I arrived at LAX as late as possible for my flight to Guangzhou. China Southern uses the Korean Air Lounge for their passengers at LAX, which I find to be a less pleasant place to sit than the terminal (that's not an exaggeration -- obviously it's better if you want to eat or drink for…
Continue reading: Review: China Southern Business Class A380 Los Angeles To Guangzhou
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"... I guess that’s quite a literal interpretation of my order" Reading this made me laugh for half a minute
Flown them from yvr. Perhaps it’s the location, but since yvr has the best fare deals to Asia I’d only ever consider flying a Chinese airline for $1400 usd or less (RT business). Service is always sub par, the bathrooms are almost always filthy (huge negative), and the food is just terrible. Not a fan of Mainland Chinese airlines at all.
Hi Lucky
How long before your flight could you do seat selection? I booked through expedia for a flight in May. Expedia refer everything to the airline and the airline refer you back to the 'channel where you purchased the ticket'. I just called Expedia and they said you can only reserve seats from 24 hrs before flight? Did you encounter the same thing?
Thanks!
I'd sooner fly this, warts and all in respect of service, than the abysmal, miserable, woefully pathetic J on the Lufthansa 380 the other night ( the meanest seat in the sky, BA included...narrow, angled sideways making it impossible to turn in sleep, so close to the neighbour it is gross in unwanted intimacy, no bedding at all on a 13 hour flight).
Give me Chinese airlines any day over those pseudo-stylish, wannabes. They need to focus more on the cabin than the ludicrous livery issue.
With the Chinese what you see is what you bet: it's better that way.
Excellent review! You really do work your arse off, especially at the beginning of the flight. It's much appreciated!
I have enjoyed reading your comments on China Southern Lucky. You literally have me laughing out loud while reading passages to my husband!
China Southern does usually offer quite attractive offers. I agree with that. Their service is very basic with nothing extraordinary. I actually think China Eastern has come along a long way and they have been much better in terms of service and food.
@Lucky if you think Hainan is so good, you should try them on domestic flights. They are not that great and they are also very robotic. I had much better food and service on Shenzhen Airlines and China Eastern Airlines in first class.
@Cynthia for formal writing, it is not all right. For informal writing, it is alright.
I guess they expect you to stack up empty plates so they only need to clear them at the end.
IMO Xiamen Airlines is the best mainland Chinese airline both domestic and international. They recognize alliance status consistently and service is usually the best. The funny thing is that China Southern owns 55% of Xiamen Airline. Same applied to Shenzhen Airlines and Air China. Never understand the logic.
I flew JFK-CAN J on a paid fare in 2016. The hard product was solid and I slept more than I usually do on flights. The service was fairly good, but there’s definitely a communication barrier. I definitely prefer CZ J to Hainan J. Either way, it’s a luxury not to be in the back on such a long flight. Clearing customs/immigration in CAN was the most uncomfortable part.
For some reason Chinese airlines like to recycle menus- i.e. distribute it on numerous flights, even in First Class. That’s my impression of why they are so keen on taking back the menus.
Thanks for finally getting this series started. I hope it's not going to be 12 days between each post going forward. Unless of course this needs to last until Christmas.
What exactly is “snow fungus”? Is it just bad translation or do they serve unappetizing Chinese food with strange names on planes? I have never flown a Chinese airline (have no wish to start) and noticed that @Lucky really never orders the Chinese options other than the occasional stir fried seafood. This is completely opposite where when he flies Air India, Emirates, or Qatar he would order the ethnic meals in a heart beat.
If you're eligible, consider applying for an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC). Getting through passport control with the ABTC is a snap. While I haven't flown internationally to CAN in a long time, it's worked like a charm at many other ports of entry, both airports and land crossings. And of course, it's works in other APEC countries too.
That still leaves customs and their x-ray checks, but it's a big help.
@Lucky, can you please advise how the big bottle of Listerine is used in the bathroom? Do they re-stock if a passenger takes the whole thing or do some passengers take a wee nip each? If so, how?
@Bill they probably should translate as "white wood ear" . The term "Wood ear" has been widely used so should not confuse.
You are right that Lucky is not fun of chinese food I guess. For example, Sichuan Airlines 's only bright spot is their chinese food offering however he choose western style and got really disgusted.
Those bottles of Listerine had me thinking the same thing. Actually the only thing that stood out. I wouldn't touch them! A dispenser or those mini bottles would be ideal, but not the big bottles.
@lucky, Thanks for the review! Seems worth mentioning that it’s basically Emirates A380 hard product without the wood paneling.
Lobsters that are not fresh are frozened lobsters. Definitely not premium quality for business or first class. Glad to know about the champagne upgrade.
