My seat, 68L, is a modestly worn yet undeniably clean economy-class seat. The legroom is surprisingly generous, even more so than on a recent Qantas flight (81-84 centimetres compared to Qantas’ standard 79 centimetres). While the dated brown colour scheme isn’t exactly inspiring, the seat itself offers functionality similar to that of other airlines. The entertainment screen is comparable in size, but the English movie selection is limited to just seven titles, hence the need for pre-downloaded entertainment.
Seats in economy class on China Eastern are surprisingly spacious.Credit: Bloomberg
The cabin fills with passengers in a display of logistical efficiency. It’s not long before the flight attendants make a pre-departure announcement that caught me off-guard – remove your Bluetooth earphones for take-off. I’m still wondering why they have that policy. Perhaps it’s a safety issue?
The plane accelerates down the runway, absent of any ominous groans or disconcerting wobbles. The lift-off is executed with the smoothness of a seasoned pilot. So far, so good.
Dinner arrives – the real test, according to the online community. The choices are “chicken noodle stir-fry” or the mystery fish (“Some kind of fish, I don’t know,” according to the flight attendant.) Opting for the (presumably) less opaque option, I am presented with a piping hot stir-fry glistening under a hoisin sauce. My only complaint is that the carrots are undercooked. Nevertheless, the meal proves to be entirely edible, surpassing expectations. There’s even a coleslaw salad, a sponge cake dessert and a warm bread roll worthy of a business-class passenger (presented in a wicker basket that wouldn’t look out of place at a picnic). As always, the butter comes near frozen.
Soon after, dinner trays vanish in a ninja-like swoop. I slide my sleep mask on and power down for a solid 10 hours (yes, you could say sleeping on planes is my superpower).
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I wake up to the clinking of breakfast trays. The choice is rice or shrimp pasta. Neither sounds too tempting after a full night’s sleep, but glancing at my neighbour’s plate of gluey, pale shrimp pasta, rice it is.
The plane touches down smoothly, and I step off into a wall of stifling Shanghai heat. I have five hours to stretch my legs and consume food that hopefully resembles actual sustenance before the final leg to Sydney, which I’m surprisingly looking forward to.
As they say, don’t judge a book by its cover or, in this case, an airline by its online reviews.