Flying A Chinese Airline Is WILD In 2023😅

[@NonstopDan]

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[@云梦丁氏]

Well that’s our flag carriers for you, they get great food and drinks as well as great service but cut back on ground dispatch and old aircraft seats, but for 750 bucks that’s totally worth it especially for the transit. I wouldn’t consider flying if the price is kept this high currently at 4K in the back, but I wish there could be a new airline akin to Singapore or UAE carriers operating on the C919

[@rachelflorentino3287]

Did u take PCR test

[@GamingTrivia1113]

you should try hainan airlines (assuming they still exist) pre pandemic it was amazing in my opinion with nice infotainment and nice seats.

[@happycamper4329]

Dan, it's time you started to re-review the economy class on ALL the airlines, especially the top airlines. Recently flew Singapore Airlines, British Airways, and Swiss, and Singapore Airlines was BY FAR the most disappointing, even though they just won the Skytrak airline of the year award! It seems that the economy passengers have been 'forgotten' in place of offering business and first passengers even more! Given that the majority of your subcribers travel economy, they would benefit enormously from your re-review! TIA

[@juliamallon2948]

For sure!!

[@avesraggiana]

That’s too bad about Singapore Airlines. I’m hoping yours was a one off experience, but I’m fearing not. I believe worldwide, air travel has become “Americanised”. Passengers who’ve paid relatively little for their fares, board our aircraft not giving a $hit. SQ airline employees and management pick up on this don’t-give-a-$hit attitude, and so they start not giving a $hit either. They’re a business after all, so if SQ can get away with charging the same and offering less, like any good “American-style”- business, they will.

[@malpalmer3269]

Agreed as most people fly economy so reviews on economy experiences have larger audiences

[@ahmedwadee21]

Agreed

[@jekx6770]

Besides being in a shitty seat that was so close to bathrooms and triplets screaming my experience on Singapore airlines was good in economy. We did Toronto to Frankfurt frank furt to Singapore and it was fine. Particularly the longer of the two legs, from Germany to Singapore, the A380 is the quietest plane I’ve ever been on

[@AirbusA--si4kw]

That empty space you saw in First class is actually used as a self-service bar. Flight attendants usually put snacks and drinks on there during flights, even on short domestic flights.

[@EuropeaninChina]

He should do research before saying such things

[@brmnyc]

I'm glad you called out the lack of personal air vents. The lack of these on certain carriers infuriates me. I wish both Boeing and Airbus would not offer this option to the airlines.

[@shdhd07]

That, and having your window closed (or dimmed) by the crew negates why I paid for a window seat.

[@88EP13]

I always bring a small personal electric fan just in case

[@apertureemployee215]

right? I flew Air France recently, and no air vents on their 777 or 787. It wasn't too bad on the 777 but on the 787 I was sweating half the flight

[@MiesvanderLippe]

You guys don’t wear flexible clothing on public transit? You know they have AC you can’t control. So wear layers you can take off.

[@GamingTrivia1113]

@@shdhd07 because some people need to sleep and you blasting light into the cabin is not very nice.

[@yukie_tn]

As a repeated business class flier, my mom absolutely hates China Eastern but she spoke very highly of China Southern, so maybe give them a try. She's flown practically all the Asian airlines that go between Shanghai and NY.

[@lzh4950]

My mother instead prefers China Eastern, as she recounted that the emergency doors rattled in-flight during her China Southern SIN-PEK flight in 2004

[@aandwdabest]

Southern once had an A380 fleet of 5 planes. They retired them all in 2022.

[@laod7192]

I prefer Southern to Eastern as well.

[@stillissac]

The China Southern 787 economy is much better than many other 787 economy seats out there, leg room is a bit tight but as a slim dude, it's fine with me. The food, IFE cabin crew, comfort and overall experience is not bad at all, although your experience will vary between flights

[@Brachiostar]

I agree I had a much better experience with China southern than eastern for economy at least.

[@jkjkjk100]

Unfortunately, In Chinese airlines like everything else in Chinese internet and app, are designed for chinese people and chinese speaking/reading people with local numbers and local ID. If you have those two your life gets significantly easier such as booking seats on an airline.

[@McLadenLLC]

somebody finally speaks the truth. tho i do think CE air website even though as a chinese, the internaltional flight booking experience is quite terrible. pretty much like what Dan has experienced.

