As a Chinese who often flies Air China, I hope I can answer some of the questions in your video. First of all, it’s about Air China’s pillows. Generally speaking, pillows departing from the home port (for Air China, it’s PEK) are definitely clean. But their flights are usually same-day round-trips, so they won’t get a brand new pillow in Korea. That's why you see dirty pillows on the flight back to Beijing from South Korea. Secondly, many airports in China promote energy conservation, so their air conditioning is very limited, especially at night when no one is around, which is why you feel cold in winter. Finally, a big reason why connecting flights from China to Europe is cheaper is the cost savings due to access to Russian airspace.
As someone that travel ALOT in different airlines. Before COVID, pillows in shorthaul is common, BUT just like in Air China case, I am 100% sure most airline dont usually change pillow cover until the end of day. So for aircraft that flight 1 long traip, that is ok, but for many, by the time you get on board at night flight, the billow are like be used by at least 3-4 people already. Its common practice. And lot of airline in COVID removed the pillow, and didnt return them in shorthaul, as it too save money.
Hey David, as a frequent traveler in China, I'd like to answer some of the oddities you've encountered in your trip. First of all, I am impressed that Air China even offered a hot meal service ICN-PEK. Chinese airlines are hand-stripped by a rule imposed by the CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) that strictly prohibits any cabin service 20 minutes after takeoff and 30 mins before landing. This leads to many of the shorter routes (usually less than 1.5h) operated by Chinese airlines has basically no service other than handing out a bottled water, international or domestic. For instance, I've flown China Southern on Seoul/ICN - Yantai/YNT, a route comparable to ICN-PEK, and I got nothing but a water and a bag of cookies. By contrast, the same route operated by Korean Air has full hot meal service and the flight attendants still have time to sell duty free. This also partly explains why cabin lights in your flight to Vienna was turned on very early. The crews just want the cabin cleared way before the 30-minutes requirement. Chinese pilots also has some odd behaviors, such as they never actually use the seat belt sign to indicate whether or not you should leave the seat and use the lavatory -- they just keep it on at all times. Overhead screens are still common, but it is reported that some Chinese airlines are neglecting it in newer orders. They are quite funny, actually. I've been on plenty 4 to 5 hours-long domestic flights where overhead screens are the only entertainment, and flight attendants will actually hand out free earphones for you to tune in to those "radio" stations in your armrest. The big three carriers in China will always offer you a hot meal (if the flight is on meal time and it's longer than 1.5h) and 20kg of checked baggage, but unless you are flying a widebody, there's no personal IFE. No hot meal service if not on meal time -- this applies to domestic and international flights operated by the big three airlines. There's hardly any Wifi, but I'm cool with that anyways. Part of the reason why I prefer traveling by air over high-speed rail, is that there's no moron blasting TikTok on loudspeakers next to you. For airports in Beijing, since the new Daxing (PKX) opens, it siphons plenty of traffic from PEK. As it turns out, Beijing just never really have enough international passengers (at least for this moment) to support two huge airports. Also, part of international flights departs from PEK's Terminal 2, that takes away more passengers from T3 to keep all the shops from running overnight. PEK's T3 is infamous for being too cold during winter and too hot during summer. T3's building has very high celling and huge glass wall -- as shown in the video. This makes it easy for heat to get trapped in like a greenhouse, as well as for heat to escape during winter. So, basically, PEK's T3 just sucks at HVAC. Getting in airline lounges through Priority Pass may not be possible in the future. During Covid, many China Southern lounges across the country also allows PP holders to get in, but they stopped cooperation in early 2024. China Eastern lounges in PVG also never allows PP holders. But you can get in them if you have a credit card that has Plaza Premium access. This certainly makes me think PP access to Air China lounges may not last long, too. Pressed vegetables are something that I particulate enjoy when flying Chinese airlines. Many in China prefers a saltier meal, so pressed vegetables are a good way to condition your dish. That's why no matter how mediocre