Thanks for all your heartening replies so far.
I have been trying to educate myself about air travel but still have a few questions at the back of my mind.
The distance from the populated west of Russia until you get to China is huge. I see Irkutsk airport on the map but nothing either side for huge distances. What would happen if the plane ran into difficulties and was nowhere near this airport?
PVG seems an even busier airport than PEK looking at movements on flightradar. What do those of you who travel to China frequently think about Chinese Air Traffic Control and their ability to handle large numbers of flights? I normally travel by train in China because the railways are so good.
Any pilots here fly the A350 frequently? What do you think of it? I have read some pilots are unhappy with the A380, another recently made Airbus plane.