China Airlines

Vancouver to Beijing really needed to upgrade their cabin entertainment systems. The controls were dirty and buttons was unresponsive. Their food was awful. All of my baggage was delayed during the round trip. Never flying Air China again.

We travelled from UK to Australia via Beijing and visa versa. Staff were quite stand offish and didn't speak English very well a smile would have been nice. 2 meals supplied were very poor and no English option available. Meals were very basic and no snacks offered. Drinks only offered during meals and they only came round a few times with water. Entertainment was poor very dated films. Beijing airport: staff had no idea what they were doing and caused complete chaos amongst passengers. We passed through baggage control which took 2 hrs only to walk down 24 steps to go through the same thing again. Then transferred onto plane to Australia and service was exactly the same. Return was the same treatment it was -9 in Beijing and hence it was also -9 in the airport the air- conditioning was full blast. The flight to the UK was slightly better only because the staff spoke a little more English. We had to close the blinds even though it was a daytime flight. All in all our Air China experience was not a good one.

Travelled Air China as it was the cheapest at the time flight on time and no delays first leg of journey on A340 not too bad and food reasonable but second leg Shanghai to Sydney plane was old food inedible and cold. No drinks provided other than with meals air hostesses command of English poor. On the way back food was awful on both legs full of very badly behaved children asked for an alcoholic drink and was told could only have one with dinner entertainment system antiquated no really up to date movies too many Chinese ones and very temperamental system. Would be worth paying extra for a better trip as on a long haul flight its needed.

Shanghai-Frankfurt Jan 13th. Plane left on time. Flight attendant kind and helpful. Got an aisle seat in the first row of the cabin and had plenty of space for my legs. That were the good points. English announcements spoken with an incomprehensible beginner's accent. Movie choice again very violence dominated mostly Chinese audio quality very low. Food was a shame in comparison to even average Chinese cuisine. Though it was a day time flight blinds had to be closed all day. Got a headache having to read all day by means of the dim seat lighting. Worst was the cabin temperature (my watch showed between 16° and 18°). Almost everybody put on his/her coat which sadly did not prevent from the AC which streamed constantly down to the aisle seats. Entered the plane in a sound condition left it with heavy sinus irritations. This decreases the value for money very much. I would not recommend.

CA998 YVR to PEK then CA969 to SIN then back again a few weeks later. These flights employ well-used A330s. Flights smooth and on time. However my economy seat was narrow and very poorly padded - little better than a city bus. The entertainment system was old and tired with a limited selection of movies. Flight attendants did the basics but disappeared for long periods. They did however keep the toilets very clean. Loading procedures were amateur and chaotic as if the ground staff were improvising. Individual staff were OK but as a group they lacked management. This unpleasantness was magnified by the loading at Beijing. For reasons unknown the SIN and YVR flights had to load using buses out to the tarmac (when gates at the main terminal were obviously available). This is not appropriate for a large plane at capacity. Beijing airport is a liability as a hub. It is very large dreary inefficient and immersed in a toxic smog. Moreover as a passenger in international transit I had to go through a passport check and then through the general security check. This gobbled up most of the 3 hours I had for my connection which I almost missed. Unacceptable. Avoid this place.

Frankfurt-Shanghai Economy. Had got a window seat by online check in. Flight started dead on time plane was very clean seats comfortable (A330). As the movie choice was mainly violence-bound and absurdly censored/cut I resigned on spoiling my eyes on those low-quality monitors and slept through most of the flight. Food was quite okay service efficient and kind. In comparison to the price this was a rather good value for money rate.

My first time using CI. My trip was CGK-TPE-LAX-TPE-CGK. TPE-LAX plane was an old 747 which is still un- refurbished among others. The seats were not as comfortable as the refurbished ones and the AVOD screen was so small! LAX-TPE plane was the refurbished one. The seats were comfortable enough for long haul flights and the AVOD screen was the new one. CGK-TPE and TPE-CGK planes were comfortable to me and the stewardesses English fluency was good even though I still kept asking for something in Mandarin. The food was awful to me compared to another Asian carriers. The movies and music selections on Fantasy Sky were not as much as the others. I'd say CI is NOT uncomfortable for long-haul flights and didn't worth it enough for me.

YVR-TPE-DEL return. First time travelling with China Airlines and it turned out to be a fairly good experience. 747-400 between YVR and TPE seemed newer but A 330's between TPE-DEL seemed older. IFE was fine and toilets were kept clean and cabin crew was polite and spoke fairly good English. We had a delay at YVR which was not really airlines' fault because the bridge could not be retracted. Apart from that all other three take offs were also slightly late. My only real complaint would be the beverages and food. They seem to be very limited in what they offer. Still I would certainly recommend it.

Taipei to Honolulu via Tokyo in economy. All flights on time. Food OK. Plane and bathrooms clean. Entertainment not bad. Service was great at all levels. Would fly them again for this route.

CI53 from BNE to AKL continuation of flight from TPE. The aircraft upgraded to a B747-400 from usual A330-300 in Dec. Check in swift. Gate agents a bit rude. Managed to grab a seat on upper deck. Usually J class but sold as Y on BNE-AKL leg. Flight was on time. Arrived a few minutes early in to AKL. Food was reasonably good. Good AVOD entertainment. Fantastic flight attendants who were very polite and kind. Did two tea coffee runs. Excellent option to NZOFVA or JQ on route. Managed to get a good fare and would consider in future too.

