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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1/10

"very poor service"

(Canada)

Trip Verified | San Francisco to Manila via Beijing. I will never book my parents here again, due to their very poor service. My parents, 86 and 83, traveling from San Francisco to Manila with only a one hour layover at Beijing were left behind by the aircraft, this shouldn’t be a problem due to the fact that they were wheel chair assisted. Air China didn’t even bother trying to inform us. I tried calling their customer service but I waited for almost 2 hours. I understand the volume of callers, but 2 hours is more than enough to wait.his entire incident made everyone in my family worried having no contact of my parents and most importantly, of their current situation. At Beijing, although they were given hotel accommodation, they were never offered even a snack / meal. What added to the turmoil was that the flight supposedly from Beijing straight to Manila, was changed to Beijing, Japan, and Manila. Again for the second time, not a single word was heard from the airline.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSan Francisco to Manila via Beijing
Date FlownDecember 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"would never recommend"

(Canada)

Trip Verified | Bangkok to Vancouver via Beijing. Our flight was good for the cost. A meal was served between Bangkok and Beijing (with a sticker left on the tray table if you were asleep during the meal so they would come back and deliver, very nice!) and the food was decent enough. English wasn't great but I don't expect that when flying between two Asian countries. The only reason this was a problem is that no immigration cards were handed out before arriving in Beijing and when I tried to ask what the process was for acquiring a tourist visa and immigrating, no one helped. I had done some online research so I knew one had to apply first for a tourist visa but it would have been nice to be able to fill the paperwork out on the plane just as I've done with every other country I've flown into. As a result, upon landing, very unhelpful ground staff misguided me into wrong line after wrong line and by the time I reached the proper line there was only seven hours left of my layover. Now this next bit has more to do with the Beijing airport than Air China. For some arbitrary reason, the visa officer would not let me enter the country because he felt I didn't have enough time. But if Air China had been more helpful in providing me with the correct information I would not have missed out on my Beijing tour and lost my money on it. Seven hours later, we boarded our flight back to Vancouver on a very old fashion plane where the seats were hard and uncomfortable and they woke us constantly with loud announcements about everything from ten seconds of turbulence to duty free shopping in the middle of the night. Made for a long, uncomfortable, sleepless flight after an extremely long and disappointing layover in the Beijing airport. All in all I would never recommend Air China or any flight that takes you through China as the ground staff in the airport are rude and the Internet is censored so you can't even do anything on the "free wifi".
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBangkok to Vancouver via Beijing
Date FlownNovember 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
6/10

"standards of service are average"

(France)

Trip Verified | Paris to Beijing. I took 5 times this trip in the last couple of years so I think I get a fair idea of the services offered. In Paris, Terminal 1 Star Alliance lounge is really average service Flight schedule is very good for this flight. Took-off at 19.30 and land 12.30 the next day which make a night flight with good sleeping opportunity to minimize jetlag. Staff is efficient but tends to expedite the meals. This cabin (compared to the other I get on air china for the same route) offers less legs and foot pace than the other as the seats are no more perpendicular to the aisle but form an angle. Plane is very noisy compared to the current standards. Some troubles occured with the headphones connections (several times I got that for this flight). Entertainment system is slow, quite old, and available movies are not so updated. Food is on the good side. I was a bit "shocked" to see that some of the tissue towels were put on trash with disposable waste. Overall flight was ok and efficient but the standards of service are average compared to the market.
AircraftA330
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteParis to Beijing
Date FlownNovember 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
8/10

"had no problems at all"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Me and a party of 4 travelled from New York to Tokyo via Beijing. We had no problems at all, it was a relatively great experience considering the price we paid for the tickets. Food was mediocre but not terrible. Movie selection was decent as well, they had new movies to choose from. We had a 1.5hr transfer time which we were initially concerned about but we made it with more than enough time! Would fly Air China again for the value.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNew York to Tokyo via Beijing
Date FlownNovember 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

"They were rude and offensive"

(United States)

