Hi all,

I travel to China a bunch, but have actually never within China flown on a Chinese airline. I'm traveling within the country (Beijing to Harbin) and I'm wondering what Chinese first class air travel is like? Is it comparable to US FC? Can I expect a bigger seat, any other perks? The flight is about 2.5 hours, so I think a few hundred extra bucks for FC would be worth it if service is like that of US carriers. Anyone have any experience? I'm traveling on Air China, I believe.

Thanks for any help.

I know others will have FAR more experience than I do here, since i've only done it once. I for some reason, was op-uped on an half full flight to Shanghai a few years ago on Shanghai air. The seats are indeed far bigger and there was priority boarding. Don't remember the meal (I was either asleep or it wasn't memorable).

One still gets a meal or some sort of food in short haul domestic Y in China so I'm sure the offering in F will be better. Service was typical (ie. indifferent, but not mean).

Limited experience with a couple of Bj to Shanghai, Shanghai to Guangzhou flights. I fly business class (and often there is no first but a combination first/business) and on domestic chinese airlines, that means you get to sit in the front, get a slightly larger seat and slightly better service. It's better than sitting in the back but don't expect the type of service on most inter-asian business or first class seating/service.

Flew that route before on China Southern. Pretty much like DTSM says above.
Is it worth double the price of an economy ticket..? Same question would
apply to US domestic short hauls.

As a result of the advise of moondog and seveal others on FT, we booked first class on China Eastern for a flight from Shanghai to Beijing this past May. The service was outstanding! Wonderful lie flat seats, multi course delicious meal (for a 2 hour flight!) and superb wines. For us it was worth the additional money!

IIRC China Southern flies md82 this route and Air China 737s.
Basically two class plane.

In my experience, the ground service is greatly improved and that is what makes it worth it to me.

Beijing to Harbin should only take you about 1.5 hours, not 2.5 hours.

If you fly from PEK, Beijing Int'l Airport, I would suggest Air China rather than China Southern. Air China fly this route with new B737 and/or A320, and China Southern do it on old MD82/90.

The first main difference b/w F and Y in China, is the waiting area - you will get lounge access in PEK, not much fancy stuff, but quiet. But do not expect priority boarding, the ground staff never understood how to arrange that. When you arrive at the queue, just ignore them, walk straight to the front and wave your F boarding pass to the gate staff, they will let you get onboard first.

Second difference is the service, as many already said. On a 737/320, you will get the cabin supervisor and one dedicated staff serving 8 F passengers, comparing to 3/4 serving the rest 150/160 passengers.

To me (not for everyone), the third plus point is the food. Food in F is eatable, and I will ignore anything served in Y.

There is a special airline China United Airlines (in old days below to the army), now part of Shanghai Airlines Co., fly from Beijing Nanyuan Airport (still a army base) to Harbin once a day. If you stay in a hotel towards south or west of the city, I would recommend that - you will avoid all the traffic to PEK.

They only have Premium Economy class, with larger seat but Y class food. But if you fancy something special, that airport is very interesting.

Finally, Chinese F class is only 50% more expensive than a normal Y fare. So I would recommend it to anyone travel to China. I normally do about 60 domestic flights in China every year, only do Y class if F seats all been sold out (on certain routes, they are so popular!). My employer changed direction this year, I probably only will have 20 domestic flights in China this year, not enough miles for my China Eastern and *A cards.

Enjoy your trip!

Looks like it's worth the extra $200 -- thanks for the help. ...and yes, I was looking at Harbin-Shanghai itineraries when I said 2.5 hrs, PEK-HRB is just 1.5. I'll let you guys know how it goes

Yes if you pay full fare for Y. If you get 50% discount, which is not that difficult,
then F would be double the Y fare. Its such a short flight..of course it depends on who's dime its on.

Unfortunately from this side of the world, booking a discounted Y fare is very difficult. In the past, I used Ctrip, but payment always been an issue. I just don't have that much cash in RMB, I mean I am talking about 20-30K RMB just for domestic flights for each of my trip (sometimes involves colleagues as well).

And, at this side of the world, corporate travel agent plays a big role in travel planning. Officially, we have to put through every single journey through them. And they always only capable to provide full Y fare, plus 30 pounds commission charge for each domestic flight!

Now I ask my friends in China reserve F tickets for me before I travel, and I pay on my company credit card once I got. To be honest, even with the 50% premium for F fare, the overall cost actually is cheaper than Y fare through our travel agent. Madness, isn't it? But we have to live with this. That's why there is no reason I would go for a Y fare in China, even with discount.

Hmm, I guess it depends what kind of credit card you have. I just booked a flight on Ctrip.com and payment went through without a problem. Maybe they've improved this in the process of growing into the leading Chinese travel agency for foreigners?

(Of course, their website is painfully slow half the time...)

Snic, do you find Ctrip.com to be the best site for booking tickets? I have been using them and eLong to do research on flights but haven't booked or really compared prices too much... is that my best bet for a bargain fare for a good seat?

My employer was paying, so I wasn't really looking for a bargain. And I bought a refundable, endorsable ticket, which is certainly no bargain. I chose them because they have a good reputation, and by and large they lived up to it. I had to call them a couple of times to sort a few things out, and as long as I called during daylight hours (in China!) I got an English-speaking agent who provided good service.

The drawback is that after I changed the date of my flight, the itinerary wasn't updated on their web site. They assured me that the airline has my updated itinerary, but I can't get a formal-looking printout of my flights (just their very informal e-mail).

That's my experience - but I've only used them once.

My experiences with domestic first class in mainland china has been better than that which I receive in the US.

Automatic lounge access along with first class security check (UA, AA, Delta all don't do this), and the previous poster is right just skip the line during boarding and hand them your first class boarding pass. Granted, the lounge might not be as fancy as LF's F int'l Departure terminal at FRA with massages, gourmet cuisine, and porsche chauffeur to the plane, but its still a nice place to relax, have a drink, and check your e-mail before the flight.

Plus, now with CA being a member of *A, along with Shanghai airlines, I can get all the *A privileges and miles credited to my account, which not too long ago no chinese airline was a member of ANY alliance.

And the seats are comparable to US domestic first class, but the service is better. Drinks are refilled with out asking, and I was explaining that I was hungry when asking for another roll, and the FA saw when I was done with the main dish, she brought another whole main course out for me!! Even on flights of 45 min or so they will still serve something like a fruit plate or something of the sort.

I also like, as a young man, that the FA's aren't 65 yr old women who I think are going to fall over when they bent over to pick up my glass (cough cough AA) but all these sweet cute chinese girls.

When purchasing I just look at the price on the Air China website, and just go to any travel agency office, even a few days before the flight i need to book departs (as fares don't fluctuate as they do in the states, and seats are almost NEVER sold out, in F or Y) and pay the same online price (its all gov't regulated in china anyways, so prices b/t different airlines are pretty uniform) plus like a 20-30 RMB (US$3-4) booking fee from the travel agency, and im on my way.

Overall, if you've managed to read to the bottom of my post, I find it just so much less of a hassle flying here in China than I do in the states. I flew in the states not too long ago and the people (airline staff & other pax) were just so rude, airports dilapidated, overpriced, being nickeled and dimed for anything and everything, and just left me with a foul taste in my mouth. and not from their horrid food.