Xiamen Airlines review: 737-800 business class Xiamen to Chengdu

Every now and then I get comments on my videos from people who have no idea how difficult it is to create these airline reviews. The only thing they see is me flying around in business class, making comments about the things that happen along the way. “Get a real job” they say – or even worse: “people like you disgust me”. Well, to those fine folks, all I can say is that you’re really gonna hate this review of Xiamen Airlines 737-800 business class.

MF8441
Xiamen, China (XMN) – Chengdu, China (CTU)
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Aircraft: 737-800
Registration: B-1301
Duration: 2 hours 36 minutes
Seat: 12A (business class)

My full review of Xiamen Airlines 737-800 business class from Xiamen to Chengdu

Once past customs and the security checkpoint after deplaning from the flight from LAX, I was really happy to be walking around the main terminal and getting the blood flowing through my veins again. I wasn’t necessarily craving lounge access this morning. Just walking around and getting the chance to stretch out a bit was good enough.

Unfortunately, it was a bit too early to check in for my connection to Chengdu so all I could do was hang out in the ticketing hall for a bit and catch up on work stuff.

It took about an hour of waiting to be able to check in, and finally having a boarding pass in hand marked the official start of my second ever Xiamen Airlines review. If this was going to be anything like my Xiamen 787-9 business class experience, I was in for a real treat this morning.

Sitting in the lounge for two hours was fun, but it got to the point where it was getting so busy and noisy that I figured I’d have more fun wandering the terminal instead. There was only an hour or so to go before they started boarding the flight, so it wasn’t a big deal to cut my lounge time short.

Besides – what good is an Xiamen Airlines review if I can’t say anything about the terminal at XMN itself? Not like there’s anything really amazing to mention about it or anything. It’s certainly nice, but there aren’t very many quiet places to sit in quiet solitude during peak hours. I ended up sitting in a high-traffic spot in front of a souvenir shop while I waited for my flight to board.

The boarding process

Boarding a flight in a country where I understand none of the language is always hilariously good fun. A single high-volume (and very intense) announcement was made in Chinese precisely at the scheduled boarding time, which was followed by a mad rush of passengers towards the gate door. I understood none of it, but wasted no time fighting for my own space in line.

Our gate today was a bus gate – which seemed odd considering that the stairs leading to the jet bridge which led to the plane was connected directly to the terminal. Thankfully I’ve reached a point in life where I don’t dwell on the things I can’t understand, and any questions and/or concerns about the design of this terminal evaporated quickly as I worked on getting more content for this Xiamen Airlines review.

Seat overview (it’s better if you read that with a thick Chinese accent)

Before continuing, I think it’s important to let you know that this flight was supposed to be a 787-8. That’s what it said it was going to be when I made the reservation 4 weeks prior, so you can imagine the disappointment I was feeling as I stepped onboard this 737-800. However, it’s really hard to hold a grudge when there are really friendly flight attendants there to greet you with a smile.

As expected, the business class cabin of this aircraft was hardly anything to get excited about. It wasn’t any nicer than what I experienced in Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class six months ago, though I will give them extra credit for the generous application of neon blue seat fabric. Still, I can’t help but to think that a Xiamen Airlines 787-8 review would be much more fun. And a heck of a lot more interesting.

The flight attendants were extremely proactive and offered me the following (in this exact order):

• Cold towel
• The latest copy of The Beijing Review (opened to page 1)
• Slippers (unpackaged for me and placed directly at my feet)
• Drinks (a choice of orange juice or water)

Departing Xiamen

I’ve heard mixed reviews of Xiamen Airlines lately, but from where I was sitting, I was starting to think that this may be one of the best airlines I’ve ever experienced. The business class seats on this rinky-dink 737 weren’t anything special, but the service was just as good as what I experienced in JAL 787-8 business class (which is saying a lot considering how good JAL is). I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was as good as what I experienced in Qatar A380 business class, but it was something special nonetheless.

Our departure out of XMN was fairly routine, right down to the thick layer of haze which prevented any really amazing departure pics. There’s more detail in the video than what I’m showing here, but trust me – you’re not missing much.

I’m always paranoid about putting on slippers until the plane is hurtling towards cruising altitude (you never know when something is going to go wrong), but it felt great once I traded my trusty red travel sneakers for those navy blue slippers.

The meal service

As far as I could tell, there were two meal choices on this flight over to Chengdu this morning: Chinese and (kinda) western. Would it be a proper Xiamen Airlines review if I chose the (kinda) western option? I think not. Therefore, my mind was made up even before I looked at the menu!

On a side note, it’s always funny when I inform an Asian flight attendant that I prefer the “traditional” option because most seem surprised (and delighted) that I would be so bold. At least that’s my experience…

The food (all of it – right down to the last grain of rice) was incredibly good. Much better than what I experienced in China Airlines 777-300ER business class between Taipei and Seoul a few years ago. And probably equal to the food in Air China A330-200 business class.

Part of the reason for the meal being so good was the fact that it was somewhat light. I’m not the biggest fan of really heavy airline meals (like I recently experienced in Vietnam Airlines A321 business class), and I found this to be the perfect balance of quantity vs weight. Well done Xiamen Airlines!

In-flight entertainment

You’ve probably noticed by now that there weren’t any video screens carved into the back of those 1990’s era seats. It’s hard not to notice stuff like that these days, especially when airlines like Delta are putting really large video screens in thier domestic US first class product (as you can see here in my Delta A321 first class review).

Anyway, the flight attendants handed out portable video players which were stuffed full of good movies and TV shows.

I personally didn’t find the quality of the catalog to be on par with a western airline, but that is to be expected since this is China after all and they heavily promote Chinese movies and television dramas. If you’re curious, I acted like an ignorant American and watched “Johnny English Strikes Again.”

The quality and performance of these portable video tablets was really good. The only real complaint I have is the fact there was no way to hang it on the back of the seat in front of me. Every other viewing location I tried (on the tray table and center arm rest) was nothing short of awkward.

The descent and landing into Chengdu

By the time we started the descent into Chengdu, I couldn’t help but to think that Xiamen Airlines is the best airline that nobody has ever heard of. Really!

Landing in Chengdu was really interesting. I’ve never been this deep into China before, and everything that I’ve heard about this amazing city has been, well…amazing.

The airport seemed to be quite interesting as well. I didn’t expect it to be as large as it was, it was really neat to see all the different kinds of traffic here (both international and domestic).

Final thoughts

There are so many things that Xiamen Airlines is doing right. From the professionalism of the cabin crews to the food they serve at mealtime, I was impressed with all of it and I’m very much looking forward to flying with them again.

My only real criticisms don’t really have anything to do with the airline at all. You see, the only point during this journey from Los Angeles to Chengdu where I felt slightly out of place and confused was at the Xiamen airport. Yeah, it’s a nice enough facility, but it’s definitely showing it’s age and I didn’t really care for how small and cramped it was. It’s felt like a dark and gloomy place – at least compared to other big and beautiful airports in China such as Beijing and Shanghai.

I know. I probably sound really nitpicky complaining about such petty things, but this is an Xiamen Airlines review afterall and I am struggling to find ways to be critical. If the only thing that I’ve got to piss and moan about is the airport, I’d say that they’re doing pretty darn good.