Air China

Not Verified | The only advantage of this airline is that it has on-time flying times. Other than that, very disappointing. Jakarta to Shanghai flight with transit in Beijing. Imagine, a transit that was originally 2 hours 45 minutes was rescheduled to 2 hours 15 minutes, even during transit we had to take care of moving our own baggage. Our family ended up going to pieces taking care of everything in a very short time. Other airlines, if baggage transfer during transit is handled by themselves, they will give a warning. Meanwhile this is not listed. We feel like we were cheated. When we returned from Tokyo to Jakarta, we had a 24 hour transit in Beijing. The information we got was that we could get a 24h free entry visa, but apparently we couldn't for unclear reasons. Finally we couldn't check in at the hotel we had booked and my money was forfeited. Because I landed in Beijing at 9 pm. There are no transit hotels at Beijing airport. The staff who were asked did not understand. Once there is a "Paid Lounge" the prices are very unreasonable. The price set is around 3.7 million rupiah for a full day! 2 million rupiah for just 5 hours! And that's the only hotel there is, there are no other hotels. Other airlines provide transit hotels if the transit lasts more than a few hours! Finally, our family was like homeless people waiting 24 hours for our next flight! I will not use this airline again. Very bad service! Keunggulan maskapai ini hanya waktu terbang yang ontime. Lain dari itu sangat mengecewakan. Penerbangan Jakarta to Shanghai dengan transit di Beijing. Bayangkan, transit yang awalnya 2 jam 45 menit di reschedule menjadi 2 jam 15 menit, pada saat transit pun kita harus mengurus perpindahan bagasi sendiri. Kami sekeluarga akhirnya kocar kacir mengurus semuanya dengan waktu yg sangat singkat. Maskapai lain, jika perpindahan bagasi saat transit diurus sendiri, mereka akan memberikan peringatan. Sedangkang ini tidak dicantumkan. Kami merasa seperti tertipu. Pada saat kepulangan kami dari Tokyo ke Jakarta, kami transit 24jam di Beijing. Informasi yg kami dapatkan, kita bisa mendapatkan visa free entry 24h, tapi ternyata tidak bisa dengan alasan yg tidak jelas. Akhirnya kami tidak bisa check in di hotel yang sudah kami booking dan uang saya hangus. Karna saya landing di Beijing pada pukul 9 malam. Di dalam bandara Beijing pun tidak ada hotel transit. Para staff yang di tanya tidak ada yg mengerti. Sekalinya ada "Paid Lounge" harganya sangat2 tidak masuk akal. Harga yang dipasang skeitar 3,7 juta rupiah untuk full day! 2 juta rupiah untuk 5jam saja! Dan itu hanya satu2nya hotel yg ada, tidak ada hotel lain. Maskapai lain memberikan hotel transit jika transit lebih dari sekian jam! Akhirnya kami sekeluarga seperti gelandangan menunggu 24 jam penerbangan kami selanjutnya! Saya tidak akan menggunakan maskapai ini lagi. Pelayanan sangat busuk sekali!

✅ Trip Verified | First time travelled with Air China long haul. Being British with links to Hong Kong, we’ve mostly travelled with British Airways and Cathay Pacific in the past. With our holiday planning to Japan we had come across the attractive airfare offered by Air China in comparison with other well known international airlines. At first we were worried about the quality of flight experience and even fellow travellers on the planes. After reading on line reviews and watching You Tube clips. The thing that helped us make our decision wasn’t the price alone but the fact we could make a visa free 3 day stay over in Shanghai on our transit back to London. Basically two holidays in one trip. In my personal experience with Air China, we travelled on A350-900 aircraft to Shanghai. The flight was very comfortable, legroom was more than other airlines we travelled with on Economy. My daughter suffered from severe travel sickness and could not eat so they put a special sticker to show that. The flight attendants were very caring and attentive towards her. The toilets were well maintained compared to other airlines towards the end of the flight would be really dirty. Food was nothing special but not awful , good enough to keep you from being starved. Transit from Shanghai Pudong to Japan Narita was 3 hours but did not feel too long whereas in reality the whole trip (2 legs) were quite tiring indeed. We checked in on line with no problems however one of the legs did require us to collect our boarding passes from the airport rather than getting QR code to use from our mobile phones. Pudong to Narita was on a smaller aircraft and older but nothing to complain about as the in flight service was just as good. On our way returning to London, we encountered a little from at Narita . Although we had paid and reserved our chosen seats the system did not show that and two of us had been moved to less desirable seats further back. We explained the situation at the checkin counter and the ground staff sorted it efficiently offering us seats that were even better than the ones we originally chose. We had a seamless stay over in Shanghai for 3 days, luggage were collected at Pudong without any problems. The return flight from Pudong to London Gatwick was just as great. I hope people who have read negative stuff about Air China can give them a go to experience how good they really are. Do not get put off by some bad reviews they may have read on line.

Not Verified | The flight was great! However, it could still improve. Bring your own tablets as the IFE systems were kind of laggy and the choices were very limited. The seats were quite hard and on my 2nd flight, the seat recline was broken, so I had to manually force it back to the original position. The food was wonderful and so were the staff.

Not Verified | Pros——- The flight attendants were kind and helped us with the wifi for 15 minutes. Very helpful, =mindful and demure. The food was great, I was not expecting that. Legroom was wonderful. Me being 1.83m, there was easily lots of legroom. Theseat was hard, IFE sucked and dirty floors.

