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.
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.
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.
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!!
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Your point about looking out for discounted international fares is absolutely correct. I was a frequent traveler to China for work and many times was able to purchase business class on their 787's from Newark to Beijing, on to Shanghai for $2,000 roundtrip.
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?
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.
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).
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!
Living in China for the past several years, I’ve found Air China to offer reasonably priced, dependable service. Staff is always friendly and professional. They do what airlines are meant to do- transport you between point A and point B. On the contrary, my last visits to the USA saw frequent flight disruptions, poor service, and a seeming inability to transport reliably between point A and point B. Though must admit… your observations regarding PEK’s air conditioning and food/shop services are correct.🤣
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.
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
@@John_.Cabell_.Breckinridgetitles don't matter, it's whoever control the military matters
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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.
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 :)
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.
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.
As a geography person, and as a big fan of airbus. I can tell that Seoul South Korea is a beautiful but freezing city out there. I love the buildings, and most of all the airport interior is a stunning sight to see😁😍👍🌎
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...
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.
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
We just flew with them from VIE-PEK-Bangkok and back and ist was solid good. For ~500€ pP it was way cheaper than the other carriers. I totally agree with everything said in the video 👌🏽
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.
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.
First of all thank you for sharing this. I always found air China very good value for money. Based out of Frankfurt, even before Covid we got the 77W (in a 3-3-3 configuration making it very comfy) and the 747-8. Good is usually average but besides that I only had received good value for the money I paid.
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.
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.😅
I used them on one round trip intercontinental in 2017. Their soft product matched their cheap fare. It's the airport system that twisted things on the return leg, resulting in a delay of over 24 hrs and incurred hotel fees out of my pocket. Transitting passengers had to queue at immigration back then, though your video shows otherwise, which is an improvement. They also had an air marshall in uniform, occupying a business class seat in domestic flights then... Don't know it same goes for their international flights...
I use them regularly going from the UK to the Philippines fantastic prices great service crew are amazing very helpful a lot of Thai crew the cheapest I ever had about 5 years ago was £330 return unbelievable at the time
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.
Many airport shops closed during Covid as the airports were deserted, especially international terminals. They are slowly coming back. Needs some time. Greetings from Shanghai.
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)
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 transit through Beijing airport in 2014 and had the same exact thoughts (though I didn't visit during winter so thank God for that). Seems like the airline improved the last time I flew with them so if they could fix the airport then I may "consider" this airline again
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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.
Honestly one of the most comprehensive descriptions of traveling in China I have ever read!
I love you dedication and description 🙌🏼
Nice reply, informative for future travel plans to Asia. Xiamen is okay
Wow, you wrote a whole book there. Took me about 20mins to read it all. 😂😅😂😅😊
棒棒！介绍的好详细 正好客观地科普了下国内的一些飞行文化和知识
The straw for the meal was for the yogurt, its very typical to drink the yogurt with a straw in china
The yogurt must be thin?
@@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.
It was invented by Japan.
The Chinese need to hear about gogurt
It is, still thicker than Yakult @@dragon32210
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)
Bargain!
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.
do they charge extra if the price changes over time?
That's a big detour, taking a lot of time. You should check China Southern's connecting service through Guangzhou.
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.
I think they should provide a "warm room" for waiting in?
@@houseclearance7509 Well the Chinese are used to enduring somewhat extreme temperature
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.
Also China buys cheap fuel from Russia hence the cost saving
so your country is a shithole. thanks for sharing
13:00 I'm interested in the lounge just for the coffee machine 😂
Put a tip jar out and pretend to be the barista on duty.
IKR! Would be so fun to play with! My reaction was Self-Service!! As opposed to Self-Service?! 😅
@@ahqhue Just charge anyone who comes and asks for a coffee...
Yeah, I would definitely have a go at it.
@@ahqhueHahahaha....
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.
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!!
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.
And all of them owned by Xi
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.
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.
As a frequent United flyer, I would have zero complaints on air China
United is horrible
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.
As an Air Canada flyer, I have zero complaints on Air China too.
@@Gouliguo 艹，我唯一一次飞加航，他们还少发了一顿饭，还延误……我到了首都机场改签错过的后续航班，然后一路狂奔，人都差点饿虚脱了……上飞机第一句话：有水没……还好空乘很好，那天那个航班也没什么人，直接给了我一瓶一升的水……
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.
