Air China

Customer Reviews

3 star Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 770 reviews
4/10
3 star Skytrax Rating
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5/10

"recommend this airline"

(Germany)

Trip Verified | Ground staff in Hongkong was nice and friendly. I arrived at the final call and off we went to Beijing. My neighbour complained that the airplane was old as you could not charge your telephone there. I have the feeling all the domestic Air China planes have a bit of an old fashioned feeling, but I guess it is just the colour of the seats. The food on board was okay, they first asked me which choice I wanted and then told me that one was not available. :-) Of course it was not a problem, I did not really care. Normally I ask the attendant to "surprise me" and just hand me a random meal, but most flight attendants don't like that game. What I did not like is that Air China had rescheduled that flight to arrive one hour later in Frankfurt, so my connection was a bit tight. Unfortunatelly, we spend a lot of time taxiing in Beijing (guess up to 40 minutes) until we finally left. There was no snack after boarding and drink service consisted of a stewardess walking around with a water bottle. I did not sleep that well, as my seat on that B777 was not that comfortable. Then we arrived in Frankfurt and of course I missed my train. My neighbour was worse, they had checked her in for a connecting flight with a connection time of 20 minutes in Frankfurt, which is ridiculous, I wonder why Air China did that. If they reschedule their flight, they should also change connections for passengers. It seemed the cabin crew was watching the passengers, as I woke up and had my eyes open for about 2 minutes I was handed a sandwich. Breakfast was okay, I always opt for Western Breakfast with Air China, as I do not like that "rice with water". In general, not only when handed by Air China. If Air China has competitive prices, I would recommend this airline and use them again.
AircraftBoeing 777
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteHongkong to Frankfurt via Beijing
Date FlownFebruary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
8/10

“in-flight entertainment was good”

(Germany)

Trip Verified | My Air China experience mirrors my last experience with this airline. Check-in in Frankfurt was rude like always and done by Lufthansa staff. Our plane was delayed by 60 minutes, but as I did not have any tight connections, I did not care. The in-flight entertainment was good, they had interesting movies to keep one occupied. The food was good and the staff was professional. As it was an overnight flight and I was pretty tired I did not have a lot of interaction with the crew. Transfer in Beijing was a bit of a hassle, as so many notes (including on Air China website) tell you you have to pick up your luggage in Beijing, go through customs to enter China and then check it in again. Even at the airport in Beijing signs told us to pick up our luggage, though they said in Frankfurt my luggage will be checked through to Changsha. So I waited a bit at the baggage claim and as the delivery was finished without my suitcase, I continued into China. My next flight was okay as well, I remember we did only get a muffin on that domestic flight of 3 hours and there was basically no in-flight entertainment for non-Chinese, but I had something to read, so no problem. Arrival in Changsha was on-time, I guess. I had quite some time to catch my train, so I was not that critical.
AircraftBoeing 747-8
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteFrankfurt to Changsha via Beijing
Date FlownFebruary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
3/10

"never recommend this airline"

(New Zealand)

