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

"a 14 hour layover in Beijing"

(United States)

Verified Review | Taipei to New York via Beijing. Why you should not fly Air China. The flight from Taipei to New York seems a bit cheaper on the surface but there's a 14 hour layover in Beijing. So you need a hotel for that. Which, with a bit of drama I managed. Don't get the hotel in the terminal, get the one outside. Yes, they don't answer the phone, but it's still a valid if ultra ghetto place to sleep. More seriously when I got to NY I found the lock on my suitcase was broken. Checking I found the following missing an old Windows laptop, clothing, an iPod and iPad. I asked them for compensation but they're diligently stonewalling me with 'this is not the right number', 'you must claim within 7 days'. Even though I've called all the numbers and the emails they've sent me show someone in Air China got their documents emailed back inside the 7 day window. Right now they're just ignoring emails. Another interesting thing they said was 'did it have a lithium ion battery?". The Windows laptop didn't as it happened. The iPod and iPad obviously did. But does that mean they can remove them without compensation? Because it sure seems that way.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteTPE to JFK via PEK
Date FlownMarch 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"basic service throughout"

(United Kingdom)

Verified Review | Bangkok to Los Angeles via Beijing with Air China. Overall, I received basic service throughout the flights. A bit like a budget airline. My connecting flight from Beijing seemed a little better when there was also an entertainment system to keep people busy. Food was basic, chicken and rice or noodles, offered on both flights, however a good range of drinks offered. During my time at check in at Bangkok, the service was abysmal. After queuing for an hour and 20 minutes at check in time (there were still a lot of people behind me queing) I was met by rude staff. I felt very upset by the way I was treated. Sometimes a smile or someone being polite goes a long way, especially having to wait in long queues when you also have a 23 hour flight ahead.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBangkok to Los Angeles via Beijing
Date FlownMarch 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
4/10

"it was not very good"

(United States)

Verified Review | Shenzhen to Frankfurt, and it is my first time flight with Air China, and it was not very good. First, the international lounge at Shenzhen airport is too small. It is only about 150 meter squares, and they do not have shower room. Second, the aircraft looks old, and there are a lot damages on the chair. The TV do not work very well, it is working very slow, and the most important thing is that they do not offer pajama and noice canceling earphone for business class passengers. But the food onboard looks nice, but it do not taste as good as I expect.
AircraftA330-300
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteShenzhen to Frankfurt
Date FlownMarch 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
5/10

"seats looking worn and dirty"

(Hong Kong)

Verified Review | Moscow to Hong Kong via Beijing. Moscow SVO Airport terminal 2F is a scary terminal with very rude and not so orderly security process. Boarding was a free for all, no priority given to passengers with special needs, business class or Star alliance high tier members. Air China ground staff did not seem bothered neither as they were chatting with themselves with arms folded watching the mess sorting out by itself. Once onboard, despite the seats looking worn and dirty, the cabin attendants were amazing. Addressing passengers by surname, kneeling down to speak and engaging in friendly but not overly intrusive small talks. The lady noticed I bought caviar and offered some dry ice. Landed in Beijing late and the nightmare restarted. We were greeted by poorly dressed Air China staff, turned out, all Air China staff in Beijing Airport were poorly groomed. They barked out orders only in Mandarin and to other Russians who do not speak the language, they resorted to pushing and pointing to the transfer zone, very long queue to get our boarding cards stamped and when I asked a question to an Air China staff if that was the right queue, she told me 'only sticker, only sticker', so I went off to look for another queue and was sternly turned back by airport security to ask me to rejoin the sticker queue. Turned out what the lady meant was she was there only for people with a sticker (those that had tight connections) and I should not ask her questions. It took over 40 minutes to clear the 'transit boarding pass stamp' and security formalities. Reached the lounge with 50 minutes to spare but was turned away by the lounge agent telling me that the connecting flight was already ready for boarding. It was a lie as after a 15 minute stroll to the boarding gate, it was not for another 20 minutes before boarding commenced. Once on board, the excellent inflight experience returned. Such a shame that the airline could not get its acts together on the ground - at least ask the Beijing ground staff to be nice or just dress properly for their job,.
AircraftA330
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteMoscow to Hong Kong via Beijing
Date FlownMarch 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

"choose another airline"

(Japan)

Verified Review | Tokyo to Milan via Beijing. Horrible experience, not recommended at all. Maybe worse food ever for an airline (and I fly quite often), on-board entertainment system was half-broken (the movie froze every ten seconds so I couldn't watch anything). Cabin crew are really rude, no smiles no matter what, asking for a glass of water gives you back a annoyed face. Ok, it is quite cheap, but really, give you a favour and choose another airline.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteTokyo to Milan via Beijing
Date FlownMarch 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"will never select them again"

(United States)

