/2014\/02\/Air-China-747-Business-Class-4.jpg\")
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When we landed in Shanghai I was very surprised to learn that we had to deplane and clear customs before rebounding the same plane. \u00a0We deplaned and were guided by an airline rep to customs. \u00a0The lines were not very long at customs, but the security lines were pretty long. I was unable to see any business class or priority lanes. \u00a0I was unsure of the boarding time for my flight, but new I only had an hour. \u00a0I headed back to the gate immediately and found that we had about 15 minutes before boarding. \u00a0I went back to the Air China lounge which was close by. \u00a0The lounge was a nice area, but the food choices were very limited and unappealing. \u00a0I was very happy that they had sparkling water and it was great to just sit for a moment.<\/p>\n
I heard the boarding announcement and went back to the gate. \u00a0For this portion of the flight there were only 5 people in business class out of 18 available seats. \u00a0I was a little surprised that the flight attendant brought two unattended minors (twin boys who looked about 8-10 years old) to sit in business class. \u00a0 The service onboard the flight was very good, though I found it more difficult to communicate with flight attendants then I have on previous Air China flights to the US.<\/p>\n
The seats are not as new as Air China’s flights to and from its US destinations, but they are fully lie-flat and there was plenty of storage. \u00a0The power outlets did not work. \u00a0I was using my iPhone in airplane mode after take off to listen to music. \u00a0I was quickly told by a flight attendant that I could not use my phone at all during the flight, even in airplane mode. \u00a0I’m not familiar with China’s aviation laws, so I didn’t argue and put it away. \u00a0\u00a0The selection of in-flight movies and TV shows was extremely limited. \u00a0There were a few movies in English and several TV shows in English.<\/p>\n
The unattended boys were very loud and had to be scolded by the flight attendants several times. \u00a0A few times I was awaken by them. \u00a0I was able to sleep for about 4 hours on the 12 hour flight. \u00a0The flight attendants provided a blanket and two pillows plus an amenity kit. \u00a0Air China[s amenity kits are among my least favorite. \u00a0They come in a small white zipped bag and contained hand cream, lip balm, a comb, toothbrush, eye mask and cleansing wipe. \u00a0I always use the wipe to clean the tray table, arm rests and TV controller. It’s shocking how much dirt you find.<\/p>\n
Overall I like Air China. I wouldn’t rate experience on the PEK to SYD flight as high as I rate the JFK to PEK experiences I’ve had, but it was still a good experience. \u00a0I will likely fly Air China again because they will continue their relationship with US Airways even when US Airways leaves the Star Alliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This week I flew Air China Business Class PEK to SYD\u00a0with a short stop in Shanghai. \u00a0I arrived at the Beijing Capital Airport and headed for the business class checkin at Terminal 3. \u00a0The business class\/first class checkin area is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[10,91],"tags":[196,560],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n