Air China

SHA-PEK return First class (business but they sell the tickets domestically as first). The outbound was an A330-300 had comfortable flatbed. Inbound leg a Boeing 777-200 less space compared with A330 and the seat could not recline much. Flight was on time and was offered nice dim sum. The flight attendants were quite responsive.

PEK-FRA on a very old B744. Actually I chose Air China just because other airlines are full. 744 had no personal TV for economy class so if you cannot sleep on a long haul flight please consider very carefully before booking. The seat is quite good it should be a 33~34" pitch seat and I slept quite well during the flight. Two meals on the flight the first one was about 2 hours after take-off the second one was around 2.5 hours before landing. However if other airlines are available with not much disadvantage on price I will not choose Air China.

SHA-PEK return. Inbound trip was with an A333 aircraft and the outbound was with B772 both wide-body jet but the latter has no fully flat bed. But considering the flight lasts less than 2 hours it's OK. The flight arrived on time and the services in the lounge and onboard were standard. Many domestic airlines offer Shanghai - Beijing route but I think Air China gives the best offering as far as both hardware and software are concerned.

Economy London Gatwick to Osaka via Beijing in mid-August and back via Beijing but to London Heathrow in early September. Cheaper than the others by £200 + a seat. Timings of flights excellent and quick with only 2 hour turnaround in Beijing. Planes Airbus A330-200 ok with 2-4-2 pattern. Seats no worse than many other airlines in economy - maybe an inch more than some. Food quality ok. Wine only served at end of main meal! Staff fine. Loos ok. Entertainment a bit limited and one seat back terminal ropey and you need the double mono adapter. Flights all pretty much on time. Beijing transfer is a bit tricky first time - go to the "transfer passenger" queue on the far right of all other queues looks slow but works ok then down escalator and back through security. We fly long haul every year sometimes several times and for the money and on this experience we thought Air China were fine.

After 2 long flights SYD-Shanghai and Beijing to Rome in Business Class my wife and I were satisfied. The seat laid out completely flat and we were as comfortable as any airline we have travelled on. The meals were good in size and quantity but not exceptional. FA's were charming and responsive and their English was much better than my Chinese! The selection of movies and TV shows was more than adequate for us and the headsets comfortable. The toilets spotless and we were on time. Altogether a satisfactory experience.

Sydney via Shanghai/Beijing to London. Checked in at Sydney and told flight was delayed by 5 hours due to heavy rain in Beijing. At check in and subsequently on flight we were reassured that all information and assistance would be given at Beijing. We arrived just before 4am - there were no Air China Staff on duty and no directions as to where we should go eventually we found our way to the International Duty Manager's desk which did not open until 5.30am. Once Air China Staff arrived they initially refused to speak to us or offer any assistance. About six hours after arrival waiting going between desks collecting luggage we were given a box of food and a milk drink and checked in on a flight Frankfurt. The flights themselves were cheap adequate and clean Cabin Crew were polite but had difficulty communicating in English. I was disappointed with the poor service shown by Air China airport staff and their lack of honesty in communicating what was to be expected at Beijing especially in view that the situation in Beijing was beyond their control and would not have involved a loss of face despite their poor management and lack of skill in dealing with an adverse situation.

HKG to Beijing connecting to London. Inbound flight delayed by 2.5 hours due to bad weather caused us to miss our connecting flight to London. On arrival in Beijing a Chinese man with a sign gave us a sticker and a friendly couple explained to us we were being put up in a hotel overnight because there were no connecting flights until the next day. We followed the sign man and queued for immigration after finally getting through sign man had vanished. A number of passengers were also left behind and approached the Air China information desk. After hearing our problem both employees went and did not return. A representative was sent to meet us and after waiting a couple of hours we were taken to our hotel. The hotel was pretty gross and breakfast inedible however it was provided at no extra cost. The next morning a bus was provided to take us to the airport. After queuing for almost 3 hours we were issued boarding passes. Onboard the plane staff unfriendly and unable to smile. The food was poor. Finally we arrived in London after travelling for 28 hours. Our flight back was a bit better as we were only delayed by 9 hours in Beijing! Although our experience was fairly negative I would like to praise the check-in staff in London and Hong Kong as they were quite friendly.

HKG - PEK - JFK and back. Check-in at Hong Kong International Airport was great. Flight from Hong Kong left on time and was quite comfortable. Landing in Beijing was on time. The main concern that I had was the customs / metal detector line where you pass through to the International Departures area. It was apparent from my observations that Air China has sold a lot of International to International flights going through Beijing Airport to the point where China Customs has too many international transfer people to check which leads to a delay. I wouldn't fault China Customs as they had every one of the four international transfer desks open. After customs an even bigger delay occurred at the metal detector area for International transfers which only had one of the two counters open. Because of the aforementioned delays I made it to my JFK flight just as it began boarding. My wife who flew two weeks after I did missed her connection to JFK because Hong Kong was in the midst of a typhoon. It took Air China a while to process her for the next day's flight and put her in a hotel. When my wife arrived at the hotel she was surprised to be informed that Air China was going to put her in a room with a roommate and subsequently paid an extra USD$24 to get her own room. Flying back from JFK was pleasant and we arrived on time in Beijing. There is no plug-in point for a laptop or iPad so my battery died halfway through the flight. The aircraft does not have personal screens in the Economy Section. After spending the night at the hotel located in the Departures Area of Beijing National Airport we had another pleasant flight back to Hong Kong. Overall a good experience. Would fly again if the airfare is competitive.

Business class London Gatwick to Beijing to Ulaanbaatar Mongolia. The new-ish business class lounge at Gatwick (North Terminal) is excellent for a short stay but perhaps not the best if you have a 3 or four hour lay-over. Aircraft was A330-200 seat 13L. Cabin was a little tired but was still in reasonable condition. The seat cushions were a little firm but the space and width were reasonable. I was worried that the full recline/flat bed was not actually going to be flat but it was and was very comfortable for a sleep. Supplied also with pyjamas and quilt for a snooze. Staff very attentive and there was no need to request drinks or top- ups as these were forthcoming throughout the flight. The Chinese meal was good but a little tasteless. A bit more variety and freshness may have improved it a bit. The AVOD completely froze for my seat and was never rectified throughout. However glancing at the programmes and films on offer I did not miss much as it was very dated. Punctuality excellent. Beijing T3 is not the easiest to change flights within and there is no channels for business class to speed up the process. As there were several flights arriving there was a very long queue of at least 200 waiting for the immigration check (although it was just a check to then be allowed in to the area for security - where there was another queue). Flight to UB was fine - with only 8 business class seats and two staff for the section we were very well looked after.

London to Beijing in July. The seat was uncomfortable and did not recline properly. The food was far below normal international airline standards. Staff were unhelpful and curt. The inflight entertainment was limited and clearly designed more for a mainland China audience.