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I flew direct to Frankfurt from Chengdu last week on Air China. The trip is about 11 hours and is amazingly convenient compared to going through Shanghai or Beijing. The flight I was on departed around 6pm so you eat dinner on the plane, watch a movie, sleep, and wake up and land in Germany around 6am. Pretty great. Check in to the flight early to get an emergency exit row seat, or a bulk head. I can’t sleep on flights without either of those, being 6’4″.
I did the Chengdu – London return at the start of this year too. Good flight times (leave Chengdu about midday and London at about 5pm if I remember correctly..). The flight was full on the way to London but virtually empty on the way back which was great for spreading out and having a row to yourself (plus the crew were a pretty cool bunch). Not sure how much it cost exactly as it was part of a return trip to Argentina but would be happy flying them again.
Last year came back from Australia flying Melbourne – Chengdu with Sichuan Airlines. Managed to get put up to business class which was spacious and relaxed (compared to a crowded economy). Flight was smooth and service was fine (especially after they realised they could speak Chinese with me instead of English), but the IFE was rubbish with one straight-to-DVD movie being the only English one, and the rest being Chinese/Russian/Korean/magicians (and I was told I couldn’t use my iPad). Food was okay, and the bed was okay although not fully flat, not that me as an economy traveler cares too much..
Flight was smooth and service was fine (especially after they realised they could speak Chinese with me instead of English), but the IFE was rubbish with one straight-to-DVD movie being the only English one, and the rest being Chinese/Russian/Korean/magicians (and I was told I couldn’t use my iPad). Food was okay, and the bed was okay although not fully flat, not that me as an economy traveler cares too much..
Couldn’t use an iPad? That’s strange. Last year when flying between cities in Germany an old guy next to me asked me to stop using my iPad because it wasn’t allowed – I paged the stewardess and asked her and she said it was fine to use. Phones are a problem though – I was on a flight from Paris to Shanghai two days ago and a French kid next to me using his phone to watch BMX videos was furious when the stewardess told him he couldn’t use his phone during the flight. Anything that can make calls is disallowed.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Michael wrote:</div>
Flight was smooth and service was fine (especially after they realised they could speak Chinese with me instead of English), but the IFE was rubbish with one straight-to-DVD movie being the only English one, and the rest being Chinese/Russian/Korean/magicians (and I was told I couldn’t use my iPad). Food was okay, and the bed was okay although not fully flat, not that me as an economy traveler cares too much..Couldn’t use an iPad? That’s strange. Last year when flying between cities in Germany an old guy next to me asked me to stop using my iPad because it wasn’t allowed – I paged the stewardess and asked her and she said it was fine to use. Phones are a problem though – I was on a flight from Paris to Shanghai two days ago and a French kid next to me using his phone to watch BMX videos was furious when the stewardess told him he couldn’t use his phone during the flight. Anything that can make calls is disallowed.
Really have to big up Etihad here. In flight entertainment was excellent. Live TV (I was watching wimbledon live), electrical and USB sockets with every seat, and wifi on the plane (21 US$ for a 24 hour wifi pass). Made the flight go a lot quicker!
Yeah I tried to make my case to them but to no avail. As far as I know it’s because it’s a Chinese Civil Aviation regulation that Chinese airlines have to follow. Maybe it’s changed, am flying China Southern Chengdu-Guangzhou-Perth this week so will try see what I can use inflight.
Charlie was your flight from Paris on a Chinese airline or..?
Yeah I tried to make my case to them but to no avail. As far as I know it’s because it’s a Chinese Civil Aviation regulation that Chinese airlines have to follow.
Strange, I use iPads on flights in China all the time and have never had a problem. In the States the FAA now allows you to use iPads during landing and takeoff. I expect that to trickle over to aviation administrations around the world as they realize that it doesn’t actually lead to planes falling out of the sky.
Charlie was your flight from Paris on a Chinese airline or..?
Yes, it was China Air
Would be great to hear any suggestions for flight towards Istanbul – Dubai direction. I did not come up to any budget offers with my searches.. experiences will be highly appreciated
I took an Etihad flight from Chengdu to Abu Dhabi last month. Hardly any people on the plane both ways, so I was able to have an entire emergency exit row to myself, even though it usually costs extra. But even the regular seats have spacious leg room. Good in-flight entertainment, food was decent enough, and the service was excellent. I also recommend it.
I flew Air Hainan on my way back and from Belgium.
Chengdu – Beijing: flight got cancelled due to military. No advance notice (no text, email or call). However, they did offer me a free flight with similar time to Beijing with Sichuan Airlines. Sweet!
Beijing – Brussels: this is where the trouble started. Due to a delay from Sichuan Airlines I missed my flight to Brussels. All Air Hainan were closed (it was 1.20 AM) so i was forced to get a hotel on my own. The day after all offices were open from 9, except for Hainan who opened around 10. They offered me another flight, but refused to pay me my hotel fee back (I did get it back though after half an hour negotiating, being on their helpline for another half hour and having to cite their regulations from their website in an email war….).
The flight itself was also horrible. The tv screens didnt work well, the touch screens are incredibly unresponsive, the headsets are so horrible I couldnt watch any movie without a crackling sound (even after replacing headset). Food is also terrible, but at least the service is very friendly.
They also gave me a lot of hassle with my luggage. They made me wait for over an hour in the middle of the queues without offering me any place to wait and sit and even without an explanation, only “wait a moment sir” and they played the reverse “ting bu dong” on me when I asked what’s happening.
Most of their staff hardly speak English, which I found shocking for a company doing international flights.
Note that I might have been harsh on my review considering I flew Singapore Airlines my first time i went to China, which is like night and day compared to Air Hainan.
Also (surprisingly) my flight from Beijing to Chengdu with Air Hainan was the best i had with them. Clean, much better tv screens, better movie selection (even if it’s the same airline company), etc.
In short: avoid Air Hainan if possible
In short: avoid Air Hainan if possible
I didn’t know that provincial Chinese carriers had international flights, I think I’ve only flown China Air overseas. Crazy that they don’t speak any English. Chinese carriers are basically known for being a little sub-par though, for service and food.
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