China Eastern Airlines - by A Liao
6 November 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
Shanghai (PVG) - Beijing (PEK) First Class. Flight Attendants polite and professional, and the food
well cooked and beautifully presented. The seat is an angled lie-flat bed and has its own AVOD
inflight entertainment system with good programmes. A330-300 for this particular route, thus the cabin
is clean and spacious. Overall, it was a very good flight. I will be happy to use China Eastern again.
China Eastern Airlines - by L Campagna
19 October 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Shanghai-Xian Guilin. I was impressed by the new Airbus we took from Shanghai to Xian. The seats
seemed larger than those of a typical US economy class. The flight attendants were polite and had
varying degrees of English proficiency. Food service adequate, food looked a bit strange but was quite
tasty. Drink service also good. The flight to Guilin was on a smaller Airbus but the service and food
were similar. Certainly a step above domestic economy class!
China Eastern Airlines - by J Lee
17 October 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
PVG-PEK on Economy onboard an A321. My first time on MU, and was glad that the flight departed and
arrived on time. The cabin was clean and the crew was professional and friendly. However, the meal
was poor. On a 2-hour flight, I was served a sandwich with mysterious fillings wrapped in clear
plastic wraps. I wished the presentation was more appealing with the ingredients labeled. They were
playing something on the overhead TV screens but the audio system of my seat was not working at all.
The crew was able to speak simple English but it was hard for me to distinguish whether they were
speaking in Mandarin or English throughout the PA announcements. Despite all these negative comments,
MU was actually above my expectations and their product is better than most North American carriers.
At least they did not charge you for drinks, snacks, and headsets.
China Eastern Airlines - by Fiona Johnson
9 October 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
LHR-PVG-BNE return economy. have flown many times with different airlines between Australia and the
UK. This flight was the horrendous and I will never fly with China Eastern and would never recomend
the airline. The stop over in Shanghai was a nightmare. We waited over two hours for a bus to take us
to our hotel. The staff were rude and reluctant to speak to us. Some families with children ended up
taking taxis. The hotel staff were rude, the breakfast horrible and we felt like cattle being rounded
up. Some people were quite distressed by the experience. I was stunned by the lack of service and poor
quality.
China Eastern Airlines - by W Hamilton
5 October 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
PVG-HKG-PVG Economy. Usual hour delay out of Shanghai to Hong Kong, they didn't even bother to
announce it until the plane was already half an hour past its departure time. So we sat in the hot
cabin for an hour. The plane was a good 20-minute shuttle bus ride from the gate, in Hong Kong the
plane was at the gate. Flight good because on both legs the plane was half empty and I could lie down
on one of the middle rows of three seats. On the return leg cabin crew were very helpful and friendly.
Half the price of Dragonair who charge £300 for this two-hour flight and not too bad really. The seats
are tiny and I don't know if I could really fly with China Eastern on a flight over three hours.
Didn't eat the food. Normally don't bother on mainland Chinese airlines as it's normally inedible. It
would be nice on an 8 am flight to get a proper breakfast. I note that Dragonair service their planes
in Hong Kong and China Eastern in Xiamen, and this I am sure contributes to increased price and appeal
of Dragonair. I almost always fly Dragonair for this reason and because of the better food, drink, and
service. China Eastern has still some way to go to catch up, if indeed that is what they want to do.
China Eastern Airlines - by R Sears
27 September 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Travelled economy LHR-Shanghai (A340), Chongqing-Xian(A320), Xian-Beijing(A320), Beijing-
Shanghai (B737), Shanghai-LHR(A340. All flights excellent, on time and plenty of leg room.
Staff spoke good English, helpful and attentive. Drinks including wine and
beer served on long haul flights, plus good meals. Food was served on internal flights. LHR to Shanghai and return, Western breakfasts were offered,
and were of good standard. Entertainment was not up to Western standards, but a good book remedies this.
China Eastern Airlines - by A Cheng
18 September 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Los Angeles to Shanghai. Flight attendants going and returning were quite pleasant and their PA
announcement in English was understandable. Inflight meals are really not edible not to mention no in
seat video. The in seat power outlet is a plus for laptop users but on my return flight, it did not
work which was disappointing.
