LO92 PEK-WAW 2017.01.02

The last segment of the Taiwanese journey. The final flight home.

02 January 2017
LO92 (0845-1130) PEK-WAW
SP-LRB Boeing 787 Dreamliner

After arriving the previous day from Taipei via Fuzhou I get a sleep at a local hotel, where I catch the shuttle to the airport at 6. That means I have plenty of time to check my bag in (luckily no queue and I am able to change my seat to one that suits me better) pass all the necessary controls and browse the shops. Then, when the sun rises I still have time to take some photos through the windows in the scenery of a rising sun. After using Beijing Terminal 3 yet another time I must say that it really is decent and rather hassle free. Spacious, various shops and restaurants, benches to rest, get a nap, lie down, quiet areas. and the air condition works quite well.
But back to the flight. We depart with a slight delay which, due to winds will grown a little bit during the flight. I'm lucky to get the seat next to me empty (seated in row 24). The service comes right in time. Around an hour after take-off. The food is pretty nice. The crew walks around offering a top-up. For a minus, the windows have been blocked in a dimmed configuration for most of the flight. On a day flight... not a red-eye one, a day one. C'mon! Anyway. Time passes by slowly, movies, reading, music, small naps and finally we arrive in cloudy Warsaw with around 30 minutes of delay.
Summing up, I am content of the flight in total. Of the entire trip as well.

MF8119 FOC-PEK 2017.01.01

Time to return home. Again via Fuzhou and Beijing (a night stop at PEK) with Xiamen Airlines.

01 January 2017
MF8119 (1600-1850) FOC-PEK
B-2992 Boeing 737-700

Transfer at Fuzhou. Easy, or not? At first, pick up your bag, enter China, get a stamp on your visa (one of the few airports that you need a visa to transfer at), pass customs, go to the check-in area, check your bag in, go through security, find something to do as no place accepts Visa cards. So I walked around, took some photos and waited for my flight. Unfortunately a swap occurred. They changed the planned 787 for a 737-700. Bad but could be worse, could be another 737-800 flight :P This is going to be a full flight, very few vacant seats. I get a family next to me. Lucky to have my earphones and the window so I can fly in relative peace. The food is the same, the views differ a bit as the sun hides and we land in dark Beijing. After arriving all I need to do is get to my hotel where I'll rest before taking my last flight the next morning.

Xiamen Boeing 757 experience MF8166, 2016.12.26

Christmas came and with the New Year ahead it was time to fly out somewhere. Destination: Taiwan, via China. First stop: Beijing, the second one: Fuzhou.

26 December 2016
MF8166 (1325-1620) PEK-FOC
B-2869 Boeing 757-200

My stopover in Beijing isn't the shortest which gives me the possibility for some spotting from the terminal area. Time slowly passes by but finally boarding started. We are taken by bus to the aircraft. Not many passengers on the flight today, no problem in choosing a seat on board. The crew makes no problems so I sit at 45A. You can feel the power of the 757, especially that the plane is rather empty today. En route we do experience slight turbulence. Most of the time we cruise over the clouds. The meal is served, noodles today, no choice, no tray, quite greasy and apart the parts that are toughened due to heat, the meal is edible. The crews english is sufficient for me to get what I'd like, we kinda get on ;)  After around two and a half hours we land in sunny Fuzhou and deboard to the bus which will take us to the terminal where I have another 2h stop before my final flight of the day to Taipei.

LO91 WAW-PEK 2016.12.25

Christmas came and with the New Year ahead it was time to fly out somewhere. Destination: Taiwan, via China. First stop: Beijing

25 December 2016
LO91 (1455-0635+1) WAW-PEK
SP-LRC Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

Christmas Day, late breakfast with the family and off to the airport. Quick and problem free baggage drop off, security and passport control. Boarding started more or less on time. Seated down in 7A with more than sufficient legroom I buckle up and wait for the pushback and takeoff. After we depart and head east it quickly gets dark and will stay that way all the way to Beijing. Some time into the flight the meals are served, one portion wasn't enough so later on I had to ask for a second one. With my stomach satisfied I could get on to the In Flight Entertainment system and watch some videos. The flight was rather smooth and passed by quickly. Oh, I would have forgotten about a small nap before arrival. Well needed at that time of the day. Surely a good start of the trip!

Taxiing to the runway

Beijing Capital Airport spotting; ZBAA/PEK 21.09.2014

Both before departing to North Korea and after arriving back to China I have had a couple of opportunities to spot a bit at Beijing Capital Airport. I can divide them into 4 parts where part 1: before departure from PEK for FNJ; part 2: after landing in PEK from FNJ; part 3: the main spotting part; part 4: before departure from PEK to VIE. Part 1 and 4 feature photos mainly made from the terminal area while part 3 is the more standard "beside the fence" spotting.
During my stay winds were mostly southernly thus runway 36L, 36R and 01 in use. Unfortunately I would not say that the weather was great. I'd rather say it was more of a typical Beijing aura with smog around.
For some detailed information about spotting locations in Beijing visit spotterguide

An Air China A330 landing at 36R (B-6079)

Queue from both sides to depart from 36R