China Airlines A350-900 Business Class Trip Report- Wow!

On a recent flight to Osaka, Japan we flew from Amsterdam through Taipei, Taiwan on Design Airline of the year, Asia, 2023, China Airlines. Could this be the most underrated airline you've maybe not even heard of? It's a Skyteam member, and flies from the US and Europe to Asia and beyond, including Australia. Fares are often fairly competitive, and connections, at least from European city pairs, allow for a crazy amount of great Asian, South East Asian and Australian destinations.
Even if your layover is long, the lounges in Taipei make for a relaxing stopover, although you'll have to wait for my upcoming return trip to see that in detail.
We explore in detail why TheDesignAir rated China Airlines as the leading Design Airline in Asia last year.

[@JustinasUBA]

Elegant and beautiful review. Thank you!

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thank you! I hope you've subscribed!

[@angusfenton3436]

Great video as always. Hope you guys had a good trip. I do love the china airlines cabin, has a classy but cosy vibe.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thank you for the kind words! Please spread the word!

[@lawrenceakini4981]

Thank you for this vlog. Fly and safe travels. Cheers.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks so much!

[@ardianworld4129]

Can't wait for your coverage of the China Airlines lounge! That has got to be the most breathtaking airline lounge ever imho. I absolutely love the design aesthetic of China Airlines! From the livery, to the cabin, to the uniforms, soft product!

[@thedesignairvideo]

Haha, hope you've subscribed and turned on notifications, it will be up in a few weeks i'm hoping!

[@Bo3amrah]

Beautiful review 🎉

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thank you so much for the kind words!

[@joshuateoh1712]

One of the best busines classes and one of my favourite airlines to fly with! Their A350 business class cabin is simply beautiful.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Couldn't agree more! Glad to hear you like them! Us too!

[@michaelolden4783]

Geat informative video again chaps. 😊

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thank you so much!

[@wellsw3]

I'll be flying CI this fall in biz. Your review came in clutch. Thank you!

[@thedesignairvideo]

you are welcome! Safe travels!

[@bensonc9706]

Great review.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks so much!

[@gunvaldsandhaland7757]

Beautiful Air Craft And Cabin.Great Trip Report

[@thedesignairvideo]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@andrewverinchuk1694]

Thank you for a great trip report. Lavatory report would be very much appreciated

[@thedesignairvideo]

Hahaha, there's one in there around the 10 minute mark! Thanks for the nice comment!

[@andrewverinchuk1694]

@@thedesignairvideo My bad, sorry! Love your website and trip reviews!

[@readytogo5905]

So glad that you have the chance to experience our national airline. If possible, take a small tour of Taipei. Hidden Gem is waiting for you!

[@michaeljay3629]

10:39 😉. Great review, as always.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thank you!

[@georgebosse9393]

Tres elegance!

[@IkeTravels]

Brilliant video as always - I'd love to experience CA some day

[@thedesignairvideo]

When you do, let me know how it was!

[@johngilchrist543]

Amazing that Taiwan has three stellar international carriers 👍👍

[@thedesignairvideo]

It is incredible, and they are all underrated. Thanks for watching another of our videos!

[@johngilchrist543]

@@thedesignairvideo I’ve flown with EVA a few times and had wonderful flights but I think China Airlines has cabins, uniforms and catering equipment that is more aesthetically pleasing….at least to me.

[@narinthongkam3974]

Wooo Wooo

[@johngraham2861]

Great video, have flown both Eva and China Airlines and I must say the CAL A350 cabin is beautiful. Have two upcoming CAL flights in July from Tokyo to Taipei and then to Brisbane and looking forward to both of them.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Amazing! Let us know how the flights are!

[@icon_ic]

I love the KLM AMS lounge entrance with the iconic delft houses -- love this review, and journey! xx

[@thedesignairvideo]

Yeah, i love the houses too! It's a nice touch!

[@brigittelehmann9749]

Great review lovely i enjoy traveling with you greetings from the Netherlands Amsterdam

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks so much! Dank U Wel!

[@MH-gh]

Superb👌🏻 as always, & ofcourse, @ 10:39 the must-have😉

[@thedesignairvideo]

Always! Glad you spotted it (there's another hidden one in there too!)

[@MH-gh]

@@thedesignairvideo 😄oh, ok, hopefully i’ll find it

[@MH-gh]

@@thedesignairvideo @ 15:25😉👍🏻

[@HappyAdventurer]

I flew out of Taoyuan airport. If you get to try the steak on business class do it. It was proper tender and medium rare. I don't know how they did it! Even the lobster was better than Singapore Airlines I'd say.

