I created a TR thread about my first experiences with Spring Airlines (9C) several years back:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...1st-tr-ft.html
I haven't flown them since, though I hadn't ruled out flying them either. But, I did it again today (SZX-SHA), and want to post a few tips that could save others a bit of hassle:
1. I found out I needed to fly SZX-SHA less than 24 hours ago, and all prices on Ctrip were I, which I was cool with. But, at about 9p last night, 9C flooded Ctrip with Y830 fares on all 5 of its flights. That's still more than what I usually pay, but thinking something was up, I went to their own website, and learned that their price was actually only Y550... a big enough savings to warrant attempting to use it
2. I subsequently learned that, while their Chinese website works fine when paying with Chinese credit cards, their English website is an atrocity; here's how to play it
a) Create an account BEFORE making a booking... you need an account to book tickets, and creating accounts midway through simply doesn't work
b) Choose a transaction currency other than CNY
-I know all of us are trained to transact in the local currency whenever possible, but this actually IS NOT an option (even though they make it appear to be)
-Don't waste any time arguing this point with the Spring people because they've been programmed with dogma that will make your head spin
-When using USD, my total price was actually cheaper than the CNY total price because they didn't hit me with the mandatory insurance
3. The first two rows on Spring flights now feature very generous pitch (they claim up to 39")
-they only charge (on my flight) Y35 extra for these... naturally these seats were all taken, but this is a complete no brainer use of Y35
4. There were 30 minutes of advertorial broadcasts during my flight today
-bring ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones
5. Only about 10 people on the flight bought the onboard meals (which, you order when booking)
-they smelled pretty good
-I liked the fact that the smell of 150 awful meals didn't permeate the cabin (the norm with other Chinese airlines)
-even though they try to get you to preorder water when booking, bottled water was free (perhaps because it was 35 degrees on the tarmac in Shenzhen, and they didn't want people having heat strokes under their watch)
6. I got a chance to watch the baggage handlers load the cart upon arrival at Hongqiao
-I'm not sure if they were Spring employees or not, but I was very impressed by the gentle/orderly way they handled luggage
-And, my bag beat me to the belt (fairly common in China, but is still a nice thing)
7. I would fly Spring to Hongqiao again, even if the price was the same as MU, ZH, FM, CZ, etc, simply because I like arriving at T1 (10 minutes closer to town)
-I haven't tried them from Hongqiao yet, which I'm guessing is an awful place to spend a delay (the building is seriously beat up these days)
8. As for longer flights like BKK and TYO, I'm open to it at the right price. However, I'd probably want some sort of meds to endure 4+ hours in those seats
9. The in flight exercises brought a smile to my face (very high participatioin rate); next time, I'll try to grab a picture