I boarded through door L2, where I was greeted by three extremely friendly flight attendants and escorted to my seat. Air China's cabin layout on the 747-8 is unusual. Right in front of door two are the 12 first class seats, spread across three rows in a 1-2-1 configuration. Then in front of first class…
Continue reading: Review: Air China First Class 747-8 San Francisco To Beijing
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Am I correct in assuming they get 12 Business Class seats in the same space BA gets 12 first class seats (nose of the 747)? Or does BA's section extend back further along the body of the aircraft?
Seat/suite design, pajamas and amenity kit are exactly the same as my Beijing to LAX flight 3.5 years ago. The dishes and flatware almost look exactly the same as well. Overall opinion mirrors how you feel Lucky.
When the purser asked how you would like to be addressed, what did you say? I wonder if being addressed as "Lucky" gets you extra points.
@Ethan - BA actually has 14 F seats in the nose of the 747, but that's the 747-400 whereas this is the 747-8I, and I'm not sure if the amount of space (in front of the front pair of exits) is identical between the two. But BA's F seats are tight, in any case.
Remote stand?
Years ago I had a SQ flight 744 landing at FRA. It was unique because although the equipment had arrived at JFK 10 hours before flight time we were delayed 3 hours because terminal 1 could not find a gate for boarding.
Upon late arrival at FRA we ended up with a remote stand. The one thing that struck me was that the crew bus was filled first but the station manager was there and refused to allow cabin crew to leave prior to all passengers being on the move.
When on a quest to hit all the first class products a few years ago, I flew LAX to PEK on an Air China 777. I was also the sole passenger in first (for first few hours). The 747 arrangement sounds much better because it is more separated from the cockpit. On my flight, it smelled strongly of cigarette smoke before we even hit the coastal ranges after departing lax. It went on the entire flight. When mentioning to the friendly FAs they said it was from heating up things in the ovens. I was the only customer in F. I asked if they were heating up cigarettes and got an embarrassed/confused look.
It's good to know the food on your flight was good and an improvement over what I had. I would have been ticked off if Panda Express served the same slop.
Shortly after the first meal, FAs started bringing up passengers from elsewhere to sleep in first. I saw one pilot who as enjoying food and movies but most of the other passengers looked like grandmas and definitely not flight crew (unless they were deadheading from maybe UA).
Needless to say, I mostly stick to my favorite airlines now.
Having flown Air China First class to Beijing in my opinion other than a larger seat it's really not any better than their biz class product. I would suggest you save the points and take biz class over first.
The only very notable thing I can remember from Air China First is a cold duck dish that was by far the best duck I've ever had.
A great review of Air China. I just returned from China where I flew to and from with AA. Good and timely service. I am writing my reviews right now.
@O2nz, I noticed the same thing, LOL.
"However, am I the only who thinks the animated ladies in the video have larger than usual bosoms?"
You are so right! Especially since I assume those are supposed to be Chinese women. I think they've all got D-cups! They're also a curious mix of Western & Asian facially/eyes too. But that panda is quite cute.
But it's great to read and see what Air China is actually like! They have TONS of availability when searching Star Alliance award travel. I don't think I'd want to blow through 120K Mileage Plus points though. But at least no one was actively smoking!
Thanks for the great write-up.
I got the same amenity bag in business class while flying PEK-YVR two years ago
@hiro: It's a meatball. Google "Lion's head dish" if you want to see pictures and such.
Seems to be only a slight notch above UA/AA international first (which both airlines are phasing out). Excluding the hard product, this is first class in name only. There are far better trans-pacific F options, like NH, JL, OZ, KE. Save your points.
As an aside; as a general rule, avoid airlines from mainland China - instead use carriers from Taiwan like BR (much better and you won't have to contend with smelling cigarettes during your flight).
maybe this article from Gary answers why CA has a blanket policy on keeping seatbelt lights on
remote gate is deliberate coz the plane would fly a domestic sector afterwards so parking at the outer bay saves $ and reduce turnaround time, really important when beijing atc is so common
Many things you find important, like cold beverages, are not the slightest bit relevant or desirable to many Chinese customers. Also a meek field mouse laowai approach to getting the service you want is obviously not going to be effective in most places in the mainland. Chinese customers will demand what they need if they're not getting the service they expect. If the tables are dirty in a lounge, ask firmly but calmly that they be cleaned. If your Champagne is cold, ask that the bottle be chilled on ice immediately for you. If you need to see the wines, ask to have them brought out or go see them in the galley. This is what you're missing about China. In Germany or America you have zero freedom from social conventions and must go with the flow. In China there are no such rules. I love that I can yell across the restaurant in China that I need another beer. Or demand that my restaurant bill be lower because a dish was too salty. Or bring outside food and drinks into a sit down restaurant.
2 or 3 years ago when we flew IAH-PEK in F, we were the only 2 passengers in the F section. They did not even bother to load the F meals!!! The FA came and told me she would not give me the menu as none of the items on the menu would not be available!
Then she went away and return in about 15 minutes, with a hand-written chit in hand, proceeded to tell me what the 4 options we may choose from, but then added "unfortunately 2 of the 4 options only have ONE portion."
Meals were totally UNPRESENTABLE - the stewed beef my husband ordered turned out to be a darkened unidentifiable pieces of meat drowning in sauce.
