Terracotta Tripping 2024

• Singapore Airlines SQ806 Singapore to Beijing – Business
• Qiuguo S Hotel (Beijing Capital Airport Second Branch)
• Air China Lounge (domestic departure), Beijing Capital Airport
• Air China CA1289 Beijing to Xi’an – Economy
• JW Marriott Xi’an
• Ritz Carlton Xi’an
• High Speed Train G58 Xi-an to Beijing – Business
• Comfort Zone, Beijing Capital Airport
• Air China Lounge (international departure), Beijing Capital Airport
• Singapore Airlines SQ801 Beijing to Singapore – Business

[Decided to consolidate my lounge experience with that of my domestic flight so it’s more coherent]

After an okay rest at the Qiuguo S Hotel, I arrived at the terminal bright and early for my domestic flight which will take me to Xi-an. The Air China lines were a little confusing and I was directed to their counter H15 which says “First time flyers” and “special passengers”. Erm okay.

This ended up to be correct and where all domestic passengers should queue to be checked in, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt for the signage to be a little clearer. There were 3 counters and they moved really slowly. When it came to my turn, there was additional confusion about my Star Alliance Elite Gold benefits and luggage as the staff seem to be confused about how my luggage was already tagged from Singapore – Beijing , then Beijing-Xi but anyhow she tore that all off and printed new ones. Okay, fine.

Air China Lounge (domestic departure), Beijing Capital Airport

After a quick security clearance line, I made my way to the airside Star Alliance Gold Lounge not having high expectations and turns out, I was correct. The Lounge is quite hard to miss in the small-ish domestic terminal – just look out for the airline’s giant logo.

After a quick registration process, I walked into a massive space of sofa seats but absolutely packed to the brim with soiled tables not cleared quick enough for the crowd so here’s a few pics of what was in sight.

Food and drinks wise, it was also very local flavors so expect buns, noodles, cabbages, eggs, and simple drinks. Nothing fancy but eggs saved my day.

Air China CA1289 Beijing to Xi’an – Economy

• CA1289 depart PEK 09:00 arrive XIY 11:15
• Aircraft: Boeing 737-700
• Flight time: 2hrs 15mins
• Seat: 18K
• Cost: RMB820

It seems most passengers were asked to board at the same time even though there was a business cabin on this flight. Anyways, I wasn’t in a rush as I had selected an aisle seat and did not have any cabin luggage to fit onto the overhead bin. The 3-3 config cabin actually looked decent in its blue-grey tones in my opinion.

Seat

My seat 18K was an aisle seat in the more upfront section of the cabin and I lucked out as the middle seat beside me was empty so more elbow space for sure! The seat itself was comfy and offered decent enough leg space for me and I didn’t’ play around with other functionalities after that.

Food & Beverage / In-flight Entertainment

The flight does not include any meals which I thought was odd for a 9:00am flight but it is what is it. There was also no screens for each seat so IFE is out of the question too.

Service

Other than boarding and landing, I never saw too much of the crew so I guess no comments here too?

In Summary,

A decent way to get to Xi-an from Beijing for sure!