In its nearly 42 years of operation, Xiamen Airlines (branded as XiamenAir and referred to as such interchangeably with its actual name) has grown from a regional player as China’s first independently-operated airline to something of a middleweight contender on the global air travel stage, operating flights to destinations as far away as Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Paris, and Vancouver. However, the airline’s growth has outstripped the capacity of its home at Gaoqi International Airport, already at its limit. A replacement, Xiamen Xiang’an International Airport, is set to open later this year, concurrent with the closure of Gaoqi. As adding new airports to Infinite Flight is currently not possible, all Xiamen-originating flights have to be done out of Gaoqi, making getting in flights to and from XMN very much a time-limited thing as far as realism goes. Without further ado, I present one of Xiamen Airlines’s two European routes from XMN.
Server: Solo
Airline: Xiamen Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
Origin: Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, Huli, China (XMN)
Destination: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands (XMN)
Flight Number: MF811
Route: ZSAM-EHAM
Seat: 1A (First Class)
Time En Route: 12 Hours 37 Minutes
After spending the morning in Xiamen Airlines’s International First/Business Class lounge at Terminal 4, we’re ready to board for our trip to Amsterdam at Gate 17. We’re going to be flying in one of four first class seats on this 237-seat 787-8. Since taking delivery of the larger, longer-range 787-9s, MF has largely deployed its shorter -8d on Asian and Australian routes; however, the type still is sent to Europe fairly often.
Taxiing out for departure from XMN’s single runway while a company A321neo gets airborne for somewhere in China. From our limited time in it, XiamenAir’s first class cabin is fairly impressive, despite it having remained the same since the mid-2010s. While privacy is somewhat lacking, the seats are quite comfortable and recline all the way to form a bed for long-haul flights. The IFE system is dated, too, but the options on it are up-to-date and it moves on a swivel, making using it with the seat reclined easier. Only sticking point is the menu, which principally features very unique traditional Chinese options that we’re unfamiliar with, but we’re sure we’ll find something good on it.
Taking off from Runway 23 on a hazy day in Xiamen. Getting to listen to GEnx roar while vapor flickers in the engine inlet is always a blast. Excited for our approximately 12 and a half-hour flight ahead!
Turning north as we climb out of Fujian Province. We’ve started up a movie to pass the time. Though the Western options are understandably limited compared to the Chinese ones, there’s still quite a few good ones on here.
In cruise over the steppes of Inner Mongolia as we are served our lunch. Our hopes of finding something that seems amenable to our tastes were not in vain, as Xiamen Airlines has partnered with Michelin-starred Hong Kong chef David Lai, whose chicken and rice offering created especially for Xiamen Airlines has caught our eye. The presentation is very good, and from the first bite, we’re convinced it tastes as good as it looks. All in all, XiamenAir has its in-flight dining nailed.
After sleeping for a few hours, we’re just west of St. Petersburg, Russia. Sleeping in first class on MF was reasonably easy, although we had some bumpy air over the Urals. Definitely not the hardest-to-sleep-in premium cabin seat we’ve been in, for sure.
In the first phase of our final descent, just on the western side of the mouth of the Ems and the Wadden Sea. It’s fairly early in the evening and the sunlight is starting to mellow to a warm golden hue on the engine nacelles. Most of what we’re descending over is actually below sea level, with the ocean being kept out by a range of seawalls and other barriers, some of which are hundreds of years old.
Landing at Schipol on Runway 36R, the Aalsmeerbaan. The runway gets its name from the village of Aalsmeer, which lies just under the approach path for 36R. We had a pretty smooth landing, arriving only a few minutes late due to having to slow down for an arriving Cathay Cargo 747-8F’s wake turbulence.
Taxiing by the D Gates and Schiphol Tower on our way to the E Pier. In the background, a KLM Asia 777-200ER going to Toronto as KL695 is getting ready to taxi for takeoff. As the home of the Dutch flag carrier, Schiphol’s D and E Piers are dominated by KLM.
Deplaned at Gate E20. After our first long-haul trip with Xiamen Airlines, we’re walking away with a positive impression of the airline, at least in first class. Physical comfort was good, although the hard product was somewhat dated. The amenities were okay, but the food was outstanding, while the latter was provided by a polite, if loquacious cabin crew. Overall, we’d say that it’s a pretty solid airline and one which we’ll likely fly on again in the foreseeable future.