We suspected they gave us the J meals which apparently did not have enough left for us to have at least 2 portions on each of the 4 options to choose from.
Needless to say, that was our first and most likely last redemption to fly Air China, or for that matter, any mainland China airlines!
No wonder CA F were widely available even in the last days prior UA devaluation. We took it because we thought it was more convenient for a direct flight to PEK instead of transit thru TYO with ANA or ICN with OZ. Bad decision!
China building a base on cape horn. Hegemonistic tendencies like the USA but with less educated and less ethical population.
@ Ben — I know your expectations were low, but you're still being far too kind. The F/A had no idea what day of the week it was. They served you luke-warm champagne and soup. Wines didn't at all correlate with the menu. Catering loaded the wrong food. You were shuffled into a packed "VIP bus".
Having flown Air China F, the product is laughable. Furthermore, at PEK there is ZERO differentiation between J and F lounges. Give me a break and rate this experience a very generous C-.
—JRL
At the start of the review arrival time was noted for 5:55PM, but at the end you wrote flight arrived at 6:55PM. What caused the delay?
That is indeed a bizarre F cabin location sandwiched between J and Y. I see the curtains/semi-wall up front, but how was the separation from the Y cabin. Galley? Did you hear noise from the Y or J cabin or galley as you were in the last row. I have never flown a Communist Chinese carrier, and all reviews on the big three are less than stellar. CX, Dragon, China Airlines is far better along with EVA. Thank you for this review. No doubt though I would fly them if but for the 747-8 experience - only if I can't get a LH award on their 747-8 though. Finally could you add in your reviews of China your immigration experience regarding Visas (which passport you used, whether you were on the Visa Free 144 hour plan, etc.) Always helpful to know those details. Thank you, Ben.
I'm flying the same equipment (747-800) on PEK-CKG in October. When I went to book it, choosing Economy it only gives you Premium Economy option (and seats -- about 2 rows). I want using Air China's US site and also tried Expedia. Do they not sell economy tickets to foreigners on domestic routes with widebody equipment? If I chose a flight in a 737, it offer economy (at the same price as 747 and A330 in premium economy).
Who knew that Kahlua is a rum? It makes the whole rum & coke thing sound a whole lot less appealing.
@Lao rou pian Typical "China can do no wrong" attitude. Yes, Chinese superstition does favour warm drinks over cold, but a good First class would realize that the only pax flying in F that day was clearly a Westerner, and would strongly prefer a cold drink. First class is about having everything taken care of without explicitly asking all the time. That gets tiring fast, and F pax should not have to shout out commands all the time like they're IFE managers or something.
This isn't just the Western standard, this is how it is for any respectable Asian carrier (NH, JL, OZ, KE, SQ, CX, hell even BR in J).
Also the meal was odd as hell. Western canapés, Asian appetizer, Western soup and bread basket, Asian main, Western dessert. Wtf?
@JRL
Lucky is probably being kind because he doesn't want to get denied entry into China (including HK, his favourite city). If he wrote a scathing report, it would not be beyond China to refuse him entry into the country, for making them "lose face".
@pian
Brilliant. So everyone in your country is dreadfully rude. I'm sure most of us knew that but thanks for confirming this for us.
It would be nice of your brethren to leave such behavior on the communist shores though. They sure as hell don't, and it's bloody annoying to the rest of humanity.
@Lucky: I'm always amazed at how much you eat on the planes and even before at the airport lounges. Yes I know airplane food portions are small but still with so many dishes, it's quite a lot of food! And you seem to stay so slim!
That's the real secret I want to know! Not all the min/maxing of airlines!
"Then in the nose are another 12 business class seats, across three rows in a 2-2 configuration."
The picture appears to show two rows in 2-2 configuration (I assume that picture is the lower deck (nose) since the flight deck on the 747-8 is on the upper deck)
Also the meal was odd as hell. Western canapés, Asian appetizer, Western soup and bread basket, Asian main, Western dessert. Wtf?
-> this is not odd about air china, it is the odd about customer taste. There is no such a thing called five course meal in Chinese cuisine. In order to create a five course meal with Chinese selection. Everything ends up odd...
@BSP
There is no individual-portioned 5 course meals in Chinese cuisine, but there are certainly multi-course shared meals in Chinese cuisine (the kinds often found during weddings and holidays). There's no reason why that can't be portioned into individual-sized multi course meals (and certain avant garde Chinese restaurants do indeed do that, for example Bo Innovation in HK).
You can tell the crew cares and is well-intended by how neat everything was presented and served. I imagine some cute Chinese stewardess with broken English somewhat flirting with Ben--all Asian girls like American guys, particularly a young American guy in first-class--not realizing he's into boys, not girls.
Lucky: Could you do a post explaining what, if anything, crew says when you take all these pictures? I know a couple airlines have stopped passengers from taking pictures but even crew on airlines that don't care must find it odd to see someone taking so many pictures. I wonder if they ever think you're a mystery passenger flying to inspect standards or perhaps a spy from a rival airline.
Thai Airways used to have their DC10 with First Class similarly in the middle.
Not first class, but BIZ class on a 787 from AKL-PEK on our way home from the honeymoon. It was 14 hours and somewhat enjoyable. Slept through most of it. The service was well decent and the food wasn't terrible. The movