Great thread idea! I take at least 2-3 flights a month on Chinese airlines and sometimes substantially more. My rankings of the big 3 parallel my rankings of their respective home cities.

MU/Shanghai- is definitely the best of the big 3 much as Shanghai is the best city in mainland China.

CZ/Guangzhou- is a happy and try-hard airline that offers some quirky but kind service and generally has the best food. This is similar to its hometown of Guangzhou, a nice city.

CA/Beijing - A much more rigid affair with more pedestrian comforts in coach and biz seating wise. I don’t enjoy the city of Beijing at all and avoid it as much as possible. Although I don’t mind CA, I will avoid it when other options are available.

I honestly can’t tell the difference between FM and MU so I don’t understand Moondog’s rating FM so low. The experience seems exactly the same to me regardless if the plane is MU or FM.

I like HO for its good pricing of biz class seats and I’m looking forward to flying the new 787s they have.

I hope to never fly Spring.