China Airlines

Supposed to fly LHR-TPE-SYD flights changed at short notice to LHR-AMS-BKK-TPE-SYD adding 13 hrs to journey - no explanation. Given 45 hr trip with 11 hrs at Taipei : not good with 4 yr old and 9 yr old. Rice or noodles every meal - my kids didn't eat whole journey. On the plus side they did give us a complimentary hotel room in Taipei.

LAX-Taipei-Denpasar traveling in Economy with an active three year old. We were given bulkhead seats before we got to the airport. Got to LAX and was ushered to the almost non existent Business Class queue as I had a young child. My son was accompanied without this being requested by a friendly steward when we got on the plane as I had too much to carry (I took his FAA approved car seat with us). His kids meals arrived without prompting and were favorably received. On the Denpasar leg I asked for his kids meal before they were being served as my son was hungry - it arrived two minutes later with a smile. We were also offered the choice of moving into an empty four seat section on this leg so that we could rest more comfortably. Throughout the service was wonderful. Nothing seemed too much trouble. Plus the flights were on time the toilets were always clean and the adult food was perfectly acceptable too.

Brisbane to Auckland. China Airlines have recently added this sector and are offering a full service flight at a very reasonable price and flight times are excellent. A340 was spotless on demand IFE was very good meal was pretty good. Crew were very attentive not a full trip probably only 60%.

Vancouver to Bali back and forth - no PTV on seats and old 747 aircraft. Even if it's 1500$ cheaper then flying other airlines I'll never fly with China airlines again.

Sydney-Taipei-Peking-Taipei-Sydney. I was impressed with service on the ground and onboard. The inflight service didn't have many 'trappings' (eg. no hot-towel before departure) as some airlines do but was sincere with good interaction from flight attendants. Food was very tasty and woolong tea was the great drink to wind up a meal. The downer was the limited leg room on the A330-300 between Sydney and Taipei considering it was a long-haul night flight. The flights between Taipei and Peking were much more pleasant.

Heathrow-Taipei-Sydney return in Economy. Surprised how good the service was as expectations were low due to low price. Good travelling times. Good food although got a bit fed up with rice and noodles. Staff happy to get drinks. Taipei airport not the best. Didn't open till 6am so had to sit on floor with no food drinks or information for an hour or so. Plane not full on way back so had 2 seats each and lay down.

LHR-TPE-DPS return. Paid £540 for a return flight to Bali. We were very impressed by the excellent service and friendliness from crew on each. Inflight entertainment good. Food fine and plenty of it they keep you fed regularly. We did find the flight home from Bali to Heathrow long ie. Bali to Taipei 5 hours - Taipei to LHR 14.5 hrs. We would probably use China Airlines again if the prices remain reasonable but would ideally take a shorter route if the prices were similar.

LHR-TPE-DPS return. The price was £500 for weekend daytime flights. Flights between UK and Taipei were full but you can call the airline to pre-book seats. A340 has 2-4-2 configuration so if you're travelling as a couple it is easy to relax if you book the window seats. Flights between Taipei and Bali were half full and we were given exit seats in both directions. Food was ok but don't expect Western food to be great. Entertainment system between UK and Taiwan excellent. Huge selection of current films shows CD albums and games. Check in staff ground staff and cabin crew all very helpful. Taipei airport was ok - worth noting that a new terminal is nearing completion and it looks very modern. Overall a very enjoyable experience and I would use this airline again. Prices probably will start to creep up as they become more established in the UK market.

LHR-TPE on A340-300 and TPE-DPS on B737-800 return. Chosen because of price and the A343 had AVOD making 13-14 hour flight more bearable. Good selection of films and shows with choice of languages. I had bulkhead seat due to my height bit narrow but legroom gain made up for it despite sitting next to families with babies! Food ok two full meal service and sandwiches available between. The drinks service was minimal as reported by others ( 1 small glass of wine with dinner) but staff happy to provide drinks when asked. Staff friendly and attentive. 90 minute delay on way back in Taipei gate desk had a complimentary drinks station set up within 30 minutes shows good customer service. Taipei airport is being renovated but as had only 1-2 hours transfer time no issue free Wifi and internet terminals available makes passing time easier.

Sydney-Taipei-Heathrow. This airline was cheapest by a long shot and suggested by the travel agent. Seating was adequate. Inflight entertainment pretty good as was food. The staff at check in and on board were lovely and extremely polite and helpful. Would definitely fly with again the only downside is the route - 14.5 hours from Taipei to Heathrow and the amount of time spent waiting at Taipei airport for connecting flights as Taipei airport is probably not the best place to waste 6 hours. Take a good book and a packed lunch.

BKK-AMS. The night flight from BKK was again very poor. Food was served quickly and of a poor standard - given the smallest glass of wine with the meal and then during the flight no water runs. I had to go to the galley every time I wanted anything. Big screen was poor and not working correctly. I use China Airlines as they were a cheap way to get to Thailand. I wont be using them again if possible.

AMS-BKK. China Airlines are getting worse on this route. It's still the old B747 which really needs upgrading. Your are time-warped back to the 70's when you get onboard. Fuzzy big screens should be a thing of the past. The food is okay stewards are OK if a bit miserable with the beer wine and a smile!

LAX-TPE-HKG-TPE-LAX economy. Very cheap fares. Punctual. Attentive and friendly flight attendants. The food quality was fine and consistent throughout all flights. A tip - if you fly an Asia-based airline choose the Asian dish if given a choice between the Asian and Western dish. Obviously they'll be far more skilled at preparing the Asian dish. My only complaints are the dearth of movie selections (they remain unchanged two weeks later on my return trip) and the lack of individual air nozzles. On each of my flights the entertainment system was individual.

I flew from ANC to TPE with family including one 5 yr old. We had 3 adjacent confirmed seats. The flight originated from JFK. When we checked in at ANC we were put in 3 separated seats because the middle one of our seats had been given to someone boarding at JFK. One of us was given a seat 30 rows further back. I objected and was told that CI staff at JFK can ignore confirmed seats for passengers boarding after JFK and that the plane was full. In other words a confirmed seat didn't really mean that. The seats we were given would have necessitated our 5 yr old sitting separately. I was told that it could probably be sorted out on board. But on boarding the aircraft the aircrew wouldn't even take care of it - I was told that I had to ask the other passenger to switch. I got their attention by saying that we were going to go to our original confirmed seats and they could decide what to do about that at takeoff time. It happened that the JFK originating passenger was willing to switch when he saw the situation but I think it was really bad procedure for CI to have put us through that. Either confirmed seats should mean that or there shouldn't be a pretence that there are confirmed seats. And certainly a young child should never be re-seated to a separated seat.

TPE-HKG round trip. The ground staff were helpful in both Taipei and Hong Kong while I was handling with seat and luggage problems. However the inflight attendants still have to work hard on their service attitude. Food as usual but can be improved.

JFK New York -Taipei was one of the worst flights we've been on. Very old planes with uncomfortable seats and no personal TV's in seats. For such a long flight it was extremely unpleasant. They played some very old movies on the small ancient overhead TV's. All in all it was the cheapest flight we could get at the last minute so if there's any consolation that would be it. We got what we paid for.