Is it possible to survive 13 hours on a narrow-body plane? That was the question I asked myself when I booked my tickets from Prague to the Chinese island of Hainan. The flights look tempting - exotic with no changes and almost at the perfect time. Only they are operated by a Boeing 737 MAX 9 of Kazakhstan's SCAT Airlines and with a technical stopover in Bishkek.

How is the trip, what is my review of SCAT's economy class and would I choose to fly again?

Prague - (Bishkek) - Sanya

The service between Prague and Sanya is operated by SCAT Airlines. The regular service has so far had one rotation per week on Sundays. However, since April they have added a second weekly rotation, on Thursdays. Now you can travel not for 6 or 13 nights, but for ten, which is exactly the number we liked.

Due to the fact that we are flying on a narrow-body Boeing 737, it is not realistic to fly this distance on one refueling. A technical stopover in Kyrgystan is therefore being made to refuel. The stop lasts less than 1 hour and the passengers remain on board the aircraft for the whole time.

The two flights subsequently take around 6 hours.

We bought our tickets about a week before departure and they came out to 698 eur per person. The kids got a big discount compared to other airlines, the ticket was less than 369 eur.

Standard airfare is around 575 eur per person when purchased in advance - see the calendar for available dates. ✈️

• Prague - Bishkek - Sanya
• Carrier.
• Flight time: over 13 hours
• Aircraft: Boeing 737 MAX 9
• Ticket price: approx. 698 eur

Our outbound flight was over 90% full, while the return was much less busy at about 40%.

The flight is mainly operated for the travel agency JOIN UP!, which takes clients from the Czech Republic to the holiday island of Hainan.

We opted for an individual trip and directly chose two hotels with a change of location:

• 🛏️ Pullman Sanya Yalong Bay Villas & Resort *****
• 🛏️ Sofitel Sanya Leeman Resort *****

We really enjoyed our stay and I will definitely write more details about it later.

Check-in and boarding

We traditionally arrived at the airport with optimal advance notice, about 1 hour and 45 minutes before departure.

By this time, the queue of holidaymakers had already formed at the check-in desk and it looked like we were going to be here for quite a while. To my surprise, SCAT has priority check-in for both premium class passengers and families with children. So we line up at this counter and are checked in less than 5 minutes.

We chose our seats online in advance. Classic seats were free, with only those at the emergency exits and the first three rows at a premium.

If you have the option, I recommend paying extra for the emergency aisle - you won't regret the extra legroom.

Boarding is organized and without unnecessary chaos, as is usual with other typical charter flights.

New interior and seats

Immediately upon arrival on the plane, you can't help but notice the newness. I was expecting an old scratched out baker's oven - instead I see a modern and well maintained aircraft.

New leather seats, clean bright ceilings - just nothing that really bothered me.

I sit down - the seats are comfortable, comfortable,... but no legroom! That was my biggest fear, but also my expectation. So I'm neither disappointed nor surprised.

I'll see, I'll have plenty of time to see if I can get used to this space.

Rich but repetitive service

About an hour after takeoff, the flight crew started setting up service and handing out refreshments. There was always a choice of chicken and pasta or beef and rice.

The portions were huge. Along with the main meal, you received a dessert, salad and pastries on a tray.

Departure was in the late afternoon from Prague with landing shortly before noon in China. So the menu for dinner was satisfactory, only for breakfast I was expecting something other than chicken or beef again.

For drinks there was a choice of juices, waters, coffee, tea and hopefully beer. Although the crew will happily pour you a drink at any time during the flight, you have to walk to the front or back of the cabin to get them. I therefore recommend bringing your own water bottle - it's a long flight and plenty of fluids will come in handy.

If this is not enough, you can buy sweets or other drinks from the on-board menu. The prices are more than acceptable.

Zero in-flight entertainment

While SCAT offered excessively large portions for catering, the on-board entertainment is quite different. In fact, you won't find any screens or an internal wi-fi network.

Get your tablet, computer, book or any other in-flight entertainment ready. You'll need it.

At least the USB plugs available under each seat to charge phones and tablets were a pleasant surprise.

Sleep on a 13-hour flight

But the most important point of the whole flight is the comfort and space for sleep. I'm not going to lie to you - if the flight is full and you only have your own seat to yourself, it's going to be bad.

I recommend a good quality headrest, because the seats don't have them. The legroom ends up doing relatively fine, but my back hurts and my neck hurts.

You can ask for a blanket, but it gets so hot during the flight that no one needs one.

I sleep through the first part of the flight and fall into a semi-sleep at most. But once we finish refueling and start gaining altitude again, I fall asleep hard.

Sleep eventually makes the whole flight go by so much faster that even our kids reach their destination without getting extremely bored.

My verdict

You only model the most misery and boredom in your imagination so you are prepared for the worst. It was all the more fun in the end because the whole trip went by much faster. Both on the way there and on the way back, when the whole flight was during the day and not overnight. Because the flight leaves early in the morning and you get up in the night, so you are tired and take an afternoon nap.

Would I fly again? In hindsight, I have to say yes. The flight was manageable and we found Hainan charming.