Did this flight for the folks over at the Project China airport editing team, who’ve been knocking it out of the park with stellar airport after stellar airport as of late.
Xiamen Airlines, branded as XiamenAir, is the 6th largest airline in mainland China, after the Big 3 of China Southern, China Eastern, and Air China, followed by Shenzen Airlines and Sichuan Airlines. With major hubs at Xiamen and Fuzhou, XiamenAir connects Fujian Province to the rest of China, East Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.
Server: Solo
Airline: XiamenAir
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
Origin: Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, Mascot, Australia (SYD)
Destination: Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, Huli, China (XMN)
Flight Number: MF802
Route: YSSY-ZSAM
Seat: 13A (Aura Lite)
Time En Route: 9 Hours 31 Minutes
Boarding at Terminal 1. XiamenAir operates a fleet of 12 787s, divided evenly between the 787-8 and 787-9, with a further 3 -9s on order. The 787-9s are mostly used on MF’s transpacific and Australian routes, with the -8 flying principally to major Asian metropolises and Europe, as well as sharing the routes to Melbourne and Sydney.
Taxiing for takeoff. XiamenAir’s 787-8s are configured in a 4F/18J/215Y seat configuration, with us sitting in the rearmost row of the Aura Lite Business Class.
Departure and climbout from SYD with Botany Bay in the background
Leveled off at 38,000 feet over the Outback
Leaving the coast of the Northern Territory
Phillipine sunset
Descending into Xiamen over Guangdong Province
On the ground at Gaoqi
Parked at the terminal on a cloudy night at XMN