China Eastern Airlines

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 694 reviews
5/10
3 star Skytrax Rating
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5/10

“It was quite disappointing”

(Singapore)

Not Verified | It was not a very good flight. I flew MU 543 from Shanghai Pudong to Singapore Changi on the overnight flight. It was quite disappointing. First the aircraft arrived from Singapore was late which was still ok. But the product is very old. The touch-screens are not functioning and had to use the console to control it. There was no headphones given and the service was very limited. The departure time was delayed and even the flight next to us pushed back first even though our departure time is earlier. This is quite a disappointing for a full service airline to provide such a service.
AircraftA330-300
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteShanghai Pudong to Singapore Changi
Date FlownSeptember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
6/10

"the food was horrible"

(Singapore)

Trip Verified | Brand new A350 plane from Shanghai to Tokyo. Seats were comfortable. Cabin crew was courteous. But the food was horrible. Transiting in Shanghai was chaotic and very rushed although had about 1 hour between flights. Will fly with them again but will probably not if a transfer is required at Pudong airport.
AircraftA350
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteKuala Lumpur to Tokyo via Shanghai
Date FlownNovember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
2/10

"avoid Chinese Eastern like the plague"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified |   Check in at Shanghai Hongqiao airport was abysmal. The rudest agent I have come across in years. The lounge was full at the time I used it, think school canteen and that's about it. Seat onboard was comfortable enough, but grubby as were the rest of the cabin fixtures. One female staff serving this cabin was courteous but couldn't speak a word of English. Sat in bulkhead row with briefcase etc by my feet, and nobody applied the expected safety rules to stow them for take off and landing. Meal box passed to me after boarding, in complete silence. The food was inedible, and working in China I normally like Chinese food. As always with Chinese airlines, not a single word from the cockpit - do they even use humans to fly their aircraft? If you have a choice, avoid Chinese Eastern like the plague.
AircraftBoeing 737-800
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteShanghai to Changsha
Date FlownNovember 2023
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

"Clean fairly new aircraft"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | Clean fairly new aircraft, not like the one we flew out of Gatwick to Shanghai which was quite old. The seats on the flight to Heathrow were modern and comfortable. The entertainment films are rubbish and there for Chinese people. The head sets are the small old fashioned cheap ones and after a while very uncomfortable, not noise canceling The food is just awful. The crew were very nice and helpful but their command of the English language is not good. Difficulty asking for sweetener it took 3 stewardesses. Flight itself was excellent. Will I select China Eastern in the future, no, even though it's cheap.
AircraftBoeing 777-300ER
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteShanghai to London Heathrow
Date FlownOctober 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

"food is delicious and fresh"

(Taiwan)

Trip Verified | The cabin is clean. Flight attendants are friendly and kind. The seat is comfortable. The food is delicious and fresh. Flights departed on time. The price is reasonable.
AircraftA320
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteTaipei to Nanjing
Date FlownSeptember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
7/10

"I would recommend them"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | It's a pretty standard airline, they fed us well, came around with water a lot (which is more than can be said for a lot of airlines), and the seats were fine. Which is all you can ask for when flying economy. In terms of value for money, it's pretty impressive. Getting through Shanghai airport was a bit of a hassle, but that's about the place, not the airline. Check in was fine, the guy who checked me in was really nice. At the end of the day, flying economy, you're never going to be in the lap of luxury, but I would recommend them as an airline.
AircraftBoeing 777-300ER / 787-9
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLondon to Melbourne via Shanghai
Date FlownOctober 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
2/10

"don't fly this airline"

(South Korea)