Trip Verified | The only positive part of our experience with Air China was onboard the flight; the flight attendants were amazing. Unfortunately, the service we received on the ground in both Tokyo and Beijing was so awful, that I would never recommend this airline to anyone as a result. We had a pocket Wi-Fi device that needed returning to the company's kiosk in the same departure terminal we were in at Haneda airport Tokyo. Unfortunately, immediately after check-in, we were ushered straight into the line for the departure gate to go through customs and didn't get a chance to return it before going through. We went to the information desk and were informed that this happens often, and that all we need to do is go to our gate and the gate crew can escort us back through customs to return the device, as we had plenty of time before our flight. We thanked them and we went to the gate where there were two Air China staff behind the counter. I went up to the counter and was met with a rude stare from the female staff member who, while typing, said to me "What? What flight?" - so I responded, "I am on the Air China flight - I just wondered if you could please help me" and I pulled out the device. She immediately looked back at her computer screen and while typing said abruptly "We cannot help!". I thought, in that moment, that she was looking something up for me as the exchange was so abrupt so I stood there waiting awkwardly for a few moments, but it turned out she was just completely ignoring me and didn't acknowledge me any further. When I realised I was being ignored, I said okay, thanks, which she ignored as well, and I walked away - this took place in front a whole bunch of people in the departure lounge. For some, this may not even be an issue, and I do acknowledge that the mistake of not returning the Wi-Fi device was our own fault of course, but I personally don't care at all for this kind of unnecessarily rude, dismissive customer service. She barely acknowledged me, looked annoyed the moment I stood in front of her, and then legitimately ignored me until I went away. I would have understood completely if our request was declined, but I will never understand that kind of treatment. Following this, when we arrived at Beijing Airport, we had to go through the passport/ticket scanners. After scanning my passport face-down, I tried to scan my ticket face-down as well. It wasn't working, so I was taking a little bit longer than normal, and out of nowhere I hear someone say "face up". I look up, as I'm not sure where that voice even came from as the place was extremely quiet during this process and the airline staff member was standing quite far from me. Because I didn't immediately click that I was the one being spoken to, the staff member got annoyed at me and then shouted from the other end "face up" - this only startled me further so I fumbled trying to do what she said, which only prompted her move closer and shout once again "face up". This whole area was completely quiet, and there were four or five lines of people behind me, so I was genuinely embarrassed. Again, these might not be a big deal to some, but I've never, ever received this kind of "service" from another airline. Wouldn't bother with this airline ever again as a result, and will actively encourage friends and family members not to either.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteTokyo to Auckland via Beijing
Date FlownJanuary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"Worst company ever"

(France)

Not Verified |  Worst company ever. They couldn't find our booking so we couldn't get our plane. They didn't offer any compensation and didn't apologize. WE have waited for hours to have new tickets for another flight. Don't choose this company!
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteParis to Manila via Beijing
Date FlownJanuary 2024
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"cancelled 7 days before my schedule"

(Japan)

Trip Verified | I booked my tickets from Expedia. The airline rescheduled my itinerary with a 32-hour layover in Chengdu. I paid the cancellation fee and rebooked the flight again. Again the connecting flight from Shanghai to Chengdu was cancelled 7 days before my schedule. I had to cancel the booking again and wait for the refund. On the other hand, now I booked another flight with a higher ticket fee which is about double.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteOsaka to Kathmandu via Shanghai / Chengdu
Date FlownJanuary 2024
Value For Money 12345
no
8/10

"went very well because it wasn't full"

(Italy)

Trip Verified | Returned to travel with Air China, quick boarding at the gate, flight went very well because it wasn't full, rows of seats close together all at my disposal, (the single one is a bit narrow for XL sizes) food was normal, even good compared to other more famous airlines. Decent entertainment, several films in Italian, super crew, they came with water throughout the flight and always available, very poor offer of in-flight snacks, chocolate-covered wafers and little else. Absolute savings but the cost of the ticket makes up for it all. I will gladly return to fly with them for the price, quality and time to get to Japan. Ritornato a viaggiare con Air China, imbarco veloce al gate,volo viaggiato benissimo perchè non era al completo,fila dei sedili vicini tutti a mia disposizione, (il singolo e un po strettino per taglie xl ) cibo nella norma, anche buono se raffrontato a altre compagnie più blasonate.....intrattenimento decente , diversi film in lingua Italiana (Eva ne aveva un paio solo :-( ) equipaggio super , passavano sempre con acqua durante tutto il volo e sempre disponibili , offerta di snack in volo molto povera, wafer ricoperti di cioccolata e poco altro.... ( al risparmio assoluto ma il costo del biglietto ripaga il tutto , me li sono portati da casa gli snack) . ritorno volentieri a volare con loro per il prezzo, la qualità e il tempo per arrivare in Giappone
AircraftA350-900
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteMilan to Nagoya via Beijing
Date FlownDecember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

