eggzlot

I'll make this brief as I am not a professional blogger. But I would downplay any concerns flying China Southern. I recently booked award flights in business class (both legs) for JFK > CAN and then CAN > CHC.

The service on the JFK > CAN was a bit more "business" if you will, not much small talk, attendants getting their jobs done, etc. I noticed the quantity/plating of food varied a bit but in general if you asked for something you got it. Dishes were cleared quicker when moved to the side arm rest vs on the main platter (culturally I think they find it rude to take a plate away from you which is why I saw people putting it to the side and it got removed ASAP). They never approached asking if we needed anything but they had a snack/drink bar open the entire trip and if you hit your flight attendant button they were at your seat ASAP to offer help.

On both flights my wife explained how she likes iced tea and both flights made her iced tea at all meals and when she requested another.

the CAN > CHC flight the attendants were overly nice. I am a 6'3'' mid 30's male and they would not even let me put my bag in the overhead, they ran over to do it. They were always asking us if we needed anything else, etc. So a bit more accommodating than the first crew but some may prefer the more efficient/quieter crew from the first leg.

I did like the 777-300 ER business class better on the JFK > CAN flight. CAN > CHC is operated by the 787 but business class is 2-2-2- configuration - luckily we had the middle seats so easily aisle access for us. But on the side seats aisle access can be a bit tougher if someone is sleeping and the window seat wants to get out.

I booked these using Delta miles for 97,000 a ticket one way (flew home out of PPT > LAX > NYC using AA miles) and felt it was a fairly good deal. Finding 80k business class seats to New Zealand is tough and though these were 97,000, there was an 8 hour layover in China so we used the 72 hour visa policy to have a quick pit stop with dinner in China, so that was worth a few extra points as we have never visited China.

IFE was fine - was surprised to the amount of movies in English (not dubbed/subtitled). I had my iPad filled with content as a backup but there were enough quality movies in English.

Lastly, ZERO smoke smell in the cabin. And my wife has a great sense of smell and if she smelled smoke, it would have been a very long flight if you know what I mean....

If you want good award availability (or from what I hear strong USD pricing for cash purchases), an efficient crew, clean plane and a comfortable seat I would highly recommend CZ. It may not be fancy like some of their Asian rivals, but sometimes someone is more interested in the destination vs how they are getting there and they just want something comfortable and dependable and to me CZ checked those boxes. The routing was perfect (allowed for almost zero jet lag), award availability great, etc.

robbbbb

Glad you enjoyed your flights. Welcome to China.

AJCNL

I really don't know why people have concerns flying CZ, they are not in the very top league, but offer a perfectly decent product. I have found them reliable, the staff try to do their best, and yes, the service does have a 'Chinese' aspect to it, good and bad.

knit-in

Flying CZ J, booked via DL (80k Skymiles) from SYD to CAN, then on to DEL. Four hour layover. I see you made no mention of the lounge in CAN. Did you use it at all?

eggzlot

yes used it briefly. Since we had about an 8 hour layover we took use of the 72 hour visa transit policy and left the airport for a few hours. We got back and used the lounge. downstairs they had some tables set up to eat at - and a food bar with some snacks, a few hot items (some chicken, pork, vegetables, etc) and someone making soup. Basic soda, water, beer, wine, etc.

Upstairs they have more individual couches and it is a bit quieter. it was full downstairs so my wife and I took our plate of food upstairs and sat and at there and it was fine. Wifi connection was stable. Maybe we spent 45-60 mins here then we left.

Like the plane and its hard product, its not world class and worth a trip unto itself, but its clean, efficient, space was not an issue (i was also there at like 10pm at night) and there was enough various foods to service most tastes.
@AJCNL - I agree, I felt fine booking it but after I booked and read some mixed reviews I was a little worried. As a non travel snob, I like business class because of the leg room/sleep ability - they can serve me $5, $50 or $500 champagne and I would not know or care :-) Give me a decent meal and a comfortable seat with leg room at a good price (cash or points) and you have me as a customer. For people like me, CZ is more than fine. If you want to sip Dom and get a pajamas and some fancy chef inspired meal, maybe find another airline. To me air travel is to get to the destination, not the main event itself. Too many bloggers make the air ride the show. The destination is the show!

AJCNL

Absolutely. For me the most important things in long haul business class are the ability to sleep, to have some privacy, to be able to relax in comfort. Using Flying Blue points CZ C class is excellent value.

divrdrew

Thanks for the great overview. I'm flying that route to get to SIN in June. Have a couple hours on the outbound, but on the return plan on using the 72-hour free visa to spend a couple days in CAN. For me, the most important is the hard product so I can sleep. Food is important, but I don't care about caviar, expensive champagne, etc. As long as it tastes good and isn't overly greasy / fried / etc I'm good to go. How was the lounge in CAN?

eggzlot

seat was comfortable. food had options of Eastern and Western and nothing was overly greasy or fried.

the border control for the 72 hour visa was not really well defined. we saw a line starting to form somewhere so we asked someone and she smiled and said wrong line but she gave us a form to fill out, and once we did she walked us over to a lobby/seating area that was not clearly labeled though on the wall in a non descript area you see 24 visa and 72 hour visa, but it really just looked like a waiting room out in the open. and she talked to some guards on our behalf. it was a back and forth and took 2 attempts but finally we were let into the country. our issue was since we were delayed 1 hour inbound and sat on the runway in CAN for about an hour, by the time we got to the guards it was less than 8 hours until boarding, but more than 8 hours until our flight. they say 8 hour minimum, but I guess its not clearly defined if the 8 hours is based on boarding or flight departure. So a little back and forth but we got through.

I gave a brief review of the lounge a few posts above:
"yes used it briefly. Since we had about an 8 hour layover we took use of the 72 hour visa transit policy and left the airport for a few hours. We got back and used the lounge. downstairs they had some tables set up to eat at - and a food bar with some snacks, a few hot items (some chicken, pork, vegetables, etc) and someone making soup. Basic soda, water, beer, wine, etc.

Upstairs they have more individual couches and it is a bit quieter. it was full downstairs so my wife and I took our plate of food upstairs and sat and at there and it was fine. Wifi connection was stable. Maybe we spent 45-60 mins here then we left."

AJCNL

Just to add they have shower rooms upstairs too, just ask one of the staff upstairs and they will show you to one when available.

fbcooper

Thanks for the review, i will be on the jfk to can route in april and the internet had practically no reviews one way or the other about the flight. Happy to see you said it was a good experience.

one question if you dont mind, did they say anything about phone usage on the plane?

eggzlot

if not mistaken I think they are still anti phone on CZ. My wife and I each have tablets and we used them from gate to gate with no issues or questions during take off or landing. There is no wifi on the plane. so use of a phone long term on that kind of flight, minus music, is likely not too important. Again I thought their IFE selection in English was good - I had downloaded a bunch of movies and TV Shows to our tablets as a backup but we did not use it once. In comparison, we flew Air Tahiti home - very poor English entertainment options. That was a late night flight so we slept into JFK.

fbcooper

haha thats exactly why I use my phone too for tv show and movie backups or chatting on whatsapp. Its still so surprising that business class on every flight doesnt entail free basic wifi that allows chatting and social media.

eggzlot

The JFK to CAN plane does not have Wi-Fi. Can’t offer something for free if you don’t have it to offer.

ghfatw

fbcooper

Thanks for the heads up, i am on the 1:30 am flight back to jfk. Do you think i I will have enough time to make the 1:30 flight if I am connecting from a flight from singapore that lands at 00:15 at CAN?

edit: Just read that terminal 2 is opening up on April 26th, my flight is on may 7th