China Airlines

I often fly between Houston and Beijing on Air China's nonstop flights 995 and 996. Overall I like their service. Aircraft's are new and clean. Flight attendants provide good service. The food is not bad as airplane cuisine goes. On a recent flight from Houston to Beijing we were 2 hours late departing Houston. The aircraft had pushed back more or less on time (shortly after 1am) but then we taxied out into the darkness and just sat. We sat and sat and sat some more. Eventually a tow truck came out hooked up to the aircraft and pushed it back a few feet. Then the tow truck pulled the aircraft forward a few feet. Then pushed it back. Then pulled it forward. This went on for the longest time. There was no explanation given by the pilot. No comments given by the flight attendants. It eventually became clear that the tow truck was getting the plane turned around. Apparently the pilot had taxied the aircraft into some kind of dead-end where we were trapped and could not turn around without the help of the tow truck and the spotters. Once the plane was turned around we taxied out to the proper runway and finally took off. The flight crew disabled the flight progress display. Maybe they thought that would prevent anyone from noticing that we were two hours behind schedule. There were no apologies or even an acknowledgement that anything had gone wrong. The lack of transparency and honesty with their customers cost Air China dearly in my opinion of them. From conversations among passengers after we landed in Beijing I was clearly not alone in feeling disgusted about being treated by Air China as if I were blind and stupid.

I was a bit hesitant due to mixed reviews of this airline . I traveled from Sydney to Beijing return and was very happy with the airline. There seemed to be great leg room and the food was really good especially comparing it to the food I ate while in China which was a very low standard much to my disappointment. There was a good choice on the inflight entertainment but don't travel at night as the Chinese nationals on this flight kept up the talking and noise through out the wee hours of the morning making sleep impossible something I have not found travelling to other countries. They sprayed the flight on the way back into Sydney with some sort of insect spray which is something I have not encountered before but maybe this happens on all airlines from China? It would be a problem if you were sensitive to chemicals.

LAX-TPE-MNL return. LAX-TPE 747 seats so small in width it made a long trip horrible and I'm an average size man. Felt like my hips were in a vice grip. TPE-MNL A330 seats a lot better. MNL-TPE A340 seats fine again. Everything else ok. Good value considering.

Business class from PEK to BKK was a solid flight but I'd suggest eating before you board. The food had an odd aroma as did the damp hand towels that were kindly offered before the meal. The champagne was okay although it was served in a thimble sized glass the fruit was sweet and the rice was positively offensive. How can rice be bad? Not too sure what was wrong with it but it wasn't edible. The flight attendants were observant and wanting to please but everything was done without any smiles. Perhaps that's a cultural thing. Bathrooms were spotless as was the plane. The seats were super comfortable perhaps more comfortable than United Global First seats apart from the slightly restricted foot space. It was interesting that they didn't offer seat back monitors but they did offer individual iPads. The lounge was comfortable and offered limited food selections. Apart from the dismal food and the lack of entertainment Air China provides a very good product.

Moscow-PEK-HKG in business class. First time on CA biz class. Was a bit hesitant due to very different reviews here. Have to say that I was pleasantly surprised about the whole experience. New biz product is great. One of the most comfortable biz seats ever experienced. comfortable in any sleeping position. Some airlines compromise in terms of width or length of seat not CA. Only negative is the lack of a screen on Moscow-PEK route. CA provides tablet but unfortunately mostly Asian/Chinese movies. Food is decent so is service - friendly but not overly attentive. Would definitely fly them again if price is competitive.

I flew YVR-PEK-MNL and return in March 2014. The airline was better than I expected. The check-in was excellent in Vancouver and Manila fast and efficient. All aircraft's left and arrived on time. The food was good but not excellent. Cabin service was okay the only downside was the staff never smiled. The entertainment was also good. All in all when the low price of the trip is considered the trip was good. I would recommend Air China.

Flew Sep 2013 LAX-PEK-BKK. I’d chosen Air China strictly on price and was a little apprehensive. However everything from check-in on was up to international travel standards. The flight was no better or worse than other transpacific trips I'd taken in recent years on more highly regarded carriers. Food was OK and in-flight service was just fine. The coach seats were considerably more comfy than those on the Cathay Pacific flight I'd taken a year earlier. Because it is very geared to Chinese travelers I could see why someone might find the in-flight entertainment lacking. Available English language movie selection was a bit dated and odd and included a fair number of Westerns from the 50’s and 60’s. While flying CA is not bad at all transiting in the Beijing airport is another matter entirely. Before proceeding on to the connecting flight we queued up in a pretty long line for the thinly staffed Chinese immigration desk to stamp us into China. We were then channelled into the airports general security line for re-entry into the airports departure gate area. Very frustrating and very time consuming. I'd be reluctant to take any flight where there is a transfer in PEK. If you have a tight connection you are not going to make it. Bottom line: if the ticket price is attractive and there was ample time between connecting flights in PEK I would not hesitate to fly CA again.

Just returned March 11 from Beijing to New York. The plane was brand new and although it was a 14 hour flight my husband (6 ft 2) and I were very comfortable. Flight attendants were friendly and if one didn't know English very well they would find another attendant to help. Lots of food wine and beer served then during the night it was self serve for cold drinks and snacks. Few lineups for the bathroom. Smooth flight from New York to Beijing then we flew 5 days later to Shanghai. Returned to Beijing airport 3 days later and flew back to New York JFK. Beijing airport is huge but we had no problem getting around and checking in for all flights. Great value for the money.

Economy return trip from UK to Manila via Beijing. Overall we were very impressed and it is on a par with other airlines. All flights were on time and none were full to capacity. The food was standard although no hot drinks served. All cabin crew were very helpful. We could not check-in online (machine not working) and had difficulty with the automatic machines at Heathrow which accepted only one of our passports. The queues at the check in at Manilla on the return flight were extensive and although not vast numbers were flying we were still waiting in line for about an hour as so few check-in kiosks open. Beijing is a very large airport but times passing through security etc is very slow. One lady (by herself) was operating the X-Ray machine and she was also manually checking everything in the hand luggage she wanted to query. She was very thorough but it caused long delays. We had only just enough time to get our connection (final boarding) - which was 90 minutes. On the outward flight we had 8 hours to kill at Beijing Airport. In the evening the shops seem to shut but we did find some recliner chairs which afforded us the opportunity for rest.

Recently flew LHR-PEK-HKG and return. Transfers at Beijing were a joke worst organisation I have ever seen with many people missing their connections. Knowing the tight schedule luggage was not loaded onto the LHR flight meaning people like me who pushed to the front of the queue had no luggage on arrival. Staff at Beijing were rude uncooperative and didn't seem to care about the situation.