Today I flew China Eastern’s A350 premium economy on the 12h 50m flight from Madrid to Shanghai. This was my first time flying a Chinese carrier on a longhaul flight, let alone in premium economy. I’m trying to find out which airline offers the world’s best premium economy product, so couldn’t say no to a cheap Europe-Asia fare (I booked this mainly for a review trip, though there’s also some commitments I’ve got in Hong Kong, where I’ll be flying back to).
So how was it? In one sense, I thought the flight was unmemorable – the seat is very similar to what you’ll get on a lot of different airlines (I believe these are Collins Aerospace MiQ seats, which Cathay Pacific’s A350s use a customised version of), the catering is pretty much identical to economy, drinks are weak, and the pillow and blanket aren’t great. On the other hand, China Eastern offers some of the cheapest fares I’ve ever seen in premium economy (my ticket from Madrid to Shenzhen via Shanghai cost £428) – the product is pleasantly surprising in that sense, including some premium elements such as a good amenity kit, and good service.
I’ll write a full flight review in the coming days, though I thought I’d share my first impressions while I’m fresh off the flight.
China Eastern’s A350 Premium Economy Ground Experience in Madrid
China Eastern uses Terminal 1 at Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD), which requires a lot of walking, though isn’t too difficult to navigate. I arrived at 7:20 AM (the shuttle at the hotel I was staying at only operated once an hour, and I thought two hours was cutting it close with the introduction of the new EU EES system), and despite the fact that online check-in wasn’t working for anyone, I made it through check-in, security and immigration in under 15 minutes.
China Eastern Check-in Counter at Madrid Airport
China Eastern doesn’t put this on their signage, though premium economy passengers actually get priority check-in and boarding, so they line up in the same line as business class passengers. You don’t get priority security (and no lounge access either), though in this case that wasn’t much of an issue, since security wasn’t too backed up anyway.
Premium economy isn’t listed here, though you actually do get to queue in the same line as business class passengers
That’s quite nice, as especially when online check-in doesn’t work for Madrid at all, you’re cutting yourself quite a bit of time queueing.
China Eastern’s A350 Premium Economy Cabin and Seat
China Eastern’s A350 premium economy cabin features 32 Collins Aerospace MiQ seats, laid across four rows in a 2-4-2 configuration. The seats themselves are straight off the shelf, and very similar to what you’ll get on American/United, KLM, Hainan Airlines, etc..
China Eastern A350 Premium Economy Cabin
The seats themselves have a fold-up legrest and a fold-down footrest, though much like on KLM, I thought the recline was lacking. Also missing is much in-seat storage – there’s a substantial seat pocket and one storage nook under the armrest, though the airline didn’t kit the seat out with any extra storage compartments, making it hard to store glasses or a phone when sleeping.
China Eastern A350 Premium Economy Seat Recline
Each seat does have a USB-A and 110V universal power port though, which is appreciated. Premium economy was less than half full on my flight, so I had an empty seat next to me, which I enjoyed.
China Eastern A350 Premium Economy Power Ports
The cabin is sandwiched between a business class mini-cabin and the forward economy cabin, so there are no dedicated premium economy lavatories. This got quite crowded at points throughout the flight, and even midway through the flight there was sometimes a wait for the lavatory (also they deteriorated in condition throughout the flight).
Do note that there are some Chinese airlines that market extra legroom economy as “premium economy” – China Eastern isn’t one of these airlines.
China Eastern’s A350 Premium Economy Amenities
China Eastern offers the same pillow and blanket in premium economy as they do in economy, so the pillow is small and the blanket is thin and underwhelming.
China Eastern A350 Premium Economy Pillow and Blanket
There is, however, an amenity kit, as well as slippers. The slippers in particular are quite nice to have on a flight of this length – Cathay Pacific doesn’t even offer slippers in business class. I also liked the amenity kit, especially the bag that it came in (also fun that it had such a big comb, which I’ve not seen before on a flight).
China Eastern A350 Premium Economy Amenity Kit and Slippers
China Eastern’s A350 Premium Economy Entertainment and WiFi
China Eastern’s entertainment system isn’t the best in the world, especially if you don’t know Chinese. There was a small selection of English movies, and the TV shows in particular were extremely limited. I expected that coming in, though.
China Eastern A350 Premium Economy Entertainment System
The airshow does feature a tail camera, which personally makes the entertainment system itself a bit of a moot point for me. It’s been a while since I’ve flown an A350 in the daytime, so it was great to have this view!
China Eastern A350 Tail Camera
In terms of WiFi, you can either buy WiFi on the airline’s app, or you can do so onboard. I will say that you should pre-purchase WiFi if you’re planning to use it – the portal itself isn’t the fastest. There was a QR code on the seat in front of me which was meant to load the WiFi pre-order page, though it didn’t work – the easiest way was just to load up China Eastern’s website, let it redirect, and enter the six-digit code I got after paying for WiFi. WiFi is free for first and business class passengers, though not premium economy – it cost 258 CNY (£27.6) for my flight, which is on the steep end, though at least there were no data caps.
