Air China Business Class - 777-300ER, A330-300, 747-800
May 14, 2019, 12:02 pm
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Stockholm
Programs: SQ, SK, QR
Posts: 386
AIR CHINA A330-300 BUSINESS CLASS, SYD-PEK
Two weeks in Australia zoomed by in no time, and I soon found myself again back at the airport ready to fly back to Europe. I was excited to check out the Air New Zealand lounge in Sydney, especially since I’ve never been inside any lounge in SYD. Unfortunately, I only had 15 minutes to spend inside due to maximizing time with family landside. However, I will say the lounge is very nice, with a clean design and comfortable chairs, as well as some decent looking food options.
Air New Zealand Lounge at SYD - sitting area
Buffet spread
Bar
This flight to Beijing was very similar to the flight from Beijing a few weeks prior, and there wasn’t much of a difference. Good enough service, ok food, and a comfortable bed for a few hours of sleep. Annoyingly, I was kicked out of my pre-selected window seat by an elderly couple wanting to sit together (of course by the husband plonking himself down in my seat without asking, prior to me boarding), so I had to forego any window gazing for the next flight.
A330-300 business cabin from Seat 14H
11.5 hours in the air went quickly enough, and on arrival in Beijing I zipped off for a quick nap at the Crowne Plaza (provided free by Air China) before heading back to the airport for my flight to Frankfurt.
Two weeks in Australia zoomed by in no time, and I soon found myself again back at the airport ready to fly back to Europe. I was excited to check out the Air New Zealand lounge in Sydney, especially since I’ve never been inside any lounge in SYD. Unfortunately, I only had 15 minutes to spend inside due to maximizing time with family landside. However, I will say the lounge is very nice, with a clean design and comfortable chairs, as well as some decent looking food options.
Air New Zealand Lounge at SYD - sitting area
Buffet spread
Bar
This flight to Beijing was very similar to the flight from Beijing a few weeks prior, and there wasn’t much of a difference. Good enough service, ok food, and a comfortable bed for a few hours of sleep. Annoyingly, I was kicked out of my pre-selected window seat by an elderly couple wanting to sit together (of course by the husband plonking himself down in my seat without asking, prior to me boarding), so I had to forego any window gazing for the next flight.
A330-300 business cabin from Seat 14H
11.5 hours in the air went quickly enough, and on arrival in Beijing I zipped off for a quick nap at the Crowne Plaza (provided free by Air China) before heading back to the airport for my flight to Frankfurt.
May 17, 2019, 6:15 am
#19
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: VA Platinum, SQ Gold, TK Gold, Hhonors Gold, Accor Plus Platinum, Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Premium
Posts: 1,022
Your experience with Air China matches mine. I fly Air China J long haul quite a bit. The lounge in Beijing is pretty grim. Hot food is only available at "meal times" and the beer is often pretty warm. Your J boarding pass and *A gold card will get you in to the First Class lounge - which is exactly the same as the J lounge but less crowded.
The A330 hard product is very good and the FA's will try very hard to meet your requests. Sure, it lacks a bit of finesse and polish but for 1500 euro EU-SYD return it's a bargain. You do have to hunt about to get the hotels for long stopovers - I got the best success ringing the US customer service line.
When paying with my own money I have no problems flying CA.
The A330 hard product is very good and the FA's will try very hard to meet your requests. Sure, it lacks a bit of finesse and polish but for 1500 euro EU-SYD return it's a bargain. You do have to hunt about to get the hotels for long stopovers - I got the best success ringing the US customer service line.
When paying with my own money I have no problems flying CA.
Aug 25, 2019, 1:18 pm
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Stockholm
Programs: SQ, SK, QR
Posts: 386
For anyone following - apologies. This was half-written a few months back and then totally forgotten about. Today it came up again in my mind and I figured it would be better late then never! So here's my write-up on the last leg of my trip to Aus, on the 747-8.
AIR CHINA 747-800i BUSINESS CLASS, PEK-FRA
Finally, the flight I had been looking forward to for a long time had arrived – my first jaunt on the new 747. The last time I’d been on the upper deck of a 747 was probably more than a decade ago, so I was very excited to be back.