[@ruiliang6819]

@@McLadenLLC And also CE Air website sucks if your ticket is booked via OTA, even if you're chinese

[@doujinflip]

It just shows how little China cares about actually working with the rest of the world, as so many otherwise mundane commercial services only work with a National ID and not a passport, and how paying for things often require a Chinese bank account which itself requires a Chinese cell number to open. Nowadays foreigners can't even reload their Beijing Yikatong transit card at the kiosk, and have to find a manned cashier to top up.

[@jkjkjk100]

@@doujinflip no. It shows how the government prioritizes the people than some other non sense. Personally I’d rather my government works for me than spending on some useless services. If I run China, I’d prioritize 1.4 billion people than trying to make tourists life more convenient especially China doesn’t rely on tourism for income like let’s say thailand… to be honest with passport number, i can check in and select seats with air china, juneyao and china southern. Not sure why it doesn’t work with china eastern… it’s the same elsewhere to be honest. Unless you use the big giant for services… i was in Sweden and tried to use some delivery app and wouldn’t connect to my US cell and end up needing to use uber eats and their extraordinary service fee.

[@jkjkjk100]

@@doujinflip i see nothing wrong about wanting to change the system. China is a giant and perhaps people should start adapting, learning the language rather than vilifying the different system.

[@xxrowtrave23xx]

I booked a round-trip economy ticket from Manila to California with China Southern back in 2019 for just $587. My experience was overall good. The crew was very atentive and spoke decent english for all the flights. Food tasted ordinary and also had limited IFE selections compared to other Asian carriers but I did sort of expected that based from reviews. I also chose China Southern than China Eastern cuz it had better reviews in skytrax. My only complaint was that they gave me a middle seat on the long haul flight even if I selected aisle. But overall the experience was good for the price I paid.

[@asdfssdfghgdfy5940]

China Southern nearly killed my friend back in like 2013ish. He asked multiple times to make sure his food didn’t have crustaceans in it and about 4 bites in he found a prawn. Lucky he didn’t eat any of it because we were halfway between Germany and China. I got the same meal and mine was still partly frozen in the middle so I passed. Then there was no food in Guanzhou(?) plus we had food poisoning 2 nights before we left Germany so we were starving. I ate a literal horse when we finally got to Australia

[@apt62]

Chinese airline in my opinion is fine only because they are super cheap.

[@Alex-ym7tr]

@@apt62 yeah cuz I’m in hk

[@barrielui]

The inconvenient bits with Chinese Airlines are that their domestic flights are usually better than international flights (in terms of expectation), and economy class is better than premium classes. Mainly because there is intense competition against high-speed rail. Hainan Airlines, despite its 5-star rating might be questionable, is quite another league to other Chinese carriers (Eastern and Air China for example)

[@lzh4950]

Quite a big contrast to their airports which often get good reviews (except for their lounges, which I heard are more middling)

[@duquem0421]

This is West Taiwanese cope. Taiwan needs to fix their mainland since they don’t know how to operate shit for international clients.

[@JeanClaudeCOCO]

From what I’ve seen of other reviewers their domestic service is decent.

[@Alex-ym7tr]

And CZ

[@Blank00]

One of the quirkiest things about China Eastern is that they have a sister airline called Shanghai Airlines. Despite having different liveries and branding, they have the same cabins for their respective fleets (A330, 787, 737), so one is not an upscale or budget version than the other. It remains a mystery on why China Eastern doesn't dissove the Shanghai Airlines brand like what Air India is doing with Vistara, or at least transfer all of Shanghai Airlines's A330 and 787s to China Eastern

[@FrankLin-ke9bu]

Keeping the Shanghai Airlines branding is mostly for time slots and flight rights in major domestic and international airports. Shanghai airlines is treated as an independent airline aside from China Eastern and this will give China Eastern some advantages in certain markets, for example, flights to PEK, CAN, SZX, HND, SIN etc. Shanghai Airlines used to have their dedicated crews in the past but not sure about now.

[@sylvy16]

this is how I as someone living in india find out vistara has been disolved into air india.

[@Blank00]

@@sylvy16 it's not happening yet, but the process is official and will start soon

[@jameslui4057]

I vaguely remember back when the merger happened, municipal government of Shanghai pushed really hard to keep the Shanghai airlines brand running because it used to be an airline backed by the local government not the central government.

[@Jack-1994]

It will be for tax purposes A guaranteed

[@O-nb5hu]

Thats an excellent review Dan! I guess it comes down to personal choice and demand. In the end of the video shows China Eastern cost $717 and a far better Korean Air cost $1604 on the same route. The question is whether you are willing to pay extra 900 dollars for better food, better service and pre-seat selection? For me it's a no, my top priority is a lie-flat bed so that air travel is not a torture, and China Eastern provides that. I still believe that no matter how good the business class food is, it's still airline food. For 900 dollar you can buy twenty lobsters on the ground, or a new iPhone. So for me, I'm willing to choose China Eastern and save the 900 bucks. But if you happens to be super rich and wants top service, Korean Air is no brainer! 😃

[@anthonykago4428]

Yes!! I totally agree.

[@QuintessentialStefie]

The blue is giving “welcome to Wal-Mart”

[@Uniwantscake]

I can definitely feel some cultural shock here. For example, calling the drink menu “corky”. Lol it is not for Chinese.

[@ClarkyAv]

I think we need a shirt with “I don’t vape, I just breathe jet fumes” on

[@monkeays]

Being Australian, its definitely "Gee, relax Australia". Diplomatic relations are not good.

[@JeanClaudeCOCO]

Yikes

[@Aimzyrulez]

Yeah, I'm also Australian and yeah it's really not great

[@jessieliu1731]

Nah Australia did a massive tourist campaign in China this year. Relax Australia is the slogan of that campaign

[@MisakaSkywalker]

You should try out Chinese domestic flights. The experience flying from Chengdu to Shanghai in a China Eastern’s A350 business class is amazing.

[@MisakaSkywalker]

But do not try Beijing outbound flights. The food from Beijing sucks.

[@user-ox6gs9kl3f]

everything seems decent to me during this flight

[@AirbusA--si4kw]

@@MisakaSkywalkerThe food out of Beijing on China Eastern should be good. They have their own catering company in Beijing.

[@MisakaSkywalker]

@@AirbusA--si4kw Better than Air China. But worse than the food on their Chengdu outbound flight.

[@tonysofla]

Chengdu to Shanghai is the new (and only) C919 in service, a must is to have to use that plane.

[@chhabramohit]

Dan, I must say, the production quality of your videos is incredible. I wish a travel TV channel sees your videos and offers you your own show.

[@nielskristiannielsen6198]

I had an overall pretty good experience flying Economy with AirChina from Auckland to Copenhagen a few weeks ago. Food was decent and the staff was friendly and helpful. I paid nearly twice as much flying to New Zealand with Qatar Airways and I honestly preferred my flights with AirChina, although this was due to reasons mostly out of the airlines's control. They extended my layover in Beijing by 24 hours, which I ultimately appreciated considering how long it took to leave PEK.

[@rotrohan]

Cheapskate 😀😀

[@possessedllama]

How was the legroom on your Air China flight? I flew to Japan via Beijing with them in 2014 and I felt the legroom left a lot to be desired compared to airlines like ANA, Cathay Pacific, etc. Has it improved or is it still pretty poor?

[@austinli8891]

@@rotrohan just because people don't want to spends over a thousand dollars on a plane trip doesn't mean they're cheap. there's a difference between being a cheapskate and being financially responsible

[@matthewkjellerson9325]

so riveting...I was on the edge of my seat watching this unmatched piece of art...I'm sure you will be hearing from all Hollywood studiios, throwing themselves at your feet, begging to produce major motion pictures.....The folded toilet paper was a standing ovation.....Bravo..

[@brittches]

When I flew China Southern in 2017 PVG-CDG I was not allowed to look at my phone for the whole flight. I showed them it's in flight mode, but they just kept saying "Please close your phone." (this was post flip phone era of course) We had a significant delay and one passenger asked whether they would make their connection and the flight attendant just put on the broadest smile and said "Okay, thank you" 😅 It was indeed wild.

[@AverageJoe483]

Good old fashion authoritarian communist states !! 😂 myth buster has PROVEN cell phones have ZERO effect on planes . But don’t worry the CCP knows better !

[@benjaminbecker9849]

It used to be a rule with the chinese air authorities.. it’s changed now though,, china has a lot of rules regarding airline safety due to a previously poor aviation record they are trying to rejuvenate.. at least they’re putting safety first.

[@lzh4950]

Here in Singapore we've called out our countrymen & women for switching on their phones after the plane lands but before it reaches its airport gate (because our aviation laws were that strict until at least 2015), but meanwhile when I flew Cathay & landed in Singapore, they announed we could use our phones immediately upon landing

[@kitmanlam4587]

CAAC allow use the cellphone with flight mode on board in 2019.thx🎉

[@ArthurZ-do9jd]

Mate, as a Chinese mainland local where most of the Chinese airlines originated from, I can tell you that nearly all of the Chinese flight attendants are poorly educated and not able to communicate with people who speaks English fluently. To become a cabin crew member in China, all that takes is being beautiful and sluty.

[@gdkid]

12:18 funnily enough, AC would sometimes run 777-300ERs between Toronto and Montreal - roughly a 50-minute flight

[@vamosnippon]

Please fly JAL economy next! I also found out ANA has significantly lowest number of seats compared to other major airlines to increase service and hospitality.

[@BrianYix]

10:10 when the fav part of the flight is the landbound experience in between flights it really says alot about the flight itself 🤣

[@dmendez12]

Your intro at the end, what a genius, THANKS!!!

[@ellenina1979]

I live in China. Not sure how the situation is now, but Chinese domestic airlines ha've been flying on 'covid protocol mode' until a while ago - picture very basic service when not no-hot meals. The pandemic has blown us with the hardest hit, I think. I left for Europe last week and PVG airport (Shanghai) is still pretty deserted..

[@JeanClaudeCOCO]

I know Chinese prefer to travel with trains so airlines and airports will be impacted even more so than other countries.

[@loadingnewads]

@@JeanClaudeCOCOYes, Chinese trains are incredibly good

[@peterc66]

I arrived at Shanghai Pudong airport at the end of May and back at it one week later and it was both completely packed with very long queue. Bizarre you had a deserted airport.

[@expaolafernandez]

​@@peterc66 Hi! Did you have to show a negative antigen test?

[@peterc66]

@@expaolafernandez no I didn't need to show anyone the test result but I have done my testing before departure and declared it on the website which was required. I also saw a long queue of people declaring it at Pudong airport before getting through the customs. I also believe the declaration policy is cancelled now. Hope that helps 😊

[@twyxbar]

I flew Economy on China Eastern from Shanghai to Heathrow and the experience was overall good. But the food is probably the biggest downside. I've flown China Eastern a lot of times for domestic flights and they aren't bad. Thanks for reviewing the business class!

[@JF-qu5zy]

I couldn't get online check-in to work for my flight last month and an agent told me they turned it off entirely ...

[@KomeijiNEP-45]

I 100% agree with your experience. I was flight with China Eastern so many times, it really nothing can be expected before the flight.

[@Guren74]

Living in China since 2008... if possible I always avoid to fly Chinese airlines to go back home in Italy. Before COVID it wasn't uncommon to get a 330-200 without any IFE or power plug in a 12 hours direct flight 😅

[@wendylane585]

You are lucky to have other great European airlines to chose from. Being American, I try to avoid the US-flagged carriers like the plague. I was mostly flying Cathay Pacific back and forth but Air China and the one China Southern round trips were great. I've been here since '08, too!

[@fnansjy456]

Is flag carrierd are pretty good​@@wendylane585

[@sureshsingh-xb5eg]

chinazi is hellhole

[@jbar_85]

I know this is an airline channel, but you are Oscar make such a cute couple! ❤ Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈

[@ItsDavo]

Dan, I really recommend you try China Eastern's A350 or 787 business class, it's a lot nicer than the triple 7 you took today or the a330. Their best route is Shanghai to Melbourne or Melbourne to Shanghai as it's always operated by their flagship 787 and the service and food is generally really good on the particular route for unknown reasons. (Presumably because it's their highest profit route )

[@bonnie069]

Incheon only needs about 45 minutes for connection or turnaround. NRT needs about that and Haneda needs longer (it's not as efficient sadly).

[@hibiscusboy]

"The food spread on the other hand...didn't relax" LOL your commentary throughout this whole video was GIVING. *chef's kiss* Bravo...or should I say, 很好! So glad the algo worked its magic, I'm SUBSCRIBING to NonstopDan. Came for the nerdy airplane/aviation/travel knowledge I like, stayed for Dan's wit & sass. #YasHoney

[@realcolinc]

I laughed at 5:21 because he said “SPAM” instead of SCAM🤣 I love deep fried spam btw😂

[@travelwithsun]

Great fan of your videos @nonstopdan , but where did you get the airplane models in your video???

[@MohammedSayanvala]

I live in China. When flying, there are many areas where your window blinds need to be closed. This is because you are flying over sensitive / military / security areas. You are also not allowed to record such areas or take photos.

