Review of Hainan Airlines flight from Hangzhou to Beijing in Business

INTRODUCTION

Hi and welcome to my second flight report! After my first solo trip on the COMAC C919 from Beijing To Hangzhou, it's now time for the return leg. For this flight back to Capital Airport, I decided to go luxury so I paid extra for a business class ticket on board Hainan Airline's brand new A330-900neo. Hainan Airlines is well known as a Skytrax 5-star airline and the best airline in China mainland. It was even ranked the 10th best airline in the world! I was really surprised how highly rated Hainan Airlines were. I was really excited to try a business class product of a brand new aircraft and i really wanted to see what this top-rated airline offers.

Click this link if you want to know more about Hainan Airline's Awards:
https://www.hainanairlines.com/HUPortal/dyn/portal/DisplayPage?COUNTRY_SITE=CA&SITE=CBHZCBHZ&LANGUAGE=GB&PAGE=AWAD

MY FIRST SOLO TRIP

XIAOSHAN T4 ARRIVALS

I hopped out of the COMAC C919 from my previous flight and headed straight to Arrivals so I could walk to terminal 3. HGH's terminal 4 is modern, spacious, clean, and had many shops and restaurants. It's one of my favorite airport terminals I have ever been to. Since I've already talked about the departure area (after security) of the terminal in my first flight report, I'll start from arrivals this time. At first, I went though a hallway that had a really tall ceiling. Right before the baggage claim area, there were beautiful Chinese-style umbrellas hanging from the ceiling as decoration, plus a huge screen showing all the airport’s destinations. I also noticed some displays about the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics beside the "Welcome to Hangzhou" sign. The baggage claim section of HGH's terminal 4 was big, modern, and was really bright compared to the baggage claim in PEK's terminal 3.

After getting out of baggage claim, I saw a good amount of shops and restaurants nearby. Even though there weren't as many shops and restaurants as in the departure area after security, there was still a good variety to choose from. There was also a huge, impressive atrium with a really tall, cool-looking structure in the center. The whole area felt modern and lively, with plenty of space and lots to look at. There were also Chinese New Year decorations everywhere, like Chinese knots and “Happy New Year” signs etc.

WALKING TO TERMINAL 3

Since Hainan Airlines flies out of HGH's Terminal 3, I had to walk from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3. The signs said it would take about 10 minutes, but I actually got there much faster than that! Good thing there were clear signs everywhere pointing toward Terminal 3, and there’s a straight, covered hallway that connects the two terminals directly. The walk was easy and straight forward, so I didn’t get lost at all. 

The Hallway Connecting T4 and T3:

A Cool-Looking Metro Entrance in the middle of the Hallway:

HGH TERMINAL 3 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I entered Terminal 3 through the arrivals area. The exterior of the terminal looked nice, but the interior was a bit outdated. There were only a few small restaurants/shops before security. Compared to Terminal 4, it was a massive downgrade. I'm quite disappointed, and I regretted leaving terminal 4's departure section (after security) so early.

Outside View of HGH's Terminal 3:

Terminal 3 Arrivals:

Terminal 3 Departures (Before Security):

Check-in counters:

A closer look at the check-in counters:

Departure Information board (looks rather old and outdated):

A few selections of restaurants (these are all of them):

HGH Terminal 3 Information Index:

WALKING BACK TO TERMINAL 4

Even though I couldn't go back to the departures area (after security) of terminal 4, I could still walk back to terminal 4 and hang out at the public areas before security, since I still had plenty of time until check-in starts. So I walked back to terminal 4 through a different connecting hallway. 

This hallway is smaller than the previous one. It has almost nobody in it, while the previous one was much busier. The only downside of this hallway is that there aren’t any moving walkways, so the walk takes a bit longer compared to the previous hallway.

THE OVERNIGHT REST AREA

At the end of the hallway, there's a small overnight resting area with many lounging chairs with plants surrounding the whole area. There's a small counter for you to put your stuff in between the lounging chairs that contains 2 cupholders and a power socket for your electronic device/s. There are also long white benches with armrests dividing it. I really don't understand why they put those armrests dividing the bench. I definitely can't sleep in such uncomfortable conditions. The white benches are already uncomfortable since there isn't any soft padding, the armrests made the benches even worse. 