Arriving at the airport with less than 1.5 hours till takeoff, I quickly dashed back to the mediocre Air China Business Lounge for something to eat. This time there was a proper buffet selection, although the food wasn’t very tasty. The lounge was jam-packed, but I managed to find a seat with nice views outside.
Views from CA's business class lounge in PEK
After chomping down on some chicken and rice I made my way over to gate E8, making sure to get there early so I could be one of the first few on board. The mighty 747-8, registration B-2487, was waiting when I arrived. I’ve heard mixed opinions on Air China’s livery; personally, I think their livery on the 747 looks great.
Air China 747-800i
Excitement building, I stood by the start of the line at the gate, managing to become the first gate lice of the day. Luckily, I only had to stand for two minutes before boarding started.
A quick sprint down the jet-bridge and I was finally on the jumbo. Rather than heading straight upstairs, I took a quick detour via the nose to grab a couple photos. The flight attendant was happy to let me do this, and even offered to take a few pictures of me in the empty cabin. A good start to the flight!
Business seats in the nose
Passing through First Class in the middle of the main deck, I made my way to the stairs and up into the promised land. The 747 upper deck is indeed a very nice place to be. Despite the quick pit stop to the nose business cabin, I managed to be the second person upstairs and was able to grab some almost-empty cabin shots.
First Class on the main deck
Upper deck business class cabin
The seats on Air China’s 747-8 are exactly the same as the seats on the 777-300ER - but since they’re on a 747, they’re infinitely cooler. As per the previous flight in these seats, they were just as comfy. Nice and wide, with decent storage space and a well-placed IFE screen.
I was surprised to discover that the windows on the upper deck are lower than usual; I had to bend down a little to see out of them.
85A and B
3 windows at my disposal
Divider and staggered layout made for decent privacy
As usual, I was offered some drinks and nuts on the ground. The flight attendants on this flight were probably the best out of all four flights, and were quite proactive.
Today’s flight was quite full, and there wasn’t a single empty seat on the upper deck once everyone boarded. Whilst the 2-2 configuration meant I needed to step over my seatmate into the aisle when needed, this wasn’t particularly bothersome (to me at least!).
Take-off was on time, and the window seat afforded me nice views of both the wing and Beijing below.
Taking off from PEK
Beijing and its surrounding mountains
As per the three previous flights in CA Biz, the food was bad to average. I spent much of the flight watching a few movies on the IFE, increasing my blood-sugar levels with soft drinks and staring out the window. The seat was great in recline mode.
Multiple times during the journey, I walked around the upper and lower decks. Through the emergency exit door windows, there was a fantastic view of the wing. When using the upper deck lavatory, I did notice the faint smell of cigarettes. If you’re flying on the 747-8 upper deck, don’t choose one of the front rows!
Stairway to the promised land
Emergency exit window views
Beautiful snow-capped mountain ranges over (I believe) Mongolia
Towards the end of the 10hr 28min flight, I started to get a bit anxious noticing we were a fair bit behind schedule. I had a 1hr 35min layover, which looked like it would be reduced to less than one hour. The joys of having to position for cheap tickets! In any case, the views on descent were nice and I managed to catch a glimpse of FRA.
FRA from above
Descending into Frankfurt
Upon landing, I got off the plane as quickly as possible and started the sprint (well, swift jog) towards my connecting flight to ARN. The gate turned out to be around 1.5 kilometers from our arrival gate, so I worked up a bit of a sweat. Thankfully I managed to make it just before boarding began, and even had a chance to grab a croissant. I was very glad the connection worked out.
From 747-8 to 737-8, amazing how big of a difference one digit can make
AIR CHINA 747-800i BUSINESS CLASS, PEK-FRA
Finally, the flight I had been looking forward to for a long time had arrived – my first jaunt on the new 747. The last time I’d been on the upper deck of a 747 was probably more than a decade ago, so I was very excited to be back.
Arriving at the airport with less than 1.5 hours till takeoff, I quickly dashed back to the mediocre Air China Business Lounge for something to eat. This time there was a proper buffet selection, although the food wasn’t very tasty. The lounge was jam-packed, but I managed to find a seat with nice views outside.
