Avis du vol entre Beijing et Moscow en classe Economique avec China Eastern

Intro

Well, it's time. I've beaten around the bush for too long, but today, we are going to Russia. Today is the day we fly into the unknown, fly into a place where people say that I am going to "get detained for no reason", or "end up in a gulag". Today, we fly China Eastern on their A330-300 from Beijing Daxing to Moscow Sheremetyevo.

But back to the flight, how was MU on their A330-300? Actually, really, really good. Just don't fly this airline if you have an allergy to peanuts 😂. With fantastic service, good legroom, and wifi available, this is a huge step up from the flat-out sad A320Neo. Let's jump in. 

Routing

How I Booked

It's actually quite interesting. Getting to Russia from Europe or the US is quite expensive. Even in economy, you can expect to pay about 300$ OW from Turkey on Aeroflot or Turkish, but flights from East Asia are quite cheap. Why? Because everyone and their grandmother operates a flight to Russia from China 😂.

There were plenty of options when it came to booking, all for around the same price, but I settled on China Eastern as it got me in the earliest, and I had my online class later that evening upon landing.

For 254 USD, I booked the following:

China Eastern A32oNeo Economy Bangkok-Beijing (PKX)

China Eastern A330-300 Economy Beijing (PXK)-Moscow (SVO) (took me 3-5 business days to learn how to pronounce Sheremetyevo ha)

Lounge (Pay To Use)

Before my flight I visited the lounge and this is my recap:

I'm not going to go out of my way and say that this is an exceptional lounge, but honestly, there aren't many great lounges in China anyway (business class). For 25$, I was more than pleased with the money I spent. Having access to a quiet space for working, a few beers, and some food, I probably would've spent close to that in the terminal alone. If you don't have access to a lounge at PKK, I highly recommend paying for this one.

It was fine, and a cool place to wait…

Boarding

Oh man, here goes nothing. After a productive few hours of working in the East Pacific lounge (reviewed here), I headed off to the gate a touch early, inquiring about an upgrade to business. I also happened to spot the Aeroflot A350-900 (select days to PKX) that was set to depart about 25 minutes ahead of us, but was running late. 

Get ready for this, as this was their response:

"Upgrade price is 520 USD (converted for readers), you pay on board full price, it is cheaper here."

I replied, "Can I pay credit card?"

They replied, "You can Alipay me, or cash is okay. We can take you to the ATM".

While I was more than happy to pay for the upgrade, it all seemed a bit sus to me. I get not taking credit cards (not really), but saying to "Alipay me" seems a bit much. Maybe it was lost in translation, but still…

I digress, boarding commenced about 45 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time, at which point business class customers and those with Skyteam status were invited to board. About 15 minutes later, I decided to hop onboard. 

Oh I am so excited…

This is it, the point of no return. Nervous? Yeah, a little bit. And with the Verizon travel pass not working in China, I can't text my mates telling them I'm sh***ing the bed.

Once at the economy door, I was kindly welcomed on board by the lovely cabin crew. I poked my head into Business, and it was virtually empty (3 passengers, and 1 security officer (more on that later)). 

The Seat/Cabin

For economy flyers, there is no better aircraft to fly long-haul than the A330 or the 767. Why? Well, those who are looking to eradicate the middle seat are in luck, as China Eastern follows suit with most airlines here.

The economy class cabin is laid out in a 2-4-2 configuration. While there are two variants of the A330-300 on MU, we were on the one with 262 economy seats and 36 business class seats in a 2-2-2 config. 

Decent legroom here as well…

Cabin at night, well, dark…

Each seat was basic, but featured essentials that were needed:

Power ports

A decent amount of legroom (standard pitch)

An IFE screen and remote

USB-A plug

But no overhead air vents

It was quite interesting, as most people on this flight were Russian tourists or Chinese businessmen. I lived/live in Bali for about 3 years, so I have seen my fair share of Russians, but I really felt like an outlier here 😅.

Put it this way: I couldn't make out another American/British on this flight, and I usually can (even on Kam Air). 

Departure

Am I dumb for going to Russia? Maybe, maybe not. As the cabin door closed about 5 minutes prior to scheduled departure, the cabin crew were rushing through the aisles to make sure everything was in order. Additionally, they had to tell a couple of passengers to sit down.

