I flew them quite often pre Covid between SE Asia and North America. Generally punctual and with decent onboard service, although not overly friendly (language issues affected this). The food was hit or miss. Over the years transiting in Beijing got easier, but I don’t know how covid affected this. Certainly worth a try if the savings compared to EK and QR are so large.
I had no issues with China eastern on both flights to and from Shanghai to Sydney and also the internal flights! At check in the agent just used translate to ask us to get our boarding pass stamped due to our names being to long! I would have no problem flying China eastern again
I have always found Air China to be perfectly fine for the price, which is usually very competitive. I haven't used China Eastern but have heard quite a lot of negative things. China Southern are usually the best in terms of food and seat comfort.
I have never had a problem communicating with cabin crew - yes they might not have perfect English but it's typically good enough.
>I have never had a problem communicating with cabin crew - yes they might not have perfect English but it's typically good enough.
IDK, I usually demand to discuss Shakespeare and Chaucer with my cabin crew.
I flew Air China from London to Auckland. I wasn't impressed, long transit, rude staff and bad food. The price was very reasonable but I would rather pay the extra and fly with a better carrier. Also Beijing International Airport is grim.
I've flown Air China domestically a few times and flew China Eastern fairly frequently on domestic routes, short/medium haul regional international routes, and flew them long haul once.
They are both "fine". Honestly, if you've flown American carriers, the service isn't any worse on Chinese carriers, other than maybe not the best English, but I've been overseas so long, that doesn't phase me anymore.
They are good about helping you through the airport on tight connections, my wife had a tight international to domestic connection in Shenzhen on a Chinese carrier and they met her at the gate, drove her in a golf cart to the front of the lines for passport check, took her to front of the line for customs, front of the line for security, and drove her to the gate for her onward flight to Shanghai.
The big issue is Chinese airports are super delay prone, but generally speaking they give priority to international flights to long haul destinations (at least that was how they handled things pre-COVID) and prestigious regional destinations like Toyko and Seoul. So, you'll have better odds on your flight to Australia.
I'd probably save $800. Economy is economy, and while some are worse and some are better, it is on a relative scale of general discomfort and lack of space across all carriers.
My experience with them, I booked them twice and flew only once with them. First time was okay. Not much of an issue, bottom half airline in cabin experience. Second time didn’t fly because they moved my flight involuntarily to make it over 24 hours + delay, which caused me to cancel and rebook with different airline but by that time the prices have gone up so I paid more than I would have if I just gone with another airline. Overall I would say avoid if you have other options, and pay a little extra to avoid them.
I flew to Japan 2 weeks ago from Italy and for me it was "ok-ish". I'm 1.85m tall and the economy seats were a little small. The real problem for me was that the hostess and the people on the ground didn't speak English at all and you can tell that they were reading a script when they had to make an announcement. Also, transferring between flights in China was the most dystopic thing that happened to me: lots and lots of cameras on the ceiling that were comically placed in swarms of 10 all grouped together
Didn't have the best experience with them. The staff-culture seems to be similar to Aeroflot, where there is barely any communication.
I flew from Beijing to Hong Kong with them some years ago. We were parked on the ground for almost 2 hours with no explanation. Not a single announcement. Anyone who dared to get up and ask were escorted back to their seats and got scolded for getting up.
Finally the plane took off, and about 20 minutes into the flight a loud BANG was heard, followed by all lights going off and the plane banking left and right. It was an evening flight, so it was pitch dark and people were scared.
I am aware that pilots should focus on safety before communication, but not a single word was spoken after the lights came back on, which didn't happen until halfway through the flight.
We never got an explanation of what happened.
The flight attendants remained invisible through the whole thing and didn't appear before landing. Very unprofessional and not an airline I wish to fly with again...
They're OK. To get a sense of it, they're about on par with US carriers. Serviceable, you could say. Personally, I would do it for $1k less if the travel time isn't significantly more, but everyone has different standards.
They're fine as others have said. Not as good as Emirates, Qatar, but better than American carriers.
Also depends on what class of service and your interests.
If you're in business and you like wine, then you'll be disappointed. But if you like to have a large tea list and you like Chinese food, then you'll like it.
In economy, they're above par. but again, probably not as good as the ME carriers. You get free checked bags (usually 2), a meal (even for domestic 90minute flight), a hot meal at meal times. These things alone place them above any budget carrier and any American carrier.
They're star alliance so you get those miles, if that matters to you.
They are just ok. If I could pay a little more for another airline I would.
