China has 1.3+ billion people. That's a big market for *A. Is CA really any worse than US, UA, etc...? Not really.

I fly on CA all the time, and they always speak English. You really have problems with FA's not knowing English?? I fly in China every week and they always speak English to me. I just flew from Yuncheng the other day to Beijing, and they spoke perfect English. Chinese tend to have a problem understanding non-native speakers so that could be it.

Chinese service sucks, but everyone knows that. Chinese don't really go out of their way to please foreigners these days. Look at the difference in service between JL and CA - it's that way for just about everything in China.

Honestly, I'm always happy on their domestic flights. They always give you a (bad) meal, which doesn't happen in the US. Their seats are basically the same as the other *A airlines. Stop complaining. They don't charge you $25 for a checked bag. That is the worst thing ever.