China Eastern Airlines - by Liz Harvey
18 September 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Return London to Sydney (transiting in Shanghai). All the attendants spoke English but to varying
degrees - but very attentive and keen to please. The inflight entertainment is not great; on a typical
10 hour flight there were a couple of Chinese films with English subtitles and a couple of English
films. There are no individual screens in the back of the seats, only overhead screens every 6 or 7
rows. Expect rice and noodles for food, all perfectly edible. The highlight of the flight was the
night stop over in Shanghai on the return journey. We were picked up by a representative of the
airline as soon as we stepped off the plane, collected our bags and then were taken to a 4* hotel
(Donghu Lingang hotel) in a minibus, about 30 mins away from the airport. I was told initially that
when I received by tickets that I would be staying in the Jinlihua hotel (3*) so I'm not sure what
happened there but I certainly did well out of it! The hotel was fantastic and the staff were great -
it was also really nice to get a decent nights sleep. We were taken back to the airport the next
morning and arrived in plenty of time for the flight. I can understand why some people have had a bad
experience with China Eastern but as long as you're not a fussy traveler then you'll be fine, and
considering the amount that I paid for the ticket, I consider it to have been very good value for
money.
China Eastern Airlines - by Gavin Slater
11 September 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
MU flight from Shenzhen to Shanghai. Short flight uneventful, plane full - food served was strange as
appeared to be mostly bought in sweet snacks (chocolates, etc), 2 drinks runs and good service form
cabin crew - no announcements at all from cockpit but flight on time with no hassles.
China Eastern Airlines - by Chris Jones
2 September 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
London-Shanghai-Sydney return. The worst travel experience of any type I have had. Travelled as a
family of 4, got off to a bad start at Heathrow when we were told that 2 of our tickets had been
cancelled. We had arrived 4 hours early and eventually cleared check in with 45 minutes before take
off, even though we where pretty much the first ones there. The old style TV positioned directly
above us was on constantly making sleep even harder due to the light coming off the screen. Transfer
in Shanghai OK and then onto Sydney via an unexpected stop at Melbourne of which we knew nothing.
Return was the same and we had no choice in seating (even though again we were several hours early).
Shanghai was dreadful. The ‘close to the airport’ hotel was a 45-minute coach journey and we sat on
the coach for 20 minutes before it set off! The Hotel turned out to be OK (Dunghu Lingang) and one of
the staff became the first Chinese worker to smile at us! Breakfast, on the other hand, was a shambles
but we didn’t really mind – guess it’s a cultural thing but even so I don’t think you should have to
look for basic politeness. We arrived at the airport less than 2 hours to departure. We found this
strange as the transport was entirely organised by China Eastern but we thought that perhaps we would
have some form of priority check in as we had effectively set off the day before from Sydney. This
turned out to be not the case and we found ourselves sat at the very end of the plane, backs against
the rear toilet with seats that reclined about an inch. They didn’t even manage to sit the family
together, we had no say in the seating during check in, and after take off when it became apparent
that other seats were free we were told that we couldn’t move. The crew performed to the standard we
had become expected and so ended our first and last journey with China Eastern.
China Eastern Airlines - by Adrian Mueller
28 August 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Shanghai-Honqiao to Ningbo in First Class on an A320. MU is only carrier serving this route, has 3
morning flights and then one at 21:05. I finished my meeting at 3PM, thus had to wait 5 hours plus the
normal delay of almost an hour, so got to the hotel almost at midnight - regretted not to have taken a
taxi which is a 4-hours drive. First class is a joke: worn Business class style seats, no food,
beverages available only water, orange juice and beer. If you fly MU First Class on short haul
domestic, be careful when price is very low (full fare 97US$), do expect a service that would not be
approved as Economy on any quality carrier. unfortunately to some smaller destinations in Eastern
China you have no choice.
China Eastern Airlines - by Roger Stone
21 August 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Shanghai Pu Dong Airport to Beijing in First Class. Two hour delay departing Shanghai due to severe
thunderstorms closing Beijing. However, the cabin crew did a superb job keeping the passengers
refreshed with fruit and red wine (an interesting combination) and maintaining a pleasant atmosphere
overall in the cabin. Considering almost all in the first class cabin were non-Chinese nationals I
could see this was an admirable job in the circumstances. The flight itself was interesting as the
flight crew constantly and cleverly diverted the aircraft around major thunderstorms en-route to
Beijing. The aircraft was a spotlessly clean A330 - with this experience, it seemed to rate a much
higher rating and appeared to be 4-star.