the meal service is, there is always some kind of pressed or pickled vegetables. This is exactly how airlines should adapt to local taste. Even Delta and American provide chili sauce -- something to add flavor -- to their flight to Beijing, at least before Covid. Air China is the flag carrier of the People's Republic of China, but as seen in the video, some of its fleet has it's Chinese flag covered. These are planes that are flying to Taiwan. The bilateral treaty for civil aviation between Beijing and Taipei bans planes from flying the PRC's flag nor Taiwan (ROC)'s flag across the strait. China Airlines used to fly with ROC's flag on, but they changed all exterior design so it won't matter anyways; while Air China use part of its fleet that has the PRC flag covered to fly to Taiwan. It is said that Air China used to have one-third of its fleet with PRC flag covered. Although Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern are all state-owned, this doesn't means competition don't exist. The last mainland Chinese airline videos on this channel are well before Covid, and they all changed quite a bit during the pandemic. China Southern implemented the most cost-cutting measures during Covid, made adjustments that caused the Chinese aviation geeks furious, while China Eastern crashed a plane but has been improving their service. You should try all these big airlines if you have time -- it's now visa free for many European citizens to get into China. It should also be pointed out that airports in China can be quite different. Transiting in Beijing Capital (PEK) and Shanghai Pudong (PVG) just sucks. It's certainly better than some of the other airports that I've seen, but quite commonly I find myself helping some random foreigner in the terminal through the process or get a VPN that actually works. While Beijing Daxing (PKX) is much better -- they have policies that requires airport shops to sell at the same price as it is in downtown Beijing, and free transit resting areas, etc. I would recommend business travelers to avoid transiting in mainland China, unless the layover is short enough.
@@dragon32210 You've never seen yoghurt sold in pouches? Same way to 'drink' the yoghurt but no need for a straw. They're common in children's packed lunches.
Air China has an insane value for the price. Got the flight myself from London LHR to Sydney (LHR-PEK-SYD-PEK-LHR) for just 580€ in March 2024. For the price, it was extremely nice in my opinion (except the Cabin of their Airbus A330-300)
Yeah, just wait till one of your flights with them gets cancelled, or delayed and you miss your connection... That value comes from the fact that there is no support or obligation from Air China to you. Has happened to me a few times. And every single time it was me paying for a new ticket. The customer support is atrocious and they look at you like a monkey. Twice they flat out refused to talk in English when I needed them to rebook my flight, after they cancelled the outbound... I'd rather pay more, and have that safety net where the airline MUST provide if its their fault.
Air China is the least quality of China’s “big three”. But they’re doing better I think, though I’d love to see brutally honest about for example China Southern, transitting Beijing Daxing or Guangzhou etc.
I don't think it would be worse than China Eastern......for the international routes I mean. I've took the PVG-SYD flight of China Eastern for two times and I'll never choose this airline again unless I've got no other choices......although the food and air attendants are great😣
@@pauljohnson9749 Yeah Eastern is terrible imo, every time I flew them it's an horrible experience. Air China at least gets you where you wanna go (mostly). Shenzhen Airlines is actually pretty good being Air China's subsidiary, catering and service is usually a bit better than CA, and even offers cheaper points fares than CA on some competing routes. Would recommend although they don't have a great international network.
@@pauljohnson9749 What plane? I basically only choose their A359s over their other widebodies as the 777s and 330s have different cabins with EXTREMELY different seats and services
@@thegrandaviator8308 A359, both times. For my flight in last month, they didn't give me a chance to choose the seat before boarding and I was placed in the middle row of its 3-3-3 economy class, which made me confused when both air attendants on each aisle were delivering food and drink. The contents in the PTV was limited as well. Luckily it was A359. If I boarded their A330, I couldn't even imagine what horrifying experience would be there waiting for me.
When I visited Beijing’s PEK airport in the summer, the terminal was UNBEARABLY hot. I guess PEK directly relates the temperature outside to the inside.