Views from CA's business class lounge in PEK
After chomping down on some chicken and rice I made my way over to gate E8, making sure to get there early so I could be one of the first few on board. The mighty 747-8, registration B-2487, was waiting when I arrived. I’ve heard mixed opinions on Air China’s livery; personally, I think their livery on the 747 looks great.
Air China 747-800i
Excitement building, I stood by the start of the line at the gate, managing to become the first gate lice of the day. Luckily, I only had to stand for two minutes before boarding started.
A quick sprint down the jet-bridge and I was finally on the jumbo. Rather than heading straight upstairs, I took a quick detour via the nose to grab a couple photos. The flight attendant was happy to let me do this, and even offered to take a few pictures of me in the empty cabin. A good start to the flight!
Business seats in the nose
Passing through First Class in the middle of the main deck, I made my way to the stairs and up into the promised land. The 747 upper deck is indeed a very nice place to be. Despite the quick pit stop to the nose business cabin, I managed to be the second person upstairs and was able to grab some almost-empty cabin shots.
First Class on the main deck
Upper deck business class cabin
The seats on Air China’s 747-8 are exactly the same as the seats on the 777-300ER - but since they’re on a 747, they’re infinitely cooler. As per the previous flight in these seats, they were just as comfy. Nice and wide, with decent storage space and a well-placed IFE screen.
I was surprised to discover that the windows on the upper deck are lower than usual; I had to bend down a little to see out of them.
85A and B
3 windows at my disposal
Divider and staggered layout made for decent privacy
As usual, I was offered some drinks and nuts on the ground. The flight attendants on this flight were probably the best out of all four flights, and were quite proactive.
Today’s flight was quite full, and there wasn’t a single empty seat on the upper deck once everyone boarded. Whilst the 2-2 configuration meant I needed to step over my seatmate into the aisle when needed, this wasn’t particularly bothersome (to me at least!).
Take-off was on time, and the window seat afforded me nice views of both the wing and Beijing below.
Taking off from PEK
Beijing and its surrounding mountains
As per the three previous flights in CA Biz, the food was bad to average. I spent much of the flight watching a few movies on the IFE, increasing my blood-sugar levels with soft drinks and staring out the window. The seat was great in recline mode.
Multiple times during the journey, I walked around the upper and lower decks. Through the emergency exit door windows, there was a fantastic view of the wing. When using the upper deck lavatory, I did notice the faint smell of cigarettes. If you’re flying on the 747-8 upper deck, don’t choose one of the front rows!
Stairway to the promised land
Emergency exit window views
Beautiful snow-capped mountain ranges over (I believe) Mongolia
Towards the end of the 10hr 28min flight, I started to get a bit anxious noticing we were a fair bit behind schedule. I had a 1hr 35min layover, which looked like it would be reduced to less than one hour. The joys of having to position for cheap tickets! In any case, the views on descent were nice and I managed to catch a glimpse of FRA.
FRA from above
Descending into Frankfurt
Upon landing, I got off the plane as quickly as possible and started the sprint (well, swift jog) towards my connecting flight to ARN. The gate turned out to be around 1.5 kilometers from our arrival gate, so I worked up a bit of a sweat. Thankfully I managed to make it just before boarding began, and even had a chance to grab a croissant. I was very glad the connection worked out.
From 747-8 to 737-8, amazing how big of a difference one digit can make
Aug 25, 2019, 1:26 pm
#21
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Stockholm
Programs: SQ, SK, QR
Posts: 386
CONCLUSION
To summarise, Air China's business class exceeded my low expectations. On all flights the seats were comfortable, service ok to good and food edible. Entertainment was also better than expected although the options weren't extensive. For the price I paid, I was more than happy with what I got in return. I've yet to see a better deal from Europe to Australia in business class. However, I wouldn't go burning any miles to fly them if there are other options.
To summarise, Air China's business class exceeded my low expectations. On all flights the seats were comfortable, service ok to good and food edible. Entertainment was also better than expected although the options weren't extensive. For the price I paid, I was more than happy with what I got in return. I've yet to see a better deal from Europe to Australia in business class. However, I wouldn't go burning any miles to fly them if there are other options.