Air China

Not Verified | I recently embarked on a return trip from Beijing to Madrid with Air China, and to say it was a nightmare would be an understatement. My experience with this airline was nothing short of appalling, and I feel compelled to share my grievances to warn fellow travelers. Firstly, let's talk about the lack of Wi-Fi on both legs of the journey. In this day and age, Wi-Fi has become a standard amenity, especially for long-haul flights. However, Air China seems to be living in the stone age, as they offered no Wi-Fi whatsoever. This made my 12-hour flight an excruciating exercise in boredom, as I couldn't even use the internet for work or entertainment. The drink selection was another major letdown. Despite their menu promising a variety of alcoholic beverages, including vodka, none were available. I specifically requested vodka, only to be told they were out of stock. And don't get me started on the wine - it ran out after just two glasses! From then on, it was water and juice for the duration of the flight, with no snacks to tide me over between meals. Speaking of meals, the quality was abysmal, with not a single vegetarian option in sight. To add insult to injury, they ran out of one of the dishes, leaving me with nothing but fish and rice, which I don't even eat. The timing of the drinks and food service was also a joke - by the time my meal arrived, I had already finished my drink! As if all of this wasn't bad enough, the crew seemed completely disinterested in providing even basic levels of service. They were unapproachable and seemed to go out of their way to avoid interacting with passengers. It was clear that customer comfort and satisfaction were not priorities for Air China. Considering the exorbitant cost of the ticket, I expected far better from China's national airline. Instead, I was met with incompetence, indifference, and discomfort throughout the journey. I believe some form of compensation is warranted for the sheer inconvenience and disappointment caused. In conclusion, if you value your time, money, and sanity, steer clear of Air China for long-haul flights. There are plenty of other airlines out there that actually care about their passengers' experience. Don't make the same mistake I did. Avoid Air China at all costs.

✅ Trip Verified | This is not a business class for a 5 hours night flight. Very uncomfortable, you can’t sleep no space for your feet. Never again, if I have to pay let me get the device I deserve. The service on board was okay, but the rest was very upsetting avoid

Not Verified | They are a bit cheaper than the rest, but not worth the appalling service and attitude of Air China. Everything was bad from the seat not secured to the plane properly, rude staff, terrible food, app unworkable, wrecking your luggage, etc. etc. When I returned home I contacted customer services and they are the worst I have ever encountered. Every reply I got was a lie, asked to be contacted by a manager at least a dozen times, ignored. Don't fly with them, in the long run it will be more expensive!

✅ Trip Verified | Air China rather surprised me and left good impression in overall after my journey. Might be due to reduced expectations before the trip based on their experience as rather budget airline, but I enjoyed the flight. The ticket price was surprisingly low, twice lower than alternative flight to Taiwan. But check-in luggage was included and the airline was very transparent about their fees. The website seams outdated and fails to load sometimes. Online check-in requires patience, as it might take multiple attempts to complete it. Airport check-in is on contrary fast. Due to operational requirements Air China flights in MXP are parked on remote stands, so boarding is done using stairways. The aircraft to Beijing was Airbus A350-900 - airline's most modern aircraft. The seat was comfortable, pleasant material, comfortable headrest, legroom was a bit small (I am 193cm), but would be rather sufficient for most travelers. IFE had a bit limited choices, but collection was rather up to date. There is a big choice of Chinese films and music and few games. After departure meals were served quite fast. The quality was "okay". The food felt as if it was stored frozen (which was the cause for both segments), but portions were decent size. Snacks were available on demand for the entire flight. The next flight was on A330-300, which is mostly used on regional routes (China and close international destinations), so cabin was a bit outdated, didn't feature an IFE and seats were rather hard with smaller legroom than A350. Headrest didn't regulate but for 3 hours flight to Taipei it was fine. As it was a morning flight, they offered breakfast. Every aircraft had a universal 110V power outlet, supporting European, US, Chinese and British plugs. On A350 USB outlet is also available. In general I was satisfied with the trip.

