China Eastern Airlines Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports

Four domestic flights within China during June. The flights were all on time except the first from Shanghai to Beijing which was delayed for 30 minutes. Meals served on three of the flights and the food standard was quite good. Seat pitch very good for economy. Baggage delivery extremely prompt. Can recommend this airline.

Flight LHR-PVG-SYD. Airline cancelled one of the flights leaving me with an overnight stop in Shanghai, which admittedly they informed me of in advance and paid for. All the legs were fairly consistently about an hour late. New A330 flat beds from/to London were pretty good; flights to/from Sydney had older angled beds which were much less comfortable. Only one flight had a menu, in other cases the cabin staff gave you a minimal description of a limited choice of mediocre food. Western movies were all fairly old - I cannot comment on the Chinese ones. Staff were all very helpful, although the English skills of some of them was limited. Overall not a terrible experience, but not wonderful, and the prices were good. Keep your boarding cards; only one of my sets of air miles appeared without prompting.

Had a terrible flight back from Shanghai - very noisy and food was not good neither was the inflight entertainment. No impressed at all. but I must say that the crew did their best. Have travelled around the world on many flights and this was unforgettable! (not for the right reasons). Would not travel with China Eastern again.

Shanghai to Melbourne. The food was awful, I asked for a vegetarian meal and the first one was re-heated dried up veggies. The 2nd dinner was a repeat heating of the same. Staff infrequently offered water, tea or coffee. The headsets were faulty - full of static. The seats were uncomfortable. Left on the tarmac for 2 hours from Shanghai to Beijing without explanation other than it was a traffic hold-up - we later learned an earlier flight had similar delays.

Chengdu-Kunming, Kunming-Shanghai Hongqiao, Shanghai Pudong-Yibin, Luzhou-Shanghai Pudong, all delayed 1-1.5hrs,never on time! The so-call domestic "first class" product and service is like a joke, awful food and drinks, uncomfortable seat. Somehow cabin crew are friendly, that's the only positive point.

Hailar to Beijing Nanyuan on a 737-700. Excellent service from a smiling and eager flight crew on a full plane for a two-hour domestic haul. Readily refreshed non-alcoholic drinks and regular flight information made for a pleasurable journey.

In late May I flew flight CZ6522 for a mid morning trip from Shanghai to Dalian. The overall experience from check-in up to deplaning was very good. I had flown this route a couple of years ago and noted that the overall service seems to improved over that time. At check-in the very friendly agent was able to provide me the much coveted exit aisle seat so I would have room for my laptop. I then proceed into the modern terminal at Shanghai's Pudong airport. Boarding was on-time, quick, and efficient. Flight departed late after a long delay on the runway but still managed to arrive on time. During the flight the attendants were friendly and helpful serving a round of beverages and a hot boxed lunch. (one choice Asian menu). The only thing really less than ideal was deplaning by stairs for a bus to the terminal and a long delay for baggage.

My sister and I travelled to Cairns Australia via Shanghai. First leg of the flight for approximately 12 hours from Heathrow to Shanghai. We were offered a drink at the start of the trip. My sister and I both asked for red wine, the stewardess poured about an inch of wine in the cup. On the next visit after the meal they had run out of red wine, had no beer and no other alcohol on offer! I have never been on a flight where there was no bar service! It was the same on the 3 other flights. The food was atrocious and I'm not a fussy eater. A choice of only 2 meals each time, either pork and rice or beef and noodle. On one of the flights there was no choice, the fish meal had run out! The staff weren't at all friendly and hardly smiled, although the inflight video showed a lovely cup of coffee with very happy staff, this wasn't at all what we experienced.

I travelled from New Delhi to LAX via Shanghai with my 2 kids. Except in-flight entertainment, I found this flight a great value for money. I could not see any reason to complain. Would recommend.

