Shanghai Airlines

Shanghai Airlines is China Eastern's subsidiary with its own name, livery and FM flight code, flying from both Shanghai Hongqiao and Pudong. The parent handles the bulk of the widebody international network; Shanghai Airlines runs a tight domestic and regional operation with one long-haul-capable flagship of its own, and it sits inside SkyTeam alongside its parent.

The fleet is easy to hold in your head: Boeing 737s in several fits, a 737 MAX 8, and a three-class 787-9 Dreamliner. The complication, as so often with Chinese domestic fleets, is that the same 737-800 flies in four different layouts, and which one you draw changes both the business cabin and the economy density.

The published layouts cover the 737-700, four versions of the 737-800, the 737 MAX 8 and the 787-9. All the 737s carry a real two-by-two business cabin at the front, but the cabins are not equal: the roomiest fits give the front seats a notably longer stretch than the densest ones, and one -800 layout trades economy rows for an extra row of business.

The 787-9 is the aircraft the airline saves its full range for: a one-two-one business cabin where every seat folds flat and reaches the aisle directly, a real premium economy in a two-three-two layout behind it, and a nine-abreast economy at the back. That premium economy cabin is the thing to notice, a genuine intermediate product rather than a marketing name.

On the 737s, business is a comfortable regional recliner and the natural pick for the longer domestic trunk sectors, with the caveat that its generosity varies by fit. Economy is a standard three-by-three, denser on some layouts than others, with the marked legroom at the bulkheads and around the over-wing exits.

The 787-9 changes register entirely. Business is a private, all-aisle-access flat bed suited to overnight flying; premium economy offers a wider seat, deeper recline and more pitch for a fare between the cabins; and economy gets the Dreamliner's quieter cabin and better air. For anyone connecting from a domestic 737 leg onto the widebody, the difference in product is the widest gap in the fleet.

On any 737-800 booking, check which of the four layouts is flying, because the business cabin, the exit rows and the density all move between them. In business the small cabin means the seats are broadly matched, so take the front row for the quickest exit. In economy the exit rows carry the legroom, and a couple of fits have window seats near the wing with no window behind the armrest.

On the 787-9, the solo-friendly picks are the window-side business seats; premium economy suits anyone who wants more room without the business fare; and the economy bulkheads carry the extra knee room. The rows deepest in each economy section sit against galleys and lavatories, so book forward of them when the flight is long.