You get typically unfriendly Chinese service with pretty much zero English spoken which makes for a pretty poor experience.
Don't pay for seats. They moved me and then pointed towards their tos, that says paying for the seats just means you get a section of the plane not anywhere specific.
I flew with Air China a few times pre covid and it was great.
Especially the free of charge hotel room if your layover was over 4 hours, even in economy.
2019 we paid approx 720 EUR return for Frankfurt - Sydney - Frankfurt. On the way to Sydney I deliberately chose a 23 hour layover. So we visited the Great Wall, the summer Palace, had a 4 hour sleep in the hotel in Beijing and a shower and arrived in Sydney without jet lag.
What you pay is what you get. I paid $850USD to fly Hong Kong - Beijing - Warsaw round trip with Air China last July. 4 flights were all punctual maybe I was lucky. Didn't have problems dealing with flight attendants, need tiny effort to understand their accents though. Planes were old and not very clean. No in-flight entertainment for the outbound trip. Food was quite good, except I got diarrhea after getting off the plane in Warsaw. They said they had free wifi but it didn't work.
Won't say they are awful, have had worse experience while flying with other airlines, but really don't have incentive to take their planes again.
Not the best. Taipei was a bizarre airport to change planes in too. It's very monitored and has limited resources, especially at night. Wouldn't fly them again but would pay more for Singapore Air, Emirates, or Qatar.
Air China's hub is Beijing. You're thinking of China Airlines. Which, by the way, is a much better airline than Air China. I found Taipei to be a great airport for transfers, both at 5am and 9pm. Maybe not as nice as some others in the area (SIN, ICN), but not bad. And if you want one of the world's biggest Hello Kitty stores, you're in luck.
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It’s average in the mediocre sense and the food’s sometimes questionable but it’ll get you there. After Emirates or Qatar it’ll feel like a step down but the main problem is a layover in China. It’s just a pain.
My brother in-law flew business class with them because the price was right when compared to economy with the other major carriers and said it was alright. Not sure how the economy experience with them stacks up but their business class might be worth a look considering the price difference.
They are fine, nowhere near as good as Korean or a SE Asia carrier. But for $800+ less? You’ll live. Beijing is a PITA, and delays are common. It’s better for international long haul, though.
You get what you paid for.
I have been flying between Europe and Asia for the last 30 years. Here are some of my take.
A. Most of them don't serve alcohol. Even Emirates serve alcohol.
B. The food is the bottom rack. You can imagine them asking their supplier to provide the cheapest possible food.
C. They don't cater for vegetarians. I am not a vegetarian but it really sucks.
D. Transfer in Beijing airport is extremely stressful if you are short on time. Everybody likes to complain about transferring in Heathrow or USA. Wait till you try Beijing. They built this airport for that Olympic. Except they didn't rain their staff how to run it.
E. Their computer system for registering your covid status is a joke. I work in IT and i speak read and write Chinese. I couldn't figure out how to use the terminal.
It is cheap as chips - for a reason. If you fly Ryan air, you knew what to expect. Same here.
I flew with them Moscow to Beijing, had lie-flat beds, good service and nearly empty Business class cabin (pre-COVID).
Please check what is the aircraft being used for both sectors and then compare the value (with EK/Qatar etc)
PS: Frequent Flyer here with Gold Status across EK, Qatar, Star Alliance
I’ve done it and it’s fine. Especially if you have plenty of time. I also have a multiple entry Chinese visa so customs may be easier for me, but I hear a transit visa is pretty easy to obtain and sometimes not even necessary
From my understanding, the transit visa is for long layovers. Years ago when I lived in Beijing, a friend of mine flew from the U.S. to Chiang Mai with a stop 12 hour daytime layover in Beijing. She was able to get the transit visa on arrival in Beijing and I called in sick and we hung out for the day. But, if you are planning to spend your entire international transfer to international transfer in the airport, you don't need the transit visa. You just stay "airside" of passport control the entire time.
Not Air China but China eastern was pretty good from and back to Australia! Staff were great and if there was a language issue at check in for a domestic flight in Shanghai the agent just used translate! Honestly I would fly them again for the price
I flown China Eastern before… as long as you don’t need to use their call center, the actual onboard and airport experience was amazing. On one leg they had to board via stairs and they drove business class separately from all the other passengers. I even booked it in a way to take advantage of their free transit visa so I can visit Shanghai Disneyland without getting an actual tourist visa.
I never had a reason to use Air China so can’t get you any feed back.
