steveben53

I am seriously considering booking a Business Class seat LHR-PEK-HKG-LHR on Air China.

I have read some good reviews, some lousy reviews and some in the middle. I am not overly fussed about the food on a flight and I do not drink whilst flying. But I do like to relax in a comfortable lounge before a flight that does have a decent food and drink selection.

The quality of the IFE is not a major concern as long as there is something to watch even if it is just the map. I am not paying Emirates prices so I am not expecting Emirates style IFE.

I do like a degree of privacy on a flight and I do like a comfortable seat that turns into a bed that I can sleep in

Am I making a huge mistake even considering Air China for this trip

TennisNoob

How much are you saving in comparison to flying CX or BA? LHR-HKG

steveben53

i want to spend a couple of days in Beijing. The best part of £2K extra on Cathay

1353513636

You'll get a flat bed and not much more. It's 2-2-2 as well. Air China doesn't seem to care that its business class product is not competitive (it's truly mindblowing that they are installing angle flat seats in their brand new 787s). Also, if you're going to go for this, make sure to have a longer layover in PEK on the return as HKG-PEK flights are frequently delayed.

Cathay will be better seat, better food, and direct, so you save the risk of missed connection in Beijing. But might not be worth almost 3,000 pounds.

Lounges are fine. HKG you can access SilverKris which is very nice, the CA PEK lounge in my opinion is decent although if you dislike Chinese food you may not find much to eat. LHR you will have access to United Club & Air Canada lounge at T2 which are quite nice in my opinion.

djjaguar64

You'll be fine. Air China is good in Business.

TennisNoob

So Air China J or CX Y your call lol.

steveben53

done a lot of digging and have come up with a Cathay series of flights which suit my travel plans for just £400 more than Air China.

Its now a no brainer

Incidentally, if i include the side trip to Beijing, the ticket price is £1850. If however, i take exactly the same flights to and from Hong Kong, and dont bother going to Beijing, the ticket price is £2750 !

I will never understand airline ticket pricing

moondog

CX is a convenient/preferred on option on LHR-HKG, but this is not the case wrt LHR-PEK, so if they fancy selling tickets LHR-PEK, they need to price competitively. Most airlines price this way (e.g. google "hub premium").