May i ask if you were in terminal 3? because that terminal is quite infamous for pratically being a greenhouse, when theres sun it gets very hot in there and when theres no sun it feels like you're inside a fridge.
I know right? Once air China had terrible food in flight, but when I came back on a United flight then took the air China connecting flight, I found the food really enjoyable …… think about how horrible the food is on United
@@putt7515no not really most of the flights I flown on united is good but I think why people hate it is because of the videos online but united is good.
Air China has improved significantly. We took ours at the same time as yours, in December, albeit from Singapore -Shanghai( PVG)-London(LGW) and London(LHR)-Beijing(PEK)-Singapore but in business class. Everything was top notch except the limited IFE offered for non Chinese speaking passengers. There are quite a few Air China lounges at closed proximity in the Capital. We didn’t use the First but Business Class lounge. There were a few coffee machines where we were. I have to agree with you on the empty shops in the airports. It was a surreal experience for us. My initial thought was that they were closed for renovations but one of the crew members said it has been in that state since the pandemic. Would we fly with Air China? It’s a resounding yes for us! P.S. Loved their air safety video with their mascot!!
Had the of flying CAAC in 1988 to HK to Guilin. As I was young, I did not realize that was close to the end for the CAAC incarnation. At that time the 737-200s they were flying were built in 1983 and were fairly new. Overshot altitude on departure (apparent training flight with passengers) and had an altitude drop for several uncomfortable seconds. Return flight was extremely smooth. Got little CAAC wings with every flight in a fancy plastic case. We’re considered bravery medals for the flight in. CAAC was mocked a bit in HK at the time, but they weren’t too bad.
I agree with you, 12 C for me as a Norwegian is early summer temperature and not shivering. I thought Austria had some similar temperature like us due to their mountains but I guess not.
I flew 4 Air China flights this year, I can honestly say I was impressed by the service on the plane, I met some very friendly crew. The problem I had with them was in actual China on the ground as not many of their ground staff know English that well which can be a pain in the ass when you have a cancelled flight like I do. Another thing I noticed was the pilots really try to make the flight as smooth as possible, when you hit turbulence they slow the plane down and try to change altitude.
I flew on Air China from/to Geneva and one thing I rlly liked was those stickers at 21:16 to let u know u can ask for food its a rlly small thing but a nice detail.
I visit Beijing Capital airport (PEK) around twice a year and agree that the airport has a mysterious abandoned nature, probably because of Beijing's surge in capacity after the opening of Beijing Daxing (PKX) airport and the pandemic which China still hasn't fully recovered from. At night the lighting seems dim, the airport feels cold, even in spring and despite being quite new, the airport is beginning to show its age. I think the airport is drastically different in the daytime, the difference being well... Night and day. Natural light fills the airport, turning it into a warm and pleasant space, far from the gloomy feel it takes on at night. It is a shame that Beijing makes me feel unwelcome, the feeling of entering a lifeless dystopian world, far from the warm welcome that I would like to also see at night rather than just the day. Hello from London! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇨🇳🇨🇳🇨🇳🇨🇳
True! i remember how busy and crowded PEK used to be, at one point it was the second busiest airport in the world behind (obviously) Atlanta's airport.
Air China is actually a great airline. Took a flight with them in March, for 380EUR return to Taipei from Milan. Cannot wish better experience for that money. I had the best sleep on planes ever in their A350. The only issue is their very outdated website and not the best quality of food on from MXP. PEK airport is quite modern, but in my cause it took about 70 minutes to make all the transit formalities.
I, as a SkyTeam Alliance frequent flyer, Star Alliance Air China is definitely an improved airline. I have no complains about it whatsoever. Crew is nice, my sister, who does not speak Mandarin like me, feels that the crew were quite supportive. She also felt for the price, the airline is better than the competition (specifically Cathay Pacific, and British Airways). Her flight from SVO-PEK (CA910, onboard of a 777-300ER), PEK-JFK (onboard of a 747-8), the flight itself only costed €675 1-way. Very cheap and quality wise is great!