China Eastern Airlines - by Alain Kupferman
21 August 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Beijing to Xian and Xian to Shanghai in Economy. Good and clean planes, reasonable meals, friendly
service in the air. In Xian, over 4 hours delay (restriction of air traffic control): catastrophic
information, no meal or refreshment served.
China Eastern Airlines - by Casper Velds
17 August 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Shanghai Pudong to Beijing Capital in economy class. New A330-300, very clean. The seat for less than
two hour flight was pretty good. Most of the crew could speak English well and service was very good.
China Eastern Airlines - by Rémi Pallaro
16 August 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Paris CDG - Shamghai Pudong PVG. Economy Class, a 12-hour flight A340-600. Plane was not full, got a
window seat with 2 other seats free in my row so able to lay down. Staff english was limited but
friendly. Meals weren't huge, was often hungry. Temperature too low. Interior ambience a little bit
too saddening, so Was the thin blanket. Arrived at Pudong at 7am, airport almost empty, luggage
quickly delivered. good value for money if you can enjoy some extra seats to balance the poor seat
pitch.
China Eastern Airlines - by Thorkild Lykke
17 July 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Kunming-Dali and Lijiang-Kunming-Xian in First class. Aircraft on both
flights B737 with 2x2 seating and good pitch. Slippers and lots of warm
towels handed out throughout the flights. The best feature was check in
at Lijiang airport - Tickets, passports and luggage was given to the
officer at the VIP-counter, who escorted us to the first class lounge
immediately. He returned 20 min later with boarding cards, baggage tags
etc. At the time of boarding, the security check was directly from the
lounge to the gate. On the 2hr stretch from Kunming to Xian full lunch
was served - starter, choice of entree, fresh fruit for dessert. The
relatively little extra price you pay for first class on Chinese
domestic flights are worth it.
China Eastern Airlines - by Michael Kasberg
3 July 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Beijing to Shanghai in business. Check in took one minute, Lounge with
drinks and some food, overcrowded in the morning. Modern A 320, seat
configuration 2-2, seats were very wide. Welcome drink and slippers (for
a 2 hours flight!) were offered before take off. FA`s spoke good English
and were very attentive. Food was good, two choices of main course, no
wine, only beer, tea, coffee and soft drinks were served. Flight was in
time. Compared to a 2 hours flight in business in Europe China Eastern
did a good job.
China Eastern Airlines - by Simon Whittaker
31 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Heathrow - Sydney Return (via Shanghai). The plane was modern, service
fine and food OK (if you like noodles, noodles and noodles). Inflight
entertainment is indeed abysmal, with the old fashioned one screen
between 10 rows. A couple of films were OK if fairly grainy while on the
way back a truly awful film was about to be repeated for the third time
when a mutiny started and it was changed! All flights were on time,
however the time of take off when we arrived at the airport on every
occasion was different to the time on the ticket (within 30 minutes
always but still a bit worrying). Can't comment on the hotel on the way
home as we stayed a week in China so didn't use it. All in all - you get
what you pay for. Take plenty of books / entertainment of your own and
you'll be fine. For slightly extra comfort and better in flight
entertainment I'd only pay up to another £100 for this trip.
China Eastern Airlines - by Jack Chen
20 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
JFK-PVG business class. Seat is so disappointing. Better than UA old
business class seat, but not as good as Cathay, or JAL. Similar to
Continental, but the seat cannot be fully stretched on the leg part, so
your leg will be 'hanging' while you're sleeping. Food is good (chinese
food). Breakfast excellent, congee, noodles and some dim sum. However,
there is no menu, and you have to wait until the meal time in order to
find out what choices you have (unusual in business class). Also, ear
plugs are only available upon request, and no noise cancelling headphone
like Cathay or Singapore. No travel kit for business class passengers
(such as toothpaste, mouth rinse, and things like that). Flight
attendants speak enough English to get by (as other noticed). I waited
about 20 minutes for the luggage. Business class luggage does not come
out early. Overall experience is better than most American airlines,
but worse than most Asia airlines.
China Eastern Airlines - by J Liu
5 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Shanghai - Chengdu round trip economy class: During May "Golden Week" holiday, CEA acquitted
themselves very well on this trip. Outbound A330 was spotless, FA dressed and groomed very well.
Inbound A321 also very clean, excellent attentive service, with smiles all around. This week was
"Yunnan Culture Week" and they handed out nice little trinkets to all the passengers, and served up
food that was very tasty and satisfying for a change. Overall, a most pleasant flight and the best
I've experienced thus far from China Eastern.
