China Eastern Airlines

Was on a Qantas codeshare using a QF flight number but with China Eastern PEK to PUD. The check in at Beijing terminal 2 business class is a joke. There is no signage to the special business class check-in so I ended up at an economy clerk and thought so what. Oh no one must go to business class section which was back near the front of the terminal without any special signage. Was attended to by a most rude woman who had no idea about customer service. The baggage belt behind her to whisk away the business class bags was not working (whether it ever does or not I know not) so I had to walk back with my bags attended to by a busboy of sorts who took me back to the economy class check in area so my bags could go on the belt. Obviously no deviation from the plan allowed. He then demanded a tip! After customs and security (very helpful and most patient people given the rudeness of others they attended to) I made it to the circa 1974 business class lounge. Entry about that under lounges. In the end I gave up on the tired crowded and unhelpful "lounge" which was more like a noisy eating competition arena and went to the gate. No aerobridge just another mini bus. The flight had the same problem with the seat belt signs it was never extinguished so it seemed okay to get up and wander about when the wheels had left the ground. Although told not to use electronic devices nobody really either bothered to obey or enforce it as the pax in business must be very important and know all about safety. The aircraft (A321) was tired and dirty and in need of repair to internal fittings. Didn't bother with any IFE as it didn't seem to work and headsets were not offered. On arrival at Pudong Terminal 1 there was no assistance to find the way to the Qantas flight at Terminal 2 so it just took a bit of working out. Although I was travelling on QF indicated flights there was no one stop service and it was all very disjointed and unhelpful.

I flew China Eastern's new YYZ to PVG direct service and multiple flights within Asia. I chose China Eastern because it saved me some money. I am a veteran traveler and to my recollection I have flown over 40 airlines in various locales around the world China Eastern is by far the worst airline it has ever been my misfortune to fly. The staff were incompetent. (At the airport I asked if I could upgrade. And after 3 attempts including trying to overcome the language barrier with the supervisor I gave up). The food was inedible. You know it is bad when you choose the pasta with seafood and the flight attendant asks "Are you sure?" and shows you the food before giving it to you). The seat was uncomfortable. (Old material not enough legroom). The in-flight entertainment was unviewable and had the worst English dub ever. If the website had allowed me to leave them no stars in any category I would have because they don't deserve any. No matter how much money you may save by flying this airline it is not worth it.

Not an enjoyable flight. Staff abrupt and not friendly. Had to keep window blind down the whole flight. Cold. Food terrible. And though not the fault of the airline they work out of Shanghai Airport where the staff are truly rude and the transit area is cold miserable uncomfortable and very expensive.

Shanghai - Yantai in Business Class. Flight on a new A320 aircraft - the Business Class section actually has larger seats with more legroom compared to many short haul business class cabins so had a feeling that you are actually getting something extra for your money. Seats in 4-abreast configuration in the business section and very comfortable. Hot meal was served with soft drinks tea and coffee but no alcoholic beverages offered (which I didn't mind as it was a lunchtime flight and I had an afternoon meeting to attend). It is also worth pointing out that you have priority going through security which is an advantage during busy times. There was access to a lounge close to the gate which was basic by western standards but adequate. Whilst some aspects of the service would be considered basic by Western standards I am told by my Chinese colleague who made the arrangements that Business class domestic fares in China are quite competitive.

We flew from Manila to Rome via Shanghai. First I had been booked for months and "just happened" to call the airline to double check baggage allowance 2 weeks before my flight and was told "oh sorry that flight has been cancelled!" Though they had my cell# and email there was no warning. They then rebooked us for the following day however the day we were to leave Manila our flight was delayed 10 hours with no updates and every time I tried to get them to work out an alternate route as delay had cost us our connecting flight to Rome I was told "we can't do that here Shanghai has it all set". Got to Shanghai and in very limited English they said they refuse to put me on a partner airline and I was rebooked on China Eastern for the following day. The next day service on the aircraft was very poor awful meals and I timed over 4 hours that not one stewardess was visible no drinks offered and with meals no diet drinks are available. We fly internationally for business several times a year and by far this is the worst airline I have flown by a wide margin. For an international airline the lack of language and customer service is simply inexcusable. Many passengers on our flight said they would never fly this airline again.

