China Airlines

✅ Trip Verified | New York to Taipei. This is the worst flight I've ever been on in my life. I got a discount on this flight, and the stewardesses were nice. Everything else about was a nightmare. I called a week in advance and had to pay for the desired seat I wanted for $30 extra because this airline doesn't let you choose your seat. But they ended up giving me the wrong seat anyway, rather than 40E, which is larger. They could not fix the issue on the plane, so I was stuck with the tiny seat and wasted my $30. Some seats can lift the armrest, but the one I had to go to could not and was quite uncomfortable. I then learned that this was the first flight I've been on that doesn't offer free WiFi. I had to pay $50 (specifically $43.90) to use their very bad WiFi service. The "entertainment" tablet doesn't work, even if you rub it or clean it, and there's nothing on there you've ever heard of, anyway. The food looked inedible, but that's okay because I opted not to eat anyway. It just sucks you have to pay for water, since TSA obviously doesn't let you bring any liquids on. Guess I should've brought a bigger water bottle. Sixteen hours of this, and they don't even offer you WiFi or working power outlets (though I'm surprised we even had those). This airline just seems cheap, even if their actual prices aren't that cheap.

✅ Trip Verified | Tokyo to Taipei. Priority check-in at Narita was quick and easy. I was able to change my seat at the counter. Boeing 777 has a beautifully designed cabin and offers lots of choices on the inflight entertainment system. The cabin manager on this flight was kind and helpful. I was welcomed on board and addressed by name. The vegetarian special meal was of a good quality. There was a selection of drinks available, I tried Kumquat Lemonade and Formosa green tea. On arrival, my luggage was first off the belt as it was marked Priority. I am a SkyTeam Elite Plus member and I never experienced such attention to detail and personal service.

Not Verified | My wife and I flew to Brisbane from Auckland and return. A350 was roomy and comfortable in Economy Class. Crew were friendly. IFE with a good selection of movies, TV and music. Crew on return flight indifferent and sour. Meals were awful - spiced chicken and rice - worse than a microwavable meal from the supermarket. In summary crew need to lift their game. English is often poor and engagement nowhere near Singapore Airlines.

✅ Trip Verified | Bangkok to Honolulu via Taipei. I fly regularly between Honolulu and Bangkok, but I've never flown on China Airlines. However, it emerged as the least-expensive option for a recent trip and since the price and flight schedules were good I decided to give the airline a try, despite some hesitation. I was mostly pleasantly surprised by the airline: Though the staff seem to be unable to smile and service both on the ground and in the air is bare-bones, the A350 is a fabulous aircraft, the seats were mostly comfortable, and the entertainment system was alright. There were a few negative experiences: For instance, not one single flight arrived or departed on time; The airline's pillows and blankets are pitiful, and the catering is mostly inedible; China Airlines has the serving style favored by many Asian airlines, wherein a few drinks choices are offered on top of the meal service trolleys, and if a passenger requests anything not on top of the trolley, the flight attendants tend to lie and say they ran out. It's very, very tedious to constantly have to ask and remind them for something as simple as a can of Coke Zero, and for it to be brought with a scowl. I arrived at Taipei from Honolulu in the middle Typhoon Mitag; My onward flight to Bangkok that evening was cancelled and I was expecting a chaotic, uncomfortable evening in Taipei's airport. Much to my surprise, the situation had been rather expertly arranged before my arrival: An agent met our flight and informed all of us going to Bangkok that we had been rescheduled for a flight the following morning and that accommodation had been arranged for us for that evening. I was impressed by the efficiency of China Airlines and the Taipei airport authorities, and I commend them for their handling of a difficult situation. In all, I recommend China Airlines because of the very low cost paid for this set of flights. While China Airlines certainly pales in comparison to ANA, JAL, EVA Air, Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines, it is at least as good as Korean Air.

✅ Trip Verified | Taipei to Vancouver. The onboard experience was fine. The problem with this airline is the ground customer service and code-share system. I have no idea why, but China Airlines would not allow me to select my seats in advance or even change my seats at check-in. It seems that some tickets simply do not have an online check-in or seat selection option. You are forced to get to the check-in desk when it opens (about 3hrs before a flight) and try to get them to change the seat they assign to you. This creates a mad rush at check-in, and a strong likely-hood of not sitting with your companion and getting the middle seat. This is exactly what happened to me in Taipei. I flew in on a code-share flight with Vietnam Airlines. There was no online check-in option for the China Airlines portion of the flight. At check-in in Saigon, China Airlines automatically assigned my wife and me to two middle seats in different rows (not together). I asked the Vietnam Airlines agent if we could change the seat assignments, but they were unable to access seating for China Airlines. When I got to Taipei for the connection, I went to the China Airlines office to change the seats, and they said all seats were assigned and the flight was full, but that the boarding counter could probably do something. I went to the boarding gate, and they said they would make a note of this. I asked what that meant, and they said they would tell the stewardess. I asked what that meant, and they said the stewardess would look for spare seats. I asked why they couldn't see if there were any spare seats, and the boarding gate said they could, and there were none, 'but maybe someone would be too sick to fly'. There was no attempt to look for people that were willing to move from one seat to another to accommodate my wife and I sitting together. No effort what so ever, they just wanted to tell me they took my name. The boarding agents said it was a common problem that people could not check-in online or select their seats in advance. The boarding agents even laughed as I walked away. The problem is not just the boarding agents, its China Airlines inability to allow online check-in or seat selection on booking flights. I'm not sure why they don't have a system that would do this? Regardless, I will not fly with this airline again.

