Air China Business Class A330 Beijing to Tokyo Narita | Tokyo
Information | History | View | Sightseeing | Video
In complete contrast to my Hainan Airlines flights, Air China's old/regional business class is in need of a serious overhaul. The seats are angled lie flat, which are fine on a 3 hour journey but not great at all for red-eye flights. Food is always hit or miss with Air China. The breakfast at the business class lounge wasn't anything special or tasty. The hot food section was too small and really not up to the standards of Air China's regional competitors including the Taiwanese airlines. The flight was a very remote gate and the bus ride to the plane took about 20 minutes. We got a very good tour of Beijing Capital international airport and it is amazing how big the airport is. Onboard, I find myself in an old but clean A330. Comfy slippers were provided and the flight attendant quickly provided me with champagne and nuts. One unusual thing I noticed on this flight was that the FAs can speak Japanese pretty well but they only made one announcement in Japanese (which surprised my Japanese seatmates as they assumed no one spoke Japanese). I had the Guizhou chicken onboard and it tasted like any regular Chinese restaurant. Overall, service inconsistencies was a let down and food was okay, but the entertainment is seriously outdated. I would definitely pick ANA over Air China on this route in the future.
Comments
-
Like you said. China Eastern (based in Shanghai) and possibly China Southern (in Guangzhou) are better run airlines than Air China. Looks like the annoying loud kid near you wouldn't shut up and his parents didn't do anything to quiet him, that's not tolerated in ANY Business class. Sigh, looks like Chinese airlines still have a ways to go to improve their service.
-
Air China isn't that bad, but they need to get better entertainment systems!
-
There is not so much competition against Air China in and out of Beijing in terms of international routes. This airline is overprotected by the government. The Chinese aviation authority demand the 3 largest state-owned airlines to avoid direct competition on international routes.
-
Oh well done, Air China. The bubbly was a cheap champagne(never heard of it); not even a Moet.Ah Great Wall white wine ,say no more. China is making great progress in wine making but not yet. and not to be served in Biz Class. Chauvinism or just cheap?
-
I do not like that I was already profiled even before I took my seat. When the FA presentes the menu, I asked for the Western option: beef tenderloin cooked medium rare. The meal that came was the Chinese option. When i told the FA that I do not like bamboo shoots she just stared like I was nuts to complain. Well, I am 3rd generation Chinese Malaysian. I DO NOT LIKE BAMBOO SHOOTS AND CONGEE!!! I speak enough Cantonese to negotiate Hong Kong and can get by in Beijing. But I DONT speak Chinese! I paid for your so called "Business Class". Dont patronize me.Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Never again.
-
Half the facilities do NOT work properly And when you you complain, do they care?
Maybe its their command of English. Is that an excuse. The FA's are flying an international route. English is the language of international aviation, So? -
Crap service, crap food, crap beverage; A crap airline!
-
Gross food!
-
Oh dear. No priority boarding for business class and teeny tiny IFE screens.
-
air china me parece bastante chunga, nunca vi sonreir a una azafata china en un video, hasta las norcoreanas de Air Koryo son mas amigables
-
What a great flight review and a good tour of PEK.
-
Chinese airlines suck!
-
Another great review!
-
Woaw, I would at all time choose any decent airline economy class over this supposedly business class. And by the way, it would be nice to at least be able to watch outside, the window is one brown dirty film layer. Aargh, I guess you can always get some re-education channel or some 1984 pulp booklet in the superdelux bookletholder.
-
really sad business class......
-
I felt like I was in a time warp.....which was nice for a change. Don't be too harsh on them :)
-
Well let's put it this way since I have also done quite a few reports on air China.
1. Air China is not cheap!
At least on routes from North America to Beijing, price is not cheap at all! Instead, it is even more expensive than ANA if you set your final destination like Beijing. ANA is actually way cheaper in some months, like September or March...
2. Quality on Air China is horrible: like I said in my report, food for business class simply taken out from economy trolley. Chinese option? Only 3 pieces of chicken could be found in your main dish, portion is really small, I'd rather choose United at this point since portion is generous. And if you want more, CA attendant will always say sorry we are run out of it......
3. Lounges in Beijing airport, although it is air China flagship lounge, it is only slightly better than United red carpet club, which will boost itself in 2017 with new Polaris lounge. By then it is comparable to one of the best lounges then. -
As you said, Hainan Airline is much better.....
-
Man so Much negativity
-
perfect always dear ..
best wishes