Not Verified | New York JFK to Beijing. On 25-NOV-2018, our flight got cancelled causing me and my group to miss a whole day of vacation in Thailand. The Airline did absolutely zero for us over 300$ in loss per person. Unacceptable. Our flight was at 2:30am and delayed until 12:30pm following day. We called the airline they had no information. We received no email what so ever notifying us of cancellation/delay. We sat at the airport for almost 10 hours with no direction from anyone. When we called again to ask for hotel accommodation (per airline policy of delay of 4+ hours) we were told we do not need a hotel. We have a member in my group with health issues, however, when mentioned to Customer Service they immediately dismissed this. At this point in time due to absolute negligence on behalf of this airline, we will never fly with them again. Don't be deceived by the cheap price. The cheap price reflects in their sub par customer service which was evidently and successfully displayed by Air China personnel. They were rude and offensive.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNew York JFK to Beijing
Date FlownNovember 2018
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"nobody there to check us in"

(United States)

Trip Verified | San Francisco to Beijing. Our booking leaving from San Francisco was a total nightmare. We got to the counter to check in at 12:50 an hour before the departure time and there’s nobody there to check us in. Therefore we cannot get to the gate. We were there exactly an hour before departure which is still on the required time to check in for the flight. The counter personnel’s left their post prior to the time. Called the extension on the gate to get help but again personnel don’t answer their phone. We had called the 800 number of the airline which takes 2 hours to answer and no help was rendered to us by your company. The 3rd party agency tried the whole night to book us another trip using the remaining booking so we don’t purchase another ticket but Air China refused to help us. Instead they wants us to buy a more expensive ticket and charge us ton of money to get to our destination. The aggravation and frustration was unbearable. No one attempted to help. Besides we bit the bullet to just purchase a ticket but the process is long and complicated on hold for the reservation office for 2 hours and yet never get to reserve it.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSan Francisco to Beijing
Date FlownNovember 2018
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"very poor customer service"

(United States)

Not Verified | San Francisco to Manila via Beijing. My connecting flight from Beijing to Manila on Oct 31, 2018, took off without notice. I was one of those passengers stranded in Beijing starving and cold. The money that was given to me is not enough to pay for the hotel room. I spent more than 12 hours in the airport I've missed a very important appointment the next day and it cost me handsomely. It was a very frustrating and exhausting flight and a very poor customer service.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSan Francisco to Manila via Beijing
Date FlownOctober 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
9/10

"Magnificent price"

(United States)

Trip Verified | New York JFK to Karachi via Beijing. Courteous staff, kept On-Time schedules, Magnificent price ($409/person round-trip on sale), comfortable seats, transit hotel-stay provided. Requests for Halal food honored.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNew York to Karachi via Beijing
Date FlownNovember 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

"didnt even try a bit to help"

(Taiwan)

Trip Verified | Taipei to Beijing via Houston, we looked for a ticket not expensive and comfortable as we were traveling as a family with a 3 yrs old kid. I found that Air China was offering cheap ticket and transfer hotel accommodation at Beijing if your transfer time is over 7 hrs. Beijing is really cold in November at night even for adults, imagine the kids. We arrived Beijing at 00:30 for transfer and waited 1 hr in line for security check with a kid sleeping in my arms. Asked officers for priority line but none of them cared about us!! For transfer hotel you have to apply transfer visa which is an easy process i experienced before however this time the lady officer even without checking our passports carelessly and without expressing not even a little responsibility said I will not give you visa! Then i went to Air China desk, but they didnt even try a bit to help, we paid ourselves for hourly hotel to at least let baby sleep in warm. I never ever recommend Air China.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteTaipei to Beijing via Houston
Date FlownNovember 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
8/10

"above-average experience"

(Japan)

Trip Verified | Tokyo to Paris via Beijing. There's a possibility that I might have just been lucky, but everything about my two recent flights with them was a boon. Tokyo Haneda to Beijing Business Class was an A321-200. Generously spacious and plush, soft fabric-upholstered seats, in a 2x2 configuration, with a headrest, extending footrest, and lumbar support. Very clean, well-maintained cabin and restrooms. Service was warm and courteous. Beijing to Paris/CDG Business Class an A330-200. 2x2x2 seat configuration. No partition between seats (no privacy), but the seat was spacious and comfortable, extending to a full bed. Bedding was high quality. Fantastic pillows. Food was basic, but warm and carefully presented. Coffee was excellent. In-flight entertainment was decent. Restrooms were kept spotless throughout the flight. Service was one of the best parts: polite crew, proactive, and attentive. The other best part was the price: $2,400 roundtrip while the same flight on other carriers went anywhere between $1,700–2,000 in Economy. Overall, an unexpectedly good, above-average experience.
AircraftA321-200 / A330-200
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteTokyo to Paris via Beijing
Date FlownNovember 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes