pianotraveller

Just flew my first China Southern flight this morning, PEK-HKG.

I was the only passenger in the forward cabin on the A321, and around half way through the flight noticed a strong smell of cigarette smoke coming from the front galley. The only people in that area were the crew, so I'm assuming it must have been someone from the flight deck taking a ciggy break... Is this normal on CZ?

Apologies if this is much discussed common knowledge, but I'm relatively inexperienced when it comes to flying Chinese airlines. It's the first time I've noticed this on any airline, and certainly haven't been aware of anything like that on China Eastern or Air China.

dfs24

Happened to me on a couple of flights. Have yet to experience it on their widebody fleet through. Latest was in Feb this year, CAN-SIN on a 738. Crew taxied right past the assigned gate, stopped abruptly for a long time before going one round to get back to the gate. Makes me wonder what they were smoking.

Experienced the same with, TG (once), MH (once), VN (many times) before. I cannot really remember but I think MU also.

moondog

This is very common in Asia.

longliveKA

Haha!

You made me remember a similar scene in CCS about 1 or 2 month ago.
A GOL 737 taxying past the gate at high speed while the ground handling guys kept jumping up and down and running after the plane to attract the pilots attention. Pity I couldn't make a video!! the reaction of the ground crew was hilarious :-))))

TennisNoob

There hasn't been a chinese flight I've been on that is longer than 3 hours that didn't have any cigarette smell coming from the front.

EzzerBKK

Hear hear. It's absolutely terrible in affecting the general comfort level (esp to those sitting up front) and not to mention a huge potential fire hazard.

Really gets on my nerves, that practice.

TennisNoob

Lol Ikr?

I pay more than anyone else, or maybe not , to sit in the front and I have to deal with what those don't in the back?.........

I doubt there would be a true fire hazard though since I'm sure there ready for any fires but it's just unethical.

You get paid to serve passengers and make them feel comfortable. Especially those in the premium cabins

moondog

Until ~1990 smoking was permitted in passenger cabins on nearly all commercial flights, and no planes crashed as a result.

Letitride3c

Any FT's who flown on some of these carriers, especially within their "home" region in CN and Asia shouldn't be surprised - and, also on TPAC runs - those that smoke would definitely feel the urge once the doors are closed & cross-check for takeoff.

From one of the Wiki sources - "China is the world's largest tobacco producer and tobacco consumer. It is home to one quarter of the world's smokers and they consume a third of the world's cigarettes"

Risk-wise: as long as they aren't chain-smoking, getting it all into the recirculated cabin air, I've much rather think that they were smoking out-of-sight in the gallery with the curtains drawn than the flight crew doing it inside the cockpit with all the avionics around them.

Second hand smoking is a health risk. Not saying it's right and that applicable laws aren't broken / passenger's rights being breached - I still have vague memories of those 707's and 747's with the smoking section & arm-rest ash trays in the 1970's and early 80's.

djk7

Very few planes crashed, anyway:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varig_Flight_820
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Canada_Flight_797

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

It's not so much the smoking, but the disposal of the cigarette that is the hazard.

Passengers sneaking a cigarette are potentially the ones to endanger the aircraft because as they attempt to hide the evidence they may not have ensured it is properly extinguished.

Crew have no such pressures.

Yes smoking appears to be fairly common on Chinese carriers. But I can report that both my recent Air China flights of 10+ hours seemed to be smoke free (I was in the second row). Although it wouldn't have worried me one way or the other (except I might have wanted to join).

alphaod

If you're curious on CA, MU, and CZ, the smoke detectors in the lavs don't actually work.

TennisNoob

Even the new 77w's?

They looked legit to me the last time I spent time looking at it lol

IceTrojan

Please please... stop it... I already have enough reasons not to fly mainland China airlines.

moondog

The practice is common on almost all Asian airlines (i.e. no need to single out the PRC airlines).