I took CX393 from PEK to HKG on 1 Apr. The departure time was 18:40 and I pass through security check 2 hrs before departure time. The only shops opening were duty free and some restaurants in the restricted area. I was shocked to see that as it was evening and there are still many flights for departure.
12:20 Same Experience in Shanghai. Huge, massive Airport and nobody around. Also my Gate was incorrectly displayed on the screens. That was in 2019, so no pandemic thing it seems. Transit was also very chaotic with sketchy passport controls.
i booked a flight from frankfurt to seoul via beijing on air china and then cancelled it the same day after seeing that there was an emirates flight available to seoul for only 70€ more. I couldn't get air china's app to work at all which was super frustrating and kind of gave me the vibe that they do not care about their international passengers at all, as this was apparently a problem people have been having for years
Took the A350 from Vienna to Bejing a week ago. I really liked it. Food was good, staff was friendly and the toilets werde always clean. They checked after almost every visitor. I guess because some Chinese still squat on the toilet with their feet and everything gets dirty. I was unlucky to experience that. But they quickly cleaned it. Having clean toilets up until the end was something new to me. I travel to China frequently and I am pretty sure I will take them again. The price and the not having to avoid Russian air space plus are unbeatable.
yo simplyaviation, i'm from vienna/austria too and i would love to see your flight departing/landing one time. Do you somewhere make a post before you attend a flight so i know when i need to get to VIE?
Seoul Incheon Term 1 is nice. Clean. Well organised. Easy for T-money card. Quick train connection, bus 6001. Restaurant boulevard upstairs. And cheap prices for smokes (29$ for M’boro) and liquor
That straw was likely for the yogurt.😊 T3 was pretty chilling when I transferres through it in Dec 2019. The terminal is huge and weather could be cold, and it is amazing they didn't put this into consideration when building it? Hope they could make improvements. The infrastructure was nice when I visjted, but services from airport staff and immigration were inconsistent. One of the airport staff literally screamed at us passengers to tell us to queue a certain way (louder doesn't make it easier to be understood 😅), and an immigration officer telling us anyone less than 12 hours transit time will not be processed for their visa free entry which almost killed me coz I picked a 7 hour layover to dl a quick visit in the city.
Interesting. My experience is completly different. I were on the same ICN - PEK route but depart on 14:40 (CA439). There was no meal service, only 2 rounds of drinks.
A little correction, Deng was never the Chairman (or President) nor the Secretary-General ( to be honest he was the Secretary-General in 1956-1967, but the position is not the highest in CPC at that time, Mao is the Chairman of the CPC at that point), he was the chairman of the central military committee of CPC/PRC and the chairman of the Central Consultative Committee CPC.
@@alanwang848 Yes but he still didn't wasn't the head of the party, shouldn't that position have gone to Hu Yaobang? But I'm guessing it's whoever is the head of the CMC has the title of paramount leader
Does Air China's A350-900 offer Wi-fi on board? I don't expect it to be for free, but at least I need to know whether it is available or not. Thanks!!!!
Hi David, im quite curious to see how China Southern has changed since the last time you reviewed them (in 2018 when they were still a member of skyteam).
I respectfully disagree with the comment regarding priority pass. I use airline lounges all the time with it. In Washington Dulles, I can access Air France, Virgin, Turkish and more.
Been hoping somebody makes a review about Air China. Been looking into flying with them from Europe (probably Stockholm or London) to Tokyo via Beijing, especially given the cheaper prices.
Hi David! Some clarifications, Beijing went through VERY heavy winterstorm with -30 degree C, where normally a daily low would be higher than -10 degree C. Heating is an infrastructure problem in that day. In addition, Beijing has just opened a handful of international flights the shops have not yet adapted for the growth of traffic after a full lockdown of 3years. New tenants have yet to move in so the airport seems desserted. That is almost the case for all international departure hall in China post-pandemic.
