From Jakarta to Tapei, I flew on a Xiamen Airlines 737-800 in business class via Xiamen. Both flights were smooth with warm service onboard, though flying Xiamen felt like stepping back decades into the past in terms of the seat and onboard technology.
Xiamen Airlines 737-800 Business Class Review (CGK-XMN-TPE)
I was happy to fly economy class on this route…and tickets were only 178 USD…but the cheapest tickets do not earn any SAS EuroBonus miles and I needed to book into a fare class that earned miles as part of my Million Mile Challenge. I kept bumping up the fare class and every time it still booked into a fare class that showed no credit for SAS.
When I finally found an economy fare class that earned miles, it was only about 150 less than business class, so I decided booking business class was a no-brainer for a 5.5-hour overnight flight with a connection. That also took out any uncertainty over the greater prize: completing the SAS challenge.
Check-In
We checked in three hours before the flight at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport Terminal 3. During check-in, we were presented lounge passes for the Plaza Premium Lounge, which is a far better choice than the SkyTeam Garuda Indonesia Executive Lounge.
Boarding
We were scheduled to board at 11:00 pm, but boarding ended up being delayed by 15 minutes due to a late-arriving aircraft from Xiamen. The crew was waiting in the gate area to board and we finally boarded at 11:15 pm.
Xiamen 838
Jakarta (CGK) – Xiamen (XMN)
Wednesday, November 20
Depart: 11:30 PM
Arrive: 6:10 AM
Duration: 05hr, 40min
Distance: 2,246 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 1C (Business Class)
We were first onboard and the flight attendants immediately doted over Augustine. I knew it would be a great flight in terms of service.
Seat
Business class has eight seats: two rows in a 2-2 configuration. Recline is limited. Legroom in row one was limited…it was much more like a domestic first class seat (as a frame of reference for US readers) than any sort of international business class style seat.
And it was hard and not very comfortable either….though of course I was happy to fly up front and the flight was full so it’s not like I could have stretched out over multiple seats in the back of the plane.
SeatGuru says these seats have 50 inches of pitch…no, they most certainly do not, even in row two. I’d say more like 38-40 inches, though I did not bring my tape measure.
Seat controls included adjustments for recline, cushion height, and footrest (which only raised a few degrees).
There was also a plug for (defunct) audio channels… remember those from the 90s and early 00s?
A pillow and blanket were offered.
Individual air vents were available.
Food + Drink
Pre-departure beverages wre offered: orange juice only. Followed by a hot (disposable) towelette.
Meal orders were also taken before takeoff. No menus, no choice.
We were, however, offered a choice for our midnight dinner: after takeoff of before landing. We both hoped to sleep for the latter part of the flight, so we opted to eat right away.
Oddly, I ordered club soda and was told that only one was boarded and my (loud) seatmate across the aisle had already ordered it…so I drank still water.
No choice was offered and the tray included noodles, soup, fruit, and a coconut cake.
Augustine loved it! His tray had an additional bowl with vegetables and an egg in it.
After dinner, refills on drinks were offered along with a ramekin with dried mushrooms, pecans, cranberries, and peanuts.
IFE + Wi-Fi
No IFE or Wi-Fi was available beyond a retro moving flight map.
Lavatory
I used the lavatory prior to takeoff and it was clean…no word on how it looked before landing. It was strictly controlled, with economy class passengers turned away for the lavatories in the rear of the aircraft.
Amenities
Slippers and Voss water were provided at each seat in the seatback pocket. Eye shades were also provided.
Service
I have nothing but praise for the flight attendants onboard: they were kind and attentive. Yes, their English skills were limited and no one spoke Indonesian, but their English was much better than my Chinese!
Transit in Xiamen
After a smooth arrival at sunrise, we stepped off the aircraft and followed the transit signs.
We cleared the transit check in Xiamen relatively easily: our passports were checked, pictures taken, and soon we were relaxing in the Xiamen Lounge.
> Read More: An Easy Connection In Xiamen
We boarded our flight to Taipei on time on an identical aircraft, hence the 2-in-1 review.
Xiamen 887
Xiamen (XMN) – Taiepi (TPE)
Thursday, November 21
Depart: 8:20 AM
Arrive: 10:00 AM
Duration: 1hr, 40min
Distance: 199 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 2J (Business Class)
I wasn’t aware before boarding what a short flight this would be…only 199 miles…it was over almost before it started.
Once again, the service was lovely onboard and I do love those blue uniforms. Breakfast orders were taken before takeoff.
Is Xiamen the only airline that serves Voss water?
Slippers were offered again.
As we pushed back and took off, we passed a Lufthansa 747-400…
I outlined our Chinese breakfast in this post, but to recap, we were served a large breakfast immediately after takeoff with all sorts of tastes and textures:
No, the meal was not my cup of tea and this time Augustine did not really care for it either (after wolfing down the meal on the previous flight). But I do appreciate the service on such a short flight. Most flight attendants in the USA would not even get up on a flight that short.
And just like that, we had touched down in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE).
CONCLUSION
I was glad to try Xiamen and was happy to fly business class on the overnight journey to Xiamen. That said, the 737-800 is not a comfortable premium product, legroom is tight, and I would not have paid the extra for business class if it was not necessary for the challenge I was doing.
That said, I would not hesitate to fly Xiamn on a 787-9 transpacific flight someday…I’d be very happy to give the carrier another try.
My plastic Voss bottle from my forward cabin Xiamen flight — I got upgraded for free as did some other SAS million point promo runners — had mostly Chinese labeling on it even as it said Voss of Norway Asp or something like that on the bottle.
My Xiamen flights credited automatically to my SAS account. Still waiting on two Air Europe flights to credit to my SAS account, and they were in eligible booking classes.
Is UX your last carrier?
It was one of my first 6-8 SkyTeam airlines for the purpose of the promo. I flew it once mid-way in the promo and finally again at close to the end of the promo. My retro claim for the first Air Europa flight said it was claimed successfully but then it never posted. So I flew it again at the end. I flew 16 SkyTeam airlines, three are missing from my account still: UX, KQ, and VS. The UX credit situation seems more broken now with SAS than it was eight weeks ago.
In short, no. Still sitting at 13 airlines credited.
Was the soup congee? It looks different across the 2 flights usually
Comes with sides