Before choosing Air China I had read a lot of bad reviews about them and I was prepared for the worst. Staff unable to speak English, food and massive amounts of turbulence. It was quite the contrary though. For the most part nothing went wrong. The Flight was delayed for one hour which actually suited me since I was running late to the airport.
The flight to Beijing was full of empty seats so it was great to stretch out and really relax. There was no entertainment screens on the back of the seats but I didn’t expect there to be for a 4-hour flight. When it was time to eat I chose to eat some type of rice meal with veggies and cuts of ham(I think?) and it was nothing to write home about. I couldn’t even finish it but you get what you pay for and for a $500 dollar ticket I wasn’t complaining.
After we got to Beijing the transition to our next flight was pretty simple since the layover was about 5 hours. When it was time to start boarding we squeezed into the bus and took a short ride over to the plane that’d be bringing us to Washing Dulles Int. This plane did have entertainment on the back of each screens. I enjoyed the selection and watched Police Story 1,2,3 with English subs. Really made the time pass by.(12-hour flight).
As for the meals they offered chicken and rice and duck and rice. I chose the duck and it was ok again, like before nothing to brag about. If I had one thing I didn’t like about this Air China flight I’d say the time they made us wait to eat the second meal felt a bit too long. Next time I know to bring snacks along.
Finally when it was time for the second meal I chose the beef and noodles and it was actually pretty good. The side was some dark chopped up root-type plant that had a flavor similar to seaweed(it was good too!). I didn’t even bother to try and eat the last meal they handed out. It was a 3-set of sandwiches comprised of 1 tuna, 1 ham and 1 cheese.
The turbulence never got too bad, the staff were constantly moving around to assist people and most importantly the flight got us from point A to B safe and sound. Again you get what you pay for.
I in no way was compensated by Air China for this review. I just put an honest review from a perspective of someone who only expects to get what he pays for and nothing else. As for purchasing my tickets, I didn’t buy my tickets directly from Air China. I always go through CheapTickets.com. I’ve always got the best price from this website. I know some people say “Cheap” has a negative connotation. C’mon, Give me a break… :/
As always feel free to share your opinion. Take care.
