Palal

I've been to both. One takes an hour by subway, the other is 30 mins away. Both are fine. There is an express train from the further away one that runs 5-8 times/day making few intermediate stops, but the difference is maybe 20 mins at most.
Neither is anything to write home about - large new Chinese airports.

Sydneyberlin

We are back from our super exciting China trip and I finally got a moment to write up my promised review of all the Domestic air travel we did. It’s VERY detailed but hopefully gives some good info to others!
We found our airline (and airport) experiences in China overall absolutely stunning. I think a lot of Chinese don’t give air travel enough credit or a chance to prove itself as it was overall rather fabulous, especially when compared to the US or short haul Europe. We on purpose tried three different airlines (Hainan, Sechuan and Air China) and found clear pros and cons about them all, though this is obviously based on just 3 flights. While definitely not representative, some of those differences felt rather systemic so I would now know which of these airlines I’d recommend the most. We flew all three legs in Business but you’d have to work hard to talk me into flying in the back of the bus in any country I fly. And close to the date, all three of those flights were rather affordable, definitely cheaper than what you’d pay in the US or Australia, at least.

I’ve read a lot about plane delays, supposedly rude security personnel at Chinese airports, how average the lounges are supposed to be, and how bad the food on board is. NONE of this turned out to be true! All three flights arrived early rather and looking at Flightradar data, this seems to be much more standard on Domestic Chinese flights than in many other countries. Our priority tagged luggage actually came out on the luggage belt amongst the first on all three airlines, which is something I’d love to see elsewhere but rarely do (Qantas- listen up!). I would say that generally, VIP really meant tangible benefits on these domestic flights in China- efficient VIP check in, at most airports a separate VIP security lane and while all three flights arrived on remote stands (which is one of my pet hates, usually), on all occasions the terminal busses were not only waiting already but they also had comfortable separate busses for Business class travellers. None of the annoying being stuffed in with the back of the plane and no space to breathe, which is typical in these instances in places like Heathrow or Frankfurt. Security staff in particular ranged between disengaged and super friendly and they all spoke at least basic English. Definitely more friendly and efficient than the shouting and growling you often get at airports in Europe or the US (I got plenty of rather unpleasant experiences I could talk about on both those continents). On departure in Beijing, my partner accidentally left one of his cabin bags at check in and we only noticed AFTER we had cleared security. I used my finest (but still basic!) Mandarin to explain the situation and not only did a lady from security explain to us that we’d have to leave and then re-enter through security again but she even escorted us all the way to the one back exit where we could get back out into the check in area. Try to get this level of service elsewhere! We found the bag and all went fine but were mostly amazed by so much care for our predicament.

Now about the three airlines:

Hainan:

I’ve heard praise for them before and can definitely agree that they’re a whole step above the other airlines I’ve flown! I had carefully selected a flight on one of their 787s with lie flat seats (not that it was needed on a two hour flight!) and we were totally blown away when entering the cabin. While a bit of an older style flat seat in 2-2-2 config, the decoration of the cabin looked absolutely amazing (see picture)- we felt like walking into a Chinese tea house or something, loved it!




Hainan also not only offered slippers (which they all did) but also eye masks, ear plugs and even glass cleaning wipes for our spectacles which I’ve never seen anywhere else! We had two rounds of hot towels (again, Qantas, listen up- you can barely manage one on much longer flights, typically), a very welcome printed menu in Chinese and English (this was the only airline offering this) and several meal options for this short flight including two Chinese and one Western meal. Again, none of the other airlines we tried offered such choice, plus Hainan also offered a decent selection of both white and red international wine- we had a rather tasty Bordeaux with our meal which was regularly topped up. The meal itself was tastier than it initially looked and so we were overall super satisfied with this flight. The crew were also fantastic, both in overall competence/service AND with the added ability to manage us westerners with ease. I’d give a 10 out of 10 and I’m usually a harsh critic when it comes to flights. However, I could really not fault them in the slightest!

