MU728 HKG-PVG 25th May 2006 (Business) + Maglev.
Posted: 29 May 2006, 13:56Our flight to Shanghai was on on China Eastern's MU728 at 1400. we arrived about 1130 and used the shared lounge near gate 15 which had a good selection of light snacks and drinks.
Boarding was called at 1330 and we walked the short distance to gate 20 where our A330-300 was waiting.
We were given a very warm welcome by the cabin crew and told to chose a seat anywhere as there were only 8 pax in J today. This A330 was quite new and the condition of the cabin reflected this. For 36 more than an economy fare it was well worth it even on this short 2 hour flight.
Once in the air we were given a choice of a Chinese or Western dish for lunch and, wishing to get into the spirit of things I went for the local option of Dim Sum, cake and fruit. Red or White wine was offered along with soft drinks, tea and coffee which was all very pleasant.
After dinner it was time for a fiddle with the comprehensively adjustable seats complete with 'massage' feature. Never have I seen so many buttons just to move a chair around!
These are the seats at the extremeties of their movement.
The cabin crew were very attentine and were almost constantly circling the cabin. All too soon we were approaching PVG in pretty bouncy conditions. I noted the the IFE remained on all the way to the gate unlike V-PORT.
It was a pretty crappy day in Pu Dong but this didn't dampen my spirits as I was looking forward to having a blast on the Maglev!
What an impressive piece of kit this is! The fare for the 30 kilometre, 8 min journey is 50RMB (about 3.50!) but we opted for the extravagence of paying double that to travel 'VIP' class.
Now, not wishing to allow my enthusiasm for things such as this to detract from the hard facts but, this 274mph showpiece is actually pretty pointless. It takes you somewhere else in Pu Dong that requires a taxi to get you to Shanghai itself and on this day that journey took 60 mins.
However, back to the Maglev itself...
Flat out at 431kph/274mph!
My first real view of China on a German train!
Now for the wild taxi ride into town![:0]
Regards
John