Hainan Airlines

✅ Verified Review | Prague to Shanghai return via Beijing in August. Overall very mixed experience. Flew A330 from PRG to PEK. A Hainan agent pick up at PEK upon touchdown. Flew new 787 from PEK to SHA. Flew back from PEK to PRG abroad the same older A330. Rude checkin agent in Prague but she's not Hainan employee. Wear and tear visible aboard PRG-SHA flight. Beds bit too short for those above 6 feet (186cm). Entertainment system contained only certain episodes rather than full series of TV shows. Pleasant experience at PEK upon arrival. PEK terminal 1 only opens at 5am (had a very early flight to SHA) Hainan offers four times limo pickup/departure, they are unable to process non-standard requests in case of multi city bookings. They cancelled my SHA-PEK flight 3 hr before departure, I had overstayed my China visa, to catch next PEK-PRG flight: I asked for support since I'd overstay the visa - no callback, no support, nothing. Had to purchase China Eastern flight to catch PEK to PRG flight - no refund from Hainan (despite emailing and waiting for almost 2 months). Overall, if it wasn't for the cancelled flight, I'd say, an average business class experience. However total lack of customer support and unwillingness to assist is a fair cry from any airline looking to grow in the business class area.

✅ Verified Review | Melbourne to Xi'an, returning from Changsha to Melbourne, and a disappointing experience. We could not believe that there was no inflight entertainment for 11.25hrs flying time. Not even an English written inflight magazine. Even though we downloaded music, ebooks etc to our iPhones, you aren't permitted to use iPhones even on flight mode on a Chinese airline. The seats were incredibly uncomfortable. The flight attendants were fantastic, and plenty of food and drinks, but those would be the only positive experiences. We chose this airline believing its great reviews, but certainly not between Australia and China. It doesn't seem to cater for Westerners or in our case our teenager. Having inflight entertainment and comfortable seats is a must for any airline. I'm sorry Hainan you have lost our business in future.

✅ Verified Review | Beijing to Toronto. The space between seats on Boeing 787 is good, and bigger than that of Air China. The staff are friendly and kind, and always ready to give help. The food was fair with a varie of choice for drinks including wines and liquors. The takeoff and landing were very stable so i did not suffer any ear problems. The flight was also quite on time for arrival.

✅ Verified Review | Sydney to Beijing return via Xian. Outbound Business and the inbound flight in Economy Class. For Business class the food and drink list had many choices, and the snack they served us are allowed to order anytime we wish. The seat can be 180 degrees lie-flat, it was very comfortable. For inbound sector the flight attendants friendly and helpful, toilets was very clean during the whole flight. Overall, I am quite satisfied with the food and the service.

✅ Verified Review | Boston to Shanghai round trip. Very outstanding crew and service. flights were relatively on time, flight attendants were attentive, patient, polite, and helpful. Meal service was probably among the best I've ever had. A menu is distributed with three options for the first meal and two options for the second. On my first flight to Shanghai, my first choice of the first meal was run out because I was in the back of the plane, and the flight attendant decided to start serving the second meal from the back of the plane to make sure that people sitting in the back could have their first choice for the second meal, which was very considerate. On top of that, the portion was big, way much better than almost all US airlines and some other 5-star airlines. Seats are comfortable, with more leg room than especially United. IFE is very smooth with a wide variety of movies and TV shows. Wifi was slow but free. Cabin announcement is first in English and then Chinese, which I found a little strange. The only downside is the awkward safety demonstration video. I understand airlines try to be creative in their safety demonstration videos but Hainan's is a little bit too much. Overall, Hainan's service is definitely on par, if not better, with other 5-star airlines.

✅ Verified Review | Sydney to Changsha. A very disappointing flight. The aircraft did not have seat-back IFE, instead they provided small tablets for movie watching. The quality was very poor with a limited movie selection. The seats were worn with almost no padding let in them. The flight attendants were in a rush to serve lunch and then close the blinds so that they could do their disappearing act. Ground service and check in was very slow at Sydney airport. I was unable to have my frequent flyer number added to my record as the agents were not familiar on the process. The toilets were in pretty bad shape about half way through the flight. The food was so-so. The selection was noodles or rice with chicken or beef, it looked like slop. Drink service was limited. Flight attendants rarely smiled.

✅ Verified Review | Boston to Beijing. The flight crew are patient and friendly. I like their coconut juice very much. I have to say, the food served is the best compared with other airlines' food which I have experienced. Without doubt, I will choose Hainan Airlines next time and I hope I would have another pleasing trip as well.

✅ Verified Review | Beijing to Brussels. I had a high expectation, and Hainan Airlines did not disappoint me. Flight attendants friendly and helpful, they did the best to meet all my need. The seat space was good enough for Economy class. I am 5’10 and it was surprised that I did not feel tight. Good quality of entertainment. I was pretty happy that the food was great. I have been to the US for many times, the airline companies like AA, UA or Delta, the food they provided never satisfy me. I would recommend Hainan Airlines if you are planning to fly long distance.

✅ Verified Review | Chengdu to Manchester via Beijing. 1st leg from Chengdu to Beijing was delayed. No information at Chengdu Airport about when my flight was likely to arrive. It was only after it became impossible to catch my connecting flight from Beijing that I received information about the delay, by which time it was pointless. Apparently the reason for the delay was bad weather. When I arrived at Beijing airport, the lady at the Hainan desk was unhelpful and rude. The best they could do for me was to wait 23 hours for my next flight, which was to Brussels and then a flight from Brussels to Manchester. The revised 2nd leg of journey from Beijing to Brussels was delayed by 5 hours, which meant my connecting flight from Brussels to Manchester would be missed too. Hainan Staff at Beijing Airport did not want me to go on the Beijing to Brussels flight with a suggestion that I should wait for another 20 or so hours to get another flight. I never found out where that flight was going because I made it very clear I was going to Brussels regardless and if I then had to fget myself home from there, I would do it. Apparently the reason for the second delay to my flight was bad weather again. After I arrived at Brussels, I had to wait about another 8 hours to get the next flight to Manchester. Soon after my return to Manchester, with my wife being Chinese I asked her to call Hainan offices based in China to ask for Hainan's official delay confirmation so that I could make a claim for the delay against my travel insurance. However, day after day the phone went unanswered, so I emailed their Manchester offices on 19th July giving all my flight details and asking the same thing. I received an automated reply to my email acknowledging my email and that it would be attended to. After it became obvious that I wasn't getting any response to my email, I called their offices at Manchester after having similar difficulties in getting anyone to speak to. Eventually I got through and the lady assured me my case was being dealt with and mentioned that Hainan head office in China had been contacted regarding compensation for my delay. This I found strange because all I had requested was confirmation of the delay, but if they wanted to do that it was fine by me. After nothing forthcoming was received after my call, I emailed them again & eventually got a reply 45 days after my original email. By the time I received Hainan's delay confirmation, the period for submitting it to my insurance company had expired. Upon challenging Hainan Airlines about this latest development, they said it's because I didn't keep emailing reminders to them and because I didn't also send copies of my tickets (which I was never asked for).

✅ Verified Review | Beijing to Seattle. When at the check-in counter, we found our tickets had problems caused by our travel booking agency. Fortunately, with the help and understandings from staff of Hainan Airline, our tickets issue was solved smoothly, and staff helped us rush through the security to the boarding gate. In the end, we were so grateful that we didn’t miss our flight and enjoyed their outstanding service inflight as well. We would definitely fly Hainan Airline again in the future.