How is domestic flying in China after the lifting of Covid restrictions?
This is a review of an Economy return flight from Beijing Daxing to Harbin in China on flights sold by China United Airlines (CUA).
After three years of rolling restrictions in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), travel is back with domestic restrictions mostly eliminated and the international border reopening. The latter has led to many nations imposing inbound restrictions on travellers originating in China, such as pre-departure RT-PCR testing in the UK, while the PRC are yet to begin issuing visas for tourists.
Here’s a look at what it’s like flying domestically within China in January 2023 - and what you can expect when flying China United Airlines. These were return flights from Beijing Daxing to Harbin Taiping.
Thanks to Lloyd for the content (@lloydnunag).
Beijing (PKX) to Harbin (HRB)
| Airline | Duration (sched./actual) | Aircraft | Cost | Cabin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China United | 2h5m/1h36m | 737-800 | £78 o/w | Economy |
The outbound flight was a very basic domestic aircraft affair operated by a Boeing 737-800 aircraft that plies short-haul routes globally. The aircraft operates with two cabins, European-style Business with a blocked middle seat and Economy. Both cabins feature a 3-3 seat layout.
Aircraft image courtesy JetPhotos.
China United Airlines (CUA) is a low-cost subsidiary of China Eastern, one of the big three airlines in the PRC. China Eastern’s primary hub airport is Shanghai Pudong (PVG) while CUA hub airport is Beijing Daxing. Like China Southern and Air China (CNAC), China Eastern and CUA are controlled by the PRC government holding company for state-owned enterprises called SASAC.
The entire fleet of CUA is comprised of Boeing 737-800 aircraft with all routes taking place within the country, besides two pre-2020 routes to Fukuoka and Shizuoka in Japan.
CUA 737-800 aircraft are basic but not that different from the likes of British Airways or Lufthansa aircraft in Europe. All seats feature a regular tray table with a dedicated cup holder.
Despite being a low-cost carrier, CUA provide basic beverages for passengers including tea and water free of charge. All passengers were required to wear face masks while cabin crew also wore protective eye glasses.
Basic toilets here…nothing much to be said! They appeared to be clean and had sufficient sanitising products as well as soap.
This aircraft had Boeing’s Sky Interior installed which makes the experience slightly nicer thanks to multi-coloured mood lighting in the ceiling.
There was little that comprised the service on-board this flight and thus much less to write about however the airline got the passengers to Harbin safely and in good time.
Inbound - Harbin (HRB) to Beijing (PKX)
| Airline | Duration (sched./actual) | Aircraft | Cost | Cabin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CUA | 2h5m/2h16m | A330 | £68.90 | Economy |
Harbin to Beijing turned out to be a far more interesting flight despite being in Economy. With Lunar New Year approaching in the coming weeks and the lifting of Covid restrictions, Harbin’s airport was busy. The airport itself was modern and airy, as most newer builds are, although it feels like it could be anywhere in the world.
Harbin’s Airport has two lounges available including:
China Southern Sky Pearl Club First and Business VIP Lounge
HLJA VIP - operated by the airport
Both appear to be of low quality and not particularly good, although they may provide a reprieve from the hectic nature of the airport.
Harbin is in the north-east of China and is close to the Russian far east border - as such this time of year is very cold as shown by the snow on the ground. This airport is a hub for China Southern, Shenzhen Airlines and Sichuan Airlines. This window was particularly grubby!
This flight was served by a remote stand and required a short trip on a bus before going up stairs to the aircraft. To my surprise, the flight was operated as a CUA flight operated by China Eastern - even better, this was on a widebody, long-haul configured A330 aircraft. That makes up for having to suffer a last bit of cold Harbin weather!
China Eastern’s A330 configuration comes in a comfortable 2-4-2 configuration in Economy. I like this as it makes the aircraft a good option for couples on the window seats and many families in the central seats.
Seat headrest covers feature a pretty floral pattern and the seats themselves have a smart colour scheme which I think looks decent. Seats appear well padded and comfortable for a lengthy flight on this aircraft.
The airline still had the in-flight entertainment systems enabled on this short flight between Harbin and Beijing. While the interface design leaves much to be desired, they surprisingly loaded a sizeable selection of both Chinese and international films including more recent Western ones. This is particularly surprising but is good to see that China Eastern haven’t cut costs by not bothering to licence films for their flights.
And as any self-professed avgeek will look for on an in-flight entertainment system, the map appeared to be of the interactive kind.
While this was a China Eastern aircraft, the cabin crew appeared to be from CUA. This was a weird mashup between the two airlines, but I suspect a larger A330 aircraft was used as January in Harbin plays host to a world-famous Snow and Ice Festival.
Food and beverages were pretty much the same as the flight from Beijing consisting only of water and a CUA-branded paper cup.
Disembarkation went smoothly before depositing passengers back into the new Beijing Daxing Airport.
Conclusion
Travel within China appears to be returning to normal - beyond requiring face masks. It’s good to see that people are willing to return to the skies across the PRC and explore the country once again. CUA appears to be a no frills airline that does a decent job of getting passengers throughout domestic routes from Beijing Daxing. Prices were not cheap to Harbin, when compared to comparative European or South East Asian routes, but this was inflated by greater demand as a result of the ice festival. I would certainly look out for any CUA flights which are operated by China Eastern as these will undoubtedly provide a better experience.