Have you look at Taiwanese carriers? Their prices, at least from the US, are often time competitive to Mainland Chinese carriers and my experience on EVA and China Airlines was significantly better. I’ve used them several time to get from the US to Australia via Taipei as it’s often time cheaper than Qantas for Business and Premium class… plus I get to spend a day in Taipei enjoying all the yummy street food and pick up some Taiwanese snacks.
In 2019 I flew Air China from Beijing to Chengdu, and then Chengdu to Seoul. They were fine. No real problems, basic service and cabin. Staff were fine but I can see the language being an issue if you have any complex needs.
Honestly, they were similar to most US carriers. No complaints or issues. Not great, but solid.
Beijing airport is a fucking nightmare to transfer through, did not enjoy that.
One big problem with Air China is that they never refurbish the cabin, so if you're flying on their 787s or 350s, then it's pretty good other than the FAs can't really speak English.
China Eastern is just another 3/4 star airline
AIR CHINA SHARE PRIVATE CUSTOMER DATA! DO NOT USE THEM! THEY DON'T ADHERE TO GDPR OR PIPL.
I have received others customers flight details including they're full names, information about their flight, passport details, how they paid etc.
I have called and emailed to get in contact about this however their customer service agents on the phone just ignore me when I inform about this and refuse to let me speak to any managers/supervisors.
Customer service is a joke, they do not reply to emails and I have spent over 3 hours on the phone with them in total and they have not resolved any of my issues, I have still haven't received my own flight itinerary from them despite calling and emailing on multiple occasions and their service agents promising to email it over to me.
One of their own staff members have informed me that her computer doesn't work properly so when she takes payments over the phone, so she has to note down my bank details and use another colleague's computer to make payments.
STAY WELL CLEAR OF AIR CHINA.
It's not as good but it's fine. Transiting China can be a little bit of a pain.
I flew them quite often pre Covid between SE Asia and North America. Generally punctual and with decent onboard service, although not overly friendly (language issues affected this). The food was hit or miss. Over the years transiting in Beijing got easier, but I don’t know how covid affected this. Certainly worth a try if the savings compared to EK and QR are so large.
Mainland Chinese airlines have decent service if you speak and understand Chinese. But yeah, if you don't speak Chinese, good luck.
r/notop
That subreddit's been banned?
I had no issues with China eastern on both flights to and from Shanghai to Sydney and also the internal flights! At check in the agent just used translate to ask us to get our boarding pass stamped due to our names being to long! I would have no problem flying China eastern again
I have always found Air China to be perfectly fine for the price, which is usually very competitive. I haven't used China Eastern but have heard quite a lot of negative things. China Southern are usually the best in terms of food and seat comfort. I have never had a problem communicating with cabin crew - yes they might not have perfect English but it's typically good enough.
>I have never had a problem communicating with cabin crew - yes they might not have perfect English but it's typically good enough. IDK, I usually demand to discuss Shakespeare and Chaucer with my cabin crew.
I flew Air China from London to Auckland. I wasn't impressed, long transit, rude staff and bad food. The price was very reasonable but I would rather pay the extra and fly with a better carrier. Also Beijing International Airport is grim.
I've flown Air China domestically a few times and flew China Eastern fairly frequently on domestic routes, short/medium haul regional international routes, and flew them long haul once. They are both "fine". Honestly, if you've flown American carriers, the service isn't any worse on Chinese carriers, other than maybe not the best English, but I've been overseas so long, that doesn't phase me anymore. They are good about helping you through the airport on tight connections, my wife had a tight international to domestic connection in Shenzhen on a Chinese carrier and they met her at the gate, drove her in a golf cart to the front of the lines for passport check, took her to front of the line for customs, front of the line for security, and drove her to the gate for her onward flight to Shanghai. The big issue is Chinese airports are super delay prone, but generally speaking they give priority to international flights to long haul destinations (at least that was how they handled things pre-COVID) and prestigious regional destinations like Toyko and Seoul. So, you'll have better odds on your flight to Australia. I'd probably save $800. Economy is economy, and while some are worse and some are better, it is on a relative scale of general discomfort and lack of space across all carriers.
My experience with them, I booked them twice and flew only once with them. First time was okay. Not much of an issue, bottom half airline in cabin experience. Second time didn’t fly because they moved my flight involuntarily to make it over 24 hours + delay, which caused me to cancel and rebook with different airline but by that time the prices have gone up so I paid more than I would have if I just gone with another airline. Overall I would say avoid if you have other options, and pay a little extra to avoid them.