[@NonstopDan]

Interesting! Thanks for sharing!

[@programmer437]

I’ve flown China Eastern, Southern, and Air China in Business and Economy and I’ve never had a bad experience outside of the disorganized boarding.

[@OriSolow]

16:41 Dan is caught standing up while the seat belt sign is on! 😂

[@Wutaskier]

I highly suggest you fly Vancouver to Bella-Coola if you are ever in the area. The landing/takeoff at Bella-Coola is very cool, you carve down the mountain valleys into a very picturesque Valley.

[@PassportBrosBusinessClass]

The first time I flew internationally it was on China Eastern Airlines. LAX to Shanghai in 2001. I was a much smaller 22 year old and was able to be comfortable sitting in economy. NOW: I'm a 6'7" dude who can ONLY ride business class. I save up money and points all year to make it possible to fly business each and every vacation. But all business classes aren't equal. As for seating, I need the 1/2/1 layout so I can be alone next to the window. The 2/2/2 layout almost always makes me uncomfortable. I want aisle access and privacy. I don't like herringbone configurations.

[@steve3ri]

I flew them in 2001 from LAX to PEK. At that time, they were in the One World alliance, and I booked it with an AA flight number. It was the worst flight I ever flew. The flight attendants barely spoke any English. All entertainment and reading material were in Chinese. The food was disgusting, and the seat was not comfortable with sting leg room. I flew business or first. I don't know how it was sold. It looks a lot better than when I flew with them, but I would never fly them again, anywhere.

[@LondonReps]

Strange, I took China Eastern from London to Shanghai and back. It was very good!

[@Ashwin-zg7rt]

Non stop Dan’s non stop business class reviews

[@blim5780]

turn around within 1 hour is unbelievable AirAsia with 25 mins turn around : hold my beer

[@Moonstone-Redux]

Fast turnarounds are standard for budget airlines. Such a speed for a full service airline is not that much heard of.

[@jeadie2273]

I hear ya, man…nothing like the smell of JET-A. Was an US Air Force crew chief on F-4G fighter jets and loved the smell of the JP-4 we used back then.

[@mcpanorama]

Thanks Dan. When I was working in China my colleagues and I preferred China Southern.

[@horseplop9]

Lovely video today dan. Over the years i just appreciate all the work you put in. Thank you sir

[@Andrewdavey-y7t]

wow , it must be really rough flying business class everywhere, i quite like your channel , but remember , some people actually work for a living and business class is beyond there expectations , they dont speak english ! then fly one that does , box on amigo and come live in the real world

[@PM2024-]

Many times when I’ve flown China Eastern and Air China, there’s often the smell of cigarette smoke eminating from the cockpit 🚬 (the pilots smoke onboard without anyone bothering them)

[@wengkaihua5680]

As a local Shanghainese, I absolutely despise China Eastern. It is jaw dropping that in so many aspects an airline can find a way to screw its customers, from seat selection, to loyalty programme, to boarding bridge unavailability, and so on. Such shame that it is the only airline that has real connectivity from SHA/PVG.

[@iskap5639]

I have flown China Eastern and Southern and they've been not bad, I probably just have a low expectation for airlines after flying spirit so many times.

[@JasonZhang611]

Hey Dan, you should try flying Hainan Airlines! I'm curious to see your opinion of it. I flew business class pre covid on one of their very long haul flights (boston - shanghai) and I found it pretty good.

[@ywctommy]

Hainan Airlines is widely considered one of the worst mainstream airlines in China due to its mother company’s financial difficulties

[@ilovevids3047]

@@ywctommy Actually, I would consider it the best Chinese airline, Cathay Pacific is close...

[@emmanuelchan8292]

Hainan Airlines definitely better than the Big 3 domestic Chinese airlines

[@edwarddu6919]

@@ywctommyas someone who is currently in Hainan, the financial difficulties don’t actually show much in terms of the experience.

[@zumbc]

Yeah Hainan is the best domestic airline in China

[@YukiZero]

i work for an airport in china. and yes. we turn 300 passengers in a 777/787/350 in under 60 mins and that includes arrival, disembarkation, catering, cleaning, boarding, until pushback lol

[@sylvy16]

2:16 you think that’s crazy. i was taking a flight from goa to bangalore and the plane landed like 5 minutes after our departure time. they had like a 15 minute turnaround. it was an all economy flight tho with around 180 seats but it still seemed so crazy to me.

[@rexelgaming3632]

Hey Dan, could you make a video about your diecast aircraft model collection? Would love to see it!

[@McLadenLLC]

yes as much as i would like to see that since im also a diecast plane collector, the model he took actually is considered not in the "major league" of diecast aircraft band like geminijets phoenix model or jc wings etc. it's more like display model with less accuracy and details. but of course those are really affordable and appealing to the general public.

[@WK_Jetz]

First! I love your channel!

[@nnamuenmada]

I tried MU’s A350 and can say it’s the best biz class among all Chinese airlines of all types of aircraft

[@JamesColemanChess]

I’m doing London - Shanghai - Bangkok in March with a 6 hour layover in PVG. I’m a bit worried as never flown China Eastern but the price was great!

[@knighterrant4]

I'm flying London - Shanghai - Melbourne in March, but only 3 hours 45min layover. Also my first time with China Eastern and also attracted by the price. My outbound legs in early March are 777-300 then 787-9, which look a lot better than the return late March using A350-900 then A330-200. It gives me the chance to sample and compare four different aircraft at a bargain price.

[@ashleyhughes2623]

Can't wait for China East! I'm flying to Turkey next year. 2 x 12hr flights... each way.

[@AndrewJYing]

Relax Australia was for Joint Venture with Qantas and the tourism promotion with Australian government. It’s awkward now.

[@JBLegal09]

Joyced???

[@AndrewJYing]

@@JBLegal09 lol. No. Just not many flights available now

[@jorahkai]

As a Canadian any Chinese airline I’ve taken is 1000% better than any of my Canadian ones and I’ve spent many 15 hour world wide flights over the last 10 years

[@kayyvesw.6018]

Looks really nice with the China Eastern Airline inside of the cabin

[@roentgenmania]

Just had a recent flight on MU out of PVG. At that price, I have no complaints. The crew was friendly but the service was not polished. Skipped food because it was a red-eye and I slept surprisingly well on the seats. Many things were broken - seat selection on the website, headphones, literature pocket (so things were falling out). The lounge at PVG is very basic but has a decent noodle bar. Bottom line, you'd be sorely disappointed if you expect SQ/CX/NH/JL levels of J-class. But if you peg it to a level above premium economy but below biz, you'll be satisfied.

[@coyle-xk5ti]

that first class in very good, but they don't often offer it around to passengers because there are usually crew rests

[@andersanden3221]

I would never go on a Chinese airline! Their training goes from Cessna to multi engine prop to a 777.

[@jonasbrothersrockist]

I flew China Eastern when I first visited Bangkok, Thailand back in May 2018.

[@CaptainKremmen]

The obvious, but unstated, advantage of those seats is the huge amount of space for your feet. It can make for a much better sleep than some airlines "modern" seats with tiny caves for feet, that you bang your legs and knees against if you try to move.

[@Nathancai91]

Hi as a Chinese, really appreciate your review staying very objective. Telling the good parts and bad parts and not let your 'feeling' overwhelm the general review. My experience with Chinese airlines is, people are friendly, price is reasonable but the software side of things is just 10 years behind. Hope they will catch up one day!

[@PeacherLiz]

Bingo

[@amossutandi]

It is surprising since Chinese cities are so high tech

[@dexinwang7192]

@@amossutandicuz domestic air travel is not that popular than compared to places like U.S. due to the massive train network. E.g. i prefer using high speed trains for any trips covering distances equivalent to less than a 2:30 hr flight

[@markdc1145]

Flew China Eastern 777 to Shanghai back in 2017. Nothing bad about the flight but the whole experience was incredibly generic. Despite the ban using a phone on airplane mode, I just kept it covered by a blanket and no problems.

[@Allinho2008]

the fact that you arrived there alive is a bonus

[@anamericaninchina869]

I hope China Eastern has stopped doing this. I booked a very low fare Beijing-Frankfurt flight with connection in Shanghai of two hours. Just one problem. I had to transfer between Pudong Airport and Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai at my own expense, picking up my bags and rechecking my bags. Impossible to do in two hours and impractical for foreigners who don’t speak Chinese and don’t know Shanghai. Even for China Eastern… this was beyond bad. It was ridiculous.

[@Erik_The_Viking]

Chinese airlines are hit and miss, depending on the flight. Cathay Pacific is the gold standard for service to and from China. Most of the smaller flights are very interesting to say the least when it comes to customer service. Pudong is a nice airport - I flew in it when it was relatively new.