China Eastern Airlines - by David Cox
5 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
Flown with China Eastern domestically a few times now. (Shanghai -
Xi'an, Kunming - Lijiang, Kunming - Xi'an and Lhasa - Xi'an). Service is
usually reasonable with English speaking FA's. And hot food is usually
served, except the short Kunming - Lijiang flight on which they still
managed to serve cold drinks. Never had a problem with check-in and only
the Shanghai - Xi'an flight was delayed by about half an hour. Biggest
problem is that the English safety video/demonstrations get cut short,
and on the Lhasa - Xi'an flight, they finally did the safety
demonstration half an hour after take-off. There isn't any competition
on domestic flights as all Chinese airline prices are regulated by the
CAAC.
China Eastern Airlines - by R Moy
3 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Airbus A340-600 Economy Class Los Angeles to Shanghai Pudong and back. I
do not think anyone will find the seats comfortable for long distance
travel. The seats are narrow, leg room lacking, and seat cushions are
hard. What I find ironic is that we took a smaller Airbus from Shanghai
to Beijing and back that had more comfortable seats! The seats from a
Southwest Airlines 737 is wider, has more legroom, and better cushioned.
I am 5'10" and 205 lbs. The service from the staff was very pleasant -
smiling and ready to assist you with drinks. Both flights were on time.
The food served was adequate for Economy Class. Overall not a bad
carrier - next time I will try their Business Class.
China Eastern Airlines - by Alan Cheng
27 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
BKK-PVG A343. The old business class seats are terrible and hard to
sleep in - seats in premium economy of most airlines are better than it!
These business class seats don't even have a leg rest. I flew MU from
BKK to PVG many times but have been impressed by the business class
seats on the A330 and A346 - If you are travelling on business class on
the A343, think twice. Service is acceptable. The only time I was served
hot meal was just last week when I flew to PVG. Don't dream of the plane
departing on time - or surprised when its cancelled.
China Eastern Airlines - by Jane Tarrant
26 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
No frills but perfectly ok for the cost. If this is not an issue it would probably be better to go
with a main carrier as food and in-flight entertainment not as good. However, staff pleasant and no
real quibbles. Return flight late but offered free drinks within a few minutes. I wouldn't rule out
flying with China Eastern again.
China Eastern Airlines - by Alejandro Canton
20 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
A330 Beijing-Xian economy. Swift boarding, all female, stern looking
though polite FAs. Full breakfast basically Chinese. Good width and
pitch with lumbar support. FAs spoke good English. Would fly with this
airline internationally.
China Eastern Airlines - by Kylie Archer
20 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Firstly, departing Sydney the plane was delayed, a problem which I can
understand as the plane arrived late from Melbourne. However, the
situation became a lot worse once I was on board the aircraft. I was
seated in seat 11c. During the journey I realised my in seat
entertainment was not working, nor was the button to recline my seat or
the air-conditioning or even the over head light. When I mentioned this
to the hostess, I was told I could try and find a seat elsewhere, but
that she couldn't ask anyone who had two seats to themselves for one of
their seats. The temperature on the plane soared. The heat was so
oppressive on the plane that I actually began to feel quite ill. I said
this to the hostess and was told "It is broken and you can take a walk
to the back of the plane where it is cooler". This was not the only
problem as 2 out of three toilets at the back of the plane were not
working as they had no water in them. The problems did not end with the
arrival at Shanghai airport. At Pudong airport we were told to give in
our vouchers and go through immigration and baggage claim. At no point
were we told where to meet nor were we accompanied through customs where
we had to wait for our passports to be stamped. This meant that on
collection of our bags myself and another girl went through the customs
section of the airport and found ourselves lost. After about half an
hour we saw some other people from our flight (also lost) and waited
together looking for people from the flight. Eventually we met the
group and were put on the bus to the hotel. At no point were any
instructions given to us as to what we were doing. Upon arrival at the
hotel our passports were taken by Hotel Staff and kept for the night. I
asked to keep my own passport and leave a card imprint as security but I
was told no. The shower in my hotel room was unclean as was the toilet.
During the night I was woken by a phone call at 5am, another at 6am, 7am
and again at 8am. So much for a good nights sleep. The next morning,
when we went to collect our passports the hotel had lost the passports
of two of the hotel guests!
