The last time I flew Air China (circa 2002/3), I ended up with an exit row seat on their 744. To be honest, I barely remember the smaller details of the flight (food, seat, ground crew, checkin), but I do remember that it wasn't as horrible as people think. I do remember joking with my sister that the admittedly green flight attendant must have been a maid in her previous live because she must have cleaned the each bathroom every 15 min.

I didn't think the service was any better or worse compared to the majority of my domestic flights. The aircraft? Granted the 744's were quite rustic, but then again other planes that fly from SFO to China aren't all that much better from what I recall. A lot of NWA's planes are pretty much in the same shape as Air China and I hear United's 744's are also getting pretty shabby in the back. Yes there maybe some communication problems in English, but it doesn't affect me since I do speak Chinese. I do recommend that you bring your own entertainment. Then again, what did people do on flights before AVOD?

Overall, I'd say it's a mediocre airline and by far no Singapore Air, but it's not as bad as people say. Bottom line: the flight was non memorable. My analogy would be to think it's similar to a very long coach transcon on a AA 762. It gets you there, but with no frills.