Flew from Matsuyama (MYJ)-PVH-HKG return. All flights outbound were within 15 minutes of being on time and on the way home, both were early. The transfer at Shanghai which, on the outbound trip involved getting a transit visa to allow me to visit the city was pretty easy. Return transfer was pretty straightforward. Surprised to receive meals on all legs despite them only being around 2 hours long. Presentation of the meals wasn't the best and the quality wasn't great but there was plenty to eat and some of it was pretty decent. Pretty much unlimited free drinks and all but one leg had beer. Ultimately they got me and my luggage there and I got the bonus of a day trip to Shanghai. Staff did their jobs and the planes were clean and some seemed very new. Would have no qualms about booking with them again.

Shanghai-Sydney economy. Dinner was inedible. Wife asked for a red wine and was served a glass of port, couldn't get another - alcohol ran out after one drink. First movie was an old French thing, couldn't read subtitles. Second was an old Chinese movie. Third movie was the second movie repeated! Fourth movie was the first movie again! Just ridiculous and the longest 11 hours I've ever suffered.

China Eastern Airlines from Delhi to Los Angeles and back for the first time. Had asked for wheelchair assistance, got it on all legs of the journey except Los Angeles to Shanghai. Got a wheelchair on arrival in Shanghai, took me to the transfer desk to validate onward journey to Delhi and then said walk past security check. Very poor quality food, same meal served for Lunch and dinner.

Flew March-April 2013 - 7 times during a 3 week trip, including round-trip from LAX-Shanghai and 5 trips within China, including Hong Kong-Shanghai (round trip), Shanghai-Beijing, Beijing-Xi'an, Xi'an-Chengdu. None of the flights were on time. All of the food was pretty bad (even for airplane food standards) and all the in-flight entertainment was outdated. We did have one recent American film shown, but it was a 1.5 hour flight, so they cut it off before the ending. They are quick to warn you regarding turbulence, and flight attendants are plentiful, responsive and apologetic. Speaking of the meals, the entree is always a meat/brown gravy rice or noodles congealed mass. Best meal was the Chinese breakfast of yoghurt, fruit, and pork and chicken dumplings. Drinks/Soft drinks are frequently served, but beer/wine, if at all available runs out quickly. Also an FYI regarding switching off your electronic devices approaching landing - they initiate this process 30-45 minutes before you actually land. Seats were pretty standard for economy, but if the person in front of you reclined, the pitch was so that it made your tray table unusable.

Flew from Sydney Shanghai on MU562 in economy. I managed to get an exit seat as I am very tall and this was one of only 2 positive things I can say about the flight, the other being the perfect landing. The food was very basic chicken with rice and later noodles with pork no vegetables, followed by a small fruit salad eaten with plastic cutlery and practically thrown at us by the flight attendant. When drinks trolley came round I asked for a gin and tonic only to be told we have no alcohol in economy, to say I was amazed would be an understatement. There are no video screens in the seats and you have to watch whatever appears on the old fashioned wall mounted screens which consisted of 4 foreign movies with subtitles. I know you get what you pay for but this flight did not live up to my expectations of what a modern carrier should be providing.

FCO-PVG-MEL, SYD-PVG-LHR, all in economy class. Except for PVG-LHR there was no AVOD or PTV in economy. PVG-LHR was a PTV screen with good selection of movies etc. Only basic drink selection. Tasty food. Seating as in most airlines. Transfer in PVG, you need go through immigration, so count on about 2 hours transfer time.

Flight SIN-PVG with Airbus 320 and after 7 hrs stopover PVG-LAX with Airbus 340-600, Both flights were relatively on time. No complaint, leg room is satisfactory, only the stopover is a bit too long, and not much to do at PVG. Poor inflight entertainment.

PEK - SHA (Hongqiao). Beijing to Shanghai Shuttle. Typical confusion at Beijing Airport, Check in service at PEK is not the best, but Flight attendants are well dressed, efficient and friendly. IFE was available, but not needed. Food and Drinks top notch.

HKG-PEK. Meals were good and comparable to other economy airline food. Attention to detail seems to have improved markedly at China Eastern since my last flight with them. I even enjoyed the quality documentary played during the flight. There was a wide range of English films. Good legroom and comfortable seats. Flight attendants were very attentive and smiled.