When I arrived at the resting area, It was 6pm. Unfortunately, I was not able to relax there because its an "overnight resting area". The resting area wasn't open yet so I had to find somewhere else to chill. 

Even though the resting area had some uncomfortable benches because of the stupid armrests dividing the benches, I still liked the resting area. Majority of the seats are the comfortable lounging chairs and having a free overnight resting area in the airport is rare. Only a few airports have these free sleeping areas. However, I still recommend staying in a hotel if you have a long layover because you can get proper sleep and have a comfortable night. The lights are on 24/7, so it's extremely hard to fall asleep properly. The lounging chairs in the overnight rest area do look comfortable, but staying on them for hours will definitely be miserable. And the white benches? TOTAL NIGHTMARE!

You get what you pay for.

BACK AT TERMINAL 4

Terminal 4 Check-In Area (including the small exhibition):

After passing by the overnight resting area, I walked past terminal 4's arrival section again and went up the escalators at the big atrium all the way to the departures floor. The check-in area was large, modern, clean, and had less people than in terminal 3, making the whole terminal quieter. There's also a small exhibition of traditional Chinese items. I didn't go in the small exhibition because I have no interest in these stuff, but I have to say that it's a nice touch to add a small exhibition in the check-in area.

Terminal 4 Interactive Airport Map:

I also checked out the interactive map machines in T4. They’re way better than the fixed information boards in T3. You can zoom in and out, click to view details, see every floor plan, find check-in counters, gates, and the metro. You can even check real-time flight information. All you need to do is touch the screen.

I didn't really take many pictures since my phone was almost out of battery, and I didn't want to do anything else but finding a nice place to rest. I ended up resting in Starbucks at the arrivals floor in terminal 4 since I didn't find any comfortable seating areas. The Starbucks in terminal 4 had almost nobody, while the Starbucks in terminal 3 was packed with people. To get this spot, I bought a cup of iced tea that costed me 26RMB (3.7622USD).

When the clock reached 7pm, There were still 10 more minutes until check-in started. I threw away my trash, packed up my stuff, left Starbucks, went to the connecting hallway, and headed back to terminal 3 so I could head to the lounge ASAP. 

CHECK-IN

When I arrived Hainan Airline's check-in counter, there wren't any people in the business class check-in line. I was the first in line. Since I had already checked myself in using Hainan Airline's APP, all I needed was the physical boarding pass as a souvenir, making the whole process even faster.

I was surprised The boarding pass I received wasn’t issued by Hainan Airlines in one of Hainan Airline's hub, the boarding pass was issued by HGH. It was a stunning year of the horse limited-edition design. The boarding pass used red and gold, which is the color scheme for Chinese New Year, which symbolizes good luck and joy. The boarding pass featured a red horse motif stamp and Chinese calligraphy “Ma Yue Qian Shan Ying Xin Chun” (“Horses Gallop Through Mountains for the New Year”) on the top center of the boarding pass. It was a lovely souvenir to bring back home with.

SECURITY

Since I got myself a business class ticket, I had access to the VIP security area. The reception area before the VIP security looked nice and had Chinese New Year elements like 马年大吉(Wishing you good fortune in the year of the horse), red gold color scheme, fireworks and lanterns on the reception desk. However, the security area itself was small and kinda outdated. Even though the VIP security area in HGH's terminal 3 was outdated, there was almost nobody there, which made the whole process extremely fast. 

TERMINAL 3 DEPARTURES (AFTER SECURITY)

The departures area after security in terminal 3 was better than I expected. Even though it's still a bit outdated and not as good as the departures area in terminal 4. There are plenty of shops and restaurants right after security, giving you many choices for food and shopping. The whole area is clean and well maintained, making it a  comfortable place to chill. 

THE HNA CLUB LOUNGE

I really liked where the HNA lounge is placed. The lounge was right next to the VIP security area. I didn't need to do any long walks. All I did was going up an escalator, and I was there. Very convenient.

There's two lounges right after VIP security: Hainan Airline's HNA CLUB and Loong Air's VIP lounge.

The Outside of the Lounge:

Merchaindise:

There was a lot of Hainan Airline's merchandise for sale in the reception area of the lounge, Including keychains, model of planes and engines and more. I really liked the engine model but I didn't want to spend any extra money, and by backpack was too small.

