Thoughts on flying Air China?

[caden]

I'm going to China next year and booking flights soon. I can get a deal on an Air China flight, but I've never flown with them before. I have a fear of flying so I'm nervous about flying period, but doubly nervous about using an unknown-to-me airline. Does anyone have experience with them? If I don't fly with them it will be on Delta, if that matters.

[GilliC]

I've only flown them domestic. The airline was fine, but domestic Chinese air passengers are a handful. There are a lot of "jump up as soon as the wheels touch down," "move your carry-on without asking," "squat on the lavatory toilet seat to pee and leave dirty shoe prints behind" types. I imagine less so internationally, but I would expect the meals would be catered more to a Chinese palate.

My good friend flew them from LA to visit us, and he didn't have anything bad to say. If it's the cheapest option, I'd definitely book it. Honestly, a US carrier won't be much (if any) better.

ninjatofu or @juliash , have you flown them long-haul?

[caden]

Thanks! I will be flying them domestically (in China) so I'm glad to know what to expect there. No safety concerns then about them?

I'm also realizing how much longer the total flight time will be with them so I have to decide if that's worth saving some money. Delta flies to china directly from my home city. With Air China I'd have to have at least 2 layovers. This matters a lot to me b/c it's the first time I'm leaving my kids for a "long" time. But I could upgrade to business class much cheaper on Air China. Decisions, decisions

[Deleted]

I haven't flown Air China for a long haul or a domestic flight, so I'm not much help there, sorry. DH flew them from here to Australia for work and I don't think encountered any major problems.

I have flown Delta as well as China Eastern between U.S. and here and can tell you that the flight would have to be quite a bit cheaper for me to fly China Eastern again like at least a $100+ difference. My main frustrations were: smaller seats than Delta, lack of individual air control, and the food which if you are not used to it could very well cause some digestive issues which is not what you want to deal with on a 10+ hour flight.

Layovers on flights to China can be extremely annoying (especially in Japan where you will have to go through security all over again as well as a few checkpoints and have to walk a long way). They do break up the flight time some, but usually not in a way that gets rid of any really long legs.

And GilliC is very correct about the "challenges" you will face when flying with Chinese passengers. We keep a very close eye on our bags once we put them overhead and have no problem telling people not to touch them because other passengers are so bold as to move them back bins so that they can put theirs in more ideal spots. Everyone jumps up as soon as the plane gets to the gate and pushes and shoves to try and get off. Also, Chinese standards of hygiene and manners are different than in the U.S. and you will likely encounter unpleasant odors and hear the unadulterated sounds of burping, chewing, hawking phlegm, etc. If you are planning storing a carry-on overhead, make sure you board ASAP as the bins fill very quickly because people don't follow the carry-on restrictions and tend to make a lot of in airport purchases (this is true for both domestic and international).

As for safety - a lot of the planes here tend to be older and they will sometimes make some awful sounds, but we haven't had any problems.

[kpol]

Dec 12, 2013 21:19:02 GMT -5 @juliash said:

I haven't flown Air China for a long haul or a domestic flight, so I'm not much help there, sorry. DH flew them from here to Australia for work and I don't think encountered any major problems.

I have flown Delta as well as China Eastern between U.S. and here and can tell you that the flight would have to be quite a bit cheaper for me to fly China Eastern again like at least a $100+ difference. My main frustrations were: smaller seats than Delta, lack of individual air control, and the food which if you are not used to it could very well cause some digestive issues which is not what you want to deal with on a 10+ hour flight.

Layovers on flights to China can be extremely annoying (especially in Japan where you will have to go through security all over again as well as a few checkpoints and have to walk a long way). They do break up the flight time some, but usually not in a way that gets rid of any really long legs.

And GilliC is very correct about the "challenges" you will face when flying with Chinese passengers. We keep a very close eye on our bags once we put them overhead and have no problem telling people not to touch them because other passengers are so bold as to move them back bins so that they can put theirs in more ideal spots. Everyone jumps up as soon as the plane gets to the gate and pushes and shoves to try and get off. Also, Chinese standards of hygiene and manners are different than in the U.S. and you will likely encounter unpleasant odors and hear the unadulterated sounds of burping, chewing, hawking phlegm, etc. If you are planning storing a carry-on overhead, make sure you board ASAP as the bins fill very quickly because people don't follow the carry-on restrictions and tend to make a lot of in airport purchases (this is true for both domestic and international).

As for safety - a lot of the planes here tend to be older and they will sometimes make some awful sounds, but we haven't had any problems.

Oye. We're flying China Eastern to Bali next month. It was more than $200 cheaper/person so we jumped on it. I think from Seoul to Shanghai is China Eastern but Shanghai to Bali is Shanghai Airlines. Any experience with them?

[Deleted]

Dec 13, 2013 4:28:25 GMT -5 kpol said:

Dec 12, 2013 21:19:02 GMT -5 @juliash said:

Oye. We're flying China Eastern to Bali next month. It was more than $200 cheaper/person so we jumped on it. I think from Seoul to Shanghai is China Eastern but Shanghai to Bali is Shanghai Airlines. Any experience with them?