HGH-PEK. The oldish, but well maintained A320 was very clean and despite the high load factor (99%), cabin crew was keeping smile and worked in efficient way. Nevertheless, the hot meal as a dinner was disgusting like every time, flying this carrier. Leg room was ok, but the best thing were those friendly men sitting next to me. Best value for money, definitely will fly again.

Sydney to Vancouver via Shanghai. I travel extensively and the service, punctuality, food and checking in was up there with the best! On 2 of the 4 legs there was no entertainment but with tablets and ipads what does that really matter especially when you are saving a considerable amount on the airfare. The food was first rate and the service great, every flight was on time.

SIN-PVG-SIN in economy class. A330, SIN-PVG which was quite a new plane, comfortable seats with personal IFE, flight departed on time and arrived on time. Flight attendant's service attitude need much improvement. They just 'throw' the food to you which was quite a shock to me. PVG-SIN, A340-600, delayed for half an hour without any announcement neither apologize when in the plane. It was an old plane with no personal IFE. I flew with MU because of cheap tickets else I would rather pay a little more for better service and inflight experience.

HKG-PVG-SYD, all flights delayed and no personal entertainment. Although it costs HK$1000 cheaper than Virgin Atlantic direct flight, the overall ranking was much more worse.

JFK to BKK via PVG in Business class. Good service and food. Old style business class recliner seats with about 160 degrees of recline and adequate space. Cotton duvet and pillows are nice but the plane was not very clean. Flight attendants are ok. PVG transfer involved a longish walk and convoluted lines but was not bad. The PVG lounge was crowded and with uncomfortable seats and OK food. Overall, good value for money.

Recently flew from Shanghai Hongqaio to Qingdao on MU 5525 scheduled to depart at 08.30 am. Flight boarded on time and in common with all Chinese domestic carriers the cabin crew hustled passengers to get their gear into the overhead locker and take ones seat. Doors closed at around 08.25 am, then we sat and sat and sat for 5 hours. Reason given was runway congestion at Hongqaio (a constant nightmare at this airport). After about 2 hours the food trolley was rolled out and the boxes containing bread, cake and some nuts were handed out along with some drinks. We eventually took off 5 hours later. The 1hr 20 minute flight to Qingdao was uneventful. This is my 11th year of domestic flights in China and its always the same flying north in winter from Hongqaio airport.

Check-in was uneventful in FRA, used the Sakura lounge (JAL). The business class product on this new A330-200 was superb. The business class section is divided in 2 sections: 18 and 12 pax in a 2x2x2 configuration, giving a very cosy and warm atmosphere, plenty of space. This aircraft is equipped with proper, full flat bed. The bed is a good 2 meter long, about 50 cm wide (maybe more) the seat fairly wide (although narrower than SQ) which should not be a problem. We had all the amenities you can expect and a very soft comforter and pillow. The food was pretty good. we were offered a pre-dinner drink and a selection of Chinese style or western style food was available. The crew was available during the whole flight at the snap of a finger. The only negative points is that we were rushed through the meal. We had to slow down to make them understand there was no rush! Although the crew was nice, trying their best to be polite and use proper English to get understood, some lacked the elegance to provide a high standard service. The entertainment system was pretty good, a large screen, great picture and good selection of movies. Overall it was a very relaxing flight, very good value for money in Business Class.

PVG-DPS-PVG on the Airbus 330-200. Proper full flat bed. Good service although rushed through the meal again but we made sure the crew understood we wanted to eat slowly! Very comfy seat providing a good 6 hour rest. On these regional flights you don't get the full onboard amenities but it was ok. The blanket could be longer as it does not fully cover your body when lying down. The crew was nice, always trying to help. English is not their strength - but the experience was good. I would fly with them again in business class as their fully flat bed was very comfy.

London to Sydney via Shanghai and return. All sectors on A330. Full flat bed on 3 sectors, older cabin with good recline on Sydney to Shanghai sector. Two sectors on time, one with 90 mins delay, one with 60 mins - acceptable in my book. Plenty of choice of entertainment, even for four long sectors, on AVOD. Service from cabin crew was mostly charming and efficient but sometimes let down by difficulty with English. Food was variable but generally very good. Skyteam lounge in LHR very good, Qantas lounge in Sydney excellent but China Eastern lounges in Pudong very poor. Overall, four very pleasant flights and the flat beds with duvet and pyjamas a nice surprise. Considering the price I paid was equivalent to Premium Economy on BA, Virgin or Cathay, it was outstanding value for money.

