Airlines Reviews

[Robertt S]

I have made a poll to allow members to list and rate their experiences with various airlines they have used to travel back and forth to China. Please mark all airlines you have used and give your opinion concerning their performance ( on-time departures and arrivals), flight attendants and other customer service representatives. If you do give a review please include the airline's name with each review to minimize confusion. Hopefully, this poll will help others decide which airline suits their specific requirements for a comfortable and pleasant flight.

I have used Delta and Air China for all my flights back and forth. Delta was exactly what you would expect a domestic short hop carrier to be ( on-time most of the time with no frills) ( Atlanta-New York ) Air China was pretty decent but you get what you pay for with economy class tickets. The plane is usually not to crowded going to China, but it does seem to get crowded on my return trips. ( flight attendants are pretty and very attentive to the passengers needs.) The flights are considered economy but the service is pretty good for the most part.

[shaun]

Simply put Delta sucks.  I don't plan to fly them again.  They've screwed me so many times it isn't funny.  But I have learned to never say never because if the conditions are right I could fly them again...  Unfortunately.   But the next time I go no matter what airline I fly it will be first class if I can.

[Pineau]

I chocked up a lot of miles in the last few years and mostly on United. The service is not near what it used to be but they usually get me there. Sometime the bags are delayed but they will bring them to you when they show up.

All the rest is just par.  China southern standing out for cheap flights within china.

I usually book my own flight directly with the airlines if it goes through from departure to destination on the same airline or connections are with a partner. But if the connections are with a different airlines then I will use a travel agency to avoid the headaches. 

NEVER EVER USE CHEAP-O AIR!  They will find you the cheapest flights for sure but beware they will sometime only give you 15-20 minutes for connections and will sometime book you on two airlines that dont talk to each other and do not have reciprocal baggage agreements (meaning you must collect your bag at baggage claim and recheck it for the next flight , which sucks big time)

[Willy The Londoner]

I have in the past used Jet Airways and Qater which are more like budget airlines in which you have to change planes part way from London to Hong Kong.  Of these Jet were the better of the two although there is always a rush to change flights at Mumbai having to go through the very strict security at the airport there.

I now only travel by direct flights by Cathay Pacific as they cater for my needs better and it is a direct flight.

I have added the two budget airlines but do not seem to be able to cast a vote for them?

Willy

PS I once flew from London to Las Vegas by Delta.  Never again especially as we changed in Atlanta!

[maxx]

I fly United most of the time because they are cheap. The service sucks, The food sucks, But most of the time they do manage to get you there on time. And they only loose your bags occasionally.

I Flew southern China one time into Bangkok. It was a nice plane service was top notch. The food sucked. but they got me there on time. And no lost luggage.


All except for 2 times I  have booked my flight on cheap o air. I missed one plane one time. It was United fault. They didn't get the bags off the plane in time for me to make it through U.S customs. And catch my next plane to Denver. United did comp me a meal and a upgrade. So it wasn't a complete loss. Oh yeah I almost forgot Cheap o air did forget to issue me a ticket for one of my boys. So I finally got him on the flight after a 2 hour wait. And I got the ticket fixed when we arrived in Denver. It took the guy in Denver seconds to fix the tickets. After I told him what was going on.

[kenny]

No one has mentioned Korean Airlines. I only traveled twice but after the first trip that was the Airline I wanted for the second trip. I think it was American Air that took me from Indy to Chicago and the attendent was a bitch. Korean's attendents were very nice and helpful english was a little bad for some but better get used to that. Food was allright plenty of booze allthough I didnt partake.

[Philip]

Living in Chongqing, there is only one choice which has the balance between price and duration of flight - Finnair, because they are one of the only airlines which fly out of China from Chongqing (to Helsinki). They are fast, reasonably-priced and with a good service.
The Chinese airlines are OK, Air China, China Southern, China Eastern - basic, good value. If there are problems in China, it's more to do with the airport.
British Airways from Hong Kong was luxury and I got a good deal so it wasn't that expensive. Cathay was luxury too

[Rhonald]

China Eastern, Air China, United & Air Canada. Once because of a reroute - I flew JAL (the worst breakfast food). As to service, I remember Air China in flight entertainment not great as needing to share a big screen. Air Canada had individual TV's on the back rest with the most options.

