Riding the Dragon - Sydney to Stockholm on Air China in Business
Feb 4, 2015, 4:22 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
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Posts: 1,022
Riding the Dragon - Sydney to Stockholm on Air China in Business
There doesn't seem to be a lot written on Air China and there is a long gap between my outward and return journey, so I'll write up this one way (outward) trip now to save you the wait.
This Trip report covers two Air China flights taken in January 2015:
CA174 - SYD - PEK - B777-300ER - Business Class
CA911 - PEK - ARN - A330-200 - Business Class
My previous experience with Air China was a bit of a mixed bag, but admittedly it was some time back (2011 to be approximate) and given their fares were extremely competitive I thought they were worth another shot.
My previous trip reports can be found here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...me-y-ba-j.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...tly-j-f-y.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-paradise.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-long-way.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...evitation.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...less-bird.html
This Trip report covers two Air China flights taken in January 2015:
CA174 - SYD - PEK - B777-300ER - Business Class
CA911 - PEK - ARN - A330-200 - Business Class
My previous experience with Air China was a bit of a mixed bag, but admittedly it was some time back (2011 to be approximate) and given their fares were extremely competitive I thought they were worth another shot.
My previous trip reports can be found here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...me-y-ba-j.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...tly-j-f-y.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-paradise.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-long-way.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...evitation.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...less-bird.html
Feb 4, 2015, 4:30 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: VA Platinum, SQ Silver, TK Gold, Hhonors Gold, Accor Plus Gold, Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Premium
Posts: 1,022
Ca174 - syd - pek - b777-300er b-2089
Scheduled 21:00 - 05:30
A friend gave me a lift to the airport and despite a rather long and boozy farewell the night before I arrived early at 17:50 and already there was a long queue at the economy check-in (over 3 hours prior to departure). There were two groups at business and a group with a lot of luggage at the first class checkin (that was incorrectly labelled as first / business).
Passengers appeared to be in the vast majority Chinese. My agent was a QF employee who went though a fairly leisurely check-in process and issued me with 2 BPs, a redundant lounge invitation and express path pass. (No mention was made of the temporary lounge location - until early 2015.)
One plus, the Air China check-in is very close to the express path entry to the customs area. The Express Path didn't help much tonight as there were very few flights departing at this late hour. I went straight to the Air New Zealand lounge before I realised it was closed but there was a sign on the door pointing to the temporary lounge which was very close, just two floors down, in an area of the airport I didn't realise existed before.
The new location is described in this handout which is available in the temporary lounge (which is a bit late!).
The temporary lounge is understandably much smaller, but was fine for this time of day. All the usual offerings were there, even the hot dog cart has made it's way down here. There is no champagne, but one of my favourite sparkling wines is available : Cave de Lugny Cremant de Bourgogne - Lovely and creamy. A beer went well with a pretty good green chicken curry:
WiFi worked well including some FaceTime video calls.
A friend gave me a lift to the airport and despite a rather long and boozy farewell the night before I arrived early at 17:50 and already there was a long queue at the economy check-in (over 3 hours prior to departure). There were two groups at business and a group with a lot of luggage at the first class checkin (that was incorrectly labelled as first / business).
Passengers appeared to be in the vast majority Chinese. My agent was a QF employee who went though a fairly leisurely check-in process and issued me with 2 BPs, a redundant lounge invitation and express path pass. (No mention was made of the temporary lounge location - until early 2015.)
One plus, the Air China check-in is very close to the express path entry to the customs area. The Express Path didn't help much tonight as there were very few flights departing at this late hour. I went straight to the Air New Zealand lounge before I realised it was closed but there was a sign on the door pointing to the temporary lounge which was very close, just two floors down, in an area of the airport I didn't realise existed before.
The new location is described in this handout which is available in the temporary lounge (which is a bit late!).
The temporary lounge is understandably much smaller, but was fine for this time of day. All the usual offerings were there, even the hot dog cart has made it's way down here. There is no champagne, but one of my favourite sparkling wines is available : Cave de Lugny Cremant de Bourgogne - Lovely and creamy. A beer went well with a pretty good green chicken curry:
WiFi worked well including some FaceTime video calls.