As a Chinese and lived in Beijing, I always take Air China’s flight. Though their fleet age is very young compared with western airlines, but the seat and entertainment devise is out of date. If you gonna fly with Air China, avoid their B777-300er and A330-200. Their best aircraft is A350-900. Also I recommend you try to take China Eastern and Xiamen Airline. Their service is best in Chinese airlines. Anyway, very great video and Welcome to Beijing!🎉
Also, Air China only offer WiFi on their A350 aircraft. But China Eastern and Xiamen Airline offer WiFi on their every wide-body aircraft. Unfortunately China Southern doesn’t offer WiFi on any aircraft though they operate a very young fleet.😅
Hiya, Good video, and good honest comments. I have just flown with China eastern London to Bangkok Via Shanghai on there 777. All flights were good and comfortable, staff, food was good as well. I would say they where just as good as Emirates, Qatar, and Eithiad. The reason I chose CE was the ticket cost. so much cheaper than the 3 above. I would fly with them again if the ticket price was good. Thank you for your effort and time for the video.
The airport sounds like quite typical for China (not just air travel) - very big and shiny terminal on the outside, but weird usability problems inside, such as even basic restaurants being closed and the temperature. Probably also true for the Middle East, lots of bling blang but then weirdly overlooked practical details. Places like Japan are the opposite...
It’s a bit livelier in the domestic sections of both PEK and PKX, but still plenty of space between people. They were clearly built to handle way more people than they’re serving nowadays, which makes the facilities feel empty and kind of haunting especially at night.
lowkey air china's first(business) class seats might be the worst in the game with big airlines. The screen is small, the stuff is basic, and some things are little bit dirty, but most notably the colors of the seat was just uninteresting just a dust grey and a dark blue and the plastic parts felt really cheap. Flew from beijing capital international airport to LAX on a 777-300er. But hey, the flight is cheap as well(the fact that hot food was served was amazing tho)
I also fly on Air China’s A350 to Stockholm recently. Really like Air China’s new aircraft with a very affordable price. But, still Air China does have very weird(?)/ bad meal services among the big 3s. Those random combo of food feels like they just give whatever they have in the kitchen. No Chinese or Western breakfast look like that. Hope they can improve.
Had almost same route, you said your connection time is over 6 hours? You can get a free hotel room for that period to avoid coldness😅, just find the counter outside baggage claim, in front of exit to parking lot, show your air china ticket and you get a room and transfer to that hotel or you can book the room ahead in their app, depends on your star alliance status, you may get a better hotel, at least last time I got a very sized double room for single use and free breakfast. visa is also not a problem, you get a transfer visa direct at PEK airport. And it doesn’t even require any visa if you hold certain EU-Passports, such as Germany or Austria, visa free right now for those citizens and this list is getting longer and langer. Air china service is much better than earlier years, the flight attendants approach to passengers much warmer than before, the security guy sitting on the first row of economy class is also politer. And the problem with shops at PEK.. don’t know why they are still closed, not that many international passengers due to second airport PKX? And air china does open their first class lounge at evening for normal star alliance gold passengers, but there is no different between first and business lounge, just open a second lounge when it’s crowded at day time
Air China is a airline I regularly keep my eyes on, they provide acceptable service and standard full service amenities for a very competitive price. I personally like their older roomier 3-3-3 seats on their 777 fleet as well.
Had the same experience with Air China with transit in Beijing. Hard product is great and food staff weren’t bad but the transit in Beijings airport is rough with no stores/food open if you arrive at the wrong time and being stuck in a freezing cold or hot airport for hours.
Chinese carriers have come a long way and are quite good now. Although catering and IFE are still subpar. Have only flown with CZ and MU and service was excellent, crew were very accomodating and polite. Legroom is much more spacious compared to others, even their domestic 'LCC' provides free water and have FSC-esque legroom. Would fly with them long haul if the fare is reasonable!
