Travel Diary: Aboard American’s First Flight to China

By Trebor Banstetter, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Apr. 3–Editor’s note: Star-Telegram staff writer Trebor Banstetter kept this diary while flying aboard American Airlines’ first nonstop flight from the United States to China, which departed from Chicago O’Hare Airport on Sunday morning and arrived at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai 14 hours later.

5:15 a.m. Sunday, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport

The American Airlines ticket agent gushes as I stand blearily in front of her in D/FW’s Terminal A. “Oooh, you’re on the inagural flight,” she tells me as she checks my itinerary. “How exciting.”

It would probably be more exciting if I were awake. But as a reporter used to working the late-mornings/late-nights cycle of the morning newspaper, my brain is barely functioning this early. And it doesn’t help that my sleep has been, shall we say, irregular since the birth of my son in November.

Soon, she speculates, D/FW might have a nonstop of it’s own to China. “The Chicago nonstop is a good start, but we want one right here,” she says as she prints out my boarding pass.

Then she eyeballs the length of the flight. Fourteen hours. “Oh my,” she says. “I hope you brought a long book.”

6:45 a.m., Aboard American Airlines Flight 2320

Henry Joyner, American’s senior vice president of planning, is on the flight from D/FW to O’Hare. Unlike this still-groggy Star-Telegram reporter, Joyner is bright-eyed and clearly excited about the flight to Shanghai.

Joyner has been one of the driving forces in getting permission to fly the route in the first place. He studied Chinese history and culture at the University of Chicago, and is fluent in Mandarin. He’s been to Beijing many times over the past few years, lobbying Chinese government officials for more airline service between the two countries.

He even attempts to curry favor by asking to borrow my copy of the newspaper. “I’ve only got a copy of Brand X,” he jokes, referring to the Dallas Morning News. “I’d prefer the Star-Telegram.”

OK, Henry just guaranteed that he’ll be heroically portrayed in my coverage. Did I mention that he’s a super-genius? Brains bursting out all over the place.

And he’s a handsome man, as well.

9:30 a.m., Chicago O’Hare Airport

American Airlines is hosting a reception at its Admiral’s Club at O’Hare, celebrating the new service. Julie Ringholm, a “premium services representative” for American, tells me that she started working for American years ago when she lived in Dallas.

“At the time, I thought it was just a job,” she said. “It’s become a lifestyle.”

That’s true of many American employees I’ve talked to since I began covering the airline industry a few years ago. It’s one of the reasons American can harness its workers to support things like the China flight. Thousands of employees sent letters to the Department of Transportation asking that their airline be allowed to fly to China.

Oh, and need I mention that the Admiral’s Club is really, really nice? As a “coach commando” who typically haunts the back of the plane, it’s always eye-opening to see how those lucky passengers with more generous (read: non-newspaper) expense accounts travel.

10:30 a.m., Chicago O’Hare Airport

American has pulled out all the stops to impress its first planeload of passengers to China. The gate has Chinese drummers, dancers outfitted as dragons, and an impressive Chinese food buffet.

Before the flight boards, officials — including Joyner, a representative from the Chicago mayor’s office and the Chinese Consulate — all give speeches. Then they cut a ribbon in front of the gate.

It’s quite a bit different from the last inaugural flight I boarded — an MD-80 flying from Dallas Love Field to St. Louis, possible because of changes to the Wright Amendment. Clearly American is far more interested in its new service to China than last month’s reluctant launch at Love.

11:30 a.m., on board Flight 289

We’re all settled in, we’ve been welcomed by the flight crew, and we’re going … nowhere.

Loaded down with fuel, passengers and cargo, it seems the heavy plane needs to take off on the airport’s longest runway. The problem is that lots of planes are landing on that particular runway. So we’re waiting for a spot.

With 14 hours ahead of me, I’m really anxious to get going. Most of the people sitting around me seem to feel the same way.

11:45 a.m.

We’re off!

12:20 p.m.

This flight diary was originally conceived as a live blog from the flight. Unfortunately, I had to explain to my editor that no U.S. airline currently offers in-flight Internet access. A few foreign carriers, such as Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific, have the technology, but it’s probably still a few years away for American.

So we decided to file the diary all at once, when we landed.

1 p.m.

When addressing the passengers, the pilot proudly described this airplane, the Boeing 777-200, as “the most technologically advanced airplane flying today.” I don’t have the technical expertise to know if he’s right or not, but it certainly seems impressive from the passenger point of view.

In first class, the 245-seat plane has 16 very fancy seats that can transform into fully flat beds. The seats have privacy dividers, leather headrests, and other comforts.

Business class passengers don’t have quite that level of uber-travel-coolness, but their seats are roomy, and every passenger has a powerport to connect laptops and other devices.

The amenities aren’t restricted to first and business class. Even coach seats have some perks, like personal video monitors with 10 channels of in-flight programming, and audio entertainment as well.

I’m sure the cockpit is cool, but it doesn’t look like I’ll get a chance to see that part of the plane. Oh, well.

