Air China

After 2 long flights SYD-Shanghai and Beijing to Rome in Business Class my wife and I were satisfied. The seat laid out completely flat and we were as comfortable as any airline we have travelled on. The meals were good in size and quantity but not exceptional. FA's were charming and responsive and their English was much better than my Chinese! The selection of movies and TV shows was more than adequate for us and the headsets comfortable. The toilets spotless and we were on time. Altogether a satisfactory experience.

Sydney via Shanghai/Beijing to London. Checked in at Sydney and told flight was delayed by 5 hours due to heavy rain in Beijing. At check in and subsequently on flight we were reassured that all information and assistance would be given at Beijing. We arrived just before 4am - there were no Air China Staff on duty and no directions as to where we should go eventually we found our way to the International Duty Manager's desk which did not open until 5.30am. Once Air China Staff arrived they initially refused to speak to us or offer any assistance. About six hours after arrival waiting going between desks collecting luggage we were given a box of food and a milk drink and checked in on a flight Frankfurt. The flights themselves were cheap adequate and clean Cabin Crew were polite but had difficulty communicating in English. I was disappointed with the poor service shown by Air China airport staff and their lack of honesty in communicating what was to be expected at Beijing especially in view that the situation in Beijing was beyond their control and would not have involved a loss of face despite their poor management and lack of skill in dealing with an adverse situation.

HKG to Beijing connecting to London. Inbound flight delayed by 2.5 hours due to bad weather caused us to miss our connecting flight to London. On arrival in Beijing a Chinese man with a sign gave us a sticker and a friendly couple explained to us we were being put up in a hotel overnight because there were no connecting flights until the next day. We followed the sign man and queued for immigration after finally getting through sign man had vanished. A number of passengers were also left behind and approached the Air China information desk. After hearing our problem both employees went and did not return. A representative was sent to meet us and after waiting a couple of hours we were taken to our hotel. The hotel was pretty gross and breakfast inedible however it was provided at no extra cost. The next morning a bus was provided to take us to the airport. After queuing for almost 3 hours we were issued boarding passes. Onboard the plane staff unfriendly and unable to smile. The food was poor. Finally we arrived in London after travelling for 28 hours. Our flight back was a bit better as we were only delayed by 9 hours in Beijing! Although our experience was fairly negative I would like to praise the check-in staff in London and Hong Kong as they were quite friendly.

HKG - PEK - JFK and back. Check-in at Hong Kong International Airport was great. Flight from Hong Kong left on time and was quite comfortable. Landing in Beijing was on time. The main concern that I had was the customs / metal detector line where you pass through to the International Departures area. It was apparent from my observations that Air China has sold a lot of International to International flights going through Beijing Airport to the point where China Customs has too many international transfer people to check which leads to a delay. I wouldn't fault China Customs as they had every one of the four international transfer desks open. After customs an even bigger delay occurred at the metal detector area for International transfers which only had one of the two counters open. Because of the aforementioned delays I made it to my JFK flight just as it began boarding. My wife who flew two weeks after I did missed her connection to JFK because Hong Kong was in the midst of a typhoon. It took Air China a while to process her for the next day's flight and put her in a hotel. When my wife arrived at the hotel she was surprised to be informed that Air China was going to put her in a room with a roommate and subsequently paid an extra USD$24 to get her own room. Flying back from JFK was pleasant and we arrived on time in Beijing. There is no plug-in point for a laptop or iPad so my battery died halfway through the flight. The aircraft does not have personal screens in the Economy Section. After spending the night at the hotel located in the Departures Area of Beijing National Airport we had another pleasant flight back to Hong Kong. Overall a good experience. Would fly again if the airfare is competitive.

Business class London Gatwick to Beijing to Ulaanbaatar Mongolia. The new-ish business class lounge at Gatwick (North Terminal) is excellent for a short stay but perhaps not the best if you have a 3 or four hour lay-over. Aircraft was A330-200 seat 13L. Cabin was a little tired but was still in reasonable condition. The seat cushions were a little firm but the space and width were reasonable. I was worried that the full recline/flat bed was not actually going to be flat but it was and was very comfortable for a sleep. Supplied also with pyjamas and quilt for a snooze. Staff very attentive and there was no need to request drinks or top- ups as these were forthcoming throughout the flight. The Chinese meal was good but a little tasteless. A bit more variety and freshness may have improved it a bit. The AVOD completely froze for my seat and was never rectified throughout. However glancing at the programmes and films on offer I did not miss much as it was very dated. Punctuality excellent. Beijing T3 is not the easiest to change flights within and there is no channels for business class to speed up the process. As there were several flights arriving there was a very long queue of at least 200 waiting for the immigration check (although it was just a check to then be allowed in to the area for security - where there was another queue). Flight to UB was fine - with only 8 business class seats and two staff for the section we were very well looked after.

Sydney to Beijing and onto London after a 7 hour stop over. I would never fly Air China again. I found the cabin crew rude the aircraft (Airbus A330) was old and the inflight entertainment system was either broken for me or the entire aircraft. Fair enough only paid $1790 for my return airfare but I still expect more than I received. I was told soft drinks were only served at dinner time and they offered me a small glass of warm water.

London to Beijing in July. The seat was uncomfortable and did not recline properly. The food was far below normal international airline standards. Staff were unhelpful and curt. The inflight entertainment was limited and clearly designed more for a mainland China audience.

Flew PEK-FNJ on a B737-200. Seating was pretty cramped. Even though it was a short flight drinks and a snack-box was served. 2nd run through was made for drink top-ups. No IFE. FA's were cordial. All-in-all a decent enough experience.

London to Sydney. The food was appalling unless you could speak Mandarin you were not able to communicate with the air hostesses. We were left sitting on the Tarmac in Beijing for 5 hours prior to take off (so long that we actually had to go back and fuel up once we were cleared for take off). The captain kept making announcements about bad weather yet we could see only sunny weather all around. The toilet facilities became quite bad. I missed my next flight as a result of the delays and the crew did not even apologise. I heard from a few western travellers that the lengthy delays were common.

Flew from Incheon to Singapore return via Beijing. We were given a free upgrade to first class on the first leg of the journey which I can't complain about but the apart from that the airline is rather disappointing. Both of the flights on the way to Singapore were delayed by about 3 hours. The economy food was very poor; the beer and wine undrinkable; and the service was minimalistic. The crew seemed to have a very low level of English. They only offered drinks other than water once during the five hour flight from Beijing to Singapore and even water was not offered enough. There was no entertainment on the 5 hour flights to and from Singapore. Air China is cheap but it can really only be compared with other low-cost airlines.