I've lived in China for 12 years now and have been Star Alliance Gold for the entire time. You are absolutely right about PEK (and SHA, PVG are the same) being terrible for transitioning, though I am much harsher than you on the awful lounges compared to what one can find at IST, FRA, HND, NRT, LHR, even SFO. I wished they would take this more seriously as it would be such an easy way to score a big win on pax experience. Other than that I'm usually quite satisfied with Air China.
I was in Beijing capital airport last December as well. It totally felt deserted. I think it's because of partly the pandanmic slowed travelling. There wasn't many flights at all. I did not see the self-server coffee though.
Nice to watch. I think Chinese airports are still suffering from largely reduced international traffic comparing to pre pandemic. Therefore services and commercials are not resumed very well. Such as a full service bar is now self-service. Even though, it doesn’t justify the low temperature in terminal.
I had the pleasure to fly with CA back in 2017 for 450 EUR p.p. on a round-trip to KUL from NUE via FRA and PEK. The food was very tasty, but it was a special meal. The seats on the A330 and B748 had very good legroom. What I didn't really like was the transit at their base for several reasons. One was that they accepted no foreign currency, be it cash or cc. Secondly it was a total bon smoking airport with no sealed rooms or any to smoke. Even though they removed lighters from the carry on, one could smell the odour in every restroom. I, too, wouldn't hesitate to book then again, unless there's a better option, also because flying with them to Malaysia is a detour.
Hello, straws are provided with yogurt in China because people drink their yogurt instead of using a spoon. That's usually because yogurt in China is more watery due to it not being fermented for as long
IMO, demands for international air travel was still lower than it was at 2019, and vendors might have not gained enough confidence to reopen their stores in the international area, as of my personal experience in Guangzhou, China Southern's hub
I recently flew Munich - Shanghai (A350) with Air China, and on the return journey SHA - PEK - MUC (B777). Got a very competitive deal at EUR 600 round trip and I was very positively surprised. This is def not the same airline that I recall from my childhood memory (I usually fly with China Eastern). Some points to share/confirm: - MUC-PVG is very pleasant with a brand-new A350, great entertainment system and in-flight WiFi (again within firewall). Stewed beef was decent. Flight was loosely occupied so in some rows you can even lie down in economy. - PEK-MUC is a bit worse with an older plane. Transfer not as pleasant since domestic flights arrive at a different section and needed a LONG walk to the security check and then taking the terminal trains. Heard some European transit passengers complaining about the lack of access to the "outside" internet which is totally understandable. So, it might be excruciating for those who've got long transfer (however, you can get VPN ahead). Different entertainment system but feels worse. BTW, the straw is for the yoghurt because Chinese yoghurt is usually thinner than the European ones and is perceived more as a drink. I also helped my German seat neighbor to clear the confusion ;)
Hey David/Simon/Felix, Great trip report here and I loved at the start they asked for "no kimchi in suitcases" . I would love to visit Vienna one day. It looks fantastic. Just saying that you should make a trip report/brutally honest video about United's 787 flight from Brisbane, AUS ----> San Francisco, USA, or potentially Air Canada's Brisbane, AUS ----> Vancouver, CA (Canada). Anyways, thanks again for your tripreport today. Watching from Brisbane, AUS (😝) since 2017 :)
5 месяцев назад
I had a more or less similar experience at PVG one year ago, except the heating was OK :D. We walked around the whole building to see if we find something, but except a little Starbucks, everything was closed and the passangers of our 747 were simply invisible in the vast emptiness. At least the kilometres of walking were good before the 13 hrs of flight to Frankfurt. I attribute this experience to an effect of the pandemic.
Your complaint about the airport is going to fall on deaf ears, mate. It’s a China thing: international terminals having very few options like no food at night, most places closing for the night, etc.
I was in Beijing at Christmas this year. It was very cold outside. I didn't find the airport inside too cold though. Maybe they tone down up the heat at mid night when there's not many travellers? I was there at 2pm and felt ok. I didn't need to wear jacket.
These airlines are all state owned. They don’t have labor unions. Their crew makes less than foreign carriers. So they can lower the airfare that others could hardly match.