We flew LHR-PVG-SYD return and were pleasantly surprised by China Eastern. After reading the reviews we were expecting the worst but the service was good the staff spoke enough English to communicate well and we had our own individual entertainment units with a good selection of recent movies. Three flights were around 10 hours and one was about 13 hours long and on all four we were served 2 full meals (generally a choice of one Asian meal and one Western meal). Seats were comfortable and had a decent amount of space in economy. Only complaints would be that it was not possible to check-in online and that their seat allocation system doesn't seem to seat people that are travelling together next to each other. We were two people booked together and on our PVG-SYD and PVG-LHR flights (which we checked in for over 13 hours in advance as they were our second flights) we weren't given seats together despite specifically requesting it for the return SYD-PVG-LHR flights at the check-in desk. We went to the service helpdesk and the woman was able to change it with no problems so not sure why the original guy couldn't give us seats together. We noticed a number of couples and groups not seated together on the PVG-SYD flight so definitely request it when checking in and follow up at the service desk if still not seated together. Seat configuration on all four flights was 2-4-2.

SYD-PVG-FRA-PVG-SYD in Dec/Jan. Second long-haul flight to Europe with CE and as with the first faultless. On time departures and usually early arrivals (30 minutes early on PVG-FRA leg). Menu choices just right and beer wine and spirits plentiful. Other amenities/facilities could not be faulted. Yes the crew's English is a second language resulting in a few communication lags but isn't one benefit of travel to gain exposure to other cultures? The provision of the courtesy car in Shanghai a definite bonus. Planning for next holiday was started by checking CE routes and will be built around one of those destinations.

We flew from London to Manila via Shanghai. The service on the aircraft was very poor with most of the cabin crew having very limited English. The food was just about edible. Getting served was very hit and miss with some crew just walking up and down the aisle with drinks and not asking each passenger if they wanted anything. It was up to passengers to attract their attention and many time people were just ignored. Some staff were friendly some barely hid their contempt for the passengers. We booked a baby bassinet but it wasn't provided and the cabin crew couldn't even understand what we wanted when we asked so we had to spend a 13 hour flight with a baby on our laps. No children's meals were provided even though we booked them. We checked the baby buggy at the gate in Heathrow. When we got to Shanghai it had disappeared and it took us several hours of speaking to unhelpful staff to get it back. Shanghai airport is a huge gloomy depressing place with zero facilites beyond basic seating and horrifically expensive shops. 8GBP for a fruit juice. All in all the worst airline I have flown with by a wide margin. For an international airline the lack of language skills and training of the staff is inexcusable and the staff's attitude to the people who pay their wages is totally unacceptable.

Very comfortable flights and CAN checking in staff helped me to change my CAN-SHA flight so that I arrived at Pudong rather than Honqaiou airport. No hassle with it and it saved me transferring between 2 Shanghai airports. The only let down was a tiny business lounge at Pudong airport. A few rows of seats without any coffee tables in front of them and just 2 tables with bar stools in the lounge. I liked the attentive service but it may be that I do not require inane and meaningless smiles at every contact like some reviewers demand. Staff smiled when appropriate and provided excellent service.

Shanghai to Melbourne on 16 December 2014. There was an inadequate announcement of safety protocols and the laminated leaflet was inadequate. The cabin was dingy from the 1970s and not cleaned thoroughly - there was rubbish from the previous flight(s) both on the floor and in the seat folio. The entertainment system was appalling. The selection of movies did not include any current releases. The "nostalgia" section contained not one but two Shirley Temple films. The screen image and subtitles were shadowy and blurred and the sound quality was very poor. No drinks were provided after take off. After 95 minutes I asked a flight attendant if I might have some water. The request was met with a surly look and the flight attendant said that drinks would be served with the meal service in 20 minutes. I asked the flight attendant for water again and after 15 minutes a plastic cup half filled was produced. Things got worse. Children were permitted to use the cabin as an activity area and continually ran along aisles shouting and squealing. The meal was lukewarm. The dinner roll was at least two days old the savoury roll at least three. The chicken dish was tepid and the rice came in a rectangular non friable block apparently not heated. Dessert was a canned peach half and pear quarter. There was no fresh fruit nor vegetables. A third glass of wine was offered - the polite question "could I have a little more?" was met with stony indifference. The coffee like the cabin was from the 1970s.