China Eastern Airlines

Not Verified | New York to Shanghai. We re-booked on China Eastern as our original flight with United Airlines was cancelled due to the ongoing issue in China. We paid extra about 90USD / seat to get an emergency exit seat. Once boarded the aircraft I found that the seat was broken. I changed to another one as our row was not fully booked. No blankets and no pillows available even on request. Once airborne I found that the screen could not be turn out from the seat. But even if it would be there were no ear sets provided at all. My wife was watching movies reading the subtitles. For the food I can't give any comments as neither I nor my wife have tried it but I found it very funny that they serve breakfast at afternoon time in Shanghai. Drink selection was also not so nice, just standard soft drinks, Chinese Qingdao beer or Chinese red wine. The aircraft was pretty new however for the seats I had the feeling that they are really old. The head rest could not be pulled up enough, the seat itself was quite thin and after almost 15 hrs. of flight it was really hard to stay inside this seat. I have flown China Eastern quite a lot for domestic but for international flight it was the first time and definitely the last time.

Not Verified | I took 4 flights with China Eastern from Vancouver to Phuket via Nanjing and back to Vancouver from December 28 returning to Vancouver on January 8. Business Class cabin is worn out, very old seats. Cabin crew doesn't speak any english, food is awful. Asked for an extra blanket as I was shivering and they said we don't have, Asking for a stomach pain medicine was a nightmare. They didn't understand a single word I was saying. The captain or anyone from the flight deck did not say a one single word to the passengers during the entire 14 hours in the air. At the end of the flight, once we made it to Nanjing he started circling around for 40 more minute taking turns between descending and climbing again several times, and again not a single word from the flight deck on the why this was happening. One single worst flight in my entire life. I will never fly with this airline again.

Not Verified | Gatwick to Melbourne via Shanghai. Booked this flight for my 73 year old mother who a month prior had had her knee replaced. Wheelchair assistance was booked for every leg of her London to Melbourne flight. However, when she got to Shangai, China Eastern staff treated her like garbage for her 11 hour stopover in which she was given no assistance. Staff yawned in her face, turned their back on her and refused to look at paperwork confirming the wheelchair had been arranged. Even worse service was to follow with some mumbled email apology came a week later which was then ignored when I replied to it. Phones are never answered. Finally got a second email from someone a few weeks later, no idea who as they had no signature to their email, which ignored all the issues raised in the complaint and said "I'm sorry that we didn't receive your service at the first time. It's extremely inconvenient for your subsequent itinerary. Next time I come to Shanghai, please email me in advance. I'll let our regional manager come to protect you!" The Vegetarian meal on the flight was either fish or chicken. Both are my favourite kind of vegetable. What a joke of an airline.

✅ Trip Verified | Bangkok to Shanghai. I received an email message from the airlines stating that my flight was canceled and for me to contact them. In the email they sent me, they never provided a contact number. I had to google for their website and contact number. I called them more than 15 times on different occasion and all I got was answering machine with no option to leave a message. The email they sent me says do not reply as it was sent through an auto-messaging system. It was difficult to reach them through the phone. I have no other option but wait until I get to the airport and talk to them in person. When I get to the airport and ask them to issue me a new itinerary since the original one was canceled by the airline. They still can't help me but provide me with another phone number to call customer services. I finally got a new itinerary for my flight with China Eastern. The flight was a little more than 4 hours. The minute we boarded the plane, I can feel the air inside the plane was extremely warm. I thought the Flight Attendant will turn on the air conditioner once the plane starts to leave the tarmac but they did not. I waited for a long time for the Flight Attendant to come down the aisle so I can ask them to turn on the AC but I did not see one came by. I looked for a call button on my chair but did not find one since it was so dark in the plane. I waited for a long time no flight attendant came down the aisle. I felt exhausted and fall back to sleep. I sat in the middle seat so it was hard for me to climb over another passenger to find the Flight Attendant. On my way to the lavatory, I tried to look for a flight attendant and hopefully have them turn on the AC but did not see a single flight attendant around. It’s been like this throughout the entire flight. We were never offered drinks or meals. The seats are tiny. Even with my arms close to my body, my arms still rubbed by other passengers sitting next to me.