2left with no clothes for two days"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | I was left with no clothes for two days in a business trip with Air China from London to Seoul. Air China is a hugely unreliable low class airline that does have the responsibility to get your money and has no responsibility to compensate you for your lost baggage. Online there is no clear automatic process to get compensated for their mistake to lose your baggage. In the three emails that they have online, if you send an email with your request, all of them respond back that we are not responsible for this loss and/or they provide a phone number which is Chinese and you cannot call from the UK. My baggage got a tag in London that will be transferred to Seoul by Air China. The only responsible party for this loss is Air China and no one else.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLondon to Seoul via Beijing
Date FlownNovember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"Never flying them again"

(Japan)

Not Verified | First they cancelled my return flight then asked if I wanted a refund or would be able to fly the next day, which I chose. Unfortunately they forgot to rebook the Shanghai-Tokyo leg the following day. I was able to sort this out on the telephone relatively easily but pretty stressful at the time. In flight service was barebones. Sure they served us food which was bland and didn't taste at all fresh. Warm cans of beer too. Cabin attendants seemed irritated at having to do their job. The inflight entertainment didn't work and there was no interest in finding a fix. There was no information given to us explaining the convoluted transit procedure at Pudong. I was travelling with my daughter at the time yet our return seats weren't together. During the return leg Pudong-Narita, one of my suitcases didn't show up so I had to wait 2 days for it to be delivered. Luggage claim at Narita was a little overrun as 6 other people on the same flight also had missing luggage. Never flying them again.
AircraftA300-200
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteTokyo Narita to London Gatwick via Shanghai Pudong
Date FlownNovember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"Last time I fly with them"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | Be aware, Air China proposes several flight times with different aircrafts. But you will find that they cancel some of them 3-4 weeks before the departure date. And you end up moved onto bad flights with bad timings or aircrafts that you didn't want to book in the first place! On both ways I was supposed to fly with an A350-900 where they advertise free internet wifi (you won't get it on any other aircraft). And I ended up with both flights cancelled. Instead I had to travel to Frankfurt to get a Boeing 747-8 with a very old setup (had to get an extra day off to get this flight). And I got a Boeing 777-300ER on the way back with an even older system and a touch screen which wasn't working (had to use the joystick on the side of the armrest during the whole flight). Then, when you call them, they are simply unhelpful and try to force you to get their solution or simply give up on what you were expecting. Also, I have never seen an airline with such mediocre English speaking staff! When talking to customer support or travelling on a UK to Asia flight, you would expect people to speak a decent English. But that wasn't the case and 9 person out of 10 needed a translation tool to communicate. Crazy! Finally my connection flight in Beijing was just 1h40 after landing. Unfortunately we arrived 1h late (all our 4 Air China flights took off 40min-1h late!). Once at the airport I would have expected ground staff to guide us to reach the other flight/gate as quickly as possible. Instead they gave us a sticker when exiting the plane to show the security/checkpoint people we were late for our flight. But we still had to run and navigate in this massive Beijing airport on our own! After a long sprint and a lot of stress we managed to catch our flight, only to realise they were waiting for another Domestic flight which was even more late! We ended up waiting another 40min inside the plane before taking off. If they told us, we would have avoided us a lot of stress and pain. Last time I fly with them.
AircraftBoeing 777-300ER
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBangkok to London Heathrow via Beijing
Date FlownNovember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

"find the way to fulfill my request"

(Austria)

Trip Verified | Unfortunately days before my flight I had some serious health issues and I wasn’t able take the flight to Hong Kong. I contact with the European customer service by email to reschedule my flight but they rejected my request. However two days later my friend from Hong Kong called the Air China customer service Chinese number for reschedule my flight if it’s still possible. The Chinese customer service was amazing helpful and patient they speak great English and finally they find the way to fulfill my request.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteVienna to Hong Kong via Beijing
Date FlownOctober 2023
Value For Money 12345
yes