#73 What airline do you choose?
Can Air China be an option for those who want to travel to Japan?
Hello, my subscribers. I had to take a break from last week's post due to a sudden trip to Europe for a week. I apologize again for the sudden absence.
So far, I have often written about travel tips traveling in Japan, but this week I'll write about Air China. When I read the comments of those who have used Air China to travel from Japan to various destinations, there are great varieties of impressions. Some are negative. Serious delays, lost baggage, and unflattering in-flight service, I have seen more negative impressions than good ones. This week I would like to discuss how Air China can be an option when visiting Japan from Europe. I want to share my experience of flying Air China between Tokyo and London as a reference when coming from the European region. The evaluation of an airline depends on the combination of subjective factors such as price and service. I cannot generalise my experience. But, I hope it will help you when you choose an airline to come to Japan.
What is Air China
Fleet Size:
Air China has a diverse fleet of over 400 aircraft, consisting of a mix of Boeing and Airbus planes, including the Boeing 747, 777, 787, and Airbus A320 and A350. This time the equipment was A320 for all segments of my journey to London.
Destinations:
It served an extensive network of domestic and international destinations, connecting China to major cities worldwide. I counted on the Air China web page. Air China flies to 16 European cities currently. Destinations seem to be subject to change.
Hubs:
Air China's primary hubs are Beijing Capital International Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.
Ownership:
It's a state-owned enterprise, with the Chinese government holding a significant ownership stake. Although it is less common today, there are elements of national management throughout the company's operations.
Alliance:
Air China was a member of the Star Alliance, one of the world's largest airline alliances. For my trip to and from London, miles were accumulated instantly in my account. From this, it appears that the system is well coordinated.
Routes from Europe to Japan
The current Air China Website shows its European destinations as Budapest, Copenhagen, Minsk, Geneva, Madrid, Barcelona, Vienna, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Munich, Athens, Paris, Rome, Milan, Stockholm, and London(LGW). According to Air China, they currently have 16 destinations in Europe. From this list, Air China flies to major European cities, it flies to multiple cities such as Spain, Germany and Italy.
The evaluation of an airline should be judged by many subjective factors. The price, punctuality, risk of lost baggage, cabin comfort, and smooth connections are all factors, which are acceptable to different individuals, making it difficult to come to a final decision to use or not. From this perspective, I’ll try to evaluate Air China as multifaceted as possible, and I hope that this will be helpful to you. I flew to and from Europe, but I believe many factors can be used as a reference when flying to and from the Americas and Japan.
Air Fares
Fares are a major factor in a traveler's decision on an airline. If one has a budget for the entire trip, the amount available for airline tickets is naturally determined. Among the many airlines, Air China is one of the cheapest. I paid just over US$700 for a round-trip ticket to London, including all taxes. I believe I was able to find the lowest price using the AI-based Hopper app. At this time of the year, the cost of a connecting flight from Japan to Europe is $1,000 or more, and the cost of a direct flight is $1,500. In addition, in my experience, Air China frequently appeared as a cheap ticket in the search process for flights to Europe.
I spoke to a lady next to me who was flying to Thailand via Shanghai and told me that she paid 540 Pounds($680) for a return. So there should be lots of cheap tickets available by Air China from Europe. I believe that Air China is offering very competitive fares from Europe to Japan.
Punctuality
Various reviews suggest that sometimes flights do not go on time when major delays affect itineraries. Since on-time operation is an essential factor for business use, on-time operation cannot be dismissed. In that case, Air China is unlikely to be an option, but if you have a certain level of tolerance on your holiday, it can be one of the options with a very reasonable price.
On this round-trip flight to London, the connecting time in Shanghai was 5 hours for the outbound flight, and 4 hours for the inbound flight, so there was no need to worry about missing the flight due to delay. The most concerning situation is that of flight cancellations due to aircraft changes. I saw a lot of advice that even if you have a seat assignment, you should check it at check-in because of frequent equipment changes. This was not the case this time, but perhaps that is how often aircraft changes.