[@MillennialAngst]

Regarding the finishes, there's a lot going on with the wood paneling, carpet, and back-of-pod motif. The choice of wood veneer is a bit loud IMO; they should've gone with something a little more subtle. That being said, I think it adds some warmth to the cabin. I like the rug-like carpeting though and how it runs across all cabins, giving economy a premium feel. The ideal design would balance this would EVA Air's more austere aesthetic.

[@gilesrdavies]

I'm surprised you're only mentioning them now in your awards, as this product is not new and has been flying around 7 years. I flew China Airlines A350s from the UK to Australia via Taipei in 2019... Unfortunately only in Premium Economy, but the aircraft was amazing with a very roomy 7 abreast seating, lovely crew, great amenity kits and food. Considering the aircraft are now around seven years old, they are aging very well and in great condition. Sometimes wear and tear on the seats becomes noticeable in this time, but doesn't seem to be the case here. Its a shame people confuse them with Air China, which has a far worse reputation.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks Giles, they've actually won a few times over the past 10 years! me and the judges have been admirers of their product for some time!

[@garryb131]

Absolutely fantastic product from China Airlines.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Indeed it is!

[@flyingdentist]

beautiful review but I would prefer footages of take off and landing too,cheers

[@thedesignairvideo]

Noted! Will try to get a bit more next time!

[@RP-fy4jx]

Thank you for the video, who was your companion? ;)

[@thedesignairvideo]

Maybe we should get him to do the winks! ;-)

[@jooleary9298]

Flying BC Mel TPE LHR TPE Kix in 3 weeks. Thx so much

[@jonascos1538]

Will you help in designing the upcoming reconfiguration of PAL's A321 CEOs?

[@thedesignairvideo]

Haha, i'd love to!

[@emmo__93]

Brother in law got his flight changed to China Airlines from Brisbane to Auckland premium economy he had nothing bad to say about the airline

[@rsnc23]

That's cuz he was drunk.

[@chardycheng6454]

China Airlines announces today all new amenity kit to its business class and premium economy class from Moschino and Roots. Further more, new business class headphone will be provided to its 77W, 350, 321NEO and 333 fleet.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Haha, we saw that announced today too! It's good news!

[@michaeljay3629]

15:25 OMG, two 😉 winks!

[@thedesignairvideo]

Haha, well spotted.

[@xxkoalamanxx]

Whats the background music?

[@thedesignairvideo]

At which point?

[@OscarTangoAtc]

You reckon a 6'7"/2 m tall guy would be comfortable?

[@thedesignairvideo]

It will be pretty hard in most seats for you to get comfortable but these are one of the most spacious herringbone seats you can get

[@abermin]

You were lucky no anti-social window seat passengers insisted on not pulling their blinds down on a day flight like KLM.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Ah we still had that to a certain degree. It's always hard when an overnight flight is actually during day time!

[@abermin]

@@thedesignairvideo I think the crew should always make an announcement to remind passengers to pull their blinds down because ppl need to rest, and should use their reading light if they need to.

[@tjittekamminga5170]

nice, but little privacy!

[@o.c.g.m9426]

That's because your 36,000 feet up with 300 other people. You want privacy book a G5

[@sktoh4469]

I flew China Airlines from Taipeh to Vancouver recently. My breakfast came with a bread roll but without butter. When I asked, the flight attendant, she couldn't understand what "butter" is. Shameful!

[@Dreamer10888]

This is Taiwan airline

[@thedesignairvideo]

It sure is!

[@nonesuchtofu]

China Airlines? It is a nice seat etc. The staff is very friendly but quite disorganized. The prebooked vegetarian meals are an apocalypse if they arrive at all. The china airlines business class lounge at Taipeh looks welcoming at first, but the slightly disgusted staff sent me with my business class ticket and no status into the basement, into what feels like the canteen of a north korean labor camp. overall, i do not understand the hype at all.

[@louislin244]

I didn’t hear the most important part about China Airlines- it is the first airline of the Republic of China, which is now Taiwan. At that time, Mainland China was governed by Taiwan, when the communist party (who later started People’s republic of China) was still a rogue organization controlled by USSR.

[@thedesignairvideo]

We do reference that in our full review found here:-thedesignair.net/2024/04/03/trip-report-china-airlines-a350-900-business-class-march-2024/

[@marcsitaliankitchen2019]

A shit hotel in Amsterdam