Ethiopian Airlines check in staff made a pigs-ear of my check in process. First they claimed I'd missed the flight (my ticket said 2335 on 15 Dec, they changed flight to 0010 on 16 Dec, but claimed that as my ticket was for 15 Dec my booking was invalid). They proceeded to re-issue me with a new ticket a (for the 0010 fight on 16 Dec), but then also tried to change my connecting flights by one day - even though they should remain the same (in effect the flight was only put back by 35 minutes, so why change a booking for connecting flight by 24 hours?). Fortunately on arrival in Shanghai, air china check me onto the correct flight. However, to compound matters, my luggage has gone missing and, bizarrely, Ethiopian airlines issued all foreign passengers with landing cards for Japan - not China!
The Crew woke everyone up in the middle of the night with 5 hours to go to serve breakfast. Should have let people sleep and served breakfast with 1.5 hours to go.
Crew was friendly, about as expected for the cheap price
No vegetarian option, in flight headphones were useless, can't use phone AT ALL during flight, gate was changed without warning (no announcements over the PA or notices posted that it was changed)
Had to get off Korean air in Seoul & go thru terribly bogged down customs, just to transfer & continue on another Korean air plane - both ways! Barely made it to my 2nd plane even though I practically ran thru the big airport after the customs delay - both on my way to Hanoi & on my return. Got to Vancouver & only found out by accident that my checked bag would NOT be transferred to my Seattle flight, even though my tag clearly said to pick it up in Seattle. Had to disembark, claim my bag, then go thru the departure procedure at Vancouver all over again, with 2 customs checks: enter Canada, re board to U.S.
I really appreciated getting a meal on the plane despite the short two hour flight. I've always liked flying Korean Air due to their cleanliness, presentable flight attendants and good customer service.
The only thing I seemed to have a problem with was the volume and clearness that came out of my headphones. Although the headphones were provided by the airlines, the volume came out a little unclear and kind of scratchy. Other than that, everything was great.
Flight attendant made my glass of water and starter fall down. She gave me a dessert extra (!) as a replacement and promised to come and clean it up and to bring a new cover. She never came. Eventually, I asked another attendant who put me in another chair and cleaned up.
During the flight, NO water was distributed at all. Normally, this is done every 1-2 hours.
Good service, very pleasant cabin crew and a very smooth 787 flight. Good food.
For a modern plane the seats are very hard on an eleven hour flight Having flown China Southern before on this route I brought along a memory foam seat squab this time!
Very impressive is the transit hotel accommodation provided free for transits over eight hours.
That every single southern china air flight was delayed, which nearly caused me to miss my other flights on the way back. When we were on the plane they didn't even tell us the flight was going to be delayed, we just sat on the plane for an hour twiddling our thumbs. No reasons given, will not flight southern china again
Food was better than most. The crew was nice. The flight departed promptly.
The touch screen didn't work, and the bar below the chair that one can step on couldn't hold itself up, and I constantly had to reposition it. The audio port of the seat next to me didn't work either. The plane definitely needs a renovation.
The service was pretty good. I only had an hour to board my next flight, so flight attendants moved me up towards the front of the plane so that I could exit earlier than others. I was able to make it to my next flight.
There was a 3-hour delay after all the passengers boarded. We were all sitting inside the plane without any explanation. At first, the captain blamed airport for not giving any updates on their departure, and a flight attendant that I talked to blamed the local temperature, which was a total nonsense. Later the captain announced that there was an issue with the engine.
My layover was supposed to be 4.5 hours, but it got cut to 1 hour due to the unexpected delay that they had not clearly explained. I had to run to catch my next flight. When I got to my final destination, I found out Air China did not transfer my bag on time, so I had to file extra paper works in order to receive my bag two days later.
The crew was friendly, kind, and efficient. I received curtious service with a smile. They even left me a note while I was sleeping, rather than disturbing me. When I awoke hours later, they still happily brought me food and drink!
My main complaint is the quality of the seats. They recline decently, but are some of the hardest, most uncomfortable seats ever. This, in my opinion is unacceptable for such a long flight. On this same trip I took 45 minute flights with 5x the comfort!
The staff were great with my dog(golden retriever) really helped me... Also the service overall was fantastic best journey I have experienced yet travelling to China and I have lived here 8 years so probably 100 flights
Punctual departure, early arrival. Cabin crew was very attentive. Plenty of drinks to keep hydrated. Lots of movie and entertainment choices.
Seat cushioning was worn out...not so comfortable for a long flight. Limited leg room. Unless you were seated at the beginning rows of the food service, there was only one food choice left. Also ran out of snacks for the back rows.
The only positive thing was that the flight was on time.
Cabin crew was largely absent. The seats were small and there was no legroom. The food was mediocre, but edible. Alcoholic drinks were limited to a red wine, a white wine, and beer, none of which were good.The bathrooms were quite dirty, though that is more a reflection of the passengers than of the crew.
The attention I got in coach was as if I had flown first class. The ladies were always smiling and very prompt if I needed anything. They were friendly and it made the trip doable.
Wish the bathroom was cleaned a little later in the flight. After many uses it was looking rough.
Loved the comfort of the A380, the big seatback t.v screen even in economy class & the on time flights for the most part. (Of the 4 flights I took, 3 were on time departures, and only one arrived late). The ground crew at check in were always incredibly helpful at LAX, ICN & BKK as well. I loved that they always confirmed I had a special meal request & willingly accommodated my seat request as well.
Limited entertainment to choose from. (Please try and mirror the amount of entertainment Cathay Pacific and Emirates have; especially for Bollywood films). Also, the cabin crew had very limited English proficiency & it was difficult to understand their English P.A announcements at times. In addition, please note that cauliflower isn't the only vegetable an AVML can be cooked with. There ARE other vegetables to choose from. Also, the fish in the SFML smelled strange. Please revisit the menu for both meals & try to be a bit more innovative with the taste.
China Southern's economy seats are spacious for legroom and seat width and the entertainment system is well stocked with movies/TV shows/music. Some entertainment systems will also com with a USB port to charge your device (if it's allowed to be used). All seats come with pillow and blanket to keep you warm throughout the flight.
Any mobile devices that can be used as a cell phone are not allowed to be on or used while on board the flight. This includes mobile phones in flight mode (China Southern explained to me that this is Chinese law), so don't expect to do anything with your mobile phone which means you're basically using their entertainment system. They will stop and tell you midflight to turn off your phone.
Food was horrible, no soap in the bathrooms, and boarding/deboarding in Guangzhou was a test of patience. Having been through Guangzhou twice, despite there being multiple gates for planes to pull into for arrival, they'll always deplane you to the tarmac where buses will be waiting. They'll then drive you to an arrival's terminal where you're forced through a long line that leads to a China Southern desk for them to stamp your boarding pass to wait for your next flight. This line was 30 minutes long for our plane alone and increased as more arrived. Boarding was the same where you get on a bus, stand for 10-15 minutes while they drive you to a plane that was for whatever reason was attached to another gate that no one had access to and you've climbing stairs to board again.
The airport itself is devoid of many food or coffee shops and what's available is expensive and of low quality/taste. Expect to see endless construction, many unclean bathrooms where the toilet seats don't even fit the toilet they've been attached to, and lack of soap in the bathrooms.
Is there enough space? No choice of meals- only fish with rice (I hate fish); drinks served ONLY during drink service time (don't bother asking for one because that's what you'll hear); no personal entertainment center (6 hour flight with no movies); and Shanghai Pudong Airport absolutely sucks. The airport has spotty Wifi, terrible restaurants with worse service, and what kind of country doesn't allow Facebook!?! Pay the extra $100-200 and avoid this airline and airport.
The stewardess were very complimentary . Always made sure your needs were met. Smooth flight not too much turbulence, even with some bumps i still felt safe
For the entertainment there weren't enough choices of movies.
We’re not the seller.
At KAYAK we don’t set the prices, so it’s not possible for us to guarantee what other companies are selling.
We compile tonnes of data for you
Our service lets you quickly and easily compare results from hundreds of travel sites at once. In this sense, KAYAK is a search engine and we can't guarantee prices we find.
Why aren’t prices accurate 100% of the time?
Prices on airline seats, hotel rooms and car rentals can change frequently. Several people may also be trying to buy the same travel option simultaneously. As a result, you may find, on occasion, that certain prices are no longer available.
If you have more questions or if you have a bad price to report to us, please send us an
email
and someone from our team will get back to you promptly.
¹
Hacker Fares sell tickets to/from a destination via different airlines and are subject to the booking
requirements and terms of each. Any changes made to one of your tickets will not necessarily afford
rights to change the other ticket. Fares change frequently and are subject to availability.
International travel may require proof of return flight.
Air China
American Airlines
Asiana Airlines
China Eastern
China Southern
EVA Air
Korean Air