Sechuan:

The aircraft this time was an A350 with reverse Herringbone seats in 1-2-1 config which I thought would be better than Hainan, but it wasn’t. The seat was the most basic reverse Herringbone I’ve ever flown in and we had issues with the video screens and the usually awesome outside cameras did both not work at all, such a shame. The cabin also looked much more sterile than Hainan, despite the panda print on the cushions and the super cute livery on the outside.




However, staff was still extremely friendly and tried their best, and although they definitely had the least English skills of the bunch, my little Mandarin however sufficed. Slippers and two rounds of hot towels were offered here as well but, rather disappointingly, no printed menus or even choice of main - what you got was what you got. No wine either on Domestic routes, just beer which after the initial cold can, seconds got served luke-warm: yikes. Then the big surprise: The meal, consisting of little plates with different Chinese delights, was actually super nice! We both agreed that taste-wise, it probably even bet Hainan but we were definitely lucky that all the choices were edible and not too scary: None of the infamous Chengdu rabbit heads thankfully and no seafood either- it was veggies, tofu, pork and I believe beef with the spicy Tofu being absolutely delicious!

Air China:

I had been warned and while still pleasant, this was definitely the weakest of the bunch. It also was a narrow body A321 which of course is not the same as other two planes with lie flat seats but I knew this beforehand and have specifically chosen this to get to experience the flashy new Chengdu Tianfu airport, rather than the older airport closer to the city. And it was definitely worthwhile- this airport is jaw droppingly amazing and the Air China lounge also was worth the trek out here. The flight itself was a bit meh though we still got slippers, hot towels and at least they had one type of (Chinese) red wine which was surprisingly drinkable. Two meal options were offered, fish or pork and while choosing the pork, we couldn’t help but think that this was definitely the blandest and most uninspiring meal we had.


Still not horrible though (and they had yummie garlic bread as a side which is always a winner in my book) and service friendly and efficient, until it stopped about an hour prior to touch down, which was super annoying but seems to be a Chinese quirk (as are the funny air routes that zig zag back and forth in the skies to avoid military airspace- also something rather unique!). Another oddity on this specific flight was something that I’ve otherwise only observed on some Middle Eastern airlines- this flight had plenty of crew, I’d say about double of what Western airlines would use on a two class A321. However, it was always the one lady who served everyone, and the youngest of the males was the only one who would sometimes bother to help out. The other three men, all a bit older, seemed to think it was beneath them to, you know, do their job, and rather spent most of the time chit chatting with each other in the galley while that one female flight attendant was run off her feet trying to serve everyone. One does not need to be a hardcore feminist to, at a minimum, “question” such a share of workload!


So there you go. In ranking order:

1 Hainan: Fantastic all round

2 Sechuan: Delicious food, otherwise a bit boring

3 Air China: While not horrible either, it would be the least recommended one out of the bunch

mlin32

Yeah honestly, I had better experiences flying in China than some places in Europe and every place in the US. Throw in the fact that I am of Chinese origin (and speak mandarin), the customer service was really good. I really think China has come a long way in getting rid of the old clichés.

Better than airports in third-world countries like FRA or JFK.

Sydneyberlin

Hands down agree- feel free to add LAX, LHR and SYD to that statement! And my Mandarin skills are rather basic, plus I don’t look Chinese so I always receive surprised looks when I start speaking it.

Was honestly never an issue and I rather experienced quite a few sweet moments when people noticed that this white guy can speak a bit of their language!

Palal

Thanks for the trip report. 3U and HU are much better than CA. Given that all of these are state-owned, they're not worried as much about squeezing out every ¥ from their passengers. On-board experience tends to be good - there is always a fresh stream of university graduates willing to work as flight attendants for a few years, so the airlines get to pick whoever they want to hire.
Lounges are also ok, though not great. Security tends to be efficient (just like any processes that are involved in getting through as many people as possible).

