Welcome to my Part 2 of my Juneyao Air Flying Experience!
This is probably the nicest special livery on Juneyao's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, registered B-20EC. This special livery is called Oriental Ruby. (Photo: DeltaLAX)
Introduction
I decided to select the flights based on the aircraft type and I went for both 787-9 flights just in case one of the flights gets equipment change to the A320/A321. Ended up getting not only the Boeing 787-9 aircraft type, I flew on the same aircraft, B-207N. What I don't like about this flight is the departure time being far from ideal, 9 in the morning. I could certainly do with more sleep and take the later flight instead but that doesn't matter because I ended up gotten myself a whole row to myself and that is quite rare in air travel these days. So without further ado, let's begin this trip report! Hope you enjoy it and more importantly find the information useful.
About Shanghai Pudong Airport
Shanghai Pudong International Airport is the primary airport in Shanghai that serves both domestic and international flights. This airport was built as the other airport, Shanghai Hongqiao Airport was not able to expand due to the lack of land and a need to find an alternate location was the only choice. Opened in 1999, this airport was built about 30 km east from the city centre and is operated by Shanghai Airport Authority. Currently the airport has 2 terminals with a 3rd starting operation in the near future, it has an impressive 5 runways (runway 17L/35R, 17R/35L, 16L/34R, 16R/34L and 15/33). Currently this airport is a hub for Air China, China Cargo Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, DHL Aviation, FedEx, Juneyao Air, Shanghai Airlines, Spring Airlines, Suparna Airlines and UPS Airlines.
More information of Shanghai Hongqiao Airport in my blog post, coming up soon.
This is Shanghai Airport map (Photo: Airportguide.com)
My time in Shanghai
This is TaiKoo Li Qiantan Shopping Mall. Beautiful decoration, right?
This is Oriential Sports Centre metro station
The famous Nanjing Road (West). I used to work here many years ago, in the early 2000s and many things have changed.
Look at the lovely flowers, beautiful right?
The office buildings near my hotel.
One of the neighbourhoods we visited.
I am definitely impressed how modern the city has become.
This is Nanjing Road (East).
This is one of the must visit places in Shanghai. Just take the tube to Nanjing East Station and enjoy the walk!
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower
Every city has a landmark and this is Shanghai's. (Below)
There is a pedestrian bridge that connects to many mall and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower.
The nightview of Shanghai's Bund.
Exploring the city is convenient with the metro linking you to lots of places.
(Photo: Travelguide)
The map of Shanghai metro
Shanghai Pudong Terminal 1
The following airlines operate at this terminal:
Domestic airlines: China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines and China United
International airlines: Air France, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, KLM, Qantas, Jin Air, Delta Airlines, Sri Lankan and China Airlines (May 2024 update)
For Shanghai Pudong Airport terminals, there are metro stations in both terminals and the new terminal will also be connected to the metro station.
This is the arrival hall
The departure hall.
One of the airline's check-in area.
Domestic Departure
I find the design bizzare with those "spikes" above you.
Personally I don't like the "spikes" attached to the ceiling. I felt uneasy as I had a fear of one of those things dropping.
Once I was done, I made my way to terminal 2. Do note that security check is required each time you enter the airport terminal in China.
I followed the signboard to the metro. It is very easy to get around at the airports and anywhere else in the city.
Shanghai Pudong Terminal 2
Personally I prefer this airport's design better especially in the departure hall.
I always like airports with lots of windows allowing natural light in the building.
'I love SH (Shanghai)' signboard
One of Juneyao's Airbus A320ceo being prepared for departure.
Quite a nice and comfortable terminal to hang out at. The airport does offer Airport WiFi but you need a chinese mobile number to register in order to access.
This is Juneyao's check-in kiosk.
There are restaurants located at the floor above the departure hall (land side).
The view of the departure hall
Few more photos of the departaure hall
Overall, I find this terminal to be pleasant and spacious.
This is the arrival hall.
This is the airport metro train station, the cheapest and most conveninent way to get to town.
The interior of the train.
On the day of departure
I stayed at this hotel not far away from the airport mainly for the complimentary airport shuttle. While the room is old, the bed is comfortable and I managed to get some good rest.
The view from the room.
The ride from the hotel to the airport took about 10 minutes. Once there, I had to join a queue to pass through security before being allowed into the terminal.
The view outside the terminal.
I made my way to the airline's check-in kiosk.
There was no automated check-in kiosk for this airline so I had to join this long queue and it took about 30 minutes to get my boarding pass.