Something I really like about airport lounges in mainland China is that minors are allowed to stay by themselves. In many other countries, you have to be at least 18 or even 21 years old if you want to stay in lounges without an adult accompanying you.

The Inside of the Lounge:

The lounge felt new, clean and comfortable. There were many seating areas that felt like business class seats, private rooms with television, and even a tea table. There's also a buffet counter with desserts/snacks, refrigerators for drinks, a small counter with spices for noodles, and a screen for ordering noodles. There was a really nice staff that helped me ordering. But still, the lounge was worse than I expected. The lounge was small, and the options of food and drinks were a bit limited. Since Hangzhou is one of the hubs of Hainan Airlines, I thought the lounge world be big with a large variety of food. Overall, This lounge was a bit disappointing for a 5-star airline that was ranked the 10th best airline in the world. But at least I was allowed to enter.

My Seat:

I sat in one of the armchairs that looked like business class seats in the very left corner of the lounge. The armchair was comfortable and had lots of privacy. It includes a light strip that could turn on and off, a power socket for your electronic device, and an adjustable tray table. The tray table was small and a bit wobbly. But overall, I liked the seat.

My Food:

I got 片儿川 (noodle soup in Hangzhou style) and some desserts from the buffet counter for dinner. The noodles tasted good, but not perfect. I really enjoyed the desserts. It would've been better if there's Coke in the lounge.

BOARDING

When the clock reached 8:30pm, the staff announced that my flight started boarding. I quickly grabbed some snacks and tissue paper and headed to gate B24. The gate was pretty close to the lounge, I didn't do any long walking.

Because of my business class ticket, boarding went extremely fast for me. I got to use the VIP line, which meant I could skip the long boarding line.

B-32MU

Here is the plane that took me back to Beijing:

The seat map above is from Hainan Airlines, but the information of the business class row numbers are inaccurate. On the actual aircraft, the business class rows are 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18.

My flight was operated by B‑32MU, Hainan Airlines’ brand‑new Airbus A330‑900neo. This plane is actually mainland China’s very first A330neo, delivered in late 2025, so it’s still extremely new. It features the latest Rolls‑Royce Trent 7000 engines, which are quiet and efficient, plus Airbus’ modern Airspace cabin. The jet has 24 business class seats and 277 economy seats. Flying on such a fresh, milestone aircraft made my first solo trip feel extra special.

THE CABIN

When I entered the aircraft, I was amazed at how fresh and clean the cabin was. Everything looked brand new, with spotless seats, tidy cabins, and that nice new-plane smell. You could really tell this was a recently delivered aircraft, and it made the whole experience feel even more special.

The cabin featured Hainan Airlines’ beautiful 梦之羽(Dream Feather) interior design. The color scheme was mainly light grey in the economy class cabin and warm champagne gold in the business class cabin . The interior design makes the whole cabin feel luxury and comfortable.

The economy class seats of this brand new A330neo is in a standard 2-4-2 configuration (the last few rows are in a 2-3-2 configuration). The economy class seats on this plane feels surprisingly premium. At first, I thought it was premium economy because of the special side privacy flaps on each seat. These side flaps are similar to the one found in Air China COMAC C919 business class but the ones on this seat is smaller. Every seat comes with a large 13.3-inch 4K inflight entertainment screen. There's both USB-A and USB-C charging ports. The Soft mood lighting adds to the pleasant atmosphere. The seats offer good recline and adjustable headrests. This economy class provides a comfortable and high quality experience for long haul travel.

MY SEAT

I was seated in seat 16A. The 4th row, and also the 3rd last row of business class.

The seat came with a pair of comfortable slippers and a thick blanket. The slippers felt soft and cozy for walking around the cabin, and the blanket was warm enough to keep me comfortable throughout the flight, even when the cabin got a little cool.

The seat has a lot of privacy and feels comfortable when you sit on it. The headrest is adjustable, and there’s also a convenient coat hook near the seat. It would be better if the armrest could be lowered so I could get more horizontal space during bed mode. The seats are slightly narrow for business class; there’s not even enough space to include a legrest, and storage is limited to just a small cabinet and a tiny space under the footrest.

