Air China Passenger Reviews and Air China Customer Trip Reports

Business class Beijing-Sydney, only recently upgraded to 777-300 service. Priority boarding for an on-time departure, and early arrival. Friendly and welcoming service (with reasonable English skills) and very comfy lie-flat seating including a warm cotton duvet and good sized pillow. 2-2-2 seating 'angled' including a large screen with customizable moving map functionality that was as much fun as the entertainment selection. Food good but not a large selection and a limited selection of drinks but no big deal. Would definitely recommend.

The staff, outside meal times, were non-existent and chatting amongst themselves in the galleys. I wasn't expecting much English - but at least enough to me what was going to be in my meal. The entertainment system at my seat didn't work and when I alerted a flight attendant it was met with a shrug of the shoulders. HRB-PEK with old aircraft and tired crew. However, offering of blankets and pillows on this flight, as well as offering second meals did slightly improve my opinion such that I did not give the airline a lower rating.

Beijing-Hong Kong. Final leg of a code-share with Turkish Airlines originating in Denmark, transferring in Istanbul, transferring to Air China in Beijing, and completing segment in Hong Kong. Flight was delayed in total 5 hours. Ground staff gave at least 3 separate explanations of the delay. Passengers gathered around the Gate Desk and demanded answers after waiting more than 2 hours. When the flight boarded, passengers came with numerous bags giving no regard to any of the printed limits or specifications on size or weight of carry-on items. The food selection was of significantly low quality. The aircraft itself was dated and seats were below average in terms of comfort. As a frequent international traveler, would not have expected Air China to be included as a Star Alliance member. Will not recommend.

Flew in July, Sydney to Milan via Beijing round trip. Great price for the trip, service on board was excellent, on all sectors much to my surprise after reading reviews beforehand. Food although average it was plentiful and there were many drink runs throughout. Staff were also very accommodating and professional despite the language barrier but that was expected as it is a Chinese Airline. I will definitely fly Air China more in the future and they should be commended for their onboard service.

I flew Vancouver to Beijing, Beijing to Delhi. The flight crew completely ignored economy class, we only saw them at meal times. The other passengers decided they could move seats and sit wherever they pleased and the flight attendants did nothing, I didn't sit in my pre-selected, assigned seat in either direction. The toilets were filthy and the stench was horrid. It was quite a bit cheaper than the other airlines I looked at, but I will not be taking them again on my next trip to India.

FRA-PEK-MNL vv, Economy Class, November 2012. One of the best priced tickets to take me were I wanted to go. We flew B777-300 FRA-PEK vv and B737-800 from PEK-MNL vv. Never felt uncomfortable onboard. Aircraft's clean, and spacious on all legs. Entertainment and food on B777-300 excellent. The only that was irritating was the quality of English the crew and ground staff spoke.

The price difference between Singapore Airlines and Air China is not huge for SIN PEK. Check-in at Beijing was average. Did not receive clear direction to lounge. Hot food was finished by 830pm so had to go airport cafe for dinner. The male toilet smelled even though it looked clean. Had to take a bus to board the plane. No instruction as to which bus. Business class boarded after economy! Very long seat although the seat can be wider. Very comfortable lie flat bed as I slept 5 hours out of the 6 hour flight. The food was plentiful but not very good quality and drinks selection limited. The flight attendants were actually quite good and attentive, but they lacked product knowledge as four staff unable to work out how to lift the TV screen, and the economy passengers were let to rush into exit on disembarkation! As a 4-Star airline Air China is not on par with Thai Airways or Swiss International.

SYD-PEK-LON-PEK-PVG-SYD in early October. The aircraft's deployed on all the legs of the journey were relatively new. Flight attendants pleasant and the inflight food was good. I had my ipad with me so did not check out the IFE. Toilets were regularly cleaned. Flight from PVG to SYD delayed 2 hours. The airline was $400 cheaper that its nearest rival on my preferred route. Will fly Air China again for the right price.

