Air China

Our Experience with Air China

Traveling from London to Auckland is no small feat, and our journey with Air China was a mixed bag of experiences. From the flights themselves to the layovers in Beijing, we encountered both highlights and challenges.

Here’s a detailed account of our trip, filled with insights into the services, layover adventures, and practical tips for future travelers.

Table Of Contents
  1. Our Experience with Air China
  2. The Booking Process
  3. The Flight Experience
  4. Layover in Beijing: Exploring the City
  5. Return Trip: A Relaxed Layover
  6. Final Thoughts
  7. F.A.Q.​

The Booking Process

Paul spent a lot of time on this (a LOT of time!) and tried to balance the cheapest flight with the shortest travel time. We were lucky enough to be relatively flexible with our dates and used both Skyscanner and Google Flights to search for flights. In the end, we chose Air China primarily because it offered the cheapest flights available, even after adding the cost of seat selection.

The downside of this cheaper price is that the overall travel time is generally much longer. Most airlines have a travel time of around 24-26 hours each way, whereas our flight with Air China was 34 hours (including a 12-hour layover in Beijing)! We decided that not only were the flights the cheapest, but actually exploring Beijing for a few hours would be pretty cool as well.

Booking the tickets was reasonably straightforward, although working your way through their website requires some patience! Paul also downloaded the app for his phone, which turned out to be a complete waste of time as he couldn’t add the flights, and no matter which booking/flight references he used, it just wouldn’t work. So, we had to check in the old-fashioned way. As we arrived at London Heathrow, the check-in process was efficient, and the staff were helpful. Our bags were sent straight to Auckland on the way over and to London on the way back, and both times they arrived!

The Flight Experience

Comfort and Seating: The seats were reasonably comfortable with decent legroom, which made the long flights (ranging from 10 to 14 hours) more bearable. While not luxurious, the seating was adequate for an economy class experience. The plane configuration was a 3-3-3 with toilets close by.

In-Flight Service: The cabin crew were efficient and attentive, offering beverages and two meals. We enjoyed the Asian-style cuisine (think chicken and rice, beef and rice, chicken porridge, and scrambled eggs with a hash brown, sausage, and baked beans). The food was tasty, although we couldn’t make a vegetarian meal selection for Victoria when booking, but the staff rallied around and found one for her on all of the flights!
They offer non-alcoholic drinks and beer to start with, then wine with dinner, although that is the last time you see them with the drinks until the next meal! The in-flight entertainment system had an okay selection of movies and TV shows. A lot of the entertainment was Chinese, but there were enough British and American offerings to choose from.

Challenges: The flight attendants generally don’t speak English, which made it a bit difficult to communicate sometimes. One of the flights had no air conditioning, which was very uncomfortable. We booked extra legroom on 2 of the 4 flights due to Paul’s very long legs. This was not as great as you would think, mainly as these seats were right beside the toilets, and two bright lights stay on the whole flight, making sleeping pretty hard! The last flight did experience some turbulence, but the crew handled it professionally and kept passengers informed.

Layover in Beijing: Exploring the City

Our 12-hour layover in Beijing was actually ridiculously easy. Paul is a massive overthinker, so he went over in his head all the things that could go wrong, but it was all pretty straightforward. First of all, you need to get a Visa Free Transit to get out of the airport. Then we booked our carry-on into airport storage. We took the airport train into the city, which we paid for at a counter near the trains. Then we jumped on a subway train to get to Tiananmen Square. We hadn’t booked anything, so we could only walk around the outside. Walking around Tiananmen Square was awe-inspiring. The vast open space, surrounded by significant historical buildings, provided a deep sense of China’s rich history. The high level of security, with numerous police officers and street cameras, made us feel very safe.

Street Food and Local Culture: We ventured into local markets surrounding Tiananmen Square and sampled a variety of street foods. The flavors were incredible, with dumplings and skewers being our favorites. However, not many locals spoke English, which made ordering food and asking for directions a bit challenging. We highly recommend downloading translation apps and preparing some basic Chinese phrases.

Practical Tips: Using Alipay and WeChat for payments is essential, as cash and international credit cards were not widely accepted. Make sure to set up a VPN before arriving in China to access social media and other restricted websites. The necessity of a VPN cannot be overstated for those who rely on staying connected.

Return Trip: A Relaxed Layover

On our return trip from Auckland to London, we had an 8-hour layover in Beijing. This time, we opted to stay within the airport to avoid the hassle of re-entering the city.

We booked the Air China transit lounge, which was free and very quiet. We were able to have a shower and relax. You can book a hotel room if you want to have a sleep. They have a coffee machine, snacks, and cold drinks, but nothing else. It was very basic but was quite a nice place just to chill out while waiting for the next leg of the journey.

Beijing Capital International Airport: Terminal 3 of the Beijing Capital International Airport is vast and surprisingly quiet. It offers a moderate range of amenities, including lounges, shops, and three restaurants. The facilities were modern and clean, providing a comfortable environment to rest and recharge.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the airline provided good value for money, with comfortable seating and decent in-flight service. The layovers in Beijing added a layer of adventure to our trip, offering a taste of China’s rich culture and history. However, the language barrier and the need for specific apps and a VPN presented some challenges.
For anyone considering flying with Air China, we would definitely recommend it! While at points throughout the booking and organizing of the flights it can seem a bit overwhelming, we would 100% do it again. The travel time is long, so that is the trade-off with the cheaper flights. Going into Beijing was very cool and well worth doing. The actual flight experience is probably considered of lesser quality than the other big airlines, but if you save some real money and are not too fussy about certain comforts, then this could be perfect for you!

F.A.Q.​

Frequently Asked Questions

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