Beijing to Shanghai on 25th Feb 2013. ETD was 10.00 pm but flight left at 00.30 hrs. Circled around Shanghai for half an hour before being diverted to Hangzhou due to bad weather. Landed Hangzhou 02.30. Door not opened for an hour. Mayhem at counter. Hotels offered at 04.30 and buses for those who wanted to take train to Shanghai as flight was uncertain. This is the third time I have had such an experience with China Eastern and it's sister airline Shanghai Airline. The worst participants in the SkyTeam along with Delta.

Vancouver (YVR) - Xi'an (XIY) via Shanghai Pudong (PVG). Vancover-Shanghai sector was good, with a fairly new plane with seat back screens with AVOD and a reasonable range of films, games etc. Legroom was probably above average. Dinner was of poor quality though breakfast surprisingly good. Drinks limited in range. Staff polite but not very communicative. By contrast the PVG-XIY sector was horrendous. Our original connecting flight had been cancelled and changed 3 months earlier, this flight (from Japan) was delayed, then diverted when fog came in. Told to rebook for the next day but there was mayhem at the desks with limited staff unable to cope with increasingly angry crowds. No hotel accommodation provided. Eventually, I went back to the desk on a whim and discovered our flight had been reinstated, but China Eastern hadn't announced it. We re-checked in and rushed to the gate just in time. Very cheap fares, and now we see why.

BKK-KUM. We used this airline because its schedule meshed with ours and the cost was very economical. Luckily we had extra time built into our schedule because the aircraft left BKK over 1 hour late and of course we arrived at KUM more than 1 hour late. Aircraft was an older 737-300 and the cabin showed a lot of ware, the rows were placed very close to each other and the plane was full. FA’s were pleasant and seemed to work hard at attending to the passengers needs and serving the meal. The meal was hot, be we were not sure exactly what it was except it was supposed to be some type of chicken dish. When we arrived at KUM the aircraft was parked at a remote parking place and all the passengers had to deplane down portable steps and ride very full buses a long way to the terminal and immigration.

KUM–CTU. My wife and I traveled from Kunming to Chengdu to visit the Chengdu Panda Base. We took this airline because it was the best priced option. Our experience with this airline is that no matter what their schedule says, they always seem to leave late therefor they always arrive late and this happened on this flight as well. Because it was a late evening flight there was no food service, but there was a beverage service. FA’s were efficient in their duties and very helpful to the passengers. Aircraft was a newer 737-800 and appeared to be well maintained. The seats were well spaced and all appointments were well done. When we arrived in Chengdu our gate was not far from the baggage area, which was just across from the arrivals area.

SHA-PEK. MU flight operated by FM old 767 aircraft and FM crew. Seat very worn and very uncomfortable. No in-flight entertainment. No food provided, only beverage. Delayed by 1 hr. The only good thing is that crew are friendly. Will opt for CA on this route in future.

FRA-PVG-BKK. FRA-PVG flights on time on new and clean A330-200-completely full high season flight but crews were very friendly and attentive. 2x meals Lunch and breakfast were served each with 2 choices (Asian and Western) but this time the drinks offers were limited to soft drink, 1 sort of beer and 1 French red wine only. AVOD with over 700 programs of films and games is more than enough. During the night flight crews came around regularly with water and soft drinks. We seated near the WCs and saw that cabin crews often cleaned the WC which was appreciated. Transit at Shanghai Pudong was better organized than last time. Onward flight PVG-BKK on smaller A320 without AVOD (only shared screen), flight full, crew pleasant but worse English skills than on Frankfurt leg - Lunch (2 choices of Chinese), again limited drinks offered. Return flights BKK-PVG with 90 minutes delay. After landing in PVG with only 30 minutes of transit time - thanks to escort of CEA ground staff- smooth and quick transfers with immigration and security checks. PVG-FRA on very new A330. After arrival in Frankfurt CEA ground staff told us that our luggage will arrive a day later. Only two minus points - first for food and beverages which have gone down in quantity and quality and second - the slow cabin service. Will use again.