Sydney to Munich (via Shanghai and Beijing). Our flight Sydney to Shanghai, where we had a technical stop was fine. However, our flight to Beijing was delayed for reportedly ‘weather reasons’ although, when we arrived in Beijing with a delay of 4 hours, there were no signs of any bad weather. As a result of the delay we missed our connecting flight to Europe. In the arrival hall all, all service desk were closed and unstaffed, despite around 40 people also missing their connecting flights with Air China. The flight attendants from our flight made the effort to call some service staff and left us. After 1 hour of waiting no one had turned up. We eventually made our way into the departure area (without having visas for China) where all Air China counters were also unstaffed. The one staff member we found was unable/unwilling to help us and advised us that Air China service desks would open at 6:30am (4 hours later). Rather than getting a hotel room, meal vouchers, assistance in booking to connecting flights and, most importantly, an apology as is standard service with every other airline, we had no choice other than finding a bench in the departure hall and try to sleep there. There were families with babies/small children travelling with us and had to do the same. At 6:30am all stranded passengers queued for the service counter which also could not/refused to help us and referred us to the ticketing counter which would open an hour later. When it eventually opened, the staff suggested booking us to the next flight to Munich which would depart 18 hours later. I said that was unacceptable and asked to be booked on a Lufthansa flight to Munich (4 hours later). Lufthansa and Air China are both in the Star Alliance and I assumed it was standard practice to use partner airlines to get passengers to their final destinations as quickly as possible in those circumstances. However, she refused to book us on Lufthansa. I had to make the suggestion to fly via Dusseldorf (7hours later with Air China) which was reluctantly arranged. We then had to pick up our luggage and check it in again. This involved another 1.5 hours of waiting time with the result that, after receiving dismissive and rude answers from baggage staff, we were informed that both our bags had gone missing. We filled in the missing luggage report, which took so long that it was too late to go to the hotel that Air China eventually offered (although fellow travellers reported that Air China expected random people to share rooms!). We arrived in Munich with a delay of over 17 hours. We have emailed Air China asking for feedback on the terrible experience we have made but after over one month, we still have not received a response. Throughout our trip, Air China staff were rude, dismissive, and at the first moment keen to say "this isn't my responsibility".

PEK-SZX. The outbound was a B747-400, business class was on the upper cabin. Staff service was excellent with good food. The inbound was an old B777-200, seat pitch was not satisfactory. But service and food were good.

For the price from Australia to Europe return, Air China is excellent value. But traveling through Beijing and a sneaky hidden stop over in Shanghai to your destination puts a sour taste in the mouth. For a start even though you are transiting through China to you're destination you must clear customs in both Shanghai and Beijing, this process is 10/10 in the stress factor especially if you are a first time traveler via these cities. As this was our first European holiday my wife and I found out the hard way that cheap airfares are cheap for a reason. As for Air China as a carrier I can not complain the service was good food typical for an aircraft seats average for comfort in economy class entertainment good. If it wasn't for the headaches and stress in transiting through China I would most certainly use Air China again.

SHA-PEK return First class (business, but they sell the tickets domestically as first). The outbound was an A330-300, had comfortable flatbed. Inbound leg a Boeing 777-200, less space compared with A330 and the seat could not recline much. Flight was on time and was offered nice dim sum. The flight attendants were quite responsive.

PEK-FRA on a very old B744. Actually, I chose Air China just because other airlines are full. 744 had no personal TV for economy class, so if you cannot sleep on a long haul flight, please consider very carefully before booking. The seat is quite good, it should be a 33~34" pitch seat, and I slept quite well during the flight. Two meals on the flight, the first one was about 2 hours after take-off, the second one was around 2.5 hours before landing. However, if other airlines are available with not much disadvantage on price, I will not choose Air China.

SHA-PEK return. Inbound trip was with an A333 aircraft and the outbound was with B772, both wide-body jet, but the latter has no fully flat bed. But considering the flight lasts less than 2 hours, it's OK. The flight arrived on time and the services in the lounge and onboard were standard. Many domestic airlines offer Shanghai - Beijing route, but I think Air China gives the best offering as far as both hardware and software are concerned.

Economy, London Gatwick to Osaka via Beijing in mid-August and back via Beijing but to London Heathrow in early September. Cheaper than the others by £200 + a seat. Timings of flights excellent and quick with only 2 hour turnaround in Beijing. Planes Airbus A330-200 ok with 2-4-2 pattern. Seats no worse than many other airlines in economy - maybe an inch more than some. Food quality ok. Wine only served at end of main meal! Staff fine. Loos ok. Entertainment a bit limited and one seat back terminal ropey and you need the double mono adapter. Flights all pretty much on time. Beijing transfer is a bit tricky first time - go to the "transfer passenger" queue on the far right of all other queues, looks slow but works ok, then down escalator and back through security. We fly long haul every year, sometimes several times and for the money and on this experience we thought Air China were fine.

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