Yes, but since this review is about business class, I think we should keep things formal 😉
I'm also glad Lucky toned down his rant about the plates. It wouldn't have hurt him to stack them. In his preview post his acid tongue came across as entitled and snobby.
Cynthia - you are a dimwit. Stack your own plates? I guess he can take them back to the galleys too.
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this the same seat as the Emirates A380 J class, without the bells and whistles?
Cynthia: I'm already irritated by your comments (or should I say "all ready," awkwardly?) because Lucky's an altogether (or should I say "all together," incorrectly?) fine writer who realizes, unlike you, that language changes and that's alright.
😀
Lucky ordered right, based on my experience with ANA and KAL J out of LHR. Let the western flight kitchens cook your outbound western menu meals and have the Asian food, cooked by natives in Japan, Korea or, in this case, China, homeward-bound. I learned that the hard way last time I had a Korea prepared western entree that was inedible...
Sure, execution, as Lucky put it, was a little lacking on this flight but good intention seems also to have been present. Not a bad menu choice or presentation. Lack of English ability amongst flight crew has also been a small problem on ANA and KAL; last KAL flight I simply could not understand what the attendant working my aisle was saying but smiles and pointing to the menu got the desired results.
Looking forward to the rest of this review series.
@Cynthia - why not ask for a white coffee? Reminds me of a time when in NJ and my wife asked for a white coffee in a Dunkin Donuts and the complete bemusement of the staff. His response? 'But coffee is black. In the end my wife was rescued by our friends who explained that we were British. The point though is if people in the US do not know what a white coffee is then I think we can give Chinese airlines some leeway!
Hey Cindy-Lou...
Girl, you're funny. I'm imagining you snobbishly correcting everyone's English with a smug little grin on your face, all the while sitting in front of stacks of dirty dishes as if you just went to town on the buffet at Golden Corral.
Was that you or other blogger who wrote about the $5 ‘Champagne’ in CZ first class several years ago? It was such a viral post in the Chinese frequent flier community that the management of CZ actually noticed it, and they changed and also improved quite a few premium services shortly after.
Was there an amenity kit?
In regard to the milk with coffee, the packet that Lucky was the expensive one, it is sold for US$1 per small packet in supermarkets in China, which is a much better product than the coffee mate or those small milk cup we were thinking. But, me, being an overseas Chinese, I found that amusing too.
As for Snow Fungus, I had to read the Chinese to know what that is, and I don't have a better translation than that. It is more like a cheap version of Swallow Nest, it should give a clear, subtle taste with traditional dessert.
HNA on domestic flights is quite basic,a lot of unskilled young people .,good enough for china public but not enough to pretend a 5 star airline in general>The long haul is better but it depends for great deal on the type of cabincrew they give on that flight,
@jp thank you for pointing that out. Like I said before, Lucky keeps praising them. They may seem great in international long haul, but I cannot say the same when it is domestic. Not bad, but not to the standard that Lucky prescribes. Okay service, but terrible food.
I've flown LAX-CAN on China Southern J several times in the past two years and Lucky's review is spot on (nice hard product, quirky service) aside from one issue - the bathrooms have always been clean and well maintained on my flights. Weird.
My experience matches Brian’s...clean lavatories...and cleaned several times during the flight. Quirky is probably a good description of the service. I think it’s very good...but it’s not Western style service....hardly surprising since they are not a Western airline. I enjoy flying with them, and value for money is outstanding compared with other long haul options.
Nice review Lucky.
I still wonder, why most Asian airlines keep their cabin so warm?
Two adults traveling with girls (9 and 12). Should we (adults) sit honeymoon? And where should the girls sit? In the middle either in front or behind, or to our side?
Or should we all sit in one row (even row) so we all get the maximum space and privacy with two true window seats and distanced (is that a word?) center seats?
I booked a business class reservation for my elderly parents using their telephone number as their contact number. I called to request wheelchair service and put in their FF miles number and after waiting for 15 min a representative came on to ask for ticket numbers and verify passenger information. After verifying everything, she told me I needed to use my parent's phone to call so they can be sure it's them wishing to add the passenger service request. I told her I am not asking for anything that violates their privacy and for me to go to my parent's house and then to call them back and be on hold again, that is just too impractical. She said I should call them back during their morning and that their number in America just transfers to China (no US staff).
Lesson learned that I should either not take them or book with a travel agent next time. The rigidness of these China based airlines in doing business is just mind blowing. Their customer service mantra is "how can I not get into trouble today" and not "how can I help our customers"
This reminds me of an EMIRATES A380 also from Los Angeles to Dubai! I watch those videos and trip reports.