Finally, I received my boarding pass. So if you are flying with any airlines flying out of airports over here, do remember to come early.
Checking my flight status, the boarding gate is D67.
This is the airside of PVG Terminal 2.
There are ample shops and restaurants to check out.
Airline lounges are located at the floor above.
Austrian Airlines, an airline I like to try.
Garuda Indonesia's Airbus A330-300 (PK-GPZ) featuring the 74th anniversary special livery.
A better photo of Austrian's Boeing 777-200ER.
Juneyao's Boeing 787-9 (B-208A)
I walked around a fair bit before the flight departure, it was faily busy that morning.
This was my flight's gate.
The view outside the terminal building.
Another look of Garuda's A330-300.
This is SF Airline's Boeing 757-200F.
Comac's ARJ-21 aircraft
Air China's Airbus A350-900
There were a few flights departing before mine and one of them is Juneyao's Boeing 787-9 flying to Osaka.
Duty Free Shop
Certain parts of the terminal was crowded.
While at the far end, it was quiet.
Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 getting ready for departure.
This Juneyao's Boeing 787-9 was getting ready for departure to Oaska.
Somehow this terminal reminds me very much of Hong Kong Airport.
Air New Zealand's Boeing 787-9
Soon it was time to board, I headed back to my gate.
Time to board! I enjoyed my trip in Shanghai.
Hello again, B-207N!
Another view of my ride
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Livery: Chinese Silk Ribbon
Configuration: C29 Y295
Engines: 2 X GEnx-1B74/75
Delivered in December 2018
780th Boeing 787 built
Age: 5+ Years Old (April 2024)
Built in Everett (PAE)
My flight route: PVG-SIN
Miles: 2,357
My seat: 56A (Photo: Aerolopa.com)
Date of departure: 25th March 2024
Airline: Juneyao Air
Flight: HO1603
Aircraft type: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner:
Registration: B-207N
Route: PVG-SIN
Seat: 56A
Departure terminal: 2
Load: 70% in Y Class
Schedule Departure: 0905
Boarding: 0820
Push Back: 0913
Take Off: 0937
Flight Time: 5 hours 1 mins
Actual Flight Time: 5 hours 4 mins
Schedule arrival: 1500
Actual arrival: 1442
Departure runway: 35R
Arrival runway: 02L
For a more detailed report on this airline's business and economy class products, you can check them out on my part 1 of this trip report over here.
My in-flight experience
Once on board, it was nice to see lots of vacant seats especially at the 2nd cabin of the Economy Class. My seat was chosen by the ground staff, but I was grateful as I had the whole row to myself. Many lucky passengers including myself could convert the seats to a lie flat bed if we want to and I certainly took advantage of it.
Once again, no announcements from the flight deck and the flight purser did the job. For this flight, the crew controlled the window shade so for most parts of cruising, the light was in dimmed mode. There was turbulence from time to time and the seatbelt sign came on a few times. The in-flight service was ok and for the in-flight meal, it was certainly better than my previous flight. Overall, my experience with Juneyao Air's Boeing 787-9 is quite positive. Not the best 787 cabin experience for sure but at least it provides the passengers comfort and convenience especially on the long haul flights.
Economy Class photos
3-3-3 configuration in this cabin.
The adjustable headrest is easy to adjust.
Do note the windowless seats at row 49 A/K and row 52 A/K.
For the window seats in the first cabin (row 31 to 49), the seats are red.
While for the 2nd section of the Economy Class, the window seats are purple.
The combination of the red and purple colour seats in the Economy Class looks great in my opinion.
Considering the emergency row? This is row 51 A/B/C.
This is my seat 56A and I was fortunate to have the whole row to myself.
The in-flight entertainment screen
Legroom space is at 32 inches.
Only a pillow was provided. Blanket was available upon request.
This is how my view looks like when I stretched out my legs.
Unfortunately the window was dirty.
Another view of the airline's beautiful 787-9 Economy Class cabin.
I am definitely a fan of the mood lighting.
The crew were hardworking on my flight, ensure that every passenger was comfortable. Good set of crew definitely.
My T-shirt matches the airline's colours, right?
Guide on how to log onto the airline's WiFi.
Earpiece
Safety Video
Thanks for reading my trip report on Juneyao Air's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner!
The limited selection of hollywood movie.
What was strange is that this Chinese Custom video was shown even though we were flying to Singapore.
At this point, we started our descent into Singapore, flying near Malaysia.