2:10 p.m.

So I’ve got my laptop, which has a built-in DVD player, and my personal video monitor, and I could plug into the audio channels as well. What am I doing? Reading an old-fashioned book.

In this case, though, the book is riveting. It’s called China Inc., by Ted Fishman, and it’s an exploration of China’s explosive economy. The book is packed with fascinating facts about China’s remarkable economic growth, including:

* By 2025, General Motors estimates that the Chinese auto market will be larger than the U.S. market. Currently, cars are affordable for about 74 million Chinese families.

* Over the next 15 years, three hundred million rural Chinese are expected to move into its burgeoning cities. China needs to build new urban infrastructure the size of Houston’s every month to accommodate them.

* The world’s largest concrete project is the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in Hubei Province. More than 1 million residents are expected to be relocated by the giant reservoir that the dam will create. And the project’s massive demand for concreate caused a global shortage that pushed up prices worldwide.

* More than 320 million people under the age of 14 live in China. That’s more people than the entire population of the United States.

No wonder American has been desperate to tap into this market.

2:15 p.m.

We’re approximately over Manitoba and still heading north. At its northernmost point, this flight will be just about 600 miles from the north pole!

3 p.m.

Lunch was just served. I had the pasta, which wasn’t bad. It reminded me that there’s a Web site (the address escapes me) where passengers do reviews of airline food. Sometimes they even take pictures of their meals and post them online! Unfortunately my camera is packed away, so I can’t share an image of this dish with anyone.

3:30 p.m.

I just had a long conversation with Caroline Womack, an American flight attendant. She has worked for this airline for 40 years, although you would never believe it by looking at her. I certainly hope I look that great at 61!

Caroline has worked international flights exclusively for most of her career, and she is thrilled to be on the inaugural flight to Shanghai. She’s also been on American’s first flights to Rome and Dublin.

She lives San Francisco, is based in Chicago, and loves the opportunity to see foreign cities. “I want to see everything and do everything” before she retires, she said. That’s an attitude I hear a lot from airline employees, especially flight attendants, who love the travel perks.

That’s why so many employees stick with it, despite the craziness of the airline industry, with its periodic layoffs, concessions and cutbacks.

4:45 p.m.

I should sleep. All of the people around me are sleeping. But I can’t. I can never sleep on planes, for some reason.

5:30 p.m.

We’ve left Canadian airspace and are flying along a small strip of U.S.-controlled airspace north of Alaska. Air traffic controllers in Anchorage are keeping an eye on us at the moment.

6:45 p.m.

We’re in Russian airspace. American apparently had to negotiate air traffic control with Russia when it put together its application for the China flight. That’s the third government involved in getting permission to fly this route.

It sounds almost as complicated as the Wright Amendment. Almost.

7:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. Monday, Shanghai time)

We’re roughly halfway there. To honor the midway point, I’ve changed my watch to Shanghai time. It was a bit of a shock to realize it’s 9:30 in the morning at our destination point. And I haven’t even had dinner yet!

I’m going to check out the personal video monitor. The movie Chronicles of Narnia is scheduled. When that’s over, I probably need to try to sleep. People all around me have been napping, but I typically have trouble sleeping on flights, even long ones.

Have I mentioned just how smart Henry Joyner is?

9:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. Shanghai time)

I finally slept a little, fitfully, for a few hours. It’s better than nothing.

10:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. Shanghai time)

I’ve been talking to Mike Connell, another flight attendant on the trip. He tells me he helped design the layout of the airline’s galleys for the route, after he’d done similar work when American launched service to New Delhi, India. It’s more complicated than you’d think — the airplane must be able to serve 245 people three hot meals during the 14-hour trip.

“That’s a lot of food,” he said, even compared to transatlantic flights. Space is at a premium, even on the massive 777, so every inch counts.

Like the other attendants I’ve chatted with during the flight (I’ve spent plenty of time hanging around the galleys) Connell is excited to be on the Shanghai flight, although he doubts he’ll be able to fly it regularly. Even with 17 years of experience, he’s behind other, more-experienced attendants who have first pick every month of which trips to fly.

Still, he’s hopeful he can nab it occasionally. “I love flying to Asia,” he said, and also hopes to be a regular on American’s new service to India. He already makes flying to Tokyo a priority whenever possible.

12 a.m. (1 p.m. Shanghai time)

We’re about to land! Finally!

5:45 p.m. Shanghai time.

I’m finishing this up at my hotel in the Pudong section of Shanghai. It was quite an amazing thing when the passengers departed from the airplane — at least a dozen photographers from the Chinese media swarmed the jetbridge, taking photos of everyone.

Then at the baggage area, there was another reception with more speeches from government officials and American executives. Like me, most passengers are yawning, and it’s hard to pay too much attention. But it’s clear that this flight is a big deal for this city as well as for American Airlines.

Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this little journal of one passenger’s experience on the marathon flight to Shanghai. Maybe next time we’ll be able to do it live!

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Copyright (c) 2006, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

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