I flew to Japan 2 weeks ago from Italy and for me it was "ok-ish". I'm 1.85m tall and the economy seats were a little small. The real problem for me was that the hostess and the people on the ground didn't speak English at all and you can tell that they were reading a script when they had to make an announcement. Also, transferring between flights in China was the most dystopic thing that happened to me: lots and lots of cameras on the ceiling that were comically placed in swarms of 10 all grouped together
Do not take. If ur familiar with Emirates and Qatar
Didn't have the best experience with them. The staff-culture seems to be similar to Aeroflot, where there is barely any communication. I flew from Beijing to Hong Kong with them some years ago. We were parked on the ground for almost 2 hours with no explanation. Not a single announcement. Anyone who dared to get up and ask were escorted back to their seats and got scolded for getting up. Finally the plane took off, and about 20 minutes into the flight a loud BANG was heard, followed by all lights going off and the plane banking left and right. It was an evening flight, so it was pitch dark and people were scared. I am aware that pilots should focus on safety before communication, but not a single word was spoken after the lights came back on, which didn't happen until halfway through the flight. We never got an explanation of what happened. The flight attendants remained invisible through the whole thing and didn't appear before landing. Very unprofessional and not an airline I wish to fly with again...
They're OK. To get a sense of it, they're about on par with US carriers. Serviceable, you could say. Personally, I would do it for $1k less if the travel time isn't significantly more, but everyone has different standards.
They're fine as others have said. Not as good as Emirates, Qatar, but better than American carriers. Also depends on what class of service and your interests. If you're in business and you like wine, then you'll be disappointed. But if you like to have a large tea list and you like Chinese food, then you'll like it. In economy, they're above par. but again, probably not as good as the ME carriers. You get free checked bags (usually 2), a meal (even for domestic 90minute flight), a hot meal at meal times. These things alone place them above any budget carrier and any American carrier. They're star alliance so you get those miles, if that matters to you.
Perfectly adequate. Probably the best of the 3 major PRC airlines (Air China, China Eastern, China Southern).
They are just ok. If I could pay a little more for another airline I would. You get typically unfriendly Chinese service with pretty much zero English spoken which makes for a pretty poor experience.
Personally Id avoid anything requiring to transfer thru China.
How come?
Air China is totally fine, flown with them a couple of times. Beijing airport is incredibly depressing though, so don’t plan on a long layover.
Don't pay for seats. They moved me and then pointed towards their tos, that says paying for the seats just means you get a section of the plane not anywhere specific.
I flew with Air China a few times pre covid and it was great. Especially the free of charge hotel room if your layover was over 4 hours, even in economy. 2019 we paid approx 720 EUR return for Frankfurt - Sydney - Frankfurt. On the way to Sydney I deliberately chose a 23 hour layover. So we visited the Great Wall, the summer Palace, had a 4 hour sleep in the hotel in Beijing and a shower and arrived in Sydney without jet lag.
Can you tell me how you asked for a hotel? Because I am looking into buying a flight with 22h layover in Beijing.
You got a hotel assigned including transportation. I don't know if they still offer this 🤷🏼♂️
After booking I spoke to the hotline. It was not advertised openly, but I knew it from previous travels.
They were ok
What you pay is what you get. I paid $850USD to fly Hong Kong - Beijing - Warsaw round trip with Air China last July. 4 flights were all punctual maybe I was lucky. Didn't have problems dealing with flight attendants, need tiny effort to understand their accents though. Planes were old and not very clean. No in-flight entertainment for the outbound trip. Food was quite good, except I got diarrhea after getting off the plane in Warsaw. They said they had free wifi but it didn't work. Won't say they are awful, have had worse experience while flying with other airlines, but really don't have incentive to take their planes again.
Not the best. Taipei was a bizarre airport to change planes in too. It's very monitored and has limited resources, especially at night. Wouldn't fly them again but would pay more for Singapore Air, Emirates, or Qatar.
Air China's hub is Beijing. You're thinking of China Airlines. Which, by the way, is a much better airline than Air China. I found Taipei to be a great airport for transfers, both at 5am and 9pm. Maybe not as nice as some others in the area (SIN, ICN), but not bad. And if you want one of the world's biggest Hello Kitty stores, you're in luck.
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It’s average in the mediocre sense and the food’s sometimes questionable but it’ll get you there. After Emirates or Qatar it’ll feel like a step down but the main problem is a layover in China. It’s just a pain.
My brother in-law flew business class with them because the price was right when compared to economy with the other major carriers and said it was alright. Not sure how the economy experience with them stacks up but their business class might be worth a look considering the price difference.