In-flight comfortability
The overall in-flight comfortability was acceptable throughout the whole trip. I was strongly impressed by the frequency of cleanups of toilets. Cabin crews were cleaning up toilets every half hour. I thought the special instruction was given since I seldom see the cleanups in such short intervals. Anyway, let us check some of the important points.
Drinks: Like other airlines, beverages are served after takeoff. In addition to apple juice(I couldn’t see the orange juice), the Chinese versions of Coke and 7-Up are also available. Chinese beer and wine were also available upon request. My impression was that most of the beverages served on board were made in China, regardless of the place of departure.
Meals: Meal services are simple, and nothing more or less than necessary. For dinner, I had a choice of either rice or noodles. For breakfast, I had a choice of Chinese or Western omelettes.
Please be aware that vegetarian meals must be arranged before 48 hours on the website. However, it is a little doubtful that all passengers can make such a detailed request on the web. I purchased my ticket on the Hopper site, but seat assignments were only available by phone. Unless you purchased your ticket on Air China's website, it can only be made by phone, so I recommend that you check.
In-flight audio-visual service: Air China has movies, TV, and reading. Most of them are Chinese-oriented and as a non-Chinese what you can enjoy from their service is very limited. So please bring your entertainment on board. I was not bored during the long flight for over 10 hours since I slept most of the time.
Duty-free shop: There was an icon on the main menu, but it was not ready. Air China's in-flight service is very simple, and it is different from other major Western airlines.
Connecting flights
I have never flown via Beijing, so I don't know the Beijing connection situation, but this was the part of the flight I used this time, which was the part where I would drop the most points regarding the connection at Pudong Airport in Shanghai.
When you exit the gate at Pudong Airport for both round-trip flights, the airport staff is calling out to those making connections, and you are made to wait there until everyone is in line. Once everyone was together, we went straight to the transfer counter, where we were asked to confirm our personal information and have our picture taken each time. After all, it took about two hours from the time we got off the plane to the time we left the departure security checkpoint. Most of the time was spent waiting. If you fly Air China via Pudong, make sure you have enough time for transfer. Two hours, which is usually not a problem, may not be enough.
Good and bad evaluations
<Good>
Ticket prices are very cheap.
The airline flies to major European cities.
By taking the route over Russia, Air China flies the shortest distance to China.
Basic in-flight service is the same as other airlines.
Frequent cleaning of toilets.
The pitch width is normal.
Accumulation of Star Alliance miles.
<Bad>
In-flight entertainment is limited.
Do not expect too much from in-flight meals.
No in-flight store.
Most of the drinks are made in China.
Vegetarian meals have to be reserved 48 hours before. Possibility of telephone only in some cases.
At least 3 hours of transfer at Pudong Airport is required.
Please expect a long wait for the transfer at Pudong Airport.
Finally
I noticed something for the first time after traveling back and forth between Pudong Airport in Shanghai and London. Since the start of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, most airlines have been forced to fly to Japan, bypassing the Russian airspace. Air China was flying over Russia as usual. This is a matter of course considering the relationship between China and Russia, and the flight distance. However, some people may feel uncomfortable considering the current situation though it is advantageous to fly from European cities in the shortest distance.
When coming to Japan from Europe on vacation, I cannot necessarily recommend Air China just because it is inexpensive due to the long flight time, but it depends on what your top priority is on vacation, and if the points I have mentioned are acceptable to you, Air China may be an option.
Considering the price of $700 for a one-week round trip to London and the total service, I think it was reasonable even if there was a long layover at Pudong Airport.
On the way out, there was a group of Italian tourists returning from Tokyo to Milan. There was also a Swiss man who was going back to Zurich by train from Milan. For those who want to save a lot of money on tickets, Air China is a good option.
Based on various rumors about Air China before departure, I thought that this trip would be like an "ascetic practices" trip, but after the trip was over, I found that the long flight was tough, but the trip was full of many discoveries. For me, which airline and which route to take from around the world to Japan is a very interesting subject. If you would like to leave a comment, I would be happy to hear from you.