Last edited by sydunipete; Feb 4, 2015 at 12:57 pm
Feb 4, 2015, 5:02 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: VA Platinum, SQ Silver, TK Gold, Hhonors Gold, Accor Plus Gold, Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Premium
Posts: 1,022
Boarding commenced exactly as advertised at 20:30. Priority boarding was implemented. The interior of the plane was modern and spacious. The seats were 2-2-2 and were slightly offset as per the following seat map (B777-300ER, 3 class configuration):
https://www.airchina.se/SE/GB/info/a...boeing777.html
One FA opened the overhead locker for me, another scrambled some distance to take my coat and asked if any valuables were in the pockets (I guess that saves her searching through them for a tip!). Already I could tell the English spoken / understood was much better than my last trip.
Not long after settling in a hot towel on a China tray was provided then water / OJ / champagne. But, just like last time it was low tide on Champagne lake today also.
Newspapers were offered. Slipper, pillow, doona and amenity kit were already in the seat.
The newspapers were only Chinese : one in Chinese language, one in English and they were a few days old.
Push back at 20:53 (a few minutes early). The seat next to me was empty and business class was about 80% full. Take-off at 21:10 to the North.
Movies on the IFE were pretty limited and dated. You might have better luck if you like Chinese movies. This is not Krisworld.
After take-off several people moved around the cabin while the seat belt sign was on. There were 3 announcements "We are experiencing severe turbulence, do not move about the cabin" but 1. there was no turbulence and 2. people kept moving around the cabin. This, combined with the perpetual shining of the seat belt sign makes it hard to get compliance when it's actually needed.
I tried the slippers on and there was absolutely no way they were going to fit my size 15 feet.
The seat pocket was full of in flight magazines ec, but no dinner menu. There was no pre-dinner drink. The FA's came around verbally offering a choice of chicken and rice, seafood and rice or crab and rice then for second meal (breakfast) there was a choice of chinese or western. Then I was asked if I would like something to drink (no wine list or choices explained) then asked if I wanted to be woken for breakfast.
For the wine I asked for a French white and a glass of red wine appeared (maybe English wasn't much better after all). Throughout the meal service there wasn't a trolley or wine bottle to be seen. Everything was prepared in the galley.
The red wine as accompanied by a glass of water and a generous plate of nuts.
Amuse bouche was excellent:
Then another hot towel.
Entrée consisted of two dishes and salad and bread. It was also very good.
The main (I chose chicken and rice) was also rather good and tasty:
Wine and water were replaced, but only when the respective glass was totally empty. Each time the glass was taken to the galley, filled then returned. God if you don't like trolleys, bad if you want to check the bottle first.
Dessert (baked cheesecake) was offered from the only trolley I saw together with fruit and cheese options.
Meal service was finished by 22:45. It was generous and tasty.
I slept pretty well. The seat is very comfortable and there is sufficient storage and privacy. There wasn't much space in the cubby for my size 15s, but normal people would have no problem. The bed is about 192cms long.
Breakfast service started about 2 hours 15 minutes prior to arrival with a hot towel and OJ or water. Breakfast then came out all on one tray then real milk (not long life) was poured on the cereal from one big carton.
Coffee at the end was rather ornately presented with a small creamer:
40 minutes prior to arrival headsets were collected and about 30 minutes out the usual cabin preparation took place. The purser thanked us for flying Air China and FAs stood at the front of each cabin and bowed. I must say English announcements were hard to understand - even from the Captain - which is a worry.
In summary : the FA's were very diligent and hard working in providing an enjoyable trip. The seat is very good for 2-2-2, the food is ok, the wine adequate, the price is right but the long connection (for me at least) in Beijing is a bit of a drag.
Upon approach people were moving around the cabin long after it would be banned on other airlines. We landed at 04:56 and arrived at the gate at 05:01.
I then went through two sets of passport / boarding pass checks (very close to each other) then security as part of the transfer process and I was in the lounge at 05:40.
https://www.airchina.se/SE/GB/info/a...boeing777.html
One FA opened the overhead locker for me, another scrambled some distance to take my coat and asked if any valuables were in the pockets (I guess that saves her searching through them for a tip!). Already I could tell the English spoken / understood was much better than my last trip.