Trip Verified | I had an entire back row to myself, my flights were on time and my bag arrived with me. This is where my compliments end. Frankly, I don't really recommend China Eastern unless you don't have any other choice. With being conservative with my criticisms, I'd say its a barely mediocre airline at best. Moreover, MU is really an airline tailored for Chinese people. I based this on the language skills of the crew, food options they serve, and the limited availability of international film choices from their AVOD. The stewardesses kept speaking Chinese to me despite asking to not have Chinese spoken to me since I don't speak it. Additionally, one word for the AVOD system: boring. I flew on the newest A350 and there were only like a dozen movies on offer where most of the choices happened to be Chinese movies. As for the food, it was the worst airline meal I've ever eaten. Ordered a special LFML and the chicken that was served was the stalest and driest chicken to ever enter my mouth causing me to nearly choke. Also, ordering the special meal was a mission as I had to physically go to the airline office while on holiday since there was no way to do so online or over the phone. My advice is, don't fly this airline unless its really cheap and if you do, come prepared with your own snacks, entertainment, etc.
AircraftA350
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSingapore to Busan via Shanghai
Date FlownOctober 2023
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

"absolute worst experience imaginable"

(Netherlands)

Trip Verified | It was the first and last flight with them. 11-hour trips are always challenging and exhausting, but China Eastern makes it the absolute worst experience imaginable. From leaving you famished for six hours to not having a functional USB outlet to charge your electronics or a simple blanket for the cold. After waiting for food for six hours on the return flight, there was no alternative for a snack; I was forced to eat one of the untranslatable vegetables. After an hour, they served me a chicken sandwich that was out when I first ordered it. The male commissioners were really unfriendly, and it appeared as though we were interfering with their stroll. Additionally, communication has been made considerably tougher by the fact that they don't speak any English. The return flight somehow managed to be worse. Firstly, the check-in agent, who resembled the commissioners without the slightest semblance of professionalism or reluctance. No options, cold food. Again, we had been without food for almost 3 hours when that was all that was left. The commissioners were at least going by and offering water on that particular trip. The poor quality of the company may make any trip miserable. The "stay seated" light was on the entire time on both flights, making it impossible to know whether or not it is safe to stand up. The staff gave a bag of sandwiches at the end of the return flight as though we were on a flixbus bus. The entire journey appeared to have been on a flixbus bus, by the way. The distinction is that they never cost more than 30EUR, as opposed to 1000EUR that I’ve paid to China Eastern. Not related to the flight but with the stopover: In China, the 3-hour stopover was similarly challenging. A hundred individuals were left waiting on the ground for more than an hour by extremely uneducated staff, while a worker slept behind the desk before releasing them to board the next flight through a different gate.
AircraftA350-900 / Boeing 777-300
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteTokyo to Amsterdam via Shanghai
Date FlownSeptember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

"it offers good value for money"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | I was a bit worried about flying with them to Japan, as it was the cheapest option, but was pleasantly surprised. The ground staff were very helpful and the flights left on time. The crew were pretty decent, they were quite laid back but were helpful too, and were kind to an old lady who got sick. The food was nothing special but decent enough and the seats ok - certainly no worse than you get in economy class from more prestigious airlines. You could take two fairly bulky bags into the cabin without any argument, too. The biggest downer was the in-flight entertainment. Very limited choice of rather cheesy movies, so if you fly with them, bring a good book! China Eastern feels quite no frills and very much aimed at Chinese customers, but I'd say it offers good value for money and above average service.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLondon to Osaka via Shanghai
Date FlownSeptember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
2/10

"not have words to express how bad it is"

(Germany)

c✅ Trip Verified | I travelled with my two kids business class from Seoul to Beijing. I must say it is the worst lounge i have ever been. To start with the toilet - someone had peed in one of the cabins and it was just left there, no one really bothered to clean it. The staff who was responsible for cleaning was just chatting with her friends. The dirty dishes were around the lounge and again - chatting was much more fun for the personal instead of actually doing their job. The food - there were snacks like crackers, there were also some instant pasta which was left there. There was no wine, bier or any kind of alcohol. There were 5 oranges - thats enough for fruits. No one really bothered if there is still something left for the passengers. All the guests were very quiet but the lady working there and her friends were the most noisy ones. Do not expect a real coffee as well - just take the instant one. I do not have words to express how bad it is.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteSeoul to Beijing
Date FlownOctober 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no