[Travel Log] China Eastern Airlines (Haneda-Shanghai-Milan & Rome-Shanghai-Haneda)

This is an addendum to my Italy trip.

For this trip, I had booked my flights more than half a year in advance, but they were with Qatar Airways, via Doha...
Those reading this now will understand, but for those reading in the future who might not, I should add that due to the situation in the Middle East, flights transiting through the region were in total chaos.

Wait, is my flight actually going to fly...?
I kept an eye on the situation, but even a month or so before departure, things looked suspicious. It's impossible, I should just book something else.
It wasn't yet within the refund period for Qatar Airways, but it's better than not being able to go.

So, the one that hit the mark was China Eastern Airlines. Why? It was cheap. Even though it was quite last minute, it was by far the cheapest (though it was about the same price as the Qatar Airways ticket I had booked six months earlier).

Since I booked it in a bit of a rush quite recently, I was worried, thinking, 'Will this be okay?' but to give you the conclusion, there were absolutely no problems at all. This is an article about that.

About China Eastern Airlines

China Eastern Airlines is, as the name suggests, a Chinese airline and a full-service carrier. I don't have any more basic information than that. Please Google it...

Information found during preliminary research

・Online check-in is not possible
・Transit time is tight
・In-flight meals are mediocre
・Flight attendants talk to you a lot in Chinese

The reality

・Online check-in is not possible
This is for real.

No matter how many times I tried, the Japanese site said there was no corresponding flight, the app was useless, and when I tried the Chinese site, it also said there was no flight, so it was pointless.
It might be improved eventually, but that was the situation as of May 2026. Perhaps because it's the same for everyone, the check-in counters can get very crowded, so the only option is to go to the airport early.

・Transit time is tight
I was intimidated by this information and booked a flight with plenty of time, so I don't know about this.

On the way there, I had to move from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) to Pudong Airport (PVG) on my own, so I chose a flight with an 8-hour layover.
I had a lot of luggage and thought about taking a taxi, especially since it was the busy evening commute time, but I went with plenty of time to spare. I thought, 'Actually, can't I just take the subway?' so I moved by subway.
I struggled because I didn't know where the subway station was at SHA airport, but I managed to get there surprisingly smoothly.
I remember struggling, but I don't remember the details, so it won't be helpful to anyone.
Well, as a result, I arrived about 2 hours before the check-in start time (which is 4 or 5 hours before the flight) and had time to kill. I deeply regretted not bringing a book.

On the way back, I didn't push myself and stayed one night in Shanghai.
However, when I checked my luggage in Rome, there was a mishap where my luggage was tagged all the way to Haneda, even though I planned to go out and stay one night in Shanghai.
I had put enough for one night in my carry-on, but I was faced with a situation where I would have to throw away about 400ml of contact lens solution in Shanghai... (Rome's Fiumicino Airport has loose regulations on carrying liquids in carry-on luggage, so I had put it in my carry-on. They say Fiumicino Airport has a high-precision inspection system or something).
I complained when leaving Rome, but they told me they couldn't change it there and to ask in Shanghai, so I asked the staff in Shanghai to find it for me. The lady in Rome told me that was how the reservation was set, but I had no memory of setting it that way. Booking.com, why did you do that on your own??

Thanks to the staff in Shanghai, I was able to put my contact lens solution back into my checked luggage and it safely accompanied me to Japan.
(By the way, it wouldn't have been a big deal if I had to throw away the contact lens solution, but there were a few other reasons. To the staff in Shanghai: thank you, truly, thank you so much.)

・In-flight meals are mediocre
Regarding this, I have developed a theory. It depends on the departure point!

Below are the meals; it's the usual case that the photos are disappointing.

I was fast asleep during the Shanghai-Milan leg 2.
When I woke up, there was a sticky note on the table saying something like "Let me know when you wake up," and the flight attendant spoke to me, but since it was just before arrival, I didn't eat. I wanted to eat Italian food once I arrived in Italy.

So, there you have it.
The two meals from Italy to Shanghai were strangely delicious. But the meals from Shanghai to Italy and from Shanghai to Haneda were both very heavy on star anise. It's a flavor that people will either love or hate. It makes me think that Chinese cuisine might not be well-suited for in-flight meals.
Conclusion: It depends on the departure location.

・The flight attendants speak to me in Chinese a lot
Well, that is certainly true, but it can't be helped.

With so many Chinese passengers, if a Japanese person like me is there, of course they're going to speak Chinese. Our faces are almost the same, after all. If someone says something to me in Chinese, if I just make a "???" face and say "sorry?", most people will switch to English. There was one time where they insisted on Chinese and I was left going "?????", but looking at the flight attendant's hands, it seemed they were asking if I needed earphones, so I raised my hand (earphones and blankets are not at the seats; the flight attendants distribute them later).

Summary

I couldn't do online check-in, but other than that, it was comfortable.