travelinmanS

Perhaps this is the wrong place to post this but I'm guessing it's the most cogent place; why are 3 of the top 10 airlines in the world not deemed worthy of their own forum or at least an "airlines of China" forum? Is there really more interest in Air New Zealand or Asiana than in CA, CZ or MU? Or is it a language issue with most Chinese airline passengers frequenting Chinese language forums.

Just curious, so anyone with insight into the inner workings of FT please feel free to reply! Also if this is really the wrong forum please move to the correct one.

exwannabe

What counts is not the size of the airline, but the interest in them within the Flyer Talk population.

Obviously this board is dominated by English, so you will see more interest in US airlines, other English speaking countries, and the EU (as they are closely tied, regardless of language).

I have seen a definite uptake on threads related to MU, CZ and Ca though. So maybe it is time for a board of China based airlines. If it includes BR and CI, I think it would clearly have more interest than many other boards.

TPJ

I recall threads on e.g. CZ or MU on DL forum. I would think continental China airlines should have a separate forum.

s0ssos

You answered it right there. Nobody on FT believes Chinese airlines are in the top 10 airlines of the world. Bottom, maybe.

Bub001

WOW! I mean...WOW?! From recent experiences with NZ, UA (that I rank ahead of NZ on hard product for domestic), TN, B6, VX, and SA, comparing with CZ internationally in Business (or US domestic first), CZ comes ahead of all except SA, which it is behind, but largely for cultural reasons (Chinese airlines are making progress on food and beverage to Western flyers, but they're not st 5 star yet). When price is taken into account for premium cabins, CZ is now my preferred option for long haul. All my travel is self-funded so I have to think carefully about bang for my buck. I cannot speak to the other 2 Chinese airlines, but CZ has given excellent service and value for money.

travelinmanS

I was obviously talking about size of the airline/passengers carried rather than service levels. If service levels were the main criteria for having a forum there would be no UA, AA or DL forum on here. All three Chinese big 3 airlines offer better experiences for the passenger than the big 3 American airlines these days. You should give them a try if you get a chance. They have improved markedly in the last 5 years.

TennisNoob

They gave EVA it's own forum. Last time I checked, EVA was not the majority on the "other asian airlines forums".

simpleflyer

China has a billion people, at least some of whom must surely know how to start a website. Is there really no such chinese website?
Because it is a reasonable assumption that chinese flyers want to read publications in chinese, not english script. Websites are like newspapers and magaziines in that regard

Jiatong

as a HU gold， sure like the int. and domestic service they have.
Hainan flies quite a few 787 s.

Chinatrvl

I guess you answered your own question.

For detailed information about CN carriers and airports (as well as China-specific hotel promos), I use flyertea.

At FT, there not much value add for frequent flyers in China; except abundant threads about the same topic (Carry-on limits, Anyone taken MU lately, TWOV, flights are always late...) and some anecdotes by the American community that is the majority of FT.
If I need advice or information, I go to flyertea and don't bother checking here or replying to silly questions for the 100th time. Same applies for chain hotels in China.

That said, dedicated forums may attract a better community.

s0ssos

I don't get what you're trying to say. You are comparing domestic to international? Jetblue and Virgin America fly domestically and to the Caribbean (which is not classified as international by some airlines, for some odd reason). Are you talking about SA domestic? Are you talking about CZ domestic? Oh, wait, you are talking about CZ international.
If you want to talk about price for premium cabin then wouldn't Scoot business class be the best deal? A completely lie-flat bed for cheap?

s0ssos

I have flown MU recently. Only a few passengers tried to stand up when the plane landed, instead of a dozen. So yes, they have improved? The international flight didn't have personal TVs, just like United, so I guess they have caught up.

I don't think "top airline" usually refers to passengers carried. It is like saying United is one of the "top airlines" in the world. You obviously have a preference towards Chinese airlines, but if you want to be understood you can say "3 of the 10 largest", which is the commonly used way of describing passengers carried/operations. If it is "obvious" you wouldn't have to explain.

tris06

I do think FT should become more world based. The chinese aviation community is increasing in size as well as foreigners flying through China or working/visiting China.

My parents about 6 years ago dropped Qantas and Cathay as their preferred option to fly to Europe. They only fly business class on flights over 8hrs.

While CX and Qantas will demand 8,000Aud (4,000 Aud for premium economy) for return trips they are now flying CZ every year and paying as little as 4,500 AUD for business class which is pretty close if not the same as CX business class.

Gradually customers are willing to try them and finding the service is okay for the price they are paying. I would say its not a question of if will happen in CZ,MU,CA and CI getting a new forum or individual forums but when it will happen.

Kevin Liu

I don't understand this either ....
Certainly there are more post regarding each airlines in TW and China here than South Africa or Copa ....

moondog

Every time this topic has come up to date, I've been of the opinion that the "other" forum is a good enough home, and this is still my position today. I fly Chinese airlines often so information about them is certainly useful to me, but I don't think any of them have outgrown the "other" forum yet.