This is my long-awaited annual holiday trip. My goal was to find places I wanted to go, while keeping in mind my limited budget as a small salary-man 🙂 . After researching, I decided to travel to USA this year. Due to the increased value of the Thai Baht, I was able to save a lot on the cost of this trip. Additionally, with airlines competing with each other, the “benefit” ended up being for the consumer, like myself 😉 After comparing prices and flight times, I chose to go to New York City and return from Washington DC with Air China. The cost of the round-trip, multi-city trip was only 720 USD (approximately 21,500 THB), which I believe was a great opportunity to visit the United States, the land of freedom, for the first time in my life. I wasted no time in applying for my U.S. visa and quickly purchased my tickets while the prices were still balanced with the money in my wallet. The details of my trip from Bangkok to New York can be found below.

Flight – 1
Route : Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) – Beijing Capital (PEK)
Flight : CA980 – Air China
Aircraft : Boeing 777-300/300ER
ETD : 01:15 AM (GMT+7)
ETA : 06:45 AM (GMT+8)
Duration : 4 Hours 30 Minutes
Cabin : Economy

———— Layover time : 4 Hours 30 Minutes ———–

Flight – 2
Route : Beijing Capital (PEK) – New York Newark (EWR)
Flight : CA819 – Air China
Aircraft : Boeing 787-900 (Dreamliner)
ETD : 11:15 AM (GMT+8)
ETA : 11:55 AM (GMT-5)
Duration : 13 Hours 40 Minutes
Cabin : Economy

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I started by arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport at around 10:30 PM, before embarking on a 3-hour international journey.

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I checked in at the Air China counter at the row-U. When I arrived, the check-in line was long and stretched out. I tried to check-in online before going to the airport to save time, but the system did not allow it and said that I had to check in at the counter to show various documents since my final destination was the United States. Officials from the airline needed to see the documents before checking me in, such as proof of address or hotel reservations in the US, visa, etc. It took about an hour to check-in and get my boarding pass. (Note: if you are transiting at Beijing Capital International Airport and do not leave the Transit Area within 24 hours, you do not need a visa. This information was last updated on November 24, 2019.)

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After checking in, loading my bags, and receiving my boarding pass, I went through the security process and immigration inspection as usual. I had two boarding passes, one for Bangkok-Beijing and another for Beijing-New York, and my checked bags were also marked as “checked-through,” so I could pick them up in New York without having to go through customs in Beijing. I forgot to mention that Air China allows Economy class passengers to check two bags weighing no more than 23 kg each, which is generous compared to other airlines in the same class.

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After passing through Security and Immigration, I had some time to walk around and grab a bite before heading to the departure gate. Today, I would be boarding at Gate C-10, which is located at the far end. Boarding time was scheduled for 12:35AM, 40 minutes before takeoff.

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When it was time to board the plane, I went to the gate on time. When I arrived, Air China’s plane was already parked and passengers were lining up to board. I joined the crowd in the line. For this flight, most passengers were Chinese or foreigners, about half and half (I think foreigners may have been heading to connecting flights like me). After a while, the staff called for boarding by seat row.

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The flight loaded passengers quite quickly, perhaps because it was late at night and everyone wanted to find their seats and rest. The economy class seats on this model were arranged in a 3-4-3 configuration and were spacious enough for someone like me, who is 183cm tall. The amenities included a personal entertainment system with USB charging, as well as pillows, blankets, magazines, and headphones.

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After all passengers had boarded, the captain pushed back and took off on time. Once the plane reached cruising altitude, I started exploring the lavatories.

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Then the flight attendants came around with drinks and a hot meal service. I had pre-ordered a bland meal (BLML) in advance, as my stomach doesn’t handle heavy or spicy food very well. For dinner, I was served baked salmon with plain rice, accompanied by a side salad and steamed carrots with boiled chicken. Despite being quite plain, the food was surprisingly tasty.

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After the meal, it was time to rest, as this four and a half hour flight was a red-eye flight. I had to force myself to try to sleep so that I would be alert when we landed at Beijing International Airport. I managed to get a couple hours of sleep, but then the flight attendant woke me up to adjust my seat and fasten my seatbelt for landing. Beijing International Airport is a hub for Air China, so it was no surprise that the airport was bustling with Air China planes everywhere.

