Advice - Business Class to Beijing
 

Planning a trip to Beijing for a week in February. I will be leaving from Boston, but realize I need at least one layover. Looking at the options, these seem to be the best options in business class:

• United from O'Hare (Boeing 777)
• Continental from Newark (Boeing 777)
• Air Canada from Toronto (Boeing 777-300ER)
• Air China from JFK (Boeing 747)

Delta could also be an option from Seattle, but it is somewhat less convenient than the others.

Any feedback in terms of quality of business class? Air China seems to be viewed negatively in these forums (plus I'm not sure how useful the miles are). I would prefer a flat or close to flat seat.

Air Canada looks appealing, but is there a downside of going via Canada (customs, baggage, etc.)?

Thanks for your help.

What about a United 747 from SFO? The 777s out of ORD are the old crappy 150 degree seats whereas the 747s have all been retrofitted with nice bed-seats. It's certainly not bad but it's not a great product either. F&B aside, I've been perfectly happy flying on the 777 exit row to PEK as I have in the C cabin.

I can't speak for the other carriers' products as I haven't flown them. I have on multiple occasions heard that the Air China TPAC product isn't half bad. I've only flown them domestically, though and that's a different experience I hope.

I've done the CA flight JFK-PEK once and it was nothing special - the IFE is lacking a bit compared to AC. I'd probably take the CA flight to get AsiaMiles but AC's is probably a bit better overall.

Maybe hop a quick AA flight to JFK and catch a CX-KA flight if you want a great experience :D

How about CX (though that would be two transfers), ANA, KE, Asiana etc? The service will be far better than western carriers, though I don't know if any of them are in Boston...

CX is a poor choice IMO because, apart from the extra stopover, you need to spend an extra ~6 hours in the air. In fact, NYC-HKG often overflies PEK.

In this case, if money is no object, then I'd advise the OP to go with AC (guaranteed flat seat) as long as the connections are nice. CO would be my second choice (good food and maybe a flat seat). I have a hard time recommending UA because: 1) ORD-PEK uses an old plane; and 2) BOS-SFO is 6 hours of unneeded discomfort.

That having been said, if money is a consideration, I would include double connection options, which are likely to be on better airlines and much cheaper.

AA should also be a single-transfer option, through ORD.

I didn't mention them because I figured the OP wouldn't care for their crazy schedule (he dismissed DL via SEA for this reason).

It's actually not that bad if you're terminating in PEK and connecting in ORD. The early morning arrival in ORD means a whole day's worth of options. Of course the J seat is the weak link.

Wow, I went to bed and woke up with such great feedback. One of the major considerations is arrival time, so that I can spend the whole weekend sightseeing in Beijing. This effectively ruled-out DL and AA (plus the European carriers). CX is out partly for the same reason, plus I couldn't justify on an expense account the price being triple all of the other carriers.

Based upon this, it seems like a choice between AC and CO. Both are equally convenient from Boston. I'm thinking of going with AC based on it seeming like a safer-bet based on the feedback (guaranteed flat seats, etc.). Never used their miles program, hopefully they will be useful in the future. Any issues with customs and checked baggage with the layover in Toronto? Hopefully 2 hours is enough time.

Only can speak of Air Canada and Air China.

If you are looking for confort, it is not comparable. Air Canada is better.


I do the YVR to PEK 3-5 times a year, alternating (both Star Alliance) the two carriers. Once pick Air China because of convience of landing times but if timing was not important, always pick AC due to onboard entertainment options.

If you speak and understand Chinese, Air China's entertainment maybe better.

Flown UA and AA First Class, feel AA is better, UA FA tend to gather and chat all night they never did move...

Both airlines treat you great...

AC (along with CO, UA, CA, OZ, and NH) is in Star Alliance so you can credit your flights to any *A FFP.

If you want advice on this, I suggest you start a new thread (maybe in the *A forum) after you get your ticket.

Continental is also guaranteed flat bed, with all its 777-200 converted.

I believe you don't need to go through Canadian immigration anymore at YYZ with their new terminal setup.

It's a tossup between the two, and you can earn miles on either airline on all Star Alliance FF programs.

I fly BOS-PEK a few times a year, always on AC because I have status with them and can usually get upgraded. Customs is painless in YYZ; there is a special desk with a cursory check; bags are checked through. No real reason not to go with AC

Thanks everyone for your tremendous feedback. Sounds like AC is the right choice.