Spring Airlines

Shanghai Pudong to Ibaraki in Japan. I know that Spring Airlines is a budget airline, so I didn't expect anything except on time and cheap airfare which Spring Airline do well. Check in and boarding efficient, both ground and cabin staff friendly, new A320 clean and decent. The seat is very hard but I can stand this on a 2.5 hrs flight. Most important is that airfare is 50% cheaper than China Eastern or Air China so I don't complain anything.

I have flown Spring Airlines twice now, and been appalled with the airline on both accounts. My first flight Hong Kong to Shijiazhuang was delayed from 7:30pm to 9am, upon returning to the airport it was delayed again till 2 or 3pm that afternoon and the best compensation they could come up with was a 50 HKD lunch coupon which was hardly enough to purchase a meal at McDonalds. My most recent flight to Taipei from Shanghai I was charged 120$ (580CNY) extra to check my bag. Which incidently was 2CNY or 1$ cheaper than the flight itself.

Flew on a charter flight from Shanghai to a skiing resort Changbaishan on 9C8841. The flight was on time but it took ages for everyone to board the plane because our aircraft was parked at a remote stand. No one expects the comfort of full service airlines on a low cost carrier, the legroom was ridiculously small and there was no onboard service at all. They didnt even provide any food/drinks for sale. As an aviation lover, I tried to film the take off, but later on the cabin crews shouted at me, and ask me switch off my phone, not even in flight mode. They kept advertising some sort of useless things, didnt even allow me to rest onboard the plane. It was disappointing. I would never choose to fly with them again.

We flew Shanghai Pudong - Hong Kong March 2015. This is most definitely a budget airline expect little and you (probably) won't be disappointed. We booked with Spring Airlines as their fares were the cheapest. Our flight to Hong Kong was delayed by a couple of hours. We didn't know the departure gate until it was boarding which was a bit annoying but not a big deal. Because we then arrived so late we had to get a taxi which wasn't the cheapest. We received an email the next day which was in Chinese. Considering you can book on the English section of the website with no problems it's a little odd that they only email you in Chinese I asked a friend to translate the email for me - luckily as it was informing us of the cancellation of our return flight. I was able to rebook by ringing their hotline with no difficulty and the woman I spoke to had excellent English. Our flight back to Shanghai was something of a nightmare - initially delayed by 2.5 hours we then ended up sitting on the tarmac for 6.5 hours with very little idea of when we might actually take off. The problem was fog in Shanghai but rather than diverting or canceling the flight (or letting everyone wait in the terminal) we were kept on board that whole time. This was overnight instead of arriving at 10pm we arrived at 7am. The fog was obviously not the fault of the airline but the delay wasn't handled well resulting in a lot of very angry passengers. I must say though that the flight attendants were so calm and courteous throughout the ordeal despite what they were having to deal with. They were excellent. We were given water and biscuits during the wait. I don't think I would fly with Spring Airlines again - we really did have a lot more hassle and it would have been worth paying a bit more for a better experience.

Flight 8947 Sep 29 SHA-XIY. Please ensure your departure airport before leaving for your flight! Our flight was supposed to be leaving from Hongquiao Shanghai airport instead of Pudong Shanghai. Spring Airlines changed airport without any prior notifications. Luckily we were at the airport early and had just enough time to take the taxi to Pudong. Not a very pleasant experience to not be able to find your flight on the digital screen board and having to constantly checking your watch while taking a taxi to the actual departing airport. This is compounded by the fact that we don't speak Chinese. On the positive side I have no complaints regarding the actual flight and professionalism of the flight attendants.

Wuhan - Osaka and back - the only direct flight from Wuhan to Japan. Was pleasantly surprised was expecting delays 2hrs+ from the other reviews both flights on time. Bought the in-cabin meal for 40RMB pork and rice dish portions were large what it lacks in quality it makes up in quantity. Staff was respectful and courteous traits which unfortunately some of my fellow passengers lacked. It appears that this flight is the go-to for large tour groups traveling from the central China region to Japan. 4 such groups were on my flight to Osaka and 2 on my flight back. Loud pushy rude. No inflight entertainment but what do you expect for a 3 hr flight and $200 a pop compared to other flights at $700 and up. Seat is comfortable enough if you are of short stature. Will use them again for future trips to Japan.

Currently still waiting for the flight at Hong Kong Airport. 5 hours and still counting. Can't blame the airlines 100% since the delay is due to military exercise in China (according to the news I googled while waiting) but their service is poor. No ground staff. My flight was supposed to leave HK at 21.20 to Shanghai and now is already 2am and yet no confirmation on gate number or departure time. No information about the delay no hotel provided no food or drinks given not even a confirmed departure time.

Shenzhen-Shanghai Hongqiao. I was pleasantly surprised by Spring Airlines. The website was attractive easy to use and the English section was in very good English (unlike many other websites for Chinese airlines). Possibly I should regard myself as lucky to have only to had a 15-minute delay. The seats were comfortable enough for a 2.5 hour flight and I didn't care that there was no food. The plane was new and clean and the cabin crew were pleasant enough. I quite liked that they showed us some stretching exercises towards the end of the flight.

Shanghai PVG - Hong Kong HKG return. After flying with Spring Airlines on several return trips between Shanghai and Hong Kong I will try avoiding this airline going forward due to significant delays (2-3 hours) which the airline didn't even bother communicating properly. Other than that Spring Airlines is a budget airline and one has to adjust expectations accordingly when it comes to service food and beverages seat comfort etc.. Opposed to its competitors Spring Airline is not offering in-town check-in opportunities in Hong Kong.

Fully understand that it's a budget airline but it doesn't mean that I accept the way Spring Airlines deal with 4 hours delay from Shanghai Pudong-Bangkok sector no announcement no any arrangement airfare is same price with China Eastern. Never again!