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After the plane parked at the Aerobridge of Terminal 3, I got off the plane and followed the signs that said “Transfer” to catch my next flight. (For this trip, I was transferring to a flight at Terminal 3, so I didn’t need to change terminals.) I had to go through passport and boarding pass checks (which were digital and scanned by machines, not done by people, at Beijing Capital International Airport). Then, I had to pass through security (I recommend allowing at least 2 and a half hours for connecting flights to be safe, as the lines can be long at this large airport and the security checks are very thorough, which can cause delays). It wasn’t a problem on my way to USA since I had over 4 hours, but on my flight back, I only had about an hour and a half to catch my connecting flight. I had to be Usain Bolt to make it in time.

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After that, I checked which gate my connecting flight was departing from. Today, I was flying out from Gate E26. It wasn’t too far, according to the airport map, but in reality, it was quite a long walk. Since the airport is huge, I decided to stop for a coffee before boarding my next flight and get some rest 🙂

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As the time approached, I went to wait to board the plane at Gate E26. The Dreamliner was already parked and waiting for me, and the staff called for boarding before the scheduled time because there would be a random drug check by Chinese officials at the boarding gate.

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This aircraft had Economy class seating arranged in a 3-3-3 configuration, like most other airlines. There were amenities such as PTVs, pillows, blankets, headphones, and USB charging ports. The seat width was just right for me to lean back and sleep comfortably (though sitting for a long time did make me a little sore).

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After that, the captain pushed back and we took off on time. About an hour into the flight, the flight attendants served the first hot meal. For the first meal service, there were two options: Fried Rice with Chicken or White Rice with Fish. I opted for the fish and it tasted like Chinese-style fried fish with soy sauce. It was delicious.

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After that, it was time for a long resting. During the flight, they served drinks and sandwiches 2-3 times. If anyone was hungry or thirsty, they could go to the galley to get a drink themselves. Alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine were also available at any time. It was a free-flow alcohol beverage. As for me, I requested orange juice and sat down to watch the movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” to get inspired before my trip. After finishing the movie, I fell asleep and rested. In summary, I ate and slept well during the flight. 😛

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3 hours before the scheduled landing time, the staff served the second meal. There were two options: Rice with seafood or Pork Noodle. I chose the Pork Noodle.

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After feeling full, I took a short nap during the flight over the North Pole through Canada. About an hour before reaching the destination, the captain began to descend to land at Newark Liberty International Airport in New York : ERW.

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The captain soon landed us safely at the US territory. When the plane parked at Terminal – B, I went through the immigration process, and the onboard crew distributed Customs Declaration Cards to be filled out in advance. The procedure for filling out the card is shown in the picture below. After disembarking, I followed the signs and entered the International Passport lane. I want to emphasize that the US Customs and Border Protection officers are very strict on people entering the country illegally or with unlawful intentions. They focus more on preventing such entries than welcoming visitors. Therefore, everyone who goes through the inspection will be asked, and the answers must match the information we provided when applying for a visa and during the visa interview, including supporting documents. In my case, the officers asked for my hotel reservation, travel plans, and proof of employment or work certification. And of course, we should have English language proficiency to communicate. Otherwise, it will be difficult to answer the questions at the time of inspection, which can take a long time as the queue for immigration can be quite long, and each person takes a while. I myself spent a little over an hour in the queue for immigration. For those with a multiple 10-year visa, the officers will consider themselves how long they will allow the stay in this round, which may be up to 6 months or 3 months, depending on the length of our return flight ticket. In my case, I was allowed to stay for no more than 2 days as per my return flight ticket.

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After passing through immigration and customs, I considered myself officially entering the United States of America. I travelled alone and went to collect my luggage at baggage claim, which I picked up at Belt-7 today

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Once I had my luggage, I went into the city to drop off my belongings at the hotel and to explore the city. At the time, it was around 1.30 PM local time, and I still had time to wander around. I chose to take the NJ TRANSIT train to get into the city.

As for my journey from Bangkok to New York with Air China, I have to say that I was impressed. The service, punctuality, convenience during the flight, flight duration, price, and safety were all things I would describe as just “SATISFIED“. For those looking to travel to the United States or connecting to other countries, I would “Recommend” looking into other options instead. 🙂

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Written by : SHIPY SIWARIT TIASUWATTISETH

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