With the safety announcements being played in English and Mandarin, we pushed back a couple of minutes behind schedule, thanks to the delayed Aeroflot jet next door. 

It was a long taxi out today to 11L, but with goosebumps filling my body, we were wheels up to Moscow about 20 minutes behind schedule. 

Sitting with discomfort, not knowing what is going to come once you land, for 8 hours, is something that is relatively scary, but also builds character (or so I think 😅). You can read hundreds of reports, but you never know what is true until you experience it yourself.

Somalia, Yemen, Kivu, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, and Myanmar are all different beasts from my experience. Sure, there is caution, but you need a fixer for most. Russia, you don't…

Amenities

I don't tend to fly long-haul economy much anymore, since I find really good deals in business class. However, I was very pleased to find that there was a decent selection of amenities on today's flight. A pair of headphones, not just wired, a blanket, and a small pillow. 

For 254$? I'll take it any day of the week and two times over. 

IFE+WIFI

After the last flight, I was expecting the line for the toilet to be the highlight in terms of IFE, but I am pleased to report that the long-haul experience is night and day compared to the A320Neo.

There was a standard-sized screen featuring a small selection of movies. While not the most extensive list I've seen, there were about 30 Western movies or so. 

Additionally, I am pleased to report that there is wifi available at a relatively okay price. Cheaper than gosh-forsaken American Airlines, but more expensive than Japan Airlines. Also, 10 minutes of free wifi? Nice touch, China Eastern 👏.

Guess I can send that message to my mate…

Lavatories

Last up, in terms of hard product (ish), we have the lavatories. Located between the two cabins, you will find two lavatories. Additionally, at the back of the aircraft, you will find two more. While these were kept clean throughout the flight, there was often a long line to use them. People would spend 10-15 minutes in there (I'll explain why I know next). 

A 2 Hour Trip To The Galley (Meal Service)

Okay, this is a bit of a wild one, and some people will call me a "little *****". Fair enough, I'll call myself that, because honestly, I never thought this would be the case.

Approximately 40 minutes after takeoff, the cabin crew came around to distribute meals. For some very peculiar reason, they came to my seat first across the whole economy cabin (weird, I know). Anyways, the choice was between chicken and rice, and something else, and I chose the chicken. However, I saw that each tray came with peanuts, great.

Now, part of the reason I usually fly business class is that I have an airborne allergy to peanuts, but not hazelnuts. None of the doctors know how it developed 2 years ago, as I ate them all my life, and an airborne one at that. With overhead air vents in business, it's usually okay, but this was not that.

Anyways, I headed back to the galley, since most of the seats were full but the security officers' row, and explained it to the cabin crew. They were extremely nice about it and offered to let me sit in their galley seats during the meal service.

Rough one all around. I am fully to blame here and should have done my research. It's on me, and the cabin crew went above and beyond here.

I felt really, really bad. But it showed me something, being back here: the cabin crew work so hard during the meal service, and we need to be more appreciative of them. Oftentimes, we only see what goes on around us, but they were really working above and beyond.

Eventually, the security officer came over to check in on me, using Google Translate (he spoke Mandarin), and said that he could have one of the seats next to him. Honesty, the cabin crew and the security officer: you were truly top-drawer, and I'm sorry for all of this.

I ended up falling asleep for the next 5 hours, until I woke about 30 minutes from Moscow. Wonderful. Then the nerves really kicked in… 

Service

Oftentimes, during my economy reviews, I don't touch on the service aspect as it's hard to judge since it isn't as personalized as business/first. Additionally, in the last report, I heavily criticized China Eastern on this front.

However, I do think it is important that we acknowledge when crews go above and beyond, and they truly did there. They might not have spoken the best English, but pulling up Google Translate to understand what is going on, efficient meal delivery, always a smile, and letting me sit in the jumpseat? That's not a sign of a good crew: that is a sign of a great crew.

So, yeah, huge props to China Eastern here, as this crew was exceptional. I think they were excited to visit Moscow as well!

Arrival

Arising from my sumptuous sleep, we were about 30-40 minutes out from Moscow and had just begun our final descent. While I really wanted to see Moscow out of the window, I knew it wouldn't be fair to switch back. Not just for me, but for my seatmate. The map would have to do for now 😅.

We had a couple of twists and turns before landing on a rainy day in Moscow. Everything seemed to be going normally when, booom, full thrusters, and we are airborne again, just two seconds from touching down. Are you serious? The one time in my past 300 flights I haven't had a window? Go-arounds are so cool…

I talked to the crew after landing, and it was due to a plane not vacating the runway quickly enough. Props for how seriously aviation is taken…. But, come on, the one time 🤦‍♂️.

Eventually, we touched down ahead of schedule, had a short taxi to Terminal C, and we had still arrived 2 minutes ahead of schedule. Not bad, China Eastern, even with a go-around.

At this point, I had a quick thought about the worst possible outcome: would I sleep in the airport tonight? Would I be sent back? Because think about, an American comes into Russia, after just visiting Ukraine. I didn't delete any photos or anything. I trust that they know I am there for tourism, and that's the truth.

Bidding farewell to the crew: it was time to find out… 

Entering Russia As An American (Passport)

Let's start here. When you enter Russia, you need to be extremely strategic, as the odds of you being pulled aside for enhanced interrogation on your first visit are extremely high.

If you arrive at DME when many people from the stans are arriving, my friend told me it can take well over 12 hours for Europeans/Americans, and occasionally over 48 hours for people from the Stans.

So if you are looking for the quickest way into Russia, I recommend the land border, as another friend of mine reached out and said it took an hour. Additionally, I have heard that Sochi is a little bit better in comparison to Moscow. 

But I was in Moscow, and figured that SVO would be the best option… Now that that is out of the way, let me walk you through my experience. 

My Experience

Upon landing from Beijing, I scurried off the plane and made my way towards the foreigner line for passports. I thought, "It's never going to work, but let's give it a shot". It was about a 15-minute wait before the immigration officer waved me over.

He took a while, mentioned to his colleague, "ahh, American", and then eventually told me to go and wait on the benches behind where the people were queuing. Ahh, great, here we go. Well, not only does Sheremetyevo have wifi, but I also had Verizon travel pass in Russia! How about that!

Verizon travel pass does work in Russia!

Anyways, gazing out of the window with virtually nothing to do, I saw an Aeroflot A350 and remembered why I had come to Russia. To see Russia, and this was just one of those moments that I had to let it ride out. 

For the next 2.5 hours, I waited, and I waited. No clue what was going on, vending machines only accepting rubles (or the local card), it was sort of like, "you are in for the long run now".

Eventually, I got a call over the PA to come to an office near the back and to wait outside. For the next 30 minutes, I sat on the floor with another American who was also going through the same process as me. Granted, he had a connecting flight, and props to Russian immigration here, as they sped up the process for him. 

Well, after 3 hours from stepping off the plane, the time had come to step into the interrogation room. It's a very small room, with cameras in the corners, and in front of me was this immigration officer on the phone.


I was a little nervous, you know, especially as I didn't want to hide any pictures of my trip to Ukraine from 8 months ago. He asked me a few questions about why I was visiting, asked what my job was, took a picture of my Student ID, and proceeded to search my phone. Man, those 10 minutes of my life, as he is on the phone with a friend, talking, while going through my phone. Little, nerve-wracking, ya know.


For me I would much rather just be honest about why I was there and trust that they will allow me in. Because if I had hidden pictures and they had found them, it would be even worse.


Honestly, he was pretty nice, didn't take my IMEI number, and gave me back my phone 10 minutes later, kept my passport, and said, "go".


Long story short, I waited for the next 2 hours with a guy from Germany who had been there 7 hours, until my name was called to go get DNA samples taken????


Thankfully, it was a miscommunication, but when I saw this, I was messaging my friend who was waiting outside, and another Russian mate, being like wtf 😅.


Anyways, 5.5 hours later, they took us to a separate line in immigration, with a stack of over 100 passports, and you had to listen closely for your name.

Sorry for the bad pic, I was trying not to take too many lol 

2 minutes later, I was stamped through, and with no checked baggage, I was outside within 5 minutes. Customs is just a belt where you put all of your bags.

<i style="">Important: they give you a card which you must keep with you at all times to check into hotels and to leave the country. DO NOT LOSE THIS.

A quick snapshot of that night in Russia

My friend was waiting for me for all of that time, picked me up, and we went off to explore Moscow that evening, not going to sleep until 9 am. Ahh, have to love it sometimes. 

I'll share the Moscow bonus in the next report of the Rossiya Sukhoi. Stay tuned and thanks so much for reading!