So, I had something shipped to me from China on October 24th.
On October 27th it was updated to "departure from outward office of exchange"
I have come here and made many posts since then. China post has told me to wait... to wait... to wait... After about 20 days of the status not changing, chinapost told me to file complaint as it was probably lost or held in customs.
So I gave up on the package, but check it ever so often. To my surprise, USPS has just updated saying that it has arrived in Los Angeles an hour ago!!!
The status on china post never mentioned anything about being sent to plane, and most people here usually get an update within 2-3 weeks, which I did not.
Mine was basically not updated for well over a month, but it has finally made it to the US!
Not to say yours isn't lost. I'm just saying that in my case it took waaaaaay longer than anyone thought it would, but it finally made it.
I'll update when/if it arrives at my door.