First Class On MU5106

By Jian Shuo Wang on 2004-02-14 21:15 · Flights

Finally, I managed to go back home at the Valentine’s Day. The airport (both Beijing and Shanghai) were very crowded. I was informed at the counter that the tickets for my flight MU5106 at 11:00 AM were over-solded. There was no seat for me. Fortunately, I was compensated with a free upgrade to First Class. The seat No. is 1A.

There is no big difference for small planes (maybe a AB320). There are 12 first class seats there. The seat was bigger. The major difference was the meal:

© Jian Shuo Wang

Also, I got enough orange juice this time since the drink cart was already available. Ha. This is the first time I fly at First Class.

Beijing Airport

I am very pround to take the Beijing Airport from the plane when it just took off from runway 36R.

From the picture, you can see the second runway has been completed (at the other side of the terminal).

Houses near Shanghai Airport

8 Comments
Flying first class on Valentine's Day? The thought fills yor readers with envy...
— WilliamW · 2004-02-14 22:14
Hope enjoy Valentine's Day with your wife. Love and Peace to all JSW blog subscribors and people on this small planet including Iraq.
— tane · 2004-02-15 01:43
My wife had a similar experience. She was downgraded from Dragonair to Eastern but upgraded from Economy to Business -- spacious seating plus menu! Next time I will too check in at the last second and maybe I will have that luck too!
— Alfred · 2004-02-15 01:49
Haha. Once I saw Air Canada are asking for volunteers to quit from a flight with compensation of free hotel nights and 300 Canadian dollars. It may be a good package.
— Jian Shuo Wang · 2004-02-15 13:10
I had the same upgrading to first class too. That was a great feeling. I guess the God pampper you to have a good shape when you run back to your wife.

But quit from a light and get compensation! No way!, because one day difference is more than the value they can pay me. two weeks ago, I was flying to Egypt to join a local 10-day tour, the airplane was delayed for 7 hours and redirected to another city for transit. I knew there was 24 hours delay in total, and I would miss my first day program---Pyramids. Can you image my disappointness and sadness? Since I had no choice, I had to board on the plane! But I managed to catch a last minute flight to cario when I arrived first trasfer airport and saved my visit to Pyramids.
— ELLEN · 2004-02-15 15:03
The "second runway" which you described is the 36L, which had been there and in use for many years. I think what you have mentioned was the planned new RWY of Beijing, the third RWY (maybe RWY01/19), will be build to the east of RWY36R (on the other side of your take-off view).
— bug · 2004-02-20 15:18
In fact, I was in the terminal when you take this photo, I aboarded the 12:35 flight CA957 for XMN. :)
— bugs · 2004-02-20 15:22
Hello,

I think you don't really know what the first class is. In small flights like you took they don't have any first class but only business. We can find first class only on the longreach flights, and you don't have first class without business. I hope for you to travel in real first class and you will appreciate the difference.

Kind regards

Christopher
— Christopher · 2005-11-08 16:44