Cabin

The business class was situated in the first two sections of the aircraft, finished in a light-purple scheme, and equipped with 2-2-2 almost-flat Recaro seats. I was placed in the third row in the front. Since the flight had a light load, there were two seats for each passengers. The seats were spacious with a nice pitch. I am not sure of the technical term but the rows were divided in a manner that when a passenger may choose to recline, the seats would move forwards at the same time so the space of the person behind would not be compromised. There were no dividers between seats so privacy and space may be concerns, especially if the neighbouring seat was not vacant. Duvets were handed out after the seatbelt signs were turned off, however they were not packaged or sealed in any way, this could be a potential hygiene problem. Two washrooms were accessible by business class passengers, no premium amenities were found. I did not make use of the IFE system, however available on the individual screens were English and Chinese movies, music, games, and moving map. To be fair, despite the setbacks, the seats were mighty comfortable, and I slept for a good six hours.

Food

Transcript of menu:
I had the Chinese choices for both meals, seasoned by spicy Chinese pickles, and washed down with the Californian red. The meals did not have the exotic, wow factor of say the Obento from UA, nor can they compare to the fancy Chinese delicacies from CX. However the food tasted fresh and homey, in the way that simple food with acceptable execution can satisfy, though not excel in this case. I would say the food was between fair to good. Fresh fruits and chips were offered as snacks.

Service

Three flight attendants were with the front cabin that day, and overall they did well. During meals they were attentive and quick with drink refills, and for the rest of the flight they came around several times to check on the passengers. Interactions were polite, and mostly conducted with a smile.

Conclusion

Air China is trying hard to catch the international premium market, their product is satisfactory however not top-notch. The downside of Air China is corporate decisions on their soft products. The previously mentioned duvet problem, their embarrassing amenity kits, and other important details hold the airlines back from being outstanding among international competitors.

Personally I would not mind flying with them again if there is a schedule or cost advantage, especially now that they are a Star Alliance member offering status miles and elite benefits.