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Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong

Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong
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Hi guys,

Booked flight tickets for Christmas from Heathrow to Beijing and then from there to Hong Kong as it was the cheapest. I usually fly with Cathay Pacific where in my opinion, its very luxurious and have no problems. I have never flown with Air China before and noticed it has recieved quite bad reviews online. Therefore I wanted to ask has anyone actually flown with Air China, particularly the Heathrow to/from Beijing flight, how is the service and your overall experience?

I have also read that from October 2014 (I am flying after this), this flight from Heathrow to Beijing will have Airbus A330-200 instead of the current Boeing 777. I don't know much about planes but I know the Airbus is smaller, is this plane better by comparison?

Thanks,

Hong Kong, China
Level Contributor
2,329 posts
151 reviews
189 helpful votes
1. Re: Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong
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If you're travelling in pairs, the A330 can be good as the seats are usually 2x4x2.

As you've already booked Air China, I wouldn't bother looking at reviews-- you'll only be disappointed! They are not at the same level as Cathay, that's for sure. However, to make your trip more bearable, make sure you have your own entertainment as a backup (the PTV entertainment seems very skewed to mainland Chinese preferences, not a great selection of English language stuff) and be prepared for some terrible food, especially ex-China. Perhaps it's better from the UK. So perhaps pack a few snacks just in case. As a vegetarian, my meals have invariably been a few mushrooms in some kind of brown gloop sauce with plain rice.

Cabin crew's English is not always up to scratch, either.

Hopefully you will have some great flights with them, but just be prepared that they will not be to the same standard as Cathay. Hope you enjoy HK.

Portland, Oregon
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37,406 posts
7 reviews
16 helpful votes
2. Re: Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong
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I can't comment on CA long haul, but I've flown them a few times on China domestic flights, including HKG-PEK.

Domestic service is okay. As bimdonesia says their English is limited but the flight attendants are pleasant. The food is okay but not spectacular.

One issue you may have - and I've had this several times including HKG-PEK - is that Chinese airspace is controlled by the military, and they can impose long delays, particularly on domestic flights. So don't be surprised if your connecting flight sits on the tarmac at PEK for an hour or two.

Bangkok, Thailand
Destination Expert
for Bangkok, Air Travel, Thailand
Level Contributor
16,382 posts
62 reviews
240 helpful votes
3. Re: Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong
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Hi,

I agree with #1..

Having flown CA numerous times both regionally within Asia as well as long-haul (SFO-PEK) I would say that they're not "bad" at all. It is, in my opinion, that they suffer (if you will) from a few things.

1) As a standalone carrier, they're relatively new. That newness does tend to mean their staff - ground or otherwise, may not have the same depth of experiences as a new(we) employee will.. This doesn't mean the staff are bad- they're not.. But at times, experience can really help out and positively impact a situation.

2) They operate in one of, if not the most, competitive regions for top-tier carrier.. Asia has more than it's fair share of top ranked/rated (however you choose to rank/rate them) airlines.. So the "bar" in Asia is set quite high.

Again, like the experience issue, this doesn't mean they're bad - they're not... But when compared to what some rank as "best in class" they're not (yet) in or of that caliber (IMHO)

Delays... Yes, the PRCs airports do suffer from an unusually higher percentage than other regions.. But in most cases, these delays are airport /airspace issues to which I can't place any "blame" if you will, on the operating carrier.

Would I recommend them? Yes... At the end of the day, you'll get there.. Probably on-time or reasonably close to it.. You'll probably have an uneventful ride... Get a bite to bite and drink (it won't be memorable, but it will be decent to good) along the way.. And get your bags back.

So.. I think you'd have a good basic ride.

Travel Safe,

4. Re: Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong
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Thanks for the advice and your opinions. Yeah hopeully should be a pleasant journey, I'm travelling with 2 other people so ill try and book the seats in the middle.

But now the only thing I'm wondering is as I have to take a connecting flight from PEK to HKG, what if as suggested, it gets delayed from Heathrow so I miss my connecting flight, the airline should compensate and put me on the next flight right?

London, United...
Level Contributor
97 posts
42 reviews
46 helpful votes
5. Re: Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong
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Hello,

I flew with Air China to Hong Kong via Beijing. I was worried as well, but the flights were absultely fine. Don't expect much in terms of service, it's simply transport from A to B. The food was edible, limited drinks choice and not an impressive AVOD.

The price I paid was ridiculously low, so have no reason to complaint.

Edinburgh, Scotland
Level Contributor
11,643 posts
6. Re: Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong
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<<= The price I paid was ridiculously low, so have no reason to complaint >>>

Nice attitude, you should visit more often ;-)

This is the "rant" forum, didn't you know? Saying nice things about something cheap is rather out of place

Melbourne, Australia
Level Contributor
2,256 posts
26 reviews
11 helpful votes
7. Re: Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong
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If it's one ticket t they will put you on the next flight

The delay people were talking about is in China due to the military

8. Re: Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong
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Was just checking the flight status' for the last few days with Air China, it seems all their flights are always delayed either between 30 minutes to 2 hour delays, some flights have even been cancelled so I'm really not expecting much.

My flight arrives in PEK at Terminal 3 and then I have 2 hours 50 minutes (if its not delayed) to connect to my flight to HKG at Terminal 1. I have checked the PEK website about transferring and it seems like there are quite a few steps: http://en.bcia.com.cn/guide/transfer_i_d.shtml . From PEK to HKG, its an international flight transfer to a domestic flight right? Also has anyone transferred from PEK before as I'm reading it takes about 160 minutes minimum transfer time so if my flight arrives on time, I would only just make it.

It also said to claim the baggage but as the connecting flight is Air China is well, it will automatically transfer to that flight right and I don't need to take the luggage and recheck in?

Hong Kong, China
Level Contributor
836 posts
257 reviews
172 helpful votes
9. Re: Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong
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Have tried HKG-PEK-MUC with CA due to the huge cost difference (even cheaper than the Middle Eastern airlines). Not all their widebody planes have PTV entertainment, but even if they do, the choices are limited. Bring your own device and load enough to sustain the long flight.

Food ex-China is horrible at best. Should be normal flying out of London as catering is done locally.

Don't expect crew to be able to converse much in English. Try simple words on them rather than long sentences.

My biggest issue is with the behaviour of the passengers. On my long-haul leg, the plane smelled as some passenger decided to let loose his infected feet out in the open. Some would get up and walk around even when the seat belt sign is on, things like that. But otherwise they will take you from A to B safely. You will most likely get delayed leaving China, but long-haul flights get priority clearance from air traffic control so hopefully it's not so bad. This is not an Air China problem, but an issue across the entire aviation industry in China.

On the return LHR-PEK-HKG leg, the LHR-PEK flight with CA was overbooked and they put me on CX with a huge compensation as well. Guess the EU rules are quite harsh on them even though I got a far better deal in the end.

Hong Kong, China
Level Contributor
2,329 posts
151 reviews
189 helpful votes
10. Re: Air China - London Heathrow to Hong Kong
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Yes, good points about the delays. Not Air China's fault, a Chinese military thing.

I know bad passengers are not restricted to just Air China, but hkg2009hkg's experiences are not uncommon, unfortunately!

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