[@goytabr]

Cathay Pacific is from Hong Kong. Yes, it's technically China (and increasingly more so non-technically as well), but it's still very different from flying an airline from mainland China such as Air China, China Southern & Eastern, Hainan, Xiamen, Shenzhen, etc. Their historic roots, form of management, corporate culture, priorities, goals, everything is totally different.

[@Erik_The_Viking]

@@goytabr Absolutely. I've flown several Chinese mainland airlines and my experiences have been a very mixed bag. A lot of variation.

[@edwarddu6919]

For mainland airlines, I always would choose Hainan airlines. Of course, I am in Hainan right now but there is a reason why they serve direct flights abroad from almost all major Chinese airports, and barely any from Hainan itself.

[@A1steak]

Cathay Pacific is good standard of the world

[@mike-yk4yk]

Cathay Pacific only has good service if you’re not Chinese 😂

[@Maniac-f1w]

Honestly, as a Chinese myself, I suggest you book China Southern or Hainan Airlines next time. It is WAYYYY much better than the cost cutting China Eastern.

[@mons4260]

We had an terrible experience with counter staff in China , they couldn’t care less and ended up costing us over $1000 missing our connecting flight and then the next flight as well. Had to pay for that nights accommodation and pay for a new flight the next day. Never again will I fly into China

[@WadersInAlaska]

I am diffidently not a fanboy of China's various airlines. I have horror stories of flying with them. The only advantage, in my humble opinion, is these airlines create competition, keeping the prices at a more reasonable level overall in the airline industry. Thank you for delivering a video about some of the drawbacks, (and a few good things too!), when flying China's airlines. Cheers from Alaska!!

[@soroushm2498]

Are they safe though? I’m flying to Japan this October and realized how cheaper China Eastern was compared to the other ones. So I’m wondering weather it’s a good option

[@TMWT]

@@soroushm2498 Of course it's safe wtf lol

[@soroushm2498]

@@TMWT I know it is I’m just a bit scared of flying(that is until I get on the plane and then it suddenly becomes the best thing on earth)

[@Nuclearbpmb]

@@soroushm2498fly China southern much better!

[@soroushm2498]

@@Nuclearbpmb I though so

[@yitoproductions]

Do you ever NOT fly to Dubai? Literally almost every video of yours is you going or coming from Dubai. 🤣

[@n3wt]

i been wondering that to

[@peterzhou372]

As a Chinese who used to live in the US, is about to move to Europe and say farewell to China for good, I’ll have to say that Chinese carriers are NOT putting their main focus on following up with international standard. They prefer to cater to the Chinese market in terms of foods, drinks, crew’s interpersonal skill, language skill and so on and so forth. No matter how much they try to internationalize their product, they can never really look into the needs of any non-local premium travelers and their products often end up leaving a lot to desire. China Eastern is actually my least favorite Chinese carriers and I would prefer China Southern any day.

[@weixiongshao-e3u]

I also prefer China Southern Airlines

[@nemoshu7119]

All Chinese airlines (except some low-cost ones) use the exact same ticket management system developed by CAAC, which explains why they usually come quite rigid and the awful ticketing and check-in experience is shared between most Chinese airlines out there as the CAAC system mainly focuses on domestic flights.

[@gbuddah]

Honestly I'd take this, and any other business class, over economy ANYDAY

[@GodsVlogger4326]

I live vicariously through you with the flights. I would love if you reviewed westjet business class.

[@NonstopDan]

Thank you! Hopefully one day soon 🙏

[@goldsilvertravel]

The reason they close the blinds after lunch is that most Chinese people have a nap after lunch - employers even allow for it (or at least they did when I worked in China.) About not speaking English, there will always be at least one crew member who is fluent. Remember that a lot of Chinese people cannot speak English, or if they do, they get nervous when approached by a native speaker. Also entertainment on Chinese airlines is often "safe" and family-friendly. I found Hainan Airlines to be the best Chinese airline, but China Southern was also OK.

[@jillian1573]

I flew in economy from Singapore to Incheon, Korea b2b and it was absolutely the worst, from the lack of respect for passengers from the stewards to an overall lack of presentation when service came in for food. I wish I had better things to say but overall my flight with them was a disappointment.