[David E]

I use Singapore Airlines to Singapore and change in Singapore to Silkair to China. Silkair is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines so the booking/baggage issues are seamless and painless !!

Always competitive, great service and modern, safe equipment.

[joeswuhandream]

hI  Everyone   long time since I posted on the forum  ,
 for me I only fly now with KLM,  they give excellent value I travel economy class,
 the leg room is very  good  but I do not have long legs,  the on board service is excellent  as much snacks and beers as you need, the food is good dinner and breakfast , the on board entertainment  is good also,
 the cabin crew  serve you  with a smile and are  very professional,
 the added bonus for me is  that,  the  flying time  from my home city of Manchester to Amsterdam then direct to Chengdu  in total  12 hours
I have also flown with china southern airlines not to bad  Etihad airways  the later are excellent but flying time is 14 hours  and change of aircraft  in  Abu daba 2 hour lay over ,    as always with KLM i find  them excellent  in that  no flight delays and bagage arrives on time

[RobertBfrom aust]

We are spoiled here on the East coast we have all the Chinese airlines to choose from plus Air New Zealand , Qantas and prices are very competitive .
My stepdaughter found another new one Sichuan Airlines , They have about 3 plus flights into Melbourne , but I guess a lot of my wife's employees think nothing of taking a week or 2 off and flying back to their Chinese address for a relatives birthday , or girlfriends wedding .
Last trip was around $980 Melbourne to Shenyang 1 Stop in Shanghai , but that was an unscheduled trip sorting out her mums and sisters passports and visa applications .
We can get as low as 720 at certain times .regards Sujuan and Robert .

[maxx]

Robert stop man your making me jealous. I haven't seen those kind of prices in about 9 years. Last time I flew solo from the states. It was 1,000.00 U.S.I had 3 plane changes. And some lost bags

[JustJim]

I have used Cathay Pacific every time.  I have also booked through Expedia but I think this next trip I will book directly through the Cathay Pacific site.  The cost is the same, maybe even less than Expedia, and the choices are clearer and better.

I have no complaints....  well, every time I go from Guanzhou to Hong Kong our flight on Dragonair is somehow delayed and we wind up running through the Honk Kong airport ( which is HUGE!!! ) just to make the connecting flight.

My advice to anyone flying - forget the carry on.  It is not worth it.  Put everything that you can into baggage.  The only thing I carry on is my laptop.

By the way, Cathay Pacific has great food, great entertainment, and Robert, the stewardesses are gorgeous... not that I notice....

[JohnB]

for the 'eh of it,
I fly tomorrow, the 14th, Seattle- Beijing on Hainan Air. Hainan Air, my favorite travel to China.

The big PLUS, Hainan's planes are 'mostly' new, and given Hainan Air is a rated '5Star' airline,
flights to China are comfortable for the long flight. I do not get jetlag... perhaps given the
creature comforts of the new 787's from Boeing & A330's from Airbus.
The thing is, most viewers think China visit will break the bank. Far from it, air tickets are
cheap. I just checked on the Hainan Air website for reference. Ticket prices, Seattle - Beijing
are as low as $478, direct flight select days in Oct., round trip! They have been aggressively
expanding their services worldwide. Hainan Air has some great bargains now.
See https://www.hainanairlines.com/US/US/Home for travel from the States.



in addition to my favorite airline, I thought I would add a little more substance to China travel
other than the means of getting there and back home intact physically & mentally.

Check out TripAdvisor for your visit.. hotels, restaurants, 'what- to- do'. All good information
as it lets you wander about the China turf. If the hotel of your interests presents it's own pricing,
certainly LOOK! There are added benefits to the hotel stay. You just have to root around and get
to the very 'end' cost, in China RMB, for your creature comforts in comparison within the pricing
structure of, lets say, Priceline, Hotels.com, C-Trip, & etc. 

U.S.- China tourist visas are now 10 years long! If you check things out, start to finish,
a China visit & stay costs a shitload less money than anything/ anywhere travel the U.S.

&, I will add since I am long time Boeing employed, now retired, stay away from the American
flagged airlines for international travel. Lousy service, lousy everything there. Usually the planes
are older, not as well the 'routine' maintenance as they should be.
Basically boring..  for a long flight, it is taxing your body & sanity.

Just my take this moment in time. Happy as happy can be.