This is getting a bit old but I'd like to post my experience of a trip to both China and North America back in 2010.
That year I went on my usual trip to China to see my relations and also to catch the World Exposition in Shanghai. I also wanted to get my fix of steam trains in the US, most notably Colorado, so I searched for an airfare that was able to take in both.
Eventually, I was able to obtain what appeared to be a very good airfare with Air China and United for $1450 from Melbourne to San Francisco, with CA from Melbourne to Shanghai and United from Shanghai to San Francisco.
This was an economy restricted airfare and although both airlines were Star Alliance members and I was a SQ frequent flyer, this airfare allowed no accrual of points other than those earnt by paying for the ticket with my credit card.
I've travelled on Air China before and this time around there definitely seems to be an improvement. The plane was on time flying out of Melbourne late in the morning, arriving mid-evening at Shanghai's Pudong International airport. You get two mediocre Asian meals (which were still better than the slop now served in Qantas domestic) and are caught in the jumble of a myriad Chinese nationals, many travelling with their children and therefore an appropriate noise level. Leg room is just about tolerable for a man of my height and weight (5'0'', 50kg). The main point of difference is that compared to five years ago, this flight now came with individual entertainment screens for each and every passenger. I was even able to play a few games on my system, although admittedly the unit was not fully functional and a proportion of the buttons and touch screen functions did not work.
After a week in Shanghai and around the Yangtse Delta, I left for North America on United Airlines. I ended up sitting next to a middle-aged couple who were Shanghai nouveau-riche whose 24-year-old daughter was attending graduate school in San Francisco. They lamented that it cost them so much money but they said they felt fortunate that they were at least able to send their girl to the States to study as they were able to earn enough money running their own real estate agency in Shanghai's outer suburbs. They also suggested to me that at 30 I was on the verge of being doomed to being terminallly unmarriageable. Ha!
The service on United Airlines was disappointing. We got two edible meals; there was no individual entertainment unit and all we could do was watch the predefined movie on a common screen, which, from my seating position I could barely see and in any case I had zero interest in anyway (it was some children's movie -what's entertainment without violence?). In those confined spaces I found it very difficult to get any sleep. The whole trip just seemed incredibly boring and without access to any entertainment, I found my own alternative: looking at my watch and counting down the minutes.
We got into San Francisco only 45 minutes late and therefore I was able to get my next flight onto Vancouver - by a fair margin, as it turned out, because it was also late due to fog. I was due to continue on Air Canada through to Prince Rupert, BC. Even though I was merely transiting in San Fransisco we were forced to collect our luggage, go through customs and check in from scratch, thereby wasting more time. The lines were absolutely ginormous.
That year I went on my usual trip to China to see my relations and also to catch the World Exposition in Shanghai. I also wanted to get my fix of steam trains in the US, most notably Colorado, so I searched for an airfare that was able to take in both.
Eventually, I was able to obtain what appeared to be a very good airfare with Air China and United for $1450 from Melbourne to San Francisco, with CA from Melbourne to Shanghai and United from Shanghai to San Francisco.
This was an economy restricted airfare and although both airlines were Star Alliance members and I was a SQ frequent flyer, this airfare allowed no accrual of points other than those earnt by paying for the ticket with my credit card.
I've travelled on Air China before and this time around there definitely seems to be an improvement. The plane was on time flying out of Melbourne late in the morning, arriving mid-evening at Shanghai's Pudong International airport. You get two mediocre Asian meals (which were still better than the slop now served in Qantas domestic) and are caught in the jumble of a myriad Chinese nationals, many travelling with their children and therefore an appropriate noise level. Leg room is just about tolerable for a man of my height and weight (5'0'', 50kg). The main point of difference is that compared to five years ago, this flight now came with individual entertainment screens for each and every passenger. I was even able to play a few games on my system, although admittedly the unit was not fully functional and a proportion of the buttons and touch screen functions did not work.
After a week in Shanghai and around the Yangtse Delta, I left for North America on United Airlines. I ended up sitting next to a middle-aged couple who were Shanghai nouveau-riche whose 24-year-old daughter was attending graduate school in San Francisco. They lamented that it cost them so much money but they said they felt fortunate that they were at least able to send their girl to the States to study as they were able to earn enough money running their own real estate agency in Shanghai's outer suburbs. They also suggested to me that at 30 I was on the verge of being doomed to being terminallly unmarriageable. Ha!
The service on United Airlines was disappointing. We got two edible meals; there was no individual entertainment unit and all we could do was watch the predefined movie on a common screen, which, from my seating position I could barely see and in any case I had zero interest in anyway (it was some children's movie -what's entertainment without violence?). In those confined spaces I found it very difficult to get any sleep. The whole trip just seemed incredibly boring and without access to any entertainment, I found my own alternative: looking at my watch and counting down the minutes.
We got into San Francisco only 45 minutes late and therefore I was able to get my next flight onto Vancouver - by a fair margin, as it turned out, because it was also late due to fog. I was due to continue on Air Canada through to Prince Rupert, BC. Even though I was merely transiting in San Fransisco we were forced to collect our luggage, go through customs and check in from scratch, thereby wasting more time. The lines were absolutely ginormous.