✅ Trip Verified | Paris to Sydney via Shanghai. An absolute shocker - avoid at all costs. It's hard to know where to start. Two of our daughters recently flew with China Eastern Airlines. The food, particularly the vegetarian options, was very poor at best and the in-flight entertainment very limited. However, the main difficulties occurred whilst transiting through Shanghai. The personal security checks on these 2 young women was very invasive. The information provided during their time in transit was extremely poor, there was a need to re-check in luggage checked through to the destination and to apply for temporary entry permit to move between terminals. After a 6 hour layover, with no contact from officials, one of our daughters was told as she was boarding her connecting flight that there was a problem with one of her bags. In a very intimidating manner she was given the 'choice' to miss her flight so the bag could be searched or to get on the flight and sign a form giving permission to have the bag searched, the offending item removed, and the bag put on the next flight in 3 hours time. I might add at this point that this bag had already cleared security and customs in both Oslo and Paris. The bag was not on the next flight and 12 days later, with too many to count calls and e-mails, we were finally reunited with the bag. Over this time China Eastern did not answer a single phone call (the phone just rang out) and replied to approximately 1 e-mail in 10+, and with limited information provided. Throughout this time they refused to provide the standard 10 character file reference code for the check delayed bag status/file information form. In the end it was calls to Qantas and the baggage handlers in Sydney that resolved the matter. We are yet to hear from China Eastern that the bag has arrived even though we picked it up 2 days ago. Oh, and there was nothing missing from the bag when we ended up getting it - so nothing had been packed that was on a banned list for China. When we finally picked up the bag we were told by the baggage handlers that in their experience we were very 'lucky' as in these sort of circumstances they have found that very rarely is the bag reunited with the passenger... No amount of discounting makes this experience worth it.

✅ Trip Verified | Avoid at all costs. If you have something important like a well-deserved vacation or business trip, you'll have it ruined by taking this airline. From start to finish, it's been headaches and frustration. The website is old, buggy and online check in is impossible. You need to arrive at least 3 hours before to avoid getting bumped, however on both trips the gates never opened until 2 hours before. Phone customer service is very difficult to reach and you'll be dialing a few phone numbers to reach someone barely able to speak English. Hostesses barely speak English. You won't hear from the pilot at all. If you have a layover with this airline in Asia you will be routed through Shanghai Pudong, a terrible airport with three security checks, passport control and a feeling that you're selling your soul for a discount flight. Food is mediocre. Online entertainment consists of a handful of heavily censored vanilla Hollywood flicks. Expect half of the passengers to stand up the minute the landing gear hits the ground, sparking a very loud shouting match in Chinese Mandarin between the hostesses and unruly passengers to put a nice finishing touch to your experience. It never ceases to amaze me how this airline became a Skyteam member. Any other airline for your flight to Asia should be used if you want a pleasant beginning and end to your journey. You deserve better.

✅ Trip Verified | Taipei to Frankfurt via Shanghai. The first leg from Taipei to Shanghai was operated by China Airlines, the Shanghai to Frankfurt leg by China Eastern Airlines, both members of Skyteam. Upon checking in at Taipei with China Airlines I was told that due to Mainland China's regulations, China Eastern Airlines cannot check through my suitcase at Shanghai, since this can only be done when connecting "on the same day". Incidentally, in Shanghai upon re-checking in my luggage I was told a different tale, namely that it's due to being "two different airlines". My comment that the implication of this justification would be that no transfer at any other global hub would ever work - more so given that they are part of the same airline alliance - was met with baffled faces. The arrival of my flight from Taipei in Shanghai was at 18:35hrs, the onward flight to Frankfurt at 00:10, so "on the next day": the ridiculousness of this cannot be overstated. The implications of this I knew from a previous Air China flight from Taiwan to Germany. It means an arduous procedure of being confronted with the increasingly aggressive and assertive Chinese surveillance state, having fingerprints and iris scans taken and having to apply for a 24hr transit visa (!) in order to then have the privilege to collect your suitcase, clear Shanghai customs and queue again for a good hour at the China Eastern Airlines check in desk. To add to this is the hassle of getting a stable Wifi connection (only available to non-Chinese nationals after a passport scan, so more data collected) to spend the time in Shanghai Pudong. At the end of the experience you are so exhausted and glad to get away that the measly service and poor food onboard China Eastern won't phase you any more. China Eastern Airlines are trying very hard to appear to be modern and service-oriented and have cheap and very tempting offers from Europe to the rest of Asia via China, but the reality is the opposite. Don't fly via China on China Eastern to save a few bucks! The hassle encountered is simply not worth it.