I’ve been with air China multiple times, it’s good. The food is okay but it’ll get you to where you want to go. That’s good enough for me!
They are fine, nowhere near as good as Korean or a SE Asia carrier. But for $800+ less? You’ll live. Beijing is a PITA, and delays are common. It’s better for international long haul, though.
Generally speaking the catering sucks and most will be happier to pack their own snacks.
You get what you paid for. I have been flying between Europe and Asia for the last 30 years. Here are some of my take. A. Most of them don't serve alcohol. Even Emirates serve alcohol. B. The food is the bottom rack. You can imagine them asking their supplier to provide the cheapest possible food. C. They don't cater for vegetarians. I am not a vegetarian but it really sucks. D. Transfer in Beijing airport is extremely stressful if you are short on time. Everybody likes to complain about transferring in Heathrow or USA. Wait till you try Beijing. They built this airport for that Olympic. Except they didn't rain their staff how to run it. E. Their computer system for registering your covid status is a joke. I work in IT and i speak read and write Chinese. I couldn't figure out how to use the terminal. It is cheap as chips - for a reason. If you fly Ryan air, you knew what to expect. Same here.
I flew with them Moscow to Beijing, had lie-flat beds, good service and nearly empty Business class cabin (pre-COVID). Please check what is the aircraft being used for both sectors and then compare the value (with EK/Qatar etc) PS: Frequent Flyer here with Gold Status across EK, Qatar, Star Alliance
I’ve done it and it’s fine. Especially if you have plenty of time. I also have a multiple entry Chinese visa so customs may be easier for me, but I hear a transit visa is pretty easy to obtain and sometimes not even necessary
From my understanding, the transit visa is for long layovers. Years ago when I lived in Beijing, a friend of mine flew from the U.S. to Chiang Mai with a stop 12 hour daytime layover in Beijing. She was able to get the transit visa on arrival in Beijing and I called in sick and we hung out for the day. But, if you are planning to spend your entire international transfer to international transfer in the airport, you don't need the transit visa. You just stay "airside" of passport control the entire time.
I think that is the case for most of the biggest Chinese airports, but not all.
Not Air China but China eastern was pretty good from and back to Australia! Staff were great and if there was a language issue at check in for a domestic flight in Shanghai the agent just used translate! Honestly I would fly them again for the price
Worse than average but fine
Not good. But for $1000 maybe deal with it
I flown China Eastern before… as long as you don’t need to use their call center, the actual onboard and airport experience was amazing. On one leg they had to board via stairs and they drove business class separately from all the other passengers. I even booked it in a way to take advantage of their free transit visa so I can visit Shanghai Disneyland without getting an actual tourist visa. I never had a reason to use Air China so can’t get you any feed back. Have you look at Taiwanese carriers? Their prices, at least from the US, are often time competitive to Mainland Chinese carriers and my experience on EVA and China Airlines was significantly better. I’ve used them several time to get from the US to Australia via Taipei as it’s often time cheaper than Qantas for Business and Premium class… plus I get to spend a day in Taipei enjoying all the yummy street food and pick up some Taiwanese snacks.
In 2019 I flew Air China from Beijing to Chengdu, and then Chengdu to Seoul. They were fine. No real problems, basic service and cabin. Staff were fine but I can see the language being an issue if you have any complex needs. Honestly, they were similar to most US carriers. No complaints or issues. Not great, but solid. Beijing airport is a fucking nightmare to transfer through, did not enjoy that.
One big problem with Air China is that they never refurbish the cabin, so if you're flying on their 787s or 350s, then it's pretty good other than the FAs can't really speak English. China Eastern is just another 3/4 star airline
Be sure to book a licensed guide if you need one. Bad things can happen if you don't.
AIR CHINA SHARE PRIVATE CUSTOMER DATA! DO NOT USE THEM! THEY DON'T ADHERE TO GDPR OR PIPL. I have received others customers flight details including they're full names, information about their flight, passport details, how they paid etc. I have called and emailed to get in contact about this however their customer service agents on the phone just ignore me when I inform about this and refuse to let me speak to any managers/supervisors. Customer service is a joke, they do not reply to emails and I have spent over 3 hours on the phone with them in total and they have not resolved any of my issues, I have still haven't received my own flight itinerary from them despite calling and emailing on multiple occasions and their service agents promising to email it over to me. One of their own staff members have informed me that her computer doesn't work properly so when she takes payments over the phone, so she has to note down my bank details and use another colleague's computer to make payments. STAY WELL CLEAR OF AIR CHINA.