China Eastern Airlines - by P Timmis
20 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Economy London-Shanghai-Melbourne, Melbourne-Sydney-Shanghai-London.
All flights on time; planes clean; food a bit repetitive and bland but
edible; flight attendants pleasant and welcoming; ample soft drinks and
cans of beer available. Stopovers in Shanghai both ways; hotel adequate
with a good market nearby on the Saturday morning. Overall good value
for the money. We have had a lot worse from main carriers.
China Eastern Airlines - by Martin Edwards
15 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Economy Class Kunming - Guilin. Very efficient check-in and boarding at
Kunming. Flight were professional and courteous but had limited
understanding of English. Inflight English announcements were largely
unintelligible. Breakfast some kind of beef & vegetable stew with rice!
Can't criticise the airline for this as this appears to be very much to
local Chinese tastes. Also included was a punnet of fresh cherry
tomatoes, which were delicious.
China Eastern Airlines - by Andrew Wright
15 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Xian to Chengdu in an A320. The exterior could have done with a wash,
but the interior was okay. Legroom was fine, though the seat heights
were rather short for a westerner. Small LCD screens popped down during
the flight to show a promotional piece that flickered between colour and
monochrome. It was all in Putonghua, so I have no idea what it was
about. We were given bottled water and heated Chinese meat and pastry
buns wrapped in foil which were very tasty. Announcements were in
reasonable English and Chinese. Overall a competent, but turbulent,
flight.
China Eastern Airlines - by Samuel Spriggs
10 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating : n/a
Club class London-Shanghai-Sydney outbound and Melbourne-Shanghai-London
inbound. The prices make allowance for the difference in China Eastern
standards compared to other airlines. Check in at all locations good.
The flights are not up to bigger competitors standards, but are better
than tourist class flights we have ever made. The meals are a little
quirky, but by selecting those items we wanted to eat, we fed
adequately. Shanghai - Sydney plane was really good. On the return leg
we were provided with overnight accommodation at the Donghu Lingang
Hotel, about 45 minutes drive from the airport, with breakfast
included. This is an excellent hotel. No one could be negative about
this hotel, and the breakfast provided was sufficiently varied to allow
any westerner to find what they wanted hot or cold. The transit
arrangements at the airport were slightly bizarre, getting to the bus,
but otherwise were ok. I did ask a couple of passengers who were
travelling tourist class what their opinions were and both were positive
about the flights and the accommodation.
China Eastern Airlines - by Sonia Pawar
20 March 2007
LHR-SHA-MEL, MEL-SYD-SHA-LHR. My husband and I travelled with our son
who was 14 months at the time. We booked with CEA as the flight price
was considerably less at this peak time. Return Flights were £1000 each
- about 1/2 the price of the next available carrier at the time.
Outbound Plane looked very dated indeed. We chECked in early so as to
ensure first row seats for leg room and space for our son. London to
Shanghai was smooth, inflight entertainment left a lot to be desired. A
film starring Eric Cantona and a monkey was the movie - and on loop! We
had read comments from other passengers after booking our flight and as
such packed our own food - hence were not bothered about the food
served. Staff were very helpful with our son. Shanghai to Melbourne the
chECk in staff would not allow us front row seats, however as flight was
relatively empty we had plenty of room. Again we had our own food
packed. The plane on this 2nd leg of the journey was cleaner and newer.
Inbound Journey - We didn't realise when we left Melbourne our flight
would be stopping at Sydney - this was never communicated to us, Much to
our annoyance, cabin crew requested we leave the flight to recheck in.
So we had to wake our baby, grab our bags, check in again at Sydney to
then reboard the same plane and sit in the same seats were originally
at!!. Plane new and clean and staff very polite - much more than the
outbound flight. They were helpful and playful with our son. We had
front row seats (we ensured this again my checking in hours earlier).
