uakmoraj13

Review of the above flight. The Air China Flight is code shared with Air NZ direct to Beijing and vice versa.
You cannot use the Air NZ counter or self check in to check in.
The FAs are in inexperienced and violate aviation rules. An example was not enforcing the seat in front to be upright during meals and drinks service. Placing a notice on the toilet(out of order) and only staff using it by lifting the chrome metal on the door and opening it. (the secret way to open the door from the outside) The FA dragging the trolley with 1 hand down the aisle while bumping the passengers arms and not noticing.The pre flight take off of passengers wanting to swap seats and taking up seats of people who have not boarded. I also noticed on both flights that non Chinese passport holders were seated in the last cabin on the aircraft at the back!
If you are think of using the Air China direct fight to Beijing (code shared with Air NZ) I would only use ifs its super cheap. Be wary and read the airline reviews online. Only 1 in 5 were happy. I new this before boarding but the flight was cheapest at short notice.

sbiddle

Can't really comment on anything else but this is how pretty much every codeshare in the world (I say pretty much because I'm sure somebody will point out an exception if I say every!). You always check in with the operating carrier, not the ticketing carrier.

I've flown Air China a few times between HKG and PEK and was pretty happy with the experience.

cavemanzk

Only exception I could think of would be the LH Group, we're the whole group tends to share the home carriers check-in.

Xiaotung

As a regular on the CA's SYD-PVG service, I can say what the OP experienced is pretty much the norm on Chinese carriers. They are still a long way away from being reputable global airlines. With most of their long haul pax being Chinese and they don't seem to care, this is not going to change anytime soon.

That said, I do get to pay usually less than AUD$500 for a return flight which is safe, on time, have the ability to check in 3 pieces of bags as NZ*G, get to use the NZ lounge, and earn APD/SP, I am not sure if I want to complain.

ace86

Not sure why you think you would check in with Air NZ instead of Air China?
Aviation rules do not dictate you need to have your seat forward during meal service - you just need to ask the FA to ask pax or politely ask yourself.
It seems normal for More chinese to be in the front cabin - could be large group bookings & ability for Air China frequent flyers to get preferred seats in front cabin.
This is not a very good review. I suggest you look at other reviews for format instead of having a whinge.

kiwicyclo

Try flying UA in Merica as a *gold ..... back of the bus / middle seat, 14 flights like that in 23 days. Filthy planes and grubby bathrooms.

drajknox

Is Air China enforcing cabin baggage limitation?

�This item must weigh no more than 5 kg (11 lbs). First and Business Class passengers may bring up to two pieces of carry-on luggage, together weighing no more than 8 kg (17 lbs). Each piece of carry on must be no larger than 55 x 40 x 20 cm (21 x 15 x 7 in).�

Xiaotung

As always, NZ website usually gives you inaccurate information when it comes to their partner airlines.

https://www.airchina.com.au/AU/GB/in...ry-on-baggage/

Each First Class/Business Class passenger can carry two (2) pieces of carry-on baggage, with each weighing no more than eight (8) kilos (17 lbs.). Each Economy Class passenger can carry up to one piece of carry-on baggage that weighs no more than five (5) kilos (11 lbs.).

CA don't usually check your carry on bags unless it's the airport that checks it. CA uses QF ground handling at SYD and they used to weigh your carry on bag when you check in. You just take some stuff out, have it weighed and put stuff back afterwards. They no longer bother now.

akl_cat

If you are NZ*G (or *E for that matter) you could try to ask for a better seat at check-in. Last month when I flew on CA784 booked as NZ3889 I could not access my booking online or request a seat in advance through their call centre. When checking-in I was given a seat at the back like the OP. However when I asked for a bulkhead seat stating my status and the fact I booked on the NZ-code share, I was sent to the Supervisor's Desk. There I was given the first row of the Y cabin for free. I'm not a Chinese passport holder either. YMMV though.

oranjemakker

Has anyone flown business class on this flight? Whats that like?

grabaflyer

I've booked on this flight return to PEK, i've read that koru members can access the lounge when it's ticketed on their flight number, does anyone know whether it's still possible if it's Air China's flight number? It is still a codeshare, but considerably cheaper than Air NZ

akl_cat

No lounge access for koru if booked as CA783/784. However if you book under the NZ code there is lounge access in both AKL (NZ Intl Lounge) and PEK (CA Biz Lounge).

akl_cat

Have not flown in J on this route but have done so on a similar route (PEK-SFO on a 77W with the same J class seats as the 789s).

Seat: J seats are 180 deg lie-flat but have an annoying 2-2-2 layout which is very squeezed for a 789. Also, window seats have no direct aisle access. I was in A and had to jump over the passenger seated B to get in/out. Comfort wise, unlike the NZ J seats which flip over to form a truly flat bed, the CA J seats recline to form a bed and you can therefore feel the uneveness of the seat cushioning.

Service: Polite but highly standardised and programmed. As I am so used to the semi-casual style of NZ, the cabin crew on CA came across as a bit impersonal but I really couldn't fault them for that - just different corporate cultures.

Food: Heavily weighted towards the Chinese side. Nothing to write home about. Beverage-wise some mid-tier French wines and your usual spirits and beer options.

Entertainment: The system was a bit clunky but the range of options was great. The other notable downside was they only switched on the system an hour or so into the flight, only to disable it again an hour before landing. Movie got cut-off which was annoying. Not gate-to-gate as it is on NZ.

Overall it was a decent enough flight but you might be disappointed if you are expecting NZ-level J hard and soft products.

TPJ

We flew PEK-AKL last week.

IFE was switched on gate-to-gate.

Food was good, I had Western supper and Chinese lunch.

Soft product was good.

The far was significantly lower than what other airlines are charging, so overall we are very happy campers

mmonster

thanks, can I ask were you on J?