PVG-TPE B747 Short flight. comfortable seating given distance but would be concerned if this was the room allowed on a long flight (747). Despite short flight full meal served with coffee/tea. Inflight entertainment available but did not partake.

London Heathrow to Hong Kong via Beijing one month round trip. Flights left pretty much on time nice planes with good food and great entertainment on the long haul LHR to PEK flight - individual entertainment systems. Aircraft were modern. Wide range of refreshments including Chinese beer and wine on both connecting flights. Small issue with return ticket (as PEK - LGW service had been stopped after I purchased) was easily rectified at Hong Kong check in - desk staff spoke good enough English. Point to note: confirm any schedule changes that are sent to you by phone for ease of mind.

LAX to Beijing to Hong Kong and back to LAX. The staff is mean to you if you are a westerner. The food is terrible - it reminds me of the food you would get on airlines in the 1990s. With every meal they would give you a tea cup but not offer you any tea so the cup just gets in the way while you are eating. The inflight entertainment is very poor some of them don't work at all and sometimes you don't even get any. The staff English skills are lacking terribly to the point that they might as well just speak to you in Chinese. I cannot stress enough how mean they are they are to westerners.

Flew from London Heathrow to Beijing on a weekend late afternoon flight. Wasn't particularly looking forward to it given some of the other reviews but the plane was fairly new and clean the in-flight entertainment system was fine (on demand personal seat selection with plenty of choice in English). The food was reasonable enough and the customer service at check-in and prior to that when I rang up to request seats together for three of us was good. Bit of an attempted scrum on to the slightly delayed plane but all-in-all this was much better than I had expected and up to the standard of other Star Alliance members. I'd still prefer to travel with British Airways and would pay more to do so but to be honest Air China weren't far away in terms of what they offer (though a bit more wine wouldn't go amiss).

My major complaint about this airline is that they allow only 15 pounds in tourist for carry on luggage that is 5-10 pounds less than most international airlines so for that reason I will not fly this airline again and I regret booking the flight. You will notice that I rated the airline very high on their seats food and overall service but I have found that with a limit of 20-25 pounds I can easily go on tour with a hand carry - but the 25 pound limit would make it impossible to do any shopping while on tour. Yes their prices are attractive and I believe their policy is short-sighted.

Surprisingly pleased with the flights with China Airlines. SYD to KIX via TPI then TPI to SYD on A330-300. New aircraft allocated on all legs good food great service and AVOD in line with all the five star airlines. Would recommend.

SFO to PEK in late August 2013. Plane was a 747 Combi. The plane had no entertainment system for a 15 hour flight with no entertainment system. There is a single screen at the front of economy and the entertainment (in Chinese) consisted of what appeared to be 30 second commercials. Late leaving mechanical malfunction before take off. Dinner was bland and disgusting the best thing were the dinner rolls which were fresh and warm. When you order drinks you are given a small 10oz plastic cup of the beverage no cans and good luck getting a refill. After dinner is server the cabin crew vanishes never to be seen again. I was told to call 2 weeks before I left for seat assignment. I followed the instructions and was told they could not issue seats I could not get seats in the US and now I can't get them in China. I was traveling with a child and therefore needed to ensure I had seats together. When I arrived at the airport they were able to get me two seats together for the trip from Shanghai to PEK and then PEK to SFO or so I thought. First leg of the trip the same poor service to which I had become accustomed no change there. When they scanned my ticket before boarding they said oh your seat assignment has been changed and wrote a new seat number on my ticket my nephew was located in another part of the plane. It seems that they do not feel the need to notify you of seat changes until you board. I told them this was unacceptable to which they put me off to the side and proceeded to board a full flight. Eventually they managed to get two seats together. I will never fly this airline again.

SFO-Beijing-BKK flight in June 2013 and the service was mediocre. An old aircraft with 60-70 people sharing one big TV monitor. When we first got onboard it was very hot in the cabin the stewardess said its normal and once we were flying the temperature would cool down. The flight was late so I missed my connecting flight. I was placed into an airport hotel. On the last flight coming home there was water dropping from the overhead bin so the stewardess put tissues and napkins in between the gaps.

TPE-ICN. flown with them as a codeshare flight with Korean air. The plane (747) was very old (or at least seemed like that). Surprisingly the seat was very comfortable more than in most of the new planes I've flown with. The entertainment system isn't too varied but well enough for a short flight. The crew were professional. Overall liked the product.

My husband and I along with mother and a group of friends flew to Paris via Shanghai and returned today from Madrid via Beijing. We have traveled using many of the Asian airlines and I would have to say that I have never experienced a worse airline at every level. On the first leg to Shanghai we were unable to book our luggage through and were all forced to go through immigration customs pick up our baggage and then repeat the process in reverse late at night even though we never left the airport. Told our flight was delayed 3 hours and were left to sit and wait in a deserted terminal staff were rude and unhelpful. Experienced a 2 hour delay at Beijing on the return flight. No explanation was given for either delay. On all aircraft's the seating was the most cramped of any airline I have used the staff were rude and the inflight entertainment mostly Asian. The European food option was limited and always seemed to run out at about aisle 50. Will never Air China again.