We fly China Eastern domestic and throughout Southeast Asia whenever that is the cheapest option, because as far as that selection of carriers goes, they are one of the best. We actually just used them for a trip to Guilin, China and the plane was decent, nothing special but it had the air controls. And we considered using them for our flights to Singapore for our upcoming trip but ended up going with Malaysia Airlines instead because it had better timing and routes. 

I just never want to have to fly them from the U.S. to China again because the roundtrip flight that I flew with them was less than pleasant because of the things I mentioned. I think (and could be wrong) the planes they use to fly the really long hauls are older than some of the ones they use to fly domestically. 

As for Shanghai Airlines, we've had a flight or two I think where it was China Eastern, operated by Shanghai Airlines. They aren't terrible and I think their planes are pretty much the same as the China Eastern ones. 

And for $200 cheaper/person DH and I would have definitely flown that. We've flown the budget airline Spring Airlines multiple times here - the seats are tiny and have zero legroom, and everything costs extra but when it's saving us a ton of money we just suck it up and deal. 

So don't worry too much. 

[nabum]

I think Business class on Air China > Delta. Otherwise, I would go with the more direct flight on Delta.

Ditto the comments about other passengers!

[GilliC]

(We flew China Eastern semi-long-haul from Shanghai to Delhi, and it was fine. Not great, but perfectly adequate. Especially since it was the cheapest, most convenient option. They wouldn't be my first choice if I had other options, but I have no problem with them.)

[Deleted]

See, I would take the direct flight option. Even if you could upgrade I hate layovers.

[mdgirl]

Dec 14, 2013 15:50:12 GMT -5 @lauriergirl28 said:

See, I would take the direct flight option. Even if you could upgrade I hate layovers.

Yep, me too. Particularly for a trip like this where I'd be trying to sleep according to my new time zone.

[sushi]

I'd rather upgrade and have layovers. If you upgrade you have access to lounges which makes layovers much less of a hassle.

[GilliC]

Dec 14, 2013 19:09:39 GMT -5 sushi said:

I'd rather upgrade and have layovers. If you upgrade you have access to lounges which makes layovers much less of a hassle.

This.

I'm pretty easygoing with long-haul flights and don't even blink at an 8-hour trans-Atlantic, but our 13-hour flights between the US and Beijing were tough for even me. I would much rather add in a few hours in an airport lounge and a couple of short-hop connecting flights in exchange for the comfort of business class on the long stretch.

When I had elite status and could use the international lounges even when I was in economy, I could breeze through a 5-hour layover without really noticing just by eating, drinking, and surfing the web.

[scout8]

Dec 14, 2013 19:09:39 GMT -5 sushi said:

I'd rather upgrade and have layovers. If you upgrade you have access to lounges which makes layovers much less of a hassle.

This for me too.

[Deleted]

Dec 14, 2013 19:09:39 GMT -5 sushi said:

I'd rather upgrade and have layovers. If you upgrade you have access to lounges which makes layovers much less of a hassle.

I disagree for caden because she is a nervous flyer.

I find for nervous flyers it is best to just take-off and land once. Multiple take-offs and landings are usually what make people nervous, not the middle of the flight.

I do see what you're saying, but I just think when you're nervous direct flights are the better option.

[caden]

Dec 16, 2013 11:13:00 GMT -5 @lauriergirl28 said:

Dec 14, 2013 19:09:39 GMT -5 sushi said:

I'd rather upgrade and have layovers. If you upgrade you have access to lounges which makes layovers much less of a hassle.

I disagree for caden because she is a nervous flyer.

I find for nervous flyers it is best to just take-off and land once. Multiple take-offs and landings are usually what make people nervous, not the middle of the flight.

I do see what you're saying, but I just think when you're nervous direct flights are the better option.

you get me. *fist bump*

I'm currently trying to have my cake and eat it too by using miles to upgrade on Delta. Or doing economy comfort one way and business home. That seems to make the price a lot more reasonable but I have to call to make sure. Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Good stuff to consider.

[iammalcolmx]

Dec 16, 2013 12:02:39 GMT -5 caden said:

Dec 16, 2013 11:13:00 GMT -5 @lauriergirl28 said:

I disagree for caden because she is a nervous flyer.

I find for nervous flyers it is best to just take-off and land once. Multiple take-offs and landings are usually what make people nervous, not the middle of the flight.

I do see what you're saying, but I just think when you're nervous direct flights are the better option.

you get me. *fist bump*

I'm currently trying to have my cake and eat it too by using miles to upgrade on Delta. Or doing economy comfort one way and business home. That seems to make the price a lot more reasonable but I have to call to make sure. Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Good stuff to consider.

Is there anyway you can just get one layover? You know I am nervous as well but all I could get was a ATL-PDX and then PDX-NRT and it was nice. Can you go DTW-LAX LAX-( PEK?) I am not sure where you are flying.  Also we barely slept on the way to Tokyo and slept a lot more on the way back.