China Eastern Airlines

Flew from Shanghai to Osaka on China Eastern on 10/9/13. It was OK at best. The check in was total chaos. The check in line was determined by where you were traveling. The line I entered had about 200 people yet only 4 check-in desks working. Furthermore people were constantly cutting the line with no retort from the agents. It made me realize just how efficient the US and European airlines have become with the check in process. The check in agent and the fight attendants were fine. However the gate agents said nothing as they took the boarding pass. The flight itself was OK. The seats were very tight in coach. The only bright spot was the breakfast served in coach was the equivalent of a First Class breakfast in the US. The flight was on time. This experience with China Eastern was mediocre at best.

Night flight from Cambodia (Phnom Penh) to Shanghai Pudong. In contradiction to our flight from Shanghai to Siem Reap (which was not so good but still more or less ok) there were no blankets pillows earphones or decent food. Aside from one nice lady (who really tried her best) the total crew were rude uninterested and unprofessional. The food: some dry cookies of poor quality a mini cold "rubber" hotdog. No taste at all. Drinks were not cooled. They served only half full cups of water/tea/fruit juice which made me conclude that they didn't have enough on board so I chose a full can of warm beer. Then they show a movie but of course no earphones available. The chairs were uncomfortably closer than with our flight to Siem Reap (my knees blocking chair in front of me) and I'm only 1m 85.

Flew MU524 (NRT-PVG) A330. Check-in was smooth and quick at NRT. Boarding was easy as the cabin was quite empty. IFE was good with a good selection of films etc for this short flight. The chair was comfortable and I tried it out in the reclined position too. The chair doesn't lie flat but enough for a comfortable sleep if needed. Food was of good quality and staff spoke English with good service skills. I would fly MU again.

Flew the domestic route Shanghai Hongqiao to Wuhan. The plane was delayed 2 hours without explanation. They gave out very sweet drinks in the departure lounge after about an hour. I think that there have been delays pretty much every time that I've ever used this airline. Quite an old plane but it seemed to be in good condition. It was only a 1 hour flight so only drinks were served; no food or entertainment but the staff were quite friendly.

Sept 29 2013. I booked a flight with this airline from Shenyang to Qingdao scheduled to fly at 6.25pm. Around 6pm they told us there was delay until further notice. We waited at the airport for 5 hours. People started complaining and then they said it was due to bad weather. Because of pressure from passengers staff at Shenyang airport agreed to provide hotel accommodation for us upon arrival in Qingdao. After having a flight delayed for 5 hours and being promised accommodation nobody picked us up at the airport. Will not take this airline again.

We flew China Eastern as part of a package Tour with a Nexus Holidays. The fight was from Sydney to Beijing via Shanghai. The food was good and drinks (beer/wine) was available on request although friends who traveled on an earlier flight said that they only received one beer for the whole trip. We ignored the movie as it was a small screen set in the ceiling and you risked a stiff neck watching it. Seats were uncomfortable for such a long trip and we had over an hour delay at Shanghai airport most of it sitting in the plane with poor air conditioning before our connecting flight took off for Beijing. On the connecting flight to Beijing the in-flight movie was once again on a small screen in the ceiling but this time we were not supplied with a headset so it was pointless. Our return flight to Sydney was from Shanghai food was OK but if you were seated in the middle of the plane and wanted a wine or beer with your meal - bad luck - they ran out half way through the service. The Steward told me that they only had four bottles of wine to serve among all passengers and only a dozen small cans of beer. I guess the point I am trying to make here is that China Eastern promote themselves as a full service airline - not a budget one however you get the feeling that it is bordering on a budget carrier. Would we fly with them again? I don't think so this was a one-off package tour for us to experience a trip to China and as we always arrange our own travel I would rather pay that little bit extra and enjoy a more comfortable and full service flight.

Kunming to Chengdu 26 September. Good points: 3 week old 737-800 with passably comfortable seats that reclined and had ample leg room. Food and drink provided for a flight just over an hour long although being a vegetarian the ham sandwich was not to my taste. Bags waiting on the carousel - beware the long walk that characterises modern Chinese airports. Bad points: Twice the price of the outbound flight though to be fair it was a peak time departure (1630). An hour late leaving with no explanation other than the incoming plane was delayed; probably weather related with the after effects of Typhoon Usagi creating havoc generally - the weather at Chengdu was particularly inclement - so why not say so? Failure to control carried-on luggage resulted in chaotic boarding the overhead lockers full with little more than half the passengers onboard - again beware if travelling in China pretty much anything and everything irrespective of size is brought into the cabin. In summary OK a far higher standard than any European airline would provide but I've had better in China notably Sichuan Airlines.

Gets you from A to B at reasonable price but not an experience to be repeated too often. Flew Singapore to Vancouver with Shanghai change. Food was barely edible. Choice of drinks very limited. Out of 4 USB tried only 2 worked and headphones crackled too much to enjoy movies. Hope the aircraft maintenance is better.

My flight started with a 3 hour delay in Korea and therewith I missed my connecting flight in Shanghai. China Eastern put me on a new flight however I had to transfer airports the expenses that came with this transfer were on me. The employee however told me that I would be upgraded to business on my new flight. Once I arrived at Pudong I was informed that my new connecting flight was delayed which was already known the day before. Later on the evening the flight was cancelled. After a struggle with staff nobody spoke English and after some effort I was able to have them call someone for me I was able to get on another airline however I was put in the worst seat at the back of the plane with a seat that did not recline. On my return flight I had to change airports again from Pudong to Hongqiao. Upon arrival at Hongqiao I was denied access to the airport because the airport closes at midnight! On my flight to my destination: China Eastern put me on a flight that was delayed without informing me did not give me the choice to take a flight the next day promised an upgrade but did not actually give it put me on a flight and caused me a 7 hour delay creates additional transportation costs between airports has staff that does not speak English. On my flight back: does not notify passengers about delays while boarding time has passed and the airplane has not even arrived yet offers flights with a transfer between airports while the airports closes does not offer the transfer between the airports does not inform the passengers that the airport closes does not offer accommodation nor compensation for any of this. My advice: avoid this airline.

I will never use this airline again. We had a 10 hour flight. There was no entertainment except for a small monitor at the front of the economy cabin showing an Asian movie with subtitles. No screen on back of seats. A long flight and not much water supplied. Food was terrible and not much anyhow. No salt or pepper sachets. We asked for a glass of wine and were shocked to receive a tiny amount (about 40mls or 3 tablespoonfuls) at the bottom of a plastic cup when we complained we were told there is "only one bottle for the whole plane". At dinner no wine was offered to anyone so I assume this is true. Ten hours on a long flight with no entertainment not much water terrible food and virtually no wine little English spoken by staff is torture.