China Eastern Airlines

I flew CE during my vacation to Japan which transits via Shanghai. Everything was fine until the last segment back to Singapore. Of all the 3 segments made I had no problems using my phone to watch movies which I've downloaded but in the last segment from Shanghai to Singapore (MU545) I was told to power down my phone. I did so promptly as requested but after some thoughts I had to ask the stewardess again to be sure. I know many airlines already allow the use of digital devices even during takeoff and landing. Some airlines may not adopt the practice yet but to go to the extent of disallowing the use of my phone (in flight mode) during cruising was really extreme to me. All laptops or tablets are ok. I was really surprised and felt embarrassed as I felt like I was being picked upon. I've travelled with other airlines using my phone to watch movies without any problems. In the end the 6hr journey was a torture. I could only wait for my food I guess. Then food came and I was asked to choose. But by the time I was served the crew couldn't provide me with what I wanted. There was no more choices. Too bad if you don't like rice with eels. No more CE for me.

Flew on 5th Dec SHA to HKG. A330. It was my first flight with China Eastern and I would say it was a pleasant surprise. The aircraft was clean seat comfortable and plenty of leg room. IFE fair touch screen and the cabin crew friendly even if not so professional. Last but not least we departed on time. Overall the cost for the quality provided is really fair.

I flew this in September from SIN-JFK with a stopover in Shanghai. The flight from Shanghai to JFK was the worst flight I've experienced. The seats do not recline (terrible on a 14 hour flight) there is no TV at the seats and the overhead entertainment is one of the worst. The food is almost inedible. This flight is not worth it especially on a long haul flight.

Flew Guangzhou - Shanghai - Sydney on 22 November 2014. 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.

Flew from Shanghai to Toronto. Most passengers had two full size carry-on baggage so cabin storage was all full. Spoken English by flight attendants is poor to terrible. No on board movies. Ok unless you are Chinese and don't mind staring at a 13 inch screen at 10 paces to watch a poor movie dubbed in Chinese. Flight attendants kept insisting (twice) I turn off my iPhone (of course on airplane mode) which I was reading from even though I pointed at two other (Chinese passengers) who clearly had their mobile devices on and she did not bother them at all! Very poor operation by staff - wrong gate info displayed on monitors which did not come on until well after a huge line up formed we had to ask which counter to go to. Flight attendants did not show any pleasantness as if they did not want to be there at all.

We flew from Sydney to Shanghai. Both ground staff and cabin crew were lovely people attentive and helpful. We were feed twice and the food was very good. The seating was roomy and not uncomfortable. We took a laptop with movies with us so can not comment on their entertainment. This was our first long flight and we were very happy with the trip. Will not hesitate to fly with China Eastern again.

MU5373 (PVG-CSX) on 4/10/2014. Having read the largely negative reviews here I was hesitant when selecting a flight from PVG to CSX but decided to give it a try as the timing was desirable. I was pleasantly surprised at the end of my journey. The flight was punctual no issue with baggage food and beverages were decent and satisfying attentive flight attendants who made multiple trips to provide beverages as well as the leg room being more spacious than expected. Overall it was a very decent domestic flight. PVG airport was also fairly efficient in terms of check-in handling as well as easy to navigate around.

I travelled from Paris to Shanghai in business class. Going out the configuration was 1-2-1. Coming back it was 2-2-2. I have read a lot of negative reviews about this airline but actually it was very reasonable. The business class ticket was very cheap in my opinion. We had full flat bed seats on both legs of the journey which were very comfortable indeed. Food was average. Service was average but typical Chinese standard. Check in at both ends was efficient. For the price I paid there is nothing to moan about and would definitely fly with them again in business class.

My daughter and I recently flew Sydney to Beijing Beijing to Xian Xian to Guilin Shanghai to Sydney. I was a bit worried after reading so many negative reviews but found China Eastern to be equal to or better than many other airlines I have flown with. The planes were clean and comfortable (by plane standards) and the staff were very professional and helpful with quite good English. The meals (all Chinese) were tasty. There was usually a choice between noodles and rice but the noodles were difficult to eat because of the shape of the fork. The only alcohol served was beer and red wine with dinner. If you want to party and annoy the other passengers this is not the airline for you! On most of our flights the monitors dropped down from the ceiling so there was not a choice of entertainment but on the flight from Shanghai to Sydney we had personal monitors with a wide choice of TV movies games etc. Mine was not working and I was offered a change of seat which I declined as I spent most of my time sleeping anyway. Our planes were all on time (or close enough) and check-in and baggage claim were efficient. Overall we were impressed by the service and quite satisfied with our experience - good value for money!

Flew their new B77W from SHA to PEK in F two weeks ago. Overall the experience was mixed. Pros - needless to say brand new airplane and facilities. Above average (based on my experience on Chinese carriers) crew. Meal was nicely presented. Large IFE screen with plenty of choices. Cons - my seat did not go flat. I don't know if it's a mechanical failure so I asked an attendant to help me. She wasn't able to recline it either. Maybe acceptable for this 2hrs flight but certainly unacceptable for long haul. Annoying ads before every IFE program but overall worth trying out.