Shanghai Pudong-Kunming, Tengchong-Kunming, Kunming-Shanghai Hongqiao. Aircraft's new and well maintained, crew friendly, flights all more or less delayed for 1-2 hrs, no inflight entertainment, awful and very simple food served, even for fist class. Beverages are very low-quality.

Flew from Shanghai to Hong Kong on the 3rd of February with China Eastern (MU505). Flight was delayed by an hour. However the main issue I had was that half way through the flight the cabin filled with cigarette smoke. When I questioned the attendant she was rude and dismissive, refusing to acknowledge what was apparent to everyone in the cabin.

JFK-PVG (Shanghai) round-trip. Onboard, I found the flight attendants did not speak English well and were not too interested in doing their jobs. The food choices, quality and quantity were not better than my experiences in economy class of other airlines. On the JFK-PVG flight, the menu was handed out for dinner and quickly collected back as if they were hiding something. Well they were as I realized on the flight back. After dinner I had to ask about dessert and a small container of ice cream was handed out. I saw a passenger having cheese, I asked for it on the trip back and was reluctantly offered it. 8 hours into the flight, flight attendants walked around with small sandwiches. The breakfast after this horribly long flight was not memorable and was worse than dinner. The seats are not lie-flat and were not that comfortable for an overnight flight of over 14 hours. Return flight was not much better. The menu was handed out and not collected until near landing time at JFK. Interestingly, there were 3 meal services listed (Lunch, Light Snack, Breakfast) but only 2 were served on this 14.5 hour flight. Again, meals were of economy class quality, service was slow, uneven and not enthusiastic. Beverage service was slow and geared towards minimizing consumption. As far as I could see, I was the only one who got the cheese plate because I asked for it and the flight attendant reluctantly complied. Same quality seats as the outbound leg. While Business was really more like Economy Plus in terms of service, there is also a small First Class cabin on these flights which appeared to be more comfortable with the lie-flat seats that have become popular on other carriers. A few words about Business class lounges. At JFK, it was run by some other airline and was no better or worse than the usual JFK lounge. At Shanghai, I would rate the lounge as one of the better ones I have experienced. The beverages and snacks were fine and suitable for the western palate. All in all, I would not recommend this airline for business class.

Flew from Wuhan to Xi'an Xianyang. Check-in staff at Wuhan were very rude, didn't greet us and literally tossed our documents on the counter at the end. Flight was on a relatively new A320 with comfortable seats. Cabin crew were efficient but not polite, and a poor quality meal was served half way through the flight. The fact they serve a meal on such a short flight is a bonus, though. Overall, standards left a lot to be desired.

KIX-PVG-YVR (return trip), Economy class. 2.5 hour KIX-PVG departed on time, and was serviced by a smaller aircraft with "shared" screens, but decent content. Transit at PVG was reasonable, no real delays to speak of, and most staff were at least agreeable (though I wouldn't specifically say friendly). PVG-YVR also departed on time (arrived early in YVR), and was serviced by a larger jet that had individual touch-screens with an optional pop-out console that could be used for navigation. Selection of TV programmes, movies, and music was quite good, and there were a few games to choose from as well. The food was airline food; nothing to really complain about here, just standard fare (pretty bland and nothing special, though what do you expect on an airplane). Staff were agreeable and came through at regular intervals with water, and you could request other beverages as well. No real complaints. Will use them again.