The food was actually quite good on this journey, but we had packed
rations in case!! Our son was also offered a lovely range of baby food
which we were pleasantly surprised about. The not so great part of the
journey was the stop off in Shanghai. No organisation at all. 2 hours
after claiming baggage, with children falling asleep all over the place
CEA had still not organised pick up of the Economy passengers. The
Fathers all clubbed together and as soon as the first wrecked people
carrier arrived Mothers and Children all jumped in. Our baggage was all
in pile outside, but in the exhaustion we left and hoped it would arrive
at the hotel. At the hotel - chaos - all economy passengers queued up at
chk in to be served by 2 staff - another two hours passed and we finally
had our key to our room - on the 11th floor! Exhausted we dropped our
bags and then legged it outside for food - and were greeted by the
Golden Arches - you would have been relieved had you seen the offering
at the hotels restaurant. Mu husband and I decided to get up much
earlier than needed, and we decided to make our own way back to the
airport via cab - to avoid the fiasco we had getting here. We arrived at
Shanghai Airport 5 hours earlier and were the first in the queue to
check in. We requested front aisle seats and were declined - we did not
budge until they were provided. Shanghai to London journey was good -
this was mostly down to the amount of people we had made friends with
whilst in Shanghai who were kind and helpful to us and our baby. The
satff were also good on this flight. Considering the price we paid, we
cannot complain really. If CEA want to make improvements they should
change the Shanghai hotel to Ramada (a regret that we didn't just pay to
stay there). Next time we decide to travel to Auz we will plan well in
advance, so as to go with another carrier - mainly due to the stop off
in Shanghai which let us down. If you are on a tight budget, happy
eating your own packed dinner and snacks and can rough it anywhere, then
this Airline is fab.
China Eastern Airlines - by Andy Proudfoot
20 March 2007
LHR-SYD via Pudong. I thought that for the money this wasn't too bad an
experience. Surprised how much of the meals I ate (even though they were
basically all similar - ie either 'Pork rice or beef noodle' or vice
versa). My only gripe on the meal front was that there wasn't enough of
them - especially on the return Shanghai to Heathrow flight - this was
14 hrs instead of the advertised 12 and meals were served 1 hr into and
2 hrs before the end of the flight. No alcohol (supposedly) but I am
sure I saw a couple of people being presented with cans of Budweiser.
In-flight movies were pretty awful - and they showed a number of them
twice in succession. Having resisted the duty-frees on the way out and
the first leg coming back I decided to splash out on the final leg
(you've got to fill the ten+ hrs without food somehow) and buy the
'pilot bear' (very cute) and the leather wallet with free smaller
leather wallet (very leathery) - so imagine my disappointment to find
that none of the goods in that section of the Duty Free book were
available. I thought FAs were ok - their English was adequate as long as
you kept to the script. Had the compulsory one-night stop-over on the
way back in the wonderfully eccentric Jin Lihua hotel, which I loved
(though can see how some people would hate it). Overall not too shabby
for the money - and if they flew Shanghai - London in a straight line
they could even do it a little quicker.
China Eastern Airlines - by Michelle Wang
8 March 2007
Shanghai-Sydney-Shanghai in Feb. At the Sydney boarding gate, a China
Eastern Airline agent took away my husband's boarding pass and tore it,
then handed him another seat far away from me and our two kids. Upon
our questioning, they said that they gave his seat to another person.
We were shocked! We were the first passengers checking in after flying
in from Cairns 5 hours before this flight. They double assigned the
seats and gave no announcement during all these hours while we were
waiting at the gate. Not to make the delayed flight delay further, we
boarded without further complaining. During the flight a passenger got
caught smoking in the lavatory. A male flight attendant gave him a mild
reprimand and confiscated his lighter.
China Eastern Airlines - by Mike White
6 March 2007
London-Sydney Rtn. Business Class. A340-300 to Shanghai-Pudong. Seat
pitch not as good as A340-600 or A330-300. FAs exceptionally attentive
with quite acceptable English skills. Dinners were 3 courses with choice
of 3 entree dishes. All excellent Chinese style dishes. Breakfast
choice of western or oriental - or both! Alcohol lavishly served with
meals; water/juice/refreshment towels regularly served throughout all
flights. IFE individual monitors with about 4 current Western films. 3
Hour layover at Shanghai Pudong in Business Lounge then newer A330 to
Syd with much improved seat pitch and seat modules. Inflight Service as
good. Return to LHR via Shanghai A340 with good seat pitch and similar
inflight service etc. Overnight accommodation at Pudong was at Donghu
Lingang Hotel 40 mins travelling time. Airport ground handling for this
was perfect. Hotel was spotless with exceptional service. A340-300 back
to LHR. Not heard of China Eastern before this trip. Ticket price
cheapest by far. In terms of Business Class travel, this airline is
underrated at 2 Star overall. They need to dump or refit the A340-300,
otherwise, this Airline is on the up.