In-Flight Meal
This box consists of a small packet of drink, some snacks and the main meal.
I had a choice between the rice and noodles, I decided on the noodles and it was not bad.
I chose orange juice to wash down my meal.
Window view (Take Off to Landing)
We pushed back after the scheduled departure time, no announcement was made by the Captain and any reason of the delay from the flight purser.
We pushed back 8 mins behind schedule.
This is one of the few airlines that paint the Boeing 787's wing tip with the airline's corperate colour.
We passed by Shanghai Airlines Boeing 737-700 waiting for their next duty.
The Comac ARJ-21 does look like a DC-9.
Boeing has a maintainance hanger at this airport.
Once we reached near the threshold, we waited for this China Eastern A330 to land before we depart.
At this point, we started rolling down the runway.
We lifted off in slightly bumpy conditions.
There were occasional bumps along the way.
For most parts of the flight, the window was locked at dimmed mode.
The windows were unlocked when we started our descent.
When you see this (below), you know you are coming into Singapore on runway 02, and get to enjoy the city view.
Don't mind the dirty windows!
After the few days in China, it was back to normal routine.
With that, our aircraft was parked at G20. It rested for an hour and a half before making its flight back to Shanghai.
My flight summary
Back in Singapore
I tried to transfer to terminal 2 or 3 by bus at the airside but I was told I wasn't allowed to do so unless I am doing a flight connection transfer. The reason was due to security reason and the staff wasn't able to explain further. So with that, I headed out to the land side and catch the crowded bus shuttle to terminal 2.
Follow the sign here and catch the shuttle bus either to Terminal 1/Jewel or Terminal 2/MRT. If you want to get to Terminal 3, you need to get to either Terminal 1 or 2 and take the skytrain over to Terminal 3.
At that point of time, there were lots of people waiting for the shuttle bus and when the bus came, there wasn't anyone to guide and make sure we board the bus in order and as a result, it was all for themselves when the bus shuttle bus opened the doors. Fortunately I managed to squeeze myself into the bus and the next one was coming 9 minutes later? That is not good at all.
I did ask about any plans on linking this terminal with the others, I was advised that there isn't any because of the uneconomical cost. What a bummer!
My rating
Airline Mobile App/Website: 1.5/5
Airport Experience (Shanghai Terminal 2): 2.5/5
In-Flight Experience: 4/5
In-Flight Entertainment: 3/5
In-Flight Service: 4/5
Seat Comfort: 4/5
Cabin Ambiance: 5/5
Cabin Cleanliness (including lavatory): 5/5
Punctuality: 5/5
In-Flight Meal: 3/5
Overall rating: 37/50
Percentage: 74%
Conclusion
Pros:
- Good quality individual In-Flight Entertainment Screen available on the airline's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
- In-flight WiFi is available
- Comfortable Recaro CL3710 seats with 32 inches legroom space
- In-flight meal service available on both flights
- Both flights departed on time and arrived early
- Nice cabin ambiance
Cons
- Basic website
- Unable to do web check-in and selection of my seat on the website/mobile app.
- Unable to use the in-flight WiFi as a chinese registered mobile number is needed in order to log in.
- Not a fan of the In-flight meals as the lack of appetizer, warm bread and dessert was a disappointment in my opinion.
This airline offers a decent in-flight experience for all passengers on the airline's Boeing 787-9 products and what I like is the comfort of the seat and a decent IFE system that is sufficient for medium-long haul routes. While the system is not perfect, the airline is in the right direction and I am sure the airline like many others, will work on improving from feedback of passengers and crew to make it a better experience and more importantly, giving the likes of China Eastern, China Southern and Air China (The 3 main airlines) more competition, that can only be a good thing for us (consumers), more competition means competitive airfare and better in-flight service and product .
Overall, I enjoyed both flights and my return flight was even better with the whole row to myself. There were a lot of vacant seats on the aircraft that flew me back to Singapore, it's a good thing they didn't downsize the aircraft to the A320neo. Fortunately, I did a bit of checking, the 787 Dreamliner was not scheduled to operate to anywhere until a few days later so probably the airline needs to fly this aircraft to somewhere and fortunately on my flight to Singapore, rather than letting it stay on a ground for the few days.
Hope you enjoyed my trip reports on Juneyao Air and thanks for reading!
For my part 1 of Juneyao Air (SIN-PVG flight), click here
Stay tuned for my next flying adventure trip reports in India!
Have a good one!
Charles
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