LHR-PDG-DPS in business class on Jan 23/24 2013 on A330's. First leg on a Skyteam branded plane which had a few more rows of business class, and was all very new. Seats were fine, full lie flat, good blankets and toiletries. Entertainment system was fine, slightly limited choice. Food was a bit odd, you get to select your main, and then they serve a whole menu with different starters depending on the main, which they hadn't mentioned when you ordered. Dinner served after take off was very good, lunch served before landing was just about ok but choice was limited. Cabin staff were great, very polite and quick to respond. The second leg was not quite so good, it was just under 7 hours, so by no means a short hop, but they only served a 'snack' and I was very surprised when they said they had no breakfast. The plane on this leg was slightly older, and had China Eastern branding, blankets were not quite so thick, but apart from that it was pretty much the same as the first leg. Staff were ok too. When I originally booked, there was a 3 hour stopover in Shanghai, but this was subsequently changed to 8 hours. Business class lounge at PDG is pretty ropey, bad food, uncomfortable chairs, and painfully slow WI-FI. The Skyteam lounge at Heathrow is pretty good though. The only other annoyance was that they didn't have any visa on arrival forms for Indonesia, which meant we had to find them when we arrived, and then scrabble around for pens. The other thing is that it is impossible to choose your seats before you get to the airport, which is pretty unusual in this day and age, but having said that, they did honour the request on my booking for a window and an aisle together. All in all a 6 out of 10 experience, and actually one minor benefit of the changed arrival time is that you avoid the terrible traffic in Denpasar. Could easily be improved by more modern web booking system, more food on the Bali hop, and perhaps a slightly wider choice of meals. But then it is a lot cheaper than anybody else for this journey.

Flew from Seoul to Dhaka return via Shanghai Hongqiao and Kunming. The price was less than half of any competitor's price. I was pretty satisfied with this airline. The airplanes were modern and clean. The English level of the staff was not high but they were quite friendly and efficient. The food was reasonably good but only Chinese style food was available. The flight out of Dhaka was over an hour late departing and so I missed the connection in Kunming, but the staff in Kunming were friendly and reasonably efficient in arranging another flight for the following day and a free night's accommodation in Kunming. No entertainment was available but that doesn't bother me. I don't really have any complaints about this airline.

Return Sapporo to Singapore, via Shanghai. I chose China Eastern for the price. Overall, I have no huge complaints. The worst part of the flight was transferring in Shanghai, but CEA can't really be blamed for that. Most of the flight attendants were relatively polite. I was however not impressed with the food. On the first flight, the meal was almost inedible. On the second leg, the longest of the two, they only gave us a snack pack with a variety of packaged snack foods. Hot meals were offered on both the return flights, but they were also pretty bad. The drink selection is also very limited. There is no personal entertainment system that most of us frequent international flyers are used to. There is just a screen a few rows ahead, showing Chinese TV shows with subtitles. As it was a night flight and each leg was relatively short, it wasn't a problem. Seeing as CEA fulfilled their basic obligation, which was to get me to my destination safely while charging almost 300USD less than any other airline, I would possibly fly them again. But if I needed to take a flight longer than 5 hours, I'd definitely spend the extra cash and choose a different airline.

JFK to Bangkok via Shanghai. We are a family of 4, so the price difference was significant. Had a pleasant experience and encountered no major issues. Biggest challenge was going through China, but if you can handle the slow processing and tight security, then this airline will serve your needs. Flight attendants were laid back but were nice enough and were helpful when asked. Food was adequate and included fresh fruit. On the flight over there were sandwiches and drinks available throughout the flight at the back of the plane in addition to the regular drinks and meals served. Warm wash cloths were passed out for freshening up. were Not many entertainment screens, but most passengers had iPads or laptops for entertainment. The seats were no different than any other economy class seat we have travelled in. Don't expect luxury perfection or extreme efficiency, but the price makes any cultural differences worth the ticket price.

Hong Kong to Honolulu via Pudong, mid December 2012. Inflight service was terrible, as was the food. The crew on board were aloof, and a couple of times when I asked for a drink of water, I was told to get it from the rear of the aircraft. Even for long haul flights, they do not provide snacks other than nuts - even then you have to ask for them. What is more outrageous was their refusal to provide a spare US Immigration form to one of the passengers who had messed it up. Very few of those passengers who boarded at Pudong read or write Chinese, let alone English, so completing that form was a real challenge. The passenger behind me needed a new one, and was told to get it at the Immigration hall at the Honolulu airport. The inflight service on the way back was likewise poor. The plane arrived 2 hours late at Pudong, and no explanation or apologies. I will never fly this airline again.