Maybe that was an accident. Cuz ive been in that airport many times and it was fine
Standard temperature is 25-26 with A/C on. I took a high speed train in China last year and cabin temp was showing 27, possibly higher...
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.
no, the terminal feels perfectly comfortable to me everytime I went
@@themomentchannel3498 I’m pretty sure it was Terminal 3 because I was transferring from United to Air China (this was in 2018 BTW)
Love the clean announcement recordings on the A350 flight!
Also: Business class product on CA's 737-800 looks like the B/E Aerospace Millennium seat.
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 presumed it was about that time when CAAC flight 301 crashed a Trident at Kai Tak and ended up in the water.
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.
Websites for Chinese Airlines are optimized for Internet explorer for some reason. Their China website is a lot better
Following your content all these years. This helped me a lot during my first flight.
the safety announcement in Chinese make me cry cause I miss my grandparents
I haven’t been flying on CA since 2015 hence not many impressions retained.
Thank you for reviewing it, that’s a lot of help on airline choosing.
That was my exact seat on another flight!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😮 The A350. It is excellent!
Air China is GREAT😂
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.
As a Chinese,thank you for reviewing Air China.Great video as always!
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.
it's PKX, not DAX
@@austinli8891 Oh yes! It felt wrong when I typed it in... I am sure I have seen DAX somewhere else... (Excessive use of elipsis)
@@austinli8891 Wrong side of China! DAX is Dazhou Heshi Airport. (Chinese: 达州河市机场) (ICAO: ZUDX) It is an airport in Dazhou, Sichuan province, China.
My granddaughter recently flew from Narita to London Gatwick via Shanghai. Much cheaper than other airlines.
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 flew on Business and economy from LAX to HGK with a stop in Beijing. Great all around. Greetings from Panama🇵🇦
An Austrian shivers at 12 C? A Latvian would be in shorts and a t shirt. This would be a heat wave in Latvia.
Es reāli būtu šortos un džemperī.😅
@@legouniverse8976 Es brauksu no ASV uz Latviju Augusta. IAH-RIX $503 r/t ar British Airways.
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.
Latvian says in old my beer.
Similar flags 🇦🇹🇱🇻
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.
I flew with Air China for the first time two months ago and absolutely loved it. Their planes are new, and the service is superb.
I always feel very entertained as your Reviews are very comprehensive and I do love the attention to the side information. Thank you
That straw is for the yoghurt, one common way to have yoghurt in China.
Another great trip report David! Thanks for posting. 😊
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
Ek is not too much better than ca in economy, tbh.
@@huhuhuhu2470 I think emirates has a solid economy class
@@austinli8891 not in economy.
You're Visiting Korea quite often! Always Welcome in Seoul ICN, Seoul GMP
Yeah he onto sth there lmaoi
2:55 what if your suitcase was made entirely out of Kimchi?
The straw was probably for the yogurt. In Chinese, we say 喝優格 (in Taiwan) or 喝酸奶 (in mainland China), which means "drink yogurt".
Brilliant review! Just filed a recommendation letter to Beijing Capital Airport Group according to your review! Thanks for the honest review!
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
Hello David, great job as usual! May I say, I love the video's opening music!
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.
Your departing time missed the meal hour, they only tend to serve meals commonly during noon(11-13) and evenings(17-19).
hello! the straw with the meal is probably for the yoghurt!
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.
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.
Your point about looking out for discounted international fares is absolutely correct. I was a frequent traveler to China for work and many times was able to purchase business class on their 787's from Newark to Beijing, on to Shanghai for $2,000 roundtrip.
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?
At 16:19, those are Collins Aerospace MiQ seats, not Recaro PL3530 seats. The PL3530 is installed on the newer planes with the Recaro business.
2:55 Your Kimchi free suitcase lol! Looking forward to this video.
Oh I was looking forward for such a video. Thanks guys 😊🎉
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.
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).
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!
Haha David watching Gaki no Tsukai in the Beijing lounge
Living in China for the past several years, I’ve found Air China to offer reasonably priced, dependable service. Staff is always friendly and professional. They do what airlines are meant to do- transport you between point A and point B. On the contrary, my last visits to the USA saw frequent flight disruptions, poor service, and a seeming inability to transport reliably between point A and point B. Though must admit… your observations regarding PEK’s air conditioning and food/shop services are correct.🤣
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.