✅ Trip Verified | Customer service was awful in flight, at the airport and online. The food was average at best and cheap quality drinks. To make matters worse I was unexpectedly moved from extra legroom seat to one with less space. The entertainment screen and USB charging port didn't work on 3/4 of the flights. I encountered issues with the website after I booked my flight. Lastly, the service in the airport lounge was awful, with poor English communication throughout my experience. Overall appalling experience. I would not recommend this airline due to these numerous disappointments.

✅ Trip Verified | Flight on time from Beijing to Frankfurt. Seat range is great even footrest provided in economy. Service quick and had enough to drink. Open bar during night. Two meals in a 10 hours flight. At night they serve a sandwich and yogurt which was pretty dry but okay. For breakfast eggs or Chinese congee with Chinese egg. I liked it. Everything was fine.

Not Verified | Just awful! The entire airline seems to not care about customer service. The food was absolutely disgusting. On my outbound flight (CA837) the screen didn't work, and when I asked they were already aware of this. Only really an issue as it was a 13 hour flight, then they left my bag in China for two days Even with functioning entertainment the choices were limited or heavily modified by the Chinese government. I have never been with an airline that does so many unnecessary announcements.

Not Verified | Air China is cheap it got us to China on a budget. The experience from Sydney to Japan (Tokyo) was ok, goodish even. My husband and I were seated together, meals were ok and we had frequent drinks offered. On the way home from China to Sydney my husband and I were seated apart. We booked together. People with children were seated apart which was appalling. Children shouldn't never be separated from parents. On this flight we were fed a sandwich with a muffin and yoghurt at midnight. A sandwich is not appropriate plan food. Sandwich was stale. We were then given a hot meal 5 hours later with no drinks beforehand. I was so confused the other flights we were given better meals and more drinks. We were dehydrated. Went the toilet saw there was self serve drinks and chocolate but no announcement of this service. Very strange. We should have served drinks every 2 hours. If you need to get somewhere cheap this will get you there otherwise it's not a pleasant experience. My review would have been better 3 stars if it wasn't for our last flight and being separated and fed sandwiches. They need more western films on the tv. Do not separate people when they have booked to sit together! Good way to upset people.

✅ Trip Verified | We flew from Frankfurt to Bangkok via Beijing. Legroom is great compared to other carriers. Two warm meals on a 9 hours flights in economy is great. Even had a foot rest. Food was good for economy. Drinks in a bar mid plane over night. Only the seat on the first leg was a little hard. The 3-4-3 configuration on the Bangkok leg had more cushioned seats then the older 3-3-3 config. Overall great experience. Flights on time. And the transfer in Beijing was easy.

✅ Trip Verified | Ground staff in Hongkong was nice and friendly. I arrived at the final call and off we went to Beijing. My neighbour complained that the airplane was old as you could not charge your telephone there. I have the feeling all the domestic Air China planes have a bit of an old fashioned feeling, but I guess it is just the colour of the seats. The food on board was okay, they first asked me which choice I wanted and then told me that one was not available. :-) Of course it was not a problem, I did not really care. Normally I ask the attendant to "surprise me" and just hand me a random meal, but most flight attendants don't like that game. What I did not like is that Air China had rescheduled that flight to arrive one hour later in Frankfurt, so my connection was a bit tight. Unfortunatelly, we spend a lot of time taxiing in Beijing (guess up to 40 minutes) until we finally left. There was no snack after boarding and drink service consisted of a stewardess walking around with a water bottle. I did not sleep that well, as my seat on that B777 was not that comfortable. Then we arrived in Frankfurt and of course I missed my train. My neighbour was worse, they had checked her in for a connecting flight with a connection time of 20 minutes in Frankfurt, which is ridiculous, I wonder why Air China did that. If they reschedule their flight, they should also change connections for passengers. It seemed the cabin crew was watching the passengers, as I woke up and had my eyes open for about 2 minutes I was handed a sandwich. Breakfast was okay, I always opt for Western Breakfast with Air China, as I do not like that "rice with water". In general, not only when handed by Air China. If Air China has competitive prices, I would recommend this airline and use them again.