Unverified | New York to Bangkok via Beijing. I will never select them again, they are rude, the food is disgusting and they never leave on time - if you don't have a deadline then to meet or specific time you need to be somewhere they are perfect for you. They need to get it together. The food - everything was rice and chicken or rice and pork, my friend is vegetarian they said oh were sorry we don't have enough seafood dishes sorry. It's a 13.5 hour flight. What was she suppose to eat. They give you tiny cups with splash of a drink and then get mad if you ask for refill. You have to ask for ice! We get to Beijing and of course because it took them hour half to leave after we boarded, we got stuck in China they put us in some run down hotel. It was terrible.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNew York to Bangkok via Beijing
Date FlownMarch 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"never fly with this airline again"

(Canada)

Verified Review | Ho Chi Minh to Vancouver via Beijing. Worst airline ever, flew from Ho Chi Minh to Vancouver, my baggage was still in China when I arrive in Vancouver. Air China didn't even bother notifying me or at least let me know what happened to my luggage. It was a hassle to get my luggage back. I called them 10 times, every time waiting 30 min on the phone but no answer. Finally got them back thanks to the help of the staff from Vancouver airport. Its impossible to call Air China office Vancouver from the number they provided. I will never fly with this airline again even their price is the cheapest. You get what you pay for.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteHo Chi Minh to Vancouver
Date FlownFebruary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"cabin crew are grumpy"

(Australia)

Verified Review | Barcelona to Vienna with Air China. To begin with I really fly a lot and hold a Platinum status and a Gold status at two different frequent flyer programs. I defenitely know what good service should look like. If there would be 0 stars to rate Air China I would do so. Cabin crew are grumpy and unhelpful. Entertainment system is a joke (if you find a movie in English you still have Chinese Subtitles). The cabin interior has the charm of the industrial seventies and the toilets are dirty right from the start. My second flight with Air China and the second time delayed because we had to wait for obvioulsy important passengers. I will never have another flight with Air China. I pity everyone who has to fly with this airline. You are also not allowed to turn on you mobile phone, not even in flight mode. Haven't had this on an airplane since more than 5 years. I want to say something at least one thing that's positive. I guess it's the food. The food was ok.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBarcelona to Vienna
Date FlownMarch 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"worst experience ever"

(United Kingdom)

Verified Review | Hong Kong to London via Beijing. Worst airline I have ever tried, from their online services to the flight quality. Their website is a joke, it keeps timing out and it doesn't allow you to checkin for flights that have intermediate stops. I have complained to one of their staff at the airport and they admitted that they have issues with their online check-in. The plane was also a joke, especially the one used to fly from Beijing to London. I'm 188cm tall, I didn't have enough legroom and my knee were pushed against the sit in front of me for 11 hours! The legroom was less than in a cheap low cost airline (e.g. Ryanair), how can that happen in an international flight where you need to be sit for more than ten hours! Let's ignore the cleanliness and comfort, but a minimum amount of legroom should always be provided. The flight entertainment was also embarrassing, straight out of the nineties, the resolution of the display was probably the same as one of the first smartphone ever produced, it was painful to watch, and the controllers of the entertainment system were unintuitive and most of the buttons to press were unresponsive. The meal quality was really poor, food was just a little warm, they gave us two options for the meals and they ran out of the first option immediately, I think they managed to serve maybe ten persons and then they ran out of it, speechless! To conclude our trip properly they damaged one of our luggage, we found the luggage completely open running around on the belt at the luggage collection, we obviously filled in an official complaint as part of the content was broken/lost. I think, no matter how cheap their flights are, we will never book a flight with them, worst experience ever!
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteHong Kong to London via Beijing
Date FlownMarch 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"staff is extremely rude"

(United States)

Verified Review | Ho Chi Minh City to Newark via Beijing. The absolute worst airline I have ever flown with. For starters they boarded us at 10:30am and we did not leave until after 2pm. They gave us no reason why, the weather was perfect and there were all types of rumors flying to where they could not get approval for us to fly over Russia. The staff is extremely rude, unpleasant and speaks next to no English not even understanding basic questions about food and drinks. At one point the staff told me and my neighbor sitting next to me we had to be quiet. Mind you we were talking quiet and politely. A couple hours later a couple of Chinese women were rudely talking basically where anyone and everyone could hear, but of course the staff said nothing to them. The food is disgusting and the only snack they offer is card board bread with a slice of fake ham. Then when I finally arrive at my destination they announce my name and then tell me my luggage was left in Ho Chi Minh city and it would be delivered to me 2 days later. Finally 2 and a half days later I get my luggage and the lock is missing and you can tell my luggage has been opened. I will never fly with this disgraceful airline again and I advise you too avoid them at all costs. I almost forgot to mention my tv monitor did not work, but it did not matter 95% of the movies were all Chinese flicks.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteHo Chi Minh City to Newark
Date FlownMarch 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no