Air China

SYD-PEK-LON-PEK-PVG-SYD in early October. The aircraft's deployed on all the legs of the journey were relatively new. Flight attendants pleasant and the inflight food was good. I had my ipad with me so did not check out the IFE. Toilets were regularly cleaned. Flight from PVG to SYD delayed 2 hours. The airline was $400 cheaper that its nearest rival on my preferred route. Will fly Air China again for the right price.

Sydney to Munich (via Shanghai and Beijing). Our flight Sydney to Shanghai where we had a technical stop was fine. However our flight to Beijing was delayed for reportedly ‘weather reasons’ although when we arrived in Beijing with a delay of 4 hours there were no signs of any bad weather. As a result of the delay we missed our connecting flight to Europe. In the arrival hall all all service desk were closed and unstaffed despite around 40 people also missing their connecting flights with Air China. The flight attendants from our flight made the effort to call some service staff and left us. After 1 hour of waiting no one had turned up. We eventually made our way into the departure area (without having visas for China) where all Air China counters were also unstaffed. The one staff member we found was unable/unwilling to help us and advised us that Air China service desks would open at 6:30am (4 hours later). Rather than getting a hotel room meal vouchers assistance in booking to connecting flights and most importantly an apology as is standard service with every other airline we had no choice other than finding a bench in the departure hall and try to sleep there. There were families with babies/small children travelling with us and had to do the same. At 6:30am all stranded passengers queued for the service counter which also could not/refused to help us and referred us to the ticketing counter which would open an hour later. When it eventually opened the staff suggested booking us to the next flight to Munich which would depart 18 hours later. I said that was unacceptable and asked to be booked on a Lufthansa flight to Munich (4 hours later). Lufthansa and Air China are both in the Star Alliance and I assumed it was standard practice to use partner airlines to get passengers to their final destinations as quickly as possible in those circumstances. However she refused to book us on Lufthansa. I had to make the suggestion to fly via Dusseldorf (7hours later with Air China) which was reluctantly arranged. We then had to pick up our luggage and check it in again. This involved another 1.5 hours of waiting time with the result that after receiving dismissive and rude answers from baggage staff we were informed that both our bags had gone missing. We filled in the missing luggage report which took so long that it was too late to go to the hotel that Air China eventually offered (although fellow travellers reported that Air China expected random people to share rooms!). We arrived in Munich with a delay of over 17 hours. We have emailed Air China asking for feedback on the terrible experience we have made but after over one month we still have not received a response. Throughout our trip Air China staff were rude dismissive and at the first moment keen to say "this isn't my responsibility".

PEK-SZX. The outbound was a B747-400 business class was on the upper cabin. Staff service was excellent with good food. The inbound was an old B777-200 seat pitch was not satisfactory. But service and food were good.

For the price from Australia to Europe return Air China is excellent value. But traveling through Beijing and a sneaky hidden stop over in Shanghai to your destination puts a sour taste in the mouth. For a start even though you are transiting through China to you're destination you must clear customs in both Shanghai and Beijing this process is 10/10 in the stress factor especially if you are a first time traveler via these cities. As this was our first European holiday my wife and I found out the hard way that cheap airfares are cheap for a reason. As for Air China as a carrier I can not complain the service was good food typical for an aircraft seats average for comfort in economy class entertainment good. If it wasn't for the headaches and stress in transiting through China I would most certainly use Air China again.

SHA-PEK return First class (business but they sell the tickets domestically as first). The outbound was an A330-300 had comfortable flatbed. Inbound leg a Boeing 777-200 less space compared with A330 and the seat could not recline much. Flight was on time and was offered nice dim sum. The flight attendants were quite responsive.

PEK-FRA on a very old B744. Actually I chose Air China just because other airlines are full. 744 had no personal TV for economy class so if you cannot sleep on a long haul flight please consider very carefully before booking. The seat is quite good it should be a 33~34" pitch seat and I slept quite well during the flight. Two meals on the flight the first one was about 2 hours after take-off the second one was around 2.5 hours before landing. However if other airlines are available with not much disadvantage on price I will not choose Air China.

SHA-PEK return. Inbound trip was with an A333 aircraft and the outbound was with B772 both wide-body jet but the latter has no fully flat bed. But considering the flight lasts less than 2 hours it's OK. The flight arrived on time and the services in the lounge and onboard were standard. Many domestic airlines offer Shanghai - Beijing route but I think Air China gives the best offering as far as both hardware and software are concerned.

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.