The tray table is stored right below the IFE screen. You can access it by clicking the silver button on the left side of the IFE. It’s a quite big and feels really clean and sturdy. One convenient thing is that you can slide it forward slightly if you need to get up and go to the lavatory without having to fold the whole table away completely or crawling under the tray table and crawling back.

The IFE screen is large and bright, with 4K quality. It’s also a touch screen, which responded quickly to my taps. The controller is placed slightly above the small counter on the side. I liked that I could use either the touch screen or the controller, depending on what I was doing. The IFE includes a great selection of movies TV shows, games, and my favorite: the flight map.

My favorite thing about this seat is the IFE remote. Unlike most long-haul business class seat products that I flown before, the IFE remote on this plane are not like gaming consoles or phones. Instead, it looks more like an actual remote. The remote is simple, with a few main buttons: volume, reading light, call flight attendant, home, back, and play/pause. Like the other long haul business class products that I flown before, there's also a screen. But this one is way smaller and it only shows the flight time. You can turn it off by clicking the power button beside the screen. But that's not why I love this remote so much. I really love this remote because of the trackpad. The trackpad is easy to use and it works extremely smoothly. This IFE remote is way more useful and practical than the "gaming console".

There is a small counter beside your seat that includes a USB-A and a 60W USB-C charging port. There's also a power socket if you want to use your on charging block. Beside the charging ports, there's a a place to plug-in the headphones. There's also a complimentary bag of nuts put on the side table by the cabin crew at the start of the flight.

Above the power ports, there’s a small storage cabinet for personal items. The headphones are stored inside the cabinet, and there’s also a cupholder with a complimentary bottle of mineral water. On the inside of the cabinet door, there’s a small mirror, which is convenient if you need to fix your makeup or tidy up. The only downside to this storage space is the cabinet door. It was really difficult to open — even one of the cabin crew members struggled to open it at first.

The biggest downside of this seat is the footrest. For me, the footrest was small, especially during bed mode. I couldn’t move my feet during bed mode. And since the seat pocket is located right beside the footrest, my leg space is even smaller. And At 180 cm (5 feet 11 inches) tall, I found that I had to place my legs on the footrest if I wanted to stretch them out fully. Even with the seat reclined, my legs were just a bit too long to extend completely without using the footrest. And because of my height, my feet touches the end of the footrest while in bed mode, making it really uncomfortable. This seat is not suitable for long haul routes, except for bulkhead seats. I actually wanted seat 11K because bulkhead seats offer more legroom and a large footrest. However, this seat was locked during advance seat selection, and by the time I checked in online, it had already been taken.

This seat reminded me of the Singapore Airlines regional business class seat I took at the beginning of 2025, flying from Kuala Lumpur back to Beijing via Singapore. Both seats are really similar, but Hainan Airlines’ version is slightly better since there’s no panel blocking the window.

Picture of Singapore Airline's Regional Business Class:

I noticed a small bug with the IFE at the start of the flight. It only showed a flight time of 1 hour 21 minutes, which was way off for the HGH–PEK route. When we took off, it updated to 1 hour 51 minutes. That is the correct duration. It just took a while for the system to show the right number, which was a little odd at first!

PRE-DEPARTURE

When I got to my seat, the flight attendants handed out hot towels and some cold coconut water right away. It was a nice, refreshing start to the flight. The flight attendant also told me that there would be a light snack meal and asked whether or not I want some. I was really surprised that there would be food service because when I was booking the ticket, the APP said there won't be any food service. Free extra food? Let's goooooo!

Once the plane doors were closed, the IFE began playing the safety video. It was a creative collaboration between Hainan Airlines and IHG. One thing I noticed, though, was that the business class cabin shown in the video looked more spacious than the one I was sitting in. This really made me want to try Hainan Airlines’ newest 787 business class cabin in the future.

TAXI AND TAKEOFF

The pushback went smoothly and we began taxiing. We had a long waiting time because there was an Air China 737 landing. Once the runway was clear, we lined up and started our takeoff roll. The engines spooled up strongly, and we lifted off smoothly into the sky.

Emirates A350 Departing to Dubai:

Taxiing to the Runway:

Taking Off:

CRUSING ALTITUDE

Once the aircraft reached cruising altitude, I was hoping to use Wi‑Fi. But surprisingly, this brand new A330neo didn’t have Wi‑Fi. I thought it would have onboard Wi‑Fi like the A330-300 and the 787s. I looked through the games on the IFE and saw they had a knockoff version of Uno. I decided to play 2048 instead, but I’m really bad at it and I couldn’t get a high score no matter how hard I tried.

