AIR CHINA   Passenger Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports an official 3-Star Airline   Add your Air China review   Air China official 3 Star ranking   Airline Reviews : A-Z Index   2009 Quality Approval Status ?

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AIR CHINA review :  8 July 2009 by Gerald Muench   (Australia)

Economy from Sydney to Frankfurt. Plane was 5 hours late, and the connection to Frankfurt could not be reached. In Sydney, they could not book us on the next flight in Bejing, therefore and we only got boarding passes to Bejing with the comment "they will sort it out". A330-200, quiet, food was mediocre, films ok. Seats were not designed for a 9 flight. In Beijing, the transfer counter was incompetent and obviously the information of the delay and the connecting passengers was never relayed to them. The seven of us (fortunately two people spoke Mandarin) were negotiating with them for two hours before they decided to put us on a LH flight. They were really convinced that the initial delay was not their fault (which might have been true), but also that everything following on is also the passenger's not the airline's problem. In addition, without a transit visa you can not leave the airport, and they were not really aware of the consequences. Needless to say, that w did not get food vouchers or a free stopover offer.

AIR CHINA review :  15 June 2009 : by R McCarthy  (Australia)

PEK-BKK, Business Class. I upgraded to Business class on request at Beijing Capital Airport. I paid about $450 AUD, and ticket counter was very efficient at processing my change. Check-in easy, and the Business Class lounge - while a walk from the boarding gate - was nice and quiet and well-stocked with nibbles. The staff in the lounge were a bit absent - some passengers were helping themselves to items from behind the bar due to staff not being present. I was annoyed that after arriving at the gate and hearing an announcement that 'business class passengers may board at their leisure' I lined up in a long line only to be herded onto a completely packed transfer bus - no priority boarding. Once onboard, a nice seat among seven others in a small business class cabin. Service friendly and reasonably efficient, if a bit scatty. Food lovely, but not what the menu said. The menu option said 'beef lasagna', but I was served 'vegetarian ravioli'. Wine okay, and topped up regularly. Cold towels and a pre- takeoff drink, and an amenities pack including eyeshades despite the five-hour flight. Overall, Air China's medium-haul business class product was fine for the price and I would fly them again.

AIR CHINA review :  15 June 2009 : by D Grimm  (UK)

LHR-PEK return. Incredibly good value - £370 return. Entertainment fine, food was not great. Staff were OK if not amazing.

AIR CHINA review :  13 June 2009 : by M Klemt  (China)

SHA- PEK on B777-200, departure 20min late, due to delayed aircraft arrival at airport. Cabin crew stressed and arrogant. Toilet interior old and broken wall fixed with some tape. Drinks limited, no beer. Horrible snack, warm fatty Hamburger like item.

AIR CHINA review :  5 June 2009 : by A Lee  (Canada)

Economy YVR-PEK-SHA and PEK-YVR. I was happy to be able to do a web check in for my YVR-PEK and PEK-SHA legs. Aisle seat for YVR-PEK in a 2 seater but not a lot of leg room. If you want more leg room I recommend going for an aisle seat in 4 seaters which I had on my way back. On all my flights I had many English speaking flight attendants. Personal screens on back of headrests but movies were outdated. Food was ok and plenty of opportunities for beverages.

AIR CHINA review :  1 June 2009 : by J Kang  (China)

JFK-PEK on a Boeing 747-400. Aircraft slightly old, interior needs some refurbishment. Service on board was excellent. Cabin crew attentive and helpful. Seats comfortable. IFE slightly outdated. Food delicious. Overall, excellent service on board.

AIR CHINA review :  7 May 2009 : by Patrick Letham  (UK)

I had the misfortune to fly with Air China on CA901 and then CA902 on the 27/29 April. Arrive to check in at 0730 for an 0930 flight to be told it had closed. It would have been good to know about the change. Then the check in agent tried to sell a Mongolian Airlines ticket. After getting the duty manager I was able to funnily enough catch the Mongolian Airlines flight scheduled for the same time. The return on the 27th departure time changed three times and eventually the nine hours later that we took off from Ulaanbaatar and the stewardess apologised for the weather in UB being the problem. Just for reference it was a clear, sunny, cool, windless day so in reality it was not the weather. The moral of the story is that if you have to fly Air China, then keep reconfirming directly with the departure airport about when and if you are leaving.

AIR CHINA review :  27 April 2009 : by M. Coomes  (USA)

SHA-PEK Business class, over all great even though it was a short flight. No meal served but there was plenty of drinks. It was a newer Boeing 737. Had to take a shuttle from were the plane landed at Beijing. Like many mentioned, domestic flight in china, FA's English is close to non, otherwise no problems at all.

AIR CHINA review :  24 April 2009 : by C Tomkinson  (UK)

The legroom seemed much better than the Air France 777 from which we had transferred and the crew were very attentive and spoke good English. I had requested special diet, which appeared on these flights but not on Air France. The aircraft were modern and comfortable.

AIR CHINA review :  19 April 2009 : by Simon Butler  (UK)

NRT-PEK B777. My first time on Air China and I was suitably impressed. Friendly and very attentive crews. I've noticed that Asian carriers tend to patrol cabins for customer service more than western carriers whose crews tend to throw out the meals and then disappear. Hot meal served on this 4hr flight and plenty of drinks given. Inflight music and film available but on main screens. This flight was 50% full but I'm not sure it would be as comfortable on a full flight in view of the 2-5-2 seating in economy. 5 middle seats seems a little extreme. Overall I was impressed.

AIR CHINA review :  7 April 2009 : by C McIntyre  (Canada)

YVR-PEK Business class. Multiple choices for food, seats were great, enjoyed the thicker blankets. Staff didn't understand even basic english. Limited movie selection and advertising before each entertainment selection very tacky and annoying after the first half hour. YVR Lounge was OK, although our camera was stolen while we were waiting, so guests should still be very aware of the people around them. PEK Lounge freezing cold - all airport staff even in the duty free as well as lounge were wearing full length jackets to stay warm. PEK - Bangkok terrible - everything about the flights were terrible, from service at check in for boarding passes, seats that were cramped, unfriendliness of attendents - the 4.5 hour flight felt longer then the 12 hours to Vancouver.

AIR CHINA review :  19 March 2009 : by D Chang  (Canada)

HKG-PEK Business Class on an A321. Pre-check in over Internet on the evening before. Friendly check in staff and extended invitation to lounge. Good food offering at the lounge. Y cabin was completely full and there were 3 empty seats in J. A hot lunch was served shortly after take off, choice of 3 entrees. The portion was generous and was tasty. Landed at PEK on schedule but was assigned to an outer bay. A special mini bus was on hand to take business class passengers to the terminal. The bag was already on the belt was I arrived at the reclaim area. The only complaint would be the limited ability of English language of FA's but they were friendly and did their best to accomodate. All in all, I was very pleased with CA.

AIR CHINA review :  10 March 2009 : by R McCarthy  (Australia)

PEK-SHA, Economy Class. Air China used quite an old Boeing 737 on this route, with an extremely tired-feeling interior. However, the service was efficient and friendly, safety a priority (de-icing, several seat-belt checks and announcements) and a hot breakfast was served. The airport experience at Beijing Capital was lengthy, however this was mostly the security procedures - not necessarily the fault of Air China. Baggage claim in Shanghai Pudong was quick and easy. All in all, I was quite happy with my first experience with Air China and would have no hesitation to fly them again.