OKA-FRA return - A332. Aircraft was ok, reasonably clean, however female staff were rude (male counterparts were friendly and helpful). Flight-out was pushed-back 1 day approximately 2 weeks before departure. Flights departed/arrived on-time. Food wasn't great but we flew Domestic so you get what you pay for. Getting a transit ticket in Shanghai was crazy. Almost missed leg from Shanghai to Naha (Okinawa) as gate change was not announced until we asked why our flight was not on the board at the gate originally assigned (gate attendant gave us a dirty look and no answer when we asked why the gate change was not announced earlier). Overall experience (relative to the ticket price which is considerably less than the competition) is acceptable.

Shanghai to Rome on December 20. No online check-in system and no controls at the SkyTeam Priority check- in area where I had to queue for 15 minutes. VIP lounge is below standards and my flight was not called so I was late at the gate. No in-flight entertainment system and the variety and quality of food was poor. A good note is that the quality and friendliness of the staff has improved, possibly a sign that the overall level of service will follow.

CJU-PVG-SYD. New 737-800 from Jeju to Shanghai (economy), no food or IFE but it was only a 50 minute flight so that was alright, seat decent for a 737 and service was nothing out of the ordinary. Business class lounge at PVG was a bit small and old, the hot food section at the buffet was cold. PVG-SYD was on an A330 with lie-flat seats. Lots of movie choices on the IFE and the food was excellent. Flight attendant service was great. Would fly China Eastern again if I had the chance.

HRB-PVG. Good service for a domestic flight. Good legroom and comfortable seats. Flight attendants were very attentive and smiled. However, the dinner was a disaster.

OKA-PVG-CDG-LHR return in economy. CDG-LHR leg was serviced by Air France as part of their Sky Team agreement. Delays on most flights with some explanation, but did not affect connecting flights. Cabin crew were robotic with very few smiles and very curt English. In-flight entertainment ranged from nothing to HD level in-seat monitors with an excellent choice of movies and games (CDG-PVG only). Was upgraded to business on the OKA-PVG flight and was pleasantly surprised by the food. The economy food was edible. Overall, good value for money and much better than I was expecting, having read the reviews here. The transit in PVG is an experience I never want to experience again, but that is not China Eastern's fault. Would never travel via China again, just because of that.

PVG-DEL-PVG in business class. Both flights on A330s, but different configs and service levels. Outbound flight was an older plane with 2-2-2 seats that reclined to an angle and did not lie flat. FAs went about their work perfunctorily. The food was very bad - both options were like an economy class meal in terms of taste and quality. They did not have a dessert cart. IFE system had a fair selection of movies. Return flight was better with a newer plane and lie flat seats. FAs were professional and pleasant, and spoke English better than the outbound flight. Meals were also tastier. The price for the flight is good, but you get what you pay for, and quality is uneven.

DXB-KMG, 29 Dec 2012, Economy class. Ancient 767-300 still in Shanghai Airlines livery. Overhead video was not working, and no audio entertainment provided for this 7 hour flight. 2 meals served, both were good for economy class. Seats had generous pitch and were quite comfortable for economy class.

Shanghai-JFK non stop connection in Business Class. Overall an awful long flight. Only two direct flights one of them operated by China Eastern - that's why I ended up with them. Business Class not comparable with leading European or other Asian carriers. Very worn down, no flat bed, IFE outdated, seats rather uncomfortable and service not really great. Overall an OK experience just because it's a non stop connection and much less time consuming compared to stopover connections. Overall experience is just OK, not really worth the money though.

SYD-PEK-SYD in Business class via Shanghai Pudong airport. Positive parts are: Good value for money, A330 SYD-PVG-SYD, A321 PVG-PEK-PVG, seats are comfortable angled flat bed, proper business class seats for domestic legs as well, food and drinks are good in all legs, amenity kits are great for international flights, not bad inflight entertainment system and you can accumulate sky team member points. Down sides: Consistent bad service in different countries and cities. During the flight, it was fine, nothing special and staff need more training for attention to details. Lounges in PVG are tiny and dark, you have to pass boarding gate to get into the lounge, so if boarding in process then you have to wait for 20-30 minutes to go down to the lounge.

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