Here's a Picture of the Seat in Bed Mode:

Is this Hangzhou's skyline? :

Unknown Airport (Nanjing Lukou?):

Right before heading to the lavatory, I was standing right at the door when the flight attendant asked me if I wanted an eye-mask and a pair of earplugs. I was surprised that Hainan Airlines offered these on a flight less than 2 hours. On other airlines, you only get eye-masks and earplugs on long‑haul flights. I really liked this little thoughtful touch, it made the whole flight even more premium.

THE LAVATORY

The lavatory at the front of the aircraft was clean and spacious. There was soap and hand lotion available. I didn’t like that the soap wasn’t in the dispenser beside the sink. Instead, it was on the small shelf right next to the hand lotion. The soap was kinda hard for me to find. I really liked the rose decoration on the mirror and the Boeing 747 scented sachet on the door. Overall, It's a good lavatory.

LATE NIGHT SNACK

My late night snack was served right after my toilet trip. I was served a cold ham sandwich, a small bowl of salad, some fruits, a small cup of yogurt, and some more refreshing coconut water. For a 5 star airline ranked top 10 in the world, the meal was quite disappointing and felt below expectations. The taste wasn’t bad, but it definitely didn’t meet the standard I expected. Air China's economy light snack from my previous flight to Hangzhou was way better than this. It’s nice that Hainan Airlines serves light snacks on such late flights for business class passengers, but the quality of the food is definitely not 5-star level. 

DESCENT AND ARRIVAL

After the meal service, I tried to connect my AirPods to the IFE, but they didn’t work. I wasn’t sure if it was my problem or an issue with the system itself. So I just listened to music on my own for the rest of the flight.

Soon enough, the captain announced that we would start our descent. I could feel the aircraft descending gently as we got closer to the airport.

Passing By Daxing Airport (PKX):

As a old Beijing'er who’s never flown into PKX before, I thought to myself that this airport isn’t really in Beijing. It actually sits on the border of Beijing’s Daxing District and Langfang in Hebei Province.

The landing was smooth and stable, with no sudden bumps or discomfort. After touchdown, we taxied slowly all the way to the gate. The cabin crew thanked everyone for flying and prepared for disembarkation, as I got ready to step foot in Capital Airport.

Some More Pictures:

China Eastern A330 Shanghai Disneyland Special Livery:

Taxiing to Gate:

Disembarking the Aircraft:

Another Picture of B-32MU:

ARRIVAL AT TERMINAL 2

Hainan Airlines operates from terminal 2 of PEK instead of terminal 3. PEK's terminal 2 is one of the biggest hubs of Hainan Airlines, even larger than it's Haikou hub in Hainan. 

PEK's Terminal 2 is small and old, but it's well maintained. Even though it’s not as modern as other terminals, everything looks clean and in good condition. Terminal 2 also has a good number of shops and restaurants. But all of them were closed when I arrived since it was almost midnight. Something I really like about Terminal 2 is the short walking distances. It’s very convenient compared to bigger airport terminals. However, I first arrived at the west satellite hall of Terminal 2, which meant I had to take a bus to the main terminal. The west satellite hall used to be Terminal 1, but it fully merged into Terminal 2 on May 3, 2020. 

I really liked the plant decorations on the exit sign and the waiting area at the exit of the satellite hall. It felt cozy and made the old terminal a bit more modern.

Unfortunately, there was no bus for VIP passangers, so I had to squish in the regular bus. Good thing the bus ride was quick.

After the bus ride, there wasn't any long extra walk to the baggage claim. The baggage claim area of Terminal 2 was old, but it was clean and easy to navigate.

Since I didn't have any checked baggage, I went straight to the exit. The arrivals section in PEK's Terminal 2 was simple and old, but it was well maintained and felt clean and tidy.

I headed straight to the parking lot. I was surprised how close the parking lot is to the terminal. It was just across the street, which made everything so quick and easy. This is way more convenient than Terminal 3. I remembered going through a really long hallway and walking a huge distance just to get from Terminal 3 to the parking lot. 

This marks the end of my flight review. Thanks for reading along!