I'm also glad that you didn't experience delays or IRROPS. I have to say - US airlines are still the best when it comes to re-accommodation during IRROPS. I was flying from Hainan to northern China last weekend and EVERY SINGLE FLIGHT was delayed because of ATC en-route delays (read: poor ATC management) due to weather in southern China. Flights destined for southern China - 12-14h delays, en-route delays for other destinations - 1-2h.

Sure it's not 2012 and the military doesn't just randomly close airspace, but still when delays happen - they are BAD.

At some point, many different companies in China will go through the same type of optimization that European and US companies have gone through in the name of efficiency, but for now they can get away with some perks and inefficiencies - partly due to low labor costs, partly due to being SOEs.

mlin32

Isn't that true for any place though ? Look at what happened to Emirates last week......

And Europe is the same. If the wind blows the wrong way at AMS, the whole day is ruined. The US is just one ATC hiccup away from an accident, given the close-calls that happen seemingly every week.

Sydneyberlin

I tend to agree- EK is just lucky that it’s usually good weather over there!

The real question is usually what happens once there are widespread delays and I can’t comment on that in China. How quickly do you get re-booked on another flight, how do they accommodate you over night if needed, what’s the airport experience like in the meantime? I’ve experienced different airlines handling this very differently and sometimes it differs from occasion to occasion even.

travelinmanS

I still can’t believe that Sichuan Airlines has an A350! How could they possibly need that?

The guys you saw on CA standing around chatting were probably the security officers assigned to the flight. They are like the air marshals in the USA but a lot more conspicuous.

IluvSQ

Yes, I was about to say the same thing. Security officers - sometimes in uniform, sometimes not.

moondog

So, they can send them to Seattle, Dallas Fort Worth, Detroit, and San Francisco, of course! All part of the plan.

Sydneyberlin

And Auckland even, apparently (as advertised on all their collateral). But, as I’ve said, they don’t really make good use of those beautiful birds, maybe the cute panda liveries aside.

Buggy IFE, broken outside cameras and the probably most uncomfortable and bare bones Reverse Herringbone seat in J that you would have ever seen (actually the ones AA flies are arguably as bad or worse). Just look at that worn out plastic-y faux leather seat I’ve posted up thread- definitely not what I want to sleep on during a trans-Pacific flight.

Palal

IT systems are horrible. It's very difficult to get rebooked in real time when delays happen. Every rebooking requires a painful ticket reissuance.
The only time I've had a smooth rebooking is when it was plain vanila - airline ticket stock, proactive cancellation, etc.

When it's a rolling delay (we're delayed 30 mins, then another 30 mins for ATC/wx, then 2 more hours because the flight goes MX), difficult to get rebooked, unless the airline decides to rebook you. You also need to speak Chinese.

I've had a very scary incident, where there was space available, but because the ticket was a 016 UA mileage ticket on CA, they didn't want to touch it and it took many supervisors and a Chinese speaker who helped me to fix that. It seems that since then this problem has been fixed, and proactive delays/cancellations are now more easily handled in these cases.


For anyone planning to fly in China:
Be sure to check your itinerary at 6AM on the day of departure. Based on expected weather/ATC, they will proactively change departure times and readjust/cancel flights. Sometimes it's by a few mins, sometimes it may be by hours. If you entered a Chinese phone number, you'll get an SMS with the revised itinerary. The departure board at the airport will show the new departure time, not the originally scheduled ones, and it won't count as a delay. I've not had this happen to international flights, but for domestic flights in the afternoon this is quite common.

narvik

Great advice.
They also may change airports: "Your new flight departs from SHA at xxx." ....instead of PVG.

moondog

Booking with a travel agent (including online) instead of directly with airlines is the cornerstone of my preemptive delay recovery strategy. It's not always a panacea (e.g. monopoly route or you're booked on an abnormally restrictive ticket), but simply being able to outsource the problem to someone else is a beautiful thing in and of itself. When things go tits up on high volume routes, it's often possible to take any flight with open seats; TAs can facilitate this process. But, if China Eastern sold you your ticket, they're inclined to steer you towards other MU or FM flights.

narvik

High praises for trip.com.
They really seem to go above and beyond to make things right.