After posting the Air China 747-8I flight from a few weeks ago, I asked myself, “Why not do a China trip?” I decided to extend the JFK-PEK journey to JFK-PEK-PKX-CAN-LAX on China Eastern between Beijing’s new Daxing Airport and Guangzhou, and then on China Southern between Guangzhou and LAX. Here’s the middle leg of the journey, on the backbone of China Eastern’s domestic fleet, the Airbus A320.
Server: Solo
Airline: China Eastern Airlines
Aircraft: Airbus A320-200
Origin: Beijing Daxing International Airport, Daxing, China (PKX)
Destination: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou, China (CAN)
Flight Number: MU6853
Route: ZBAD-ZGGG
Seat: 46L (Economy)
Time En Route: 2 Hours 58 Minutes
Boarding at Beijing-Daxing via an airstair due to an inoperable jetbridge. Daxing is a relatively new airport, being constructed between 2014 and 2019 to relieve congestion at Beijing-Capital, which is pretty much at capacity.
The familiar barking sound of the A320 Power Transfer Unit fills the cabin as the flaps lower. You can tell who hasn’t flown on an A320 or its smaller and larger siblings by their reactions to hearing the PTU for the first time.
Taxiing out for takeoff. Estimated flight time is 3 hours 10 minutes en route.
Taking off from Daxing. You can see why they call the main passenger terminal the Starfish!
Cruising south over Hebei Province, home to the world-famous Great Wall of China
Crossing the Han River, largest tributary of the Yangtze, near Wuhan, known as China’s Chicago. Hopefully Tianhe is better-organized than Midway.
Final descent over the hills surrounding the capital of Guangdong Province
Arrival 12 minutes ahead of schedule at Baiyun
Taxiing across Runway 20R. Like Los Angeles, the outboard runways are largely reserved for arrivals and the inner ones for departures.
Deplaned in the Guangzhou, the City of Flowers for a 2-day stay