Business Traveller Asia - 07.2019 - 08.2019

TRIED AND TESTED FLIGHT

JULY/AUGUST 2019 FULL REVIEWS AND MORE AT businesstraveller.com

The major

drawback was the

limited recline,

although the two

seats next to me

were not occupied

so I had a bit of

additional room

BEST FOR...

Punctuality and a relatively

low seat occupancy rate

CONFIGURATION

3-3

SEAT WIDTH

17in/43cm

SEAT PITCH

31in/79cm

FLIGHT LENGTH

3 hours 45 minutes

PRICE

Internet rates for a return economy

class flight from Beijing to Hong

Kong in mid-August range between

US$208 and US$641 depending on

flexibility.

CONTACT

airchina.com.cn/en

BACKGROUNDChina’s flag

carrier operates six daily flights

between Hong Kong and its

primary hub, Beijing Capital

International Airport.

CHECKINI arrived at Beijing

Terminal 3 at about 1625 for

flight CA107, which was due to

depart at 1815. The economy

class check-in area was in Row

H. Despite there being nine

counters open, the queue was

long and didn’t seem to move

particularly quickly. Fortunately,

after I’d been waiting for just

over ten minutes, another desk

was opened for passengers on

my flight, and thereafter check-

in was quick and easy. I took

the automated people mover

to zone T3-E, which took four

minutes, and passed through

immigration swiftly thanks to

the automated e-channel for

Chinese nationals travelling to

Hong Kong. However, security

was slow, taking more than 20

minutes to clear despite there

being only ten people in front of

me (there were only a couple of

lanes open).

BOARDING Gate E19 was

a minute’s walk from security.

Boarding began punctually at

1735 and there was no queue

so I was among the first on.

THE SEATThis two-class

A321 had 16 business class

seats and 161 economy seats,

the latter of which were in a

3-3 configuration (A-B-C,

J-K-L). I was in aisle seat

24J, in the back row of the

first economy cabin. The

washrooms were behind me,

although this didn’t turn out to

be that bothersome.

The major drawback was

the limited recline, although

the two seats next to me

were not occupied so I had

a bit of additional room. The

fabric-upholstered seats are

17 inches wide with a pitch of

31 inches, which allowed me,

at five-foot six, to stretch my

legs comfortably. Note that

Air China A321

economy class

BEIJINGHONG KONG

while there are a few overhead

TVs showing programmes,

there are no individual in-flight

entertainment screens, or

power sockets.

BEST SEAT In the first of

the two economy cabins, the

best seats are in emergency

exit row 14, which o ers more

legroom. Seats 26A and 26L in

the second row of the second

economy cabin also enjoy

more legroom as there are no

seats in front of them. Row 25

is another emergency exit but

its proximity to the washrooms

may be annoying for some.

THE FLIGHT We took o

at 1828. The temperature in

the aircraft was a bit low at

the beginning, and some

passengers – myself included

• asked for a blanket. A flight
  attendant said she’d need to
  check if there were any left but
  a minute later came back with
  a red one that was thin but
  enough to keep me warm.
  A round of drinks was o ered
  and the dinner service began
  at about 1920. There were two
  options – chicken noodles with
  mushroom, or fish with rice. I
  went for the fish, which came
  with carrots and celery. A salad
  with dressing, bread and butter,
  a chocolate wafer bar and a
  yoghurt were also provided. It
  was pretty average. A second
  round of drinks was served
  during the meal. The flight was
  turbulence free.

ARRIVAL We landed early

at 2130 but had to wait for

some time for a shuttle bus

to the terminal. After passing

immigration, my suitcase was

ready immediately.

VERDICT Since Air China

operates several daily services

between Beijing and Hong

Kong, this evening flight was

not busy, which was pleasant

as it meant I had some extra

space. Flight attendants were

kind, but there’s room for

improvement in terms of the

food o ering. Jackie Chen