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 ? Air China Customer Reviews = 129

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 Personal screens on back of headrests but movies were outdated.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.

AIR CHINA review :  10 March 2009 : by Torsten Kaminski  (Germany)

Rather unusual route Athens to Paris CDG on very new A330. Very comfortable and almost luxurious even in Economy. Seat pitch comfortable, would have no problem to go long haul on this aircraft. Cabin and wash rooms clean. Individual screens and remote control easy to use. Food ok, not bad, not great either. Wine was served as if it would be hard liquor, however they were more generous with beer and soft drinks. Cabin crew efficient and friendly but not many smiles. A pleasant experience, but I could imagine that on older aircraft it can become more average.

AIR CHINA review :  4 March 2009 : by Tom Hill  (Vietnam)

Chengdu - Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific code share with Air China. It might have been an Air China issue. Having lived in China for three years I suspect it was a China issue. While the charming lady at check in had the ability to check our bags through to DCA on her terminal, her printer would not print the tags. It was working fine for all other destinations. She offered to check them through without tags. The helpful Cathay Pacific staff in Hong Kong solved the problem for us and we were on our way. The Air China flight itself was fine. But I still prefer DragonAir.

AIR CHINA review :  23 February 2009 : by J Parkes

Beijing to LHR 15 February. I have never been on an international flight before that didn't serve alcohol. An hour into the flight we asked the most unhelpful cabin crew could we get a gin and tonic - and the answer was no, we don't serve spirits. On a more positive note, a thimble full of wine was available with lunch.

AIR CHINA review :  16 February 2009 : by G Chew

Beijing-Harbin rtn. Outbound in economy B777 fairly busy, but I had the middle 5 seats to myself. Takeoff delayed for unknown reason, but the crew served tea and water during the 30 min wait. The captain gave very little warning before takeoff (we seemed to have been parked on the runway), as FAs were still walking around when the engines revved into life, and we were off. Hot meat roll served for breakfast, along with drinks; nothing spectacular, but adequate. I only bought a ooneway ticket, so needed to buy a return in Harbin. On the service hotline was able to make a reservation, but not pay for it on a foreign CC, or cash at the airport, so I spent 2 hours going to and from their town office (staff there couldn't care less). Return flight on A330 in First Class (the new Business Class seats) very good. The shared lounge was grotty. Crew efficient and friendly. The angled lie-flat seat is comfy, although there isn't much rooms for shoes etc. Slow baggage delivery in Beijing.

AIR CHINA review :  5 February 2009 : by K Zhou

PEK-Hangzhou-PEK. PEK-HGH sector was a lot better in terms of service. Very attentive staff. Good choice of newspapers. And for the first time I fly within China, the Captain made an announcement - very short but improving. But horrible food, a Chinese-style beef burger and nothing else (it is usually the case for domestic CA flights outbound Beijing). Horrible seat as the seat was broken and was mended only by some sticky tape (it was a B772 aircraft but appeared overused). The return flight was a joke: long queue in check-in counter (only 2 counters for a B777 flight!). It took them half an hour after take-off to serve the meal, which was supposed to be served after a round of beverage service. Beverages were given only once after the meal with only few choices of drinks. I chose CA for a 7-day new year holiday trip home only for the price. I've flown all airlines on Beijing-Hangzhou route and I won't hesitate to say Hainan Airlines is the best, definitely.