✅ Trip Verified | Shanghai to Hong Kong. Came from Budapest and had a smooth transit in Shanghai where I boarded the China Eastern flight to Hongkong on an A321. It was early morning 2nd January 2020. Priority boarding at gate as SKY team silver card. Onboard, newspapers were given (Chinese). Shared monitors showed some educational movies from underwater sea world which was nice and informative, texted in English. Food was limited to a tidy pack of biscuits. Drinks were unlimited (water, tea, coffee, beers), but only for 1½ hour while the flight lasted additional 50 Minutes. During descend services closed down until landing. That leaves passengers with very limited time of service. FAs were fine. Frequent drink rounds. Button calls answered quickly and needs were addressed instantly. Fair legacy carrier service without pay. Cheap ticket, better product than for most European carriers. Luggage transfer faultless (in custody inspected by customs which left a note – nothing missing). Full flight. On time. Mileage rendered to Skyteam account. Jetties availed for aircraft entering and exit. What is needed is a hot meal, extended time of service, and individual IFE.

✅ Trip Verified | Taipei to Sydney via Shanghai. We flew return SYD-TPE with transit in Kunming on the way to Taipei and Shanghai Pudong on the way back to Sydney in December 2019. It was our very first time travelling with China Eastern and did not have high expectations, to begin with since reading many of those bad reviews. Here is how it goes for us: Upon receiving my e-ticket, I cannot use the ticket verification function on their website because the purchase was made through the third party. However, I was able to select seats on their website - so that was good. Check-in in Sydney was easy and quick. Only then we were made to realize that transit in Kunming requires us to get our luggage and go through check-in desk again, the staff, however, said that 3 hours layover should be more than enough for all that process. Flight from Sydney to Kunming: spacious seats compared to the newer plane from PVG - SYD, however lack of padding so it's a bit hard to sleep on. Entertainment was not too bad, not extensive but since my flight was overnight, I slept most of the time. FAs were all smiley but felt a bit robotic. Meals (both dinner and breakfast) was ok for us - my husband enjoyed his braised pork belly dinner. Didn't have the alcohol so can't comment on how good or if they had enough throughout the flight. Do not expect to see nice amenities kit here. Check-in in Kunming was a problem due to the language barrier. She kept insisting we don't have proof of residency but didn't relay the message to us. Wasted about 30 minutes on things that could have been cleared right away should the staff able to relay her concern to us than going around to her manager to finally realised she made a mistake. No apologies whatsoever. Lounge at Kunming was just sad and had so little to offer. Flight from Kunming to Taipei: good seat, really good FA service, she tried her best to communicate with us in broken English and we really appreciated her for this - redemption point after what happened in Kunming airport. Check-in in Taipei was easy and she informed us that no need to pick up the luggage in Shanghai, they will be transferred to our next flight to Sydney. Good lounge at Taoyuan Airport, was very quiet when we were there. Flight from TPE to PVG: same good seat as Kunming to Taipei, good light meal served, not so friendly FA, unfortunately. Flight from PVG to SYD: I had the best service on this leg. The seat was comfortable for sleeping with nice L'occitane amenities kit. I have to applaud the FA serving my row, he was thorough. sincere and speaks English well, personally explained the new procedure on landing at SYD even though there is an announcement later on. The FA on my husband's row, however, was not as attentive, she didn't even ask what breakfast he likes and suddenly a western set was served. Overall, I think it's really not that bad and I wouldn't mind flying with them again if there was a good deal. It probably not as nice service in Economy class as many bad reviews point at - but we didn't have those issues in Business class. All four flights left on time. Do notice that the FA will tell you to not use headphone anymore around 1 hour before landing.

✅ Trip Verified | Vancouver to Shanghai. Poor ground staff service. The person who helped me check in threw tantrums at me when I did nothing to him. His attitude totally made me feel miserable, and ruined my trip with China eastern. This airline needs serious training for these ground staff. When I asked him if there’s empty seats in premium economy, he said “there’s no such thing” without even looking up. I guess he just never flew with his own airline? What does he even mean there is no such thing. And I picked a seat I wanted, he asked me “don’t you want you original seat?” I said “ cuz that was given by Expedia (Which means I didn’t pick the seat and I don’t want it). Without letting me finish, he interrupted me and said “that’s not what I’m asking, I need a yes or no” in a really really rude tone. No one ever talked to me like that. I believe their staff need to know how to respect other people. I wanted to complain this to the airline but I haven’t found a way to contact them. Don’t fly with China Eastern.