Another great video 🎉!
6:14 interesting feature of the ARJ-21
Excellent video, it looks like Air China is worth giving a try. I've long wanted to sample their service on a transpacific routing.
Brilliant review @simplyaviation!
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.
I'm always kinda confused how Deng was considered a paramount leader since he held neither the position of President nor general secretary
@@John_.Cabell_.Breckinridge his fraction won the verbal battle with Hua’s fraction, hence gain power
@@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
@@John_.Cabell_.Breckinridgetitles don't matter, it's whoever control the military matters
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.
Hi David ! Do you have a plan to review the Comac either ARJ or the C919 ? Would be nice to hear your comment on the Comac product , thank you
Did you know that the first a321 had no chinese flag because it flies to taiwan
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 ;)
Good review. Bonus-point for the hot water-bottle action.
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 :)
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.
I feel happy knowing that this trip with Air China was a big improvement over the 2019 one
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.
I am flying from London to Manila
Return price £575
Amazing price
22:34 Cup Of Tea And Apple Juice , And No Orange Juice 😊🍎🍹
I like how one particular drop down screen was fighting for its life tryna get back up
As a geography person, and as a big fan of airbus. I can tell that Seoul South Korea is a beautiful but freezing city out there. I love the buildings, and most of all the airport interior is a stunning sight to see😁😍👍🌎
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...
You need to try China Eastern A350 Business Class, Its so good!
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.
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
We just flew with them from VIE-PEK-Bangkok and back and ist was solid good. For ~500€ pP it was way cheaper than the other carriers. I totally agree with everything said in the video 👌🏽
First time flying to London from Auckland with Air China soon (Cheapest ticket available), if it works out well, I’ll fly them again ❤
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.
❤Thank you for your review❤
I love the pickled vegetables. You can find them everywhere in China
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.
First of all thank you for sharing this.
I always found air China very good value for money. Based out of Frankfurt, even before Covid we got the 77W (in a 3-3-3 configuration making it very comfy) and the 747-8.
Good is usually average but besides that I only had received good value for the money I paid.
Exactly 3 seconds after the plane pushes engine power up and the wheels start rollin fast I hear "V1, rotate"
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.
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.😅
@@chiakinanami4596there is wifi on 787 and A330 for China Southern
Comparing this to your a330 air china flight makes this a350 flight look like Emirates quality
Please try out the chinese airlines (CZ and MU) to compare which ones the best
And Xiamen
I used them on one round trip intercontinental in 2017. Their soft product matched their cheap fare. It's the airport system that twisted things on the return leg, resulting in a delay of over 24 hrs and incurred hotel fees out of my pocket.
Transitting passengers had to queue at immigration back then, though your video shows otherwise, which is an improvement.
They also had an air marshall in uniform, occupying a business class seat in domestic flights then... Don't know it same goes for their international flights...
I use them regularly going from the UK to the Philippines fantastic prices great service crew are amazing very helpful a lot of Thai crew the cheapest I ever had about 5 years ago was £330 return unbelievable at the time
a barista coffee machine as self-service?!? my dream
Indeed, how hard is it to use a coffee making machine. 😂
Have people never seen coffee been made in a cafe?
I’ve also been to the lounge before 😊
And the A350!😅
Haha the coffee machine at the lounge is indeed hard to find. It's at the section nearer to the entrance, together with yoghurt, snacks and fruits.
I had the same exact experience of the Beijing Capital airport back in September, super weird!
Not exhaustingly long by any means and quite entertaining; at least for me. Thank you for another excellent review.
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.
Funny enough, I agree, the Air China lounge is nice, but yes, When I transited through Beijin back in 2019, it was freezing then as well.
This video was so helpful! Thank you for sharing.
Many airport shops closed during Covid as the airports were deserted, especially international terminals. They are slowly coming back. Needs some time. Greetings from Shanghai.
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)
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 transit through Beijing airport in 2014 and had the same exact thoughts (though I didn't visit during winter so thank God for that). Seems like the airline improved the last time I flew with them so if they could fix the airport then I may "consider" this airline again