Flight Log of Delta Airways Flight 128 from Beijing Capital to Seattle on October 27th, 2016

by admin

I wasn’t expecting to go back to the States so soon.
No, I wasn’t, but somehow I messed a crucial part of the application process, and only way I could remedy that mess was to make a visit to the States during the school session.

Thankfully, the class schedules for senior-year undergraduates were usually pretty empty. Also, since it’s not peak times, the airlines were offering jaw-dropping rates across the pacific.
Yes, I thought a return trip to the west coast from Beijing at 3485 CNY with Delta Airlines was pretty much bottom, until I searched for flexible days at found the Hainan+Alaska combination offering 29XX CNY options. Well, I found consolation that the 29XX CNY rates came with overnight transfer at Seattle on the return trip.

Also, since the US Embassy bought into Cornell’s month-long “conference” and issued me a B-type visa, it saved me the burden of paperwork ~~and presumably lies~~ on the visa part.

The images in this post are hosted on Imgur. Email me should there be any display problems.

GPS tracking is here.

So on the morning of October 27th, I left my dormitory ~~and all the chores of schoolwork~~ and headed for the airport. I used the same route as two weeks ago, but a lot earlier to save that last-minute dash to the check-in counters (I definitely don’t want a no-show on a crucial international flight). So this time, I arrived at the airport a good 2.5 hours before departure.

Ground Floor at Beijing Airport Terminal 2
With some travelers spending the night on the chairs.

Check-in Counters at Beijing Airport Terminal 2
Given most international flights operate from Terminal 3, the check-in counters at T2 seemed somewhat deserted by Chinese standards.

Boarding Passes

Since Boeing 767-300 was the smallest modern plane that was used to cross the Pacific, the lines at check-in were pretty modest by Chinese standards. Then I proceeded to the securities, where the lines were again Chinese modest. I was almost beginning to fall in love with this not-so-crowded terminal.

China Southern Airlines A388(B-6138) Being Towed

China Southern Airlines A388(B-6138) At the Gate

Delta Airlines B763 (N182DN) At the Gate

I was pretty confident with my time-management, that I didn’t wait for long before boarding time.

Boarding Flight to Seattle

Onboard Delta Airlines B763 (N182DN) to Seattle

With so many posts, I don’t think I need to mention the fact that I modified the contrast of the following photos due to limited visibility.

Hainan Airlines B788 (B-2722) At the Gate

Miraculously, there’s no air traffic control as we were able to push back on time.

Hainan Airlines Fleet at Beijing Airport Terminal 2

KLM B744 (PH-BFE) Taking Off

Beijing Airport Terminal 3C

Xiamen Airlines B752 (B-2869) Taking Off

Korean Air A333 (HL-7554) Taking Off

China Southern Airlines A388(B-6138) Taxiing

International Part of Beijing Airport Terminal 2

China Southern Fleet at Beijing Airport Terminal 2

Overlooking Apron North of Beijing Airport Terminal 2

Overlooking Beijing Airport

Awesome Tail Wind

Not long after takeoff the cabin crew began distributing refreshing towels and eye shades and earphones and arrival cards. To be honest, I’m quite pleased with the quality of Delta eye shades, but that’s the end of all the good things onboard this flight.

Lake Da-Bu-Su(大布苏)

Farmlands and Salt Lakes in North-East China

Swamps by Lake Chagan

Lake Cha-Gan(查干) and Lake Xin-Miao-Pao(新庙泡)

River Songhua Crossing Farmlands in Northeast China

River Songhua outside City of Harbin

Meal Services
I picked fish, and to my disappointment, I found multiple bones in it.

The cabin crew on this flight seemed to be Tokyo based, as they were serving drinks with Japanese labels on them (while speaking not-so-good Mandarin).

River Tang-Wang and Town of Hao-Liang-He

River Tang-Wang(汤旺) and Town of Hao-Liang-He(浩良河)

Villages by River Songhua

Flying along Chinese Border with Russia

Amur River Border

Fire Burning in Russia Far-East
It’s harvest season, and they are burning straw stubble.

Clouds over Russia Far-East

After I finished my meal and we entered Russian Airspace, I tried to catch a few naps. But since I already slept for a few hours on the night before (I know I shouldn’t, though), none of those naps lasted long.
To add to my sleep misery was the cabin crew, which hopefully didn’t represent the best of Delta. I know I sat on a window seat, but I don’t think that distance from the aisle justified the crew of “throwing” whatever they were required to serve onto my tray table, and waking me up, and that includes a bottle of water and a mid-flight snack package.

Sunset and Clouds over Sea of Okhotsk

Oh, one more thing not so pleasant about Delta. After waking up from the naps, I attempted to catch a few movies from Delta’s personal entertainment pad. (No, Delta didn’t fit all the 767 seats with power outlets, which was bad already.) To my great disappointment, Delta thought the best way to display a 21:9 movie on a 16:9 screen was to cut the margins off, rather than the common sense of leaving portions of the screen black to fit the entire content in. No, I won’t watch 16/21 portions of a movie while being reminded that the content was presented by some lunatic from Delta’s tech department.

Kitchen onboard Delta B763

Bathroom onboard Delta B763

Delta Airlines B763 Cabin

Some Head Winds over Alaska

Snacks Served before Landing
Delta called this “light breakfast”, I called it “a very basic snack”.

On flights of similar durations, other airlines (including AA three months ago) would try to make their second “light meal” services look more like a meal than just snacks, but I was pretty sure this is not the case for Delta.

On final approach, the clouds were thick and I only got glimpses of Seattle just before landing.