China Eastern Airlines - by J Liu
28 February 2007
Shanghai-Hong Kong round trip. Outbound a new A330, pleasant cabin,
comfortable seats. Return an old A320. Hot meal served on both flights,
not fancy but edible. Haagen-Daz ice cream on the return flight was a
bonus. Flight attendants efficient, but almost robotic in their work.
Poor video entertainment, no English language reading material so bring
your own. Overall, nothing major to complain about, but that pretty
much sums it up about China Eastern, if the flight is on time and
routine.
China Eastern Airlines - by Kay Chapman
26 February 2007
London-Sydney trip. I have done this trip twice with this airline.
Flights ok for the money. Plenty of leg-room and non-alcoholic drinks,
but take your own food! My first trip had an excellent stopover but
beware. The airline has stopped using the Ramada in Shanghi and the
replacement hotel is just awful. Beyond belief. Filthy dirty, cold, a
restaurant no-one would ever care to eat in. I will not use this
airline again, until the stopover hotel returns to the Ramada or
somewhere of equivalent quality.
China Eastern Airlines - by Ken Snashall
13 February 2007
Jan 4th plane broke down, sent to hotel in Slough on outward journey.
Got us up next morning at 5am rushed to LHR took off 9am. Hotel at
Shanghai terrible - stopover time cut from 36hrs to 8hrs. Return flight
cancelled due to overbooking - had to make lots of phone calls to
arrange flight next day, once again hotel in Shanghai was rubbish, could
not get a proper drink. Shanghai to LHR even worse. In my view, anybody
using this airline needs their brains tested.
China Eastern Airlines - by Stuart Scott
5 February 2007
China Eastern from Shanghai-Pudong to Melbourne. Plane an ageing Airbus
with oil streaks and faded paintwork, interior was heavily worn and
fittings were loose. Fare was Business Class. Food was poor, served
fried Spam for breakfast. Seats in Business Class did not recline fully
on overnight flight. Only English entertainment was 'Starksky and Hutch'
on a continuous loop. I will never again fly this airline by choice.
China Eastern Airlines - by Ed Freitas
1 February 2007
Flew London-Shanghai and return. Not too bad either way, in fact
probably better than expected. Flight Attendants friendly, a regular
flow of water/juice servings through the night. There was no inflight
entertainment apart from an overhead screen with a well-used video
needing a bit of head cleaning, same movies shown on the return flight.
Would probably fly again as a reasonable option to Shanghai.
China Eastern Airlines - by Michael Kinghorn
29 January 2007
China Eastern Airlines from Seoul Incheon International Airport to
London Heathrow via Shanghai Pudong Airport. I opted for China Eastern
as I wanted a one-way ticket and China Eastern was the cheapest option
at 400GBP. The flight from Seoul was on-time and operated by a new and
clean Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The crew couldn't speak English, but a
flight from Korea to China, I wouldn't expect them to. Their inflight
service was brilliant on this 1 hour 40 minute flight. A hot meal was
served and very tasty. There were also drinks rounds on the flight. I
was extremely disappointed with the transit procedure for passengers
with connecting flights. My onward flight was four hours later, again
with China Eastern Airlines. I couldn't proceed straight to the gate.
Instead, I had to go to the transit desk and check in for my next flight
(even though my baggage was checked through to Heathrow) and then
through immigration and customs, before arriving back in departures and
having to join even more lengthy queues at security and immigration!
This pointless mission took a whole two hours and I had to complete six
forms. This should never have been expected of me as I didn't want to
enter China! The airline seriously needs to review the way in which
transit passengers are dealt with. The onward flight to Heathrow, like
every China Eastern flight to London, was delayed. The flight (operated
by an older Airbus A340-300) left just over an hour late. The service
was alright, but not as good as the flight beforehand. The crew spoke
very little English (this was definitely a problem). If you can tolerate
an airline which is rarely on-time, with staff that don't speak English
and inflight entertainment that is extremely poor, then China Eastern
are alright. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again, if they are able to
undercut other airlines by such a large amount!
China Eastern Airlines - by Scott Welsh
26 January 2007
China Eastern in business class from JFK to Shanghai PVG. Very new
Airbus A340-600. Food and service was good. Flight attendants spoke
enough English to get by. Some in flight announcements were hard to
understand. Normally fly NWA to China, but China Eastern price less than
1/2 NWA price. Would fly again.