✅ Trip Verified | Today at Kansai Airport, my experience with Air China at counter 25 was appalling. The staff member on duty, demonstrated an unacceptable level of rudeness and complete disregard for customer service. They were dismissive, unhelpful, and unprofessional, causing significant delays and making an already stressful travel situation even worse. I expect much better from an international airline, especially at a major hub like Kansai. Passengers deserve respect, efficiency, and professionalism, none of which were provided by Air China today.

Not Verified | I flew from Beijing to Geneva for over ten hours last week. Everything was ok, reasonable except for the toilets, which were filthy. Passengers used them all the time, and I don't think the flight attendants were cleaning them properly. I only used them once, and after that the whole flight I had to hold in the urge to pee, which was really bad.

✅ Trip Verified | Both international planes were probably the dirtiest I have ever seen. To give you examples, the bathroom shelves were covered in dust and old hairs. The main ceiling looked like it had mould on it. The padding on the chairs (which did not look too old) was so thin that I could feel the plastic backing (much worse than Ryanair etc). The food was terrible - the cooked part was like something from a very cheap microwave meal. The server said they had run out of wine (this is an international flight!) and then when he opened the drawer, I saw a bottle unopened. I have flown many times in many countries in Asia but I’ve never heard a safety announcement spend time explaining how you could be arrested for various unknown crimes. International Air China flights have security agents walking around carrying cameras. I will never fly with them again and suggest nobody does.

✅ Trip Verified | Outstanding Customer Service from Air China Jakarta Airport Ground Staff. On October 2nd, I arrived from Sydney to Jakarta (Qantas), planning to board (within 3.5 hours) on Air China (CA978) to Beijing (then to Madrid and Sao Paulo). Due to Qantas airplane problems, the Qantas flight arrived 2 hours late, leaving me with only 1:40 hours to board Air China. Unfortunately, Qantas refused to give any assistance to facilitate the very short time for check in. Talking to the Indonesia immigration agent, he called Air China ground staff, who sent an agent with a mission to help me(I did not have a Visa on Arrival, no boarding card and a checked luggage at Qantas.) The agent did everything to make me board the Air China flight, talked many times to the immigration officers, called Air China office to send a letter to the immigration and ran 6 times to the Air China counter to try to solve all bureaucratic issues. The agent and other Air China agents issued all documentation needed and ran with me and my luggage through Jakarta terminal be able to catch the flight. Boarding the Air China flight CA978 (in such a short time) was a small “miracle” that was possible because of the competence and excellent service of Jakarta’s Air China ground staff.

✅ Trip Verified | Flight Booking and Customer Support: Everything was fine and we booked the tickets easily and hassle-free. The flight was only re-scheduled by 15 mins on our way there and 40 mins for our return flight from Athens to Beijing, which it was made up on the air and our flight landed even earlier than scheduled. The price was exceptional with the second cheapest ticket after that being nearly 60% more expensive. Online Check-In: My flight included two adults and one child, we flew from Melbourne to Athens via Beijing. The online check-in process was really bad, both times I did not manage to check in online because during the process, after reaching a point, then the buttons were not working, I have tried multiple from different computers and browsers and I did not manage to complete it, something must be wrong with the website. Be aware. Transit Layover: Air China has a Transit Hotel or Transit Lounge service. Unfortunately, again the website/app (I have tried both) was not very user-friendly and the information asked for the account creation was confusing and part of it was available only for Chinese residents. After a lot of struggle, again, the booking process reached a point where it was asking for the passport number but it did not accept it. I finally gave up and I booked a hotel nearby. Flight: The flight was much better than what we were expecting after reading all the bad reviews. I think for some of them, people had a bad experience with a long delay or they have been too picky because the ratings are not very fair. Back to the flight review. The seats' padding was a little bit thinner than what you can find in a similar aircraft of other airlines but not to the point that caused any inconvenience. The meals were a bit smaller but of decent quality, like any other flight meal. The crew members were frequently passing by asking the passengers if they wanted any drinks. The entertainment system was good with movies, some older some newer, games for the children, etc. Not the latest entertainment system or live sports games that you can find in other airlines, but good enough to keep you busy during the flight. The electronic conveniences were good, with proper touch-screen controls, a power outlet to charge your laptop and a USB charging port. Headphones and blankets were provided. Also, there is no wired remote attached to the seat, everything is controlled via the touch screen only. The internet wi-fi was there, but it wasn't. I did not manage to connect to any website at all, it was like there was no internet at all. The crew members were very polite and respectful. Their English were not perfect, but they could understand you 8 out 10 times. If you are not sure, just repeat and they will get it done. Overall, the value for money was 100% worthwhile, with airline ticket prices skyrocketing nowadays, if you are willing to sacrifice a fraction of convenience and you can live without the internet for a few hours, I would certainly recommend flying with Air China.

Not Verified | Air China is horrible for people flying with allergies or dietary requirements. I am celiac and I flew Air China from Rome to Gaungzhou and back (with layovers) and requested a gluten allergy special meal, the meal was not fine as they put a piece of bread in it and to add onto it was an absolute fiasco to get! Online check-in does not offer you the option to book a special meal like many other airlines allow so you are constrained to call the number (which they do not answer) I am flying tomorrow back to Rome (a 15+ hour travel day) and will not be able to eat any food on the flight I will have to pack my own food. I am very disappointed with their online check as it does not work. It is such a horrible experience to fly with them!