✅ Trip Verified | Vienna to Auckland via Taipei and Brisbane. I am very happy with the experience . I flew in Economy Class, at the height of 1,83m / 6ft I had enough legroom. Vienna to Taipei I was offered to change my original seat to a seat in a row which was completely free (I did manage to sleep a couple of hours on this flight as I could kind of lie down during the flight.) The remaining two flights were fully booked and if 3 men sit next to each other, there is not too much space in Economy class but it did not feel uncomfortable. The cabin crew was very friendly and the service was very good. I enjoyed the meals and the in-flight entertainment. The A350-900 is a great and modern airplane I can definitely recommend.

Not Verified | Los Angeles to Jakarta via Taipei. Will never fly with China airlines again, flight attendants are rude no common courtesy, get into your personal space without warning no "excuse me" no nothing! Felt like a harrasment because I purchased a premium economy seats for my infant and have to argue back and forth about it because they didn't believe my 1,5 year old is not 2 years old, I bought 3 premium economy seats for my 2 kids and I but they only gave me 2 meals and not counting my other kid! Their excuse is they don't have infant food even tho I told them my 1,5 year old can eat anything, asking me to show my kid passport all the time because they thought my 1,5 year old is too big for her age. Told me to deflate my flytot even tho other passengers in economy class are allowed to using theirs, even after I deflated it they keep coming back and woken me up because they thought I was still using it! I have to literally show them I didn't use the flytot anymore! Again I will never fly with China airlines ever again. The only reason I gave 2 stars for cabin service and not 1 star is because one of the flight attendant actually felt bad for keep asking me about my child. But out of 4 flights we've taken only 1 was bearable.

✅ Trip Verified | Taipei to Beijing return. The inbound flight was delayed over one hour. The customer service in Beijing offered passengers snacks and soft drinks. Overall, the service was very nice. Seats are comfortable. I enjoyed both flights.

✅ Trip Verified | We flew Brisbane to London Gatwick via Taipei and return with China Airlines. We weren’t delayed on any of the flights there or back. Blankets, pillows were waiting for us when we boarded. On the longer legs (Taipei - Gatwick & Gatwick - Taipei) amenity kits were provided (we were in economy!) so that was a nice little extra. The seats were not comfortable at all which is a shame and the food was a little disappointing. The cabin service was alright. Would recommend for the price. They were the cheapest tickets at the time of booking.

✅ Trip Verified | China Airlines has the worst customer service and support. We booked a round trip from Singapore to Vancouver last week. Our flight got cancelled due to a typhoon in Taipei and we got to know of it just a day before we were suppose to fly. There was no way to reach out to the airlines - no helpline 24*7. It was a struggle to contact the airline and we wrote on their Facebook page on which they responded. They asked to wait and asked to visit the airport next day morning. Got there early morning and they blatantly said they can’t do anything! Flight is cancelled and no replacement to fly. We were told there is one flight which was on very short notice and we coudnt have possibly taken it! With no way out we booked another flight to do our trip paying a lot more extra. We reached Vancouver and were continuously getting messages from China Airlines for our return flight which made us comfortable that our outgoing flight is on! To our horror, we were stopped from boarding the flight! And then came in the China Airlines supervisor who broke some news to us which none bothered to convey till then by the airlines. First he said if you board the flight you can’t get refund for the incoming flight which we technically did use. Yes, we couldn't use because you cancelled the flight and did not give any backup flight to the helpless customer. None of the customer service people at the airport told us about the refund and cancellation in such scenarios. Zero communication. The supervisor blatantly asked to decide whether to board and forget the refund for one way or buy another ticket and take a full refund. We were aghast. This isn’t just a monetary situation but a big mental pressure for someone travelling with family. The airline showed no sympathy towards the child too. To convey the same we went to one of the representatives and they kinda looked lost had no idea and then directed us to someone else, laughing at out back. This is ridiculous and shows the airline lacks basic human courtesy! A little later the supervisor came and said That we can't board the flight altogether! Since the ticket stands null and void! None from the airlines conveyed us till now and instead we were getting all flight updates on messages. Is it a technical problem that your system shows customer wrong information and you the right information? We coudnt sleep looking for another pocket friendly Flight to go Home and hotel to stay. Who’s to be blamed? We may forget the financial loss but the mental agony China Airlines has caused is beyond words.