[@pmarmify]

China eastern is good. I was asleep in business class & they placed a blanket on me. They held my breakfast ready for when I woke up

[@ziranxu6296]

Dan literally chose the worst-rated major airline in China💀

[@Sunasura]

You will get better treatment if you are ranked lifetime platinum in a airline. I wanted a seat in a completely full flight so they kicked one person out for me, because I was a lifetime platinum member

[@aaronweaver4553]

I love the lounge in Shanghai. I always thought it was like “geez, relax, Australia!”

[@newportsteve2203]

I've flown from NYC / Boston regularly to Beijing and Guangzhou in Business Class on China Southern, Hainan, and Air China. They're all... a bit of a mess. Hainan was the most luxurious, while Air China was the easiest to deal with. China Southern is a different kind of challenge and I don't recommend it.

[@22petie]

Idk, the emphasis of the lack of English just rubbed me the wrong way. You’re going from Asia to the Middle East- regions where English is not the main language(s). Yes I understand it’s the lingua Franca but the whole frustration with it just reeks of entitlement. Just my opinion

[@bigguy3636]

So what's the language then? What if I'm an Indian? Pinoy? Indonesian? Can you speak these language? Cause they definitely don't speak korean/mandarin But I'm pretty sure 90% of international travelers from those country all understand basic english. If you can't handle international business then don't enter it

[@BlueGamingMinecraft]

I do understand what you’re saying. However, I will say that English is the standard for aviation (pilots are required to be fully fluent around the world) and it’s become a norm for airlines to have at least one English speaking flight attendant.

[@jorgeadelprado]

Not a native English speaker but if you run an airline between countries then your staff needs to speak English.

[@kenchen704]

The best Chinese airline was Shenzhen Airline based and named after my home city. Nice airplanes, super nice crew, good pilots, affordable tickets, tasty on board meals too, and then they got bought by Air China and I honestly don’t know how good they are anymore.

[@Omagatsuhi]

Shenzhen was good when I took them to Harbin. The food is a little bit mysterious though and they don’t cater specifically in domestic routes. They did recognize my star alliance frequent flyer class and the attendant kept checking on me in economy class (hard to book their business class on a domestic).

[@brian402]

Pretty hopeless if the plane was about to crash,you'd wouldn't get any help from that 2nd flight crew who don't speak any english.

[@bbunkey]

I don’t remember ICN to PVG being 2:15 long, I remember it was more like 1:45

[@fabiobras5721]

Currently almost all Chinese airlines are flying A330 in their international flight as they’re flagship aircraft are flying domestic due to “covid”.

[@composimple364]

Not Juneyao, Xiamen and Shanghai. don’t have A330

[@j123-x2r]

Nah Air China flies a plenty bunch of 777s and A350s, China southern flies A350s and 787s as well. But sadly no 747s yet.

[@AirbusA--si4kw]

@@j123-x2rAir China has started resuming their international 747 services a few weeks ago on their Beijing-Frankfurt route

[@beaniedewitt]

I remember on China Air, passengers in economy had to specifically find a flight attendant and ask them for water. On a 15 hour flight. I have never been so dehydrated in my life lol

[@totesgene]

I don’t understand the desire of wanting to keep the window shades open. There’s literally nothing to see at 38,000 feet and the sun blaring in disturbs other passengers.

[@warbler1984]

You can above the clouds...something people in the Middle ages could only dream of

[@AscendedMP]

ok, the thing is, you're flying on the older aircraft in china eastern. might try some of the more modern aircraft next time

[@istaburg2578]

what microphone are you using for recording this ...are you using any mixing equipment ? the sound quality is very good

[@dorskien]

Great vid Dan! Only thing i'm asking myself is how doing an 180 and sleeping on your belly would help the sutiation! 😂

[@GGG24293]

There are plenty of airlines in North East Asia. Chinese Airlines definitely are not my first choice. They acquired hundreds of modern airframes these years but just can't keep up with even very basic maintenance. In contrast, CX's 20yr+ A333 with retrofitted cabin delivers way better onboard experience

[@Nadia1989]

The special menus situation is concerning. I, like many, don’t have a choice - the wrong menu can trigger an episode. If I were in a long haul flight and I didn’t get the meal I requested I’d go nuts. Thank your for highlighting this issue.

[@sissiwzx]

As a Chinese, I have to say the only good thing on Chinese airlines is the free wifi. Service is mid and foods are bad. Do try China Eastern A359 business though, it's in another league.

[@bbot16]

In the beginning of the video, you talk about how airlines in SE Asia can turn around planes quickly, but you never provide the why. Is it ground operations efficiency, customers board and deplane more quickly, less cleaning, etc.? Thanks!