Not long after settling in a hot towel on a China tray was provided then water / OJ / champagne. But, just like last time it was low tide on Champagne lake today also.
Newspapers were offered. Slipper, pillow, doona and amenity kit were already in the seat.
The newspapers were only Chinese : one in Chinese language, one in English and they were a few days old.
Push back at 20:53 (a few minutes early). The seat next to me was empty and business class was about 80% full. Take-off at 21:10 to the North.
Movies on the IFE were pretty limited and dated. You might have better luck if you like Chinese movies. This is not Krisworld.
After take-off several people moved around the cabin while the seat belt sign was on. There were 3 announcements "We are experiencing severe turbulence, do not move about the cabin" but 1. there was no turbulence and 2. people kept moving around the cabin. This, combined with the perpetual shining of the seat belt sign makes it hard to get compliance when it's actually needed.
I tried the slippers on and there was absolutely no way they were going to fit my size 15 feet.
The seat pocket was full of in flight magazines ec, but no dinner menu. There was no pre-dinner drink. The FA's came around verbally offering a choice of chicken and rice, seafood and rice or crab and rice then for second meal (breakfast) there was a choice of chinese or western. Then I was asked if I would like something to drink (no wine list or choices explained) then asked if I wanted to be woken for breakfast.
For the wine I asked for a French white and a glass of red wine appeared (maybe English wasn't much better after all). Throughout the meal service there wasn't a trolley or wine bottle to be seen. Everything was prepared in the galley.
The red wine as accompanied by a glass of water and a generous plate of nuts.
Amuse bouche was excellent:
Then another hot towel.
Entrée consisted of two dishes and salad and bread. It was also very good.
The main (I chose chicken and rice) was also rather good and tasty:
Wine and water were replaced, but only when the respective glass was totally empty. Each time the glass was taken to the galley, filled then returned. God if you don't like trolleys, bad if you want to check the bottle first.
Dessert (baked cheesecake) was offered from the only trolley I saw together with fruit and cheese options.
Meal service was finished by 22:45. It was generous and tasty.
I slept pretty well. The seat is very comfortable and there is sufficient storage and privacy. There wasn't much space in the cubby for my size 15s, but normal people would have no problem. The bed is about 192cms long.
Breakfast service started about 2 hours 15 minutes prior to arrival with a hot towel and OJ or water. Breakfast then came out all on one tray then real milk (not long life) was poured on the cereal from one big carton.
Coffee at the end was rather ornately presented with a small creamer:
40 minutes prior to arrival headsets were collected and about 30 minutes out the usual cabin preparation took place. The purser thanked us for flying Air China and FAs stood at the front of each cabin and bowed. I must say English announcements were hard to understand - even from the Captain - which is a worry.
In summary : the FA's were very diligent and hard working in providing an enjoyable trip. The seat is very good for 2-2-2, the food is ok, the wine adequate, the price is right but the long connection (for me at least) in Beijing is a bit of a drag.
Upon approach people were moving around the cabin long after it would be banned on other airlines. We landed at 04:56 and arrived at the gate at 05:01.
I then went through two sets of passport / boarding pass checks (very close to each other) then security as part of the transfer process and I was in the lounge at 05:40.
Feb 4, 2015, 5:25 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: VA Platinum, SQ Silver, TK Gold, Hhonors Gold, Accor Plus Gold, Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Premium
Posts: 1,022
Beijing Lounge
No airport lounge is a good place to spend a long transit so I took Air China up on their offer of 4 hours in the airport transit hotel as part of my ticket. A week before I left I rang the Sydney office to make a reservation, but when I arrived I was told no reservation had been made. Sigh.
So a long transit in the airport lounge it was.
A quick scan of my BP allowed me in, then right behind you is the machine to scan your passport in order to obtain a WiFi key. Some things are best not thinking too much about. The key is good for 5 hours then you simply scan your passport again for another key.
FaceTime and What's App worked ok. FaceBook and google didn't. I also read an article saying VPNs were being clamped down upon, but I didn't test this.
All around the terminal are these posters:
"Connecting hearts" provided it isn't via FaceBook.
Am I mad? Going from this:
to this:
All day there was plenty of space (but it was a Sunday) and already my eyes were hurting from the pollution.