I appreciated having WiFi on this awkwardly timed daytime flight (I felt awake during the flight, and arrived in Shanghai sleepy by the time a new day was starting), though the great firewall is in place, and it even blocks VPNs. So I couldn’t use WhatsApp or Instagram, though I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my website is reachable in mainland China (iMessage still works, and obviously WeChat works). I also found WiFi to be quite slow compared to industry competitors, and it was a bit more patchy than I’m used to on an Europe-Asia route.
China Eastern A350 WiFi
China Eastern’s A350 Premium Economy Food and Beverage
The food and drinks available on China Eastern weren’t memorable at all, though given what I’ve read online, I found the food to be much better than I was expecting.
As you’d expect, there was one main meal service after takeoff, and one main meal service around 2h 30m before landing. Everything was served on one tray, and the main was served on an aluminium foil casserole in both cases. There were no menus.
For the post-takeoff meal service, I was offered the choice between pork with rice and beef with penne pasta. I was warned online against ordering the Western option onboard China Eastern, though in my limited Chinese I accidentally confused the penne pasta as a type of noodle. So when my meal arrived I realised it was the Western option, though decided to go with it anyway.
It actually wasn’t half bad – the beef was tender, the pasta was fine, and there was a good vegetable medley to go with it as well. The side salad was sad, with a singular piece of pepper jack beef on top of an undressed salad, and dessert was a few slices of orange and pineapple.
China Eastern A350 Premium Economy Meal Service After Takeoff
The pre-landing meal was similar – I had a choice between pork with penne pasta, and fish with rice. I would have hoped they would’ve communicated a little more detail about the options, especially provided the lack of a menu (the crew did describe the dishes to people who asked, though I wish it would’ve been proactive). The fish was served with a cream sauce of sorts, and came with a more flavourful Mediterranean olive and potato salad (yum) and the same dessert of oranges and pineapples.
China Eastern A350 Premium Economy Meal Service Pre-Landing
Between meals, you can request a beverage at any point (tea, coffee, water, soft drinks, orange juice, beer), and there are also sandwiches on offer. The cabin crew said that if I wanted anything in particular they could see if they served it upfront, though I was only looking for a picture opportunity, so I declined.
China Eastern A350 Premium Economy Midflight Snack
China Eastern’s A350 Premium Economy Service
This area of the experience impressed me the most. While premium economy was less than half full, most seats were taken in economy, and the cabin crew serve both. While there’s only a certain level of customisation you can have in premium economy, I felt well taken care of, the pacing was sensible (perhaps the pre-landing meal service was a tad early), and the crew were friendly. They always proactively asked if we wanted top-ups, and came through the cabin quite a few times to offer water and take requests. I was also observing the service given to other passengers, and there was no favouritism given to those who spoke Chinese over those who spoke English.
When I asked if I could take a photo of the snacks available in the galley, the crewmember said “oh no, this is messy, I need to clean it up before you can take a photo”! She then asked if I liked flying, and gave me this cute postcard as a gift.
Getting a cute postcard on China Eastern
How is it like flying a mainland Chinese carrier in 2025?
Mainland Chinese carriers haven’t been covered as much by the travel blogosphere post-COVID, so I thought I’d give some observations of flying a Chinese carrier for the first time in a while (as well as my first longhaul flight on one). The last time I flew a Chinese carrier, there were some policies still in place that you didn’t see anywhere else in the world, such as having to keep your phone off for the duration of the flight.
Well, I don’t think I noticed anything this time round compared to flying an Asian or European carrier, apart from the firewall preventing me from searching blocked sites on the inflight WiFi. My fellow passengers were civil, and the onboard rules were the same as any other Asian or European carrier I’ve flown in recent times.
Perhaps it wasn’t all exactly the same. One thing I observed was that a few non-revs were already seated in premium economy when I first entered the cabin, despite the fact that I was definitely the first premium economy passenger onboard. Another was that when the seat next to me was empty, I was asked to buckle my backpack there during takeoff and landing, as opposed to just under the seat in front. Perhaps I also wasn’t used to the captain only coming onto the PA to introduce our flight time after the first meal service, as opposed to before takeoff.
Getting a new seatmate on China Eastern
The last (and most obvious) thing is that the flight is much faster than you’d get on competing carriers at the moment, since mainland Chinese carriers can and do fly over Russia without restriction. There isn’t a European carrier operating the Madrid to Shanghai flight, though as a point of reference, Shanghai to Helsinki is 10h 15m on Shanghai Airlines, and 14h 15m on Finnair.
Flying over Russia on China Eastern Airlines
Conclusion: China Eastern’s A350 Premium Economy
I’d say that the value proposition for China Eastern at the moment is price, as opposed to anything special about their premium economy product. However, that itself is a major competitive advantage for the airline. You can fly from Madrid, Budapest, Milan, or Helsinki to just about anywhere in Asia for around £400-500 in premium economy one-way on many dates (London is more expensive, as you still have to pay the APD).
Otherwise, I had a pleasant flight on China Eastern. Nothing was particularly memorable (and this is far from one of the best premium economy products flying today), though I’d certainly do it again with a similar price point to what I paid this time.
Have you flown China Eastern’s premium economy before? How was your experience?
I’ve never flown China Eastern PE but it looks like a very competitive product. Long haul PE at less that $900 USD one way is hard to find. China Eastern hard and soft product looks good enough, nice seats and IFE, decent service. I would give them a try as long as the airplane is a relatively new wide-body (no old 777s or old A330s).