I asked at the front desk for a sleep room and was pointed towards the toilets. I guess sleep room and rest room are similar concepts but they do have small sleeping pods tucked away in a corner - maybe if I had persevered.
I swapped my boarding pass for a shower. There are two cubicles that, once again, are a bit dated, and they certainly aren't spacious. For example there was no place to sit or to store any bags off the floor. The room was well equipped with a razor, tooth brush, comb, nail file, towels etc. Everything was wrapped in plastic. It was a nice rainfall shower head.
The toilets were in poor condition and were showing their age while the rest of the lounge was ok. The breakfast food was quite good and is available from 05:30 to 11:00 with Western and Chinese options. There were enough cold drinks including beer but a pitiful wine selection.
Cocacola Zero:
Enough seats had charging outlets with international power sockets.
In summary - the lounge is ok. I've been in better and worse.
So a long transit in the airport lounge it was.
A quick scan of my BP allowed me in, then right behind you is the machine to scan your passport in order to obtain a WiFi key. Some things are best not thinking too much about. The key is good for 5 hours then you simply scan your passport again for another key.
FaceTime and What's App worked ok. FaceBook and google didn't. I also read an article saying VPNs were being clamped down upon, but I didn't test this.
All around the terminal are these posters:
"Connecting hearts" provided it isn't via FaceBook.
Am I mad? Going from this:
to this:
All day there was plenty of space (but it was a Sunday) and already my eyes were hurting from the pollution.
I asked at the front desk for a sleep room and was pointed towards the toilets. I guess sleep room and rest room are similar concepts but they do have small sleeping pods tucked away in a corner - maybe if I had persevered.
I swapped my boarding pass for a shower. There are two cubicles that, once again, are a bit dated, and they certainly aren't spacious. For example there was no place to sit or to store any bags off the floor. The room was well equipped with a razor, tooth brush, comb, nail file, towels etc. Everything was wrapped in plastic. It was a nice rainfall shower head.
The toilets were in poor condition and were showing their age while the rest of the lounge was ok. The breakfast food was quite good and is available from 05:30 to 11:00 with Western and Chinese options. There were enough cold drinks including beer but a pitiful wine selection.
Cocacola Zero:
Enough seats had charging outlets with international power sockets.
In summary - the lounge is ok. I've been in better and worse.
Last edited by sydunipete; Feb 4, 2015 at 5:38 am
Feb 4, 2015, 5:25 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: VA Platinum, SQ Silver, TK Gold, Hhonors Gold, Accor Plus Gold, Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Premium
Posts: 1,022
Ca911 - pek - arn a330-200 b-6092
Scheduled 1350 -1630.
Boarding was well underway when I arrived 5 minutes prior to the advertised boarding time.
Seats are 2-2-2 in a fully flat configuration and enough personal space. After travelling in some of the new offset configurations (Swiss, Air China B777 etc) you can see how inefficient these non-offset layouts are with space.
https://www.airchina.se/SE/GB/info/a...airbus330.html
On my last trip with Air China this was the most modern fitout I encountered, now it looks a little dated.
Business Class was about 50% full and the seat next to me was free again. Smile!
One interesting point : on my SYD - PEK leg nearly all passengers were Chinese, on this PEK - ARN leg nearly all passengers were Swedish (or at least European).
FA's were a class apart from the last leg and wore different uniforms - blue rather than Chinese red. English was much better spokenly. Champagne was offered and they offered top ups so I enjoyed 3 glasses prior to push back. The Champagn was Beaumont des Brayeres and was at a perfect temperature.
The same amenity kit as last leg was provided. The FA / passenger interaction was a bit of a mixed bag. In one aisle the FA described the flying time, meal and wine choices and wished pleasant flight. My aisle simple asked what would I like.
FA's twice offered to put the slippers on me, but I knew there was no way so I politely declined. A menu and wine list was provided, unlike the last leg.
Sorry for the badly out of focus shots:
Push back at 13:48 (early) and take off at 14:03.
Wine, water and nuts provided than an amuse bouche (choice of duck or prawn). Then and appetiser.
A table cloth was then provided with a salad then the main meal : I chose the beef which was just ok.
They ran out of the Fronsac red, so I swapped to the other one. But not long after that they ran out of the alternative too (it wasn't all my doing - I swear. It was a team effort by a bunch of Swedes and one token Aussie drunk). It's a good thing I'm ambidextrous so I swapped to the Graves white. All wines were very drinkable.
Dessert was good, but apologies for the missing spoonful.
After dessert, bottles of water were handed out and lights dimmed. Everything was cleared away by 16:00. (09:00 Stockholm time).
The IFE was an older version than the B777 and it was very slow to respond sometimes. I tried to watch a French / Italian movie but the screen made the captions impossible to read at times so I gave up. The seat is very comfortable reclining to watch TV or flat to sleep.
The second meal service started over 3 hours before landing at 13:15 Stockholm time.
A smoked salmon entree was a bit basic:
but the Chicken Curry main was very good. (No photos, sorry.) After the meal service the lights went out again for close to 2 hours just to drag a long day of flights out further. Witnessed a beautiful sunset over Mariehamn at 15:50. Landed at 16:06, Gate at 16:11 and luggage at 16:36. Almost 30 minutes early:
Final summary. There are still some inconsistencies in service, the IFE is pretty basic and the wine service shows the cultural differences but in all other regards this is a very competitive product. For the price I have no problem flying Air China on my own money. But if somebody else was paying .....
Boarding was well underway when I arrived 5 minutes prior to the advertised boarding time.
Seats are 2-2-2 in a fully flat configuration and enough personal space. After travelling in some of the new offset configurations (Swiss, Air China B777 etc) you can see how inefficient these non-offset layouts are with space.
https://www.airchina.se/SE/GB/info/a...airbus330.html
On my last trip with Air China this was the most modern fitout I encountered, now it looks a little dated.
Business Class was about 50% full and the seat next to me was free again. Smile!
One interesting point : on my SYD - PEK leg nearly all passengers were Chinese, on this PEK - ARN leg nearly all passengers were Swedish (or at least European).
FA's were a class apart from the last leg and wore different uniforms - blue rather than Chinese red. English was much better spokenly. Champagne was offered and they offered top ups so I enjoyed 3 glasses prior to push back. The Champagn was Beaumont des Brayeres and was at a perfect temperature.
The same amenity kit as last leg was provided. The FA / passenger interaction was a bit of a mixed bag. In one aisle the FA described the flying time, meal and wine choices and wished pleasant flight. My aisle simple asked what would I like.
FA's twice offered to put the slippers on me, but I knew there was no way so I politely declined. A menu and wine list was provided, unlike the last leg.
Sorry for the badly out of focus shots:
Push back at 13:48 (early) and take off at 14:03.
Wine, water and nuts provided than an amuse bouche (choice of duck or prawn). Then and appetiser.
A table cloth was then provided with a salad then the main meal : I chose the beef which was just ok.
They ran out of the Fronsac red, so I swapped to the other one. But not long after that they ran out of the alternative too (it wasn't all my doing - I swear. It was a team effort by a bunch of Swedes and one token Aussie drunk). It's a good thing I'm ambidextrous so I swapped to the Graves white. All wines were very drinkable.
Dessert was good, but apologies for the missing spoonful.
After dessert, bottles of water were handed out and lights dimmed. Everything was cleared away by 16:00. (09:00 Stockholm time).
The IFE was an older version than the B777 and it was very slow to respond sometimes. I tried to watch a French / Italian movie but the screen made the captions impossible to read at times so I gave up. The seat is very comfortable reclining to watch TV or flat to sleep.
The second meal service started over 3 hours before landing at 13:15 Stockholm time.
A smoked salmon entree was a bit basic:
but the Chicken Curry main was very good. (No photos, sorry.) After the meal service the lights went out again for close to 2 hours just to drag a long day of flights out further. Witnessed a beautiful sunset over Mariehamn at 15:50. Landed at 16:06, Gate at 16:11 and luggage at 16:36. Almost 30 minutes early:
Final summary. There are still some inconsistencies in service, the IFE is pretty basic and the wine service shows the cultural differences but in all other regards this is a very competitive product. For the price I have no problem flying Air China on my own money. But if somebody else was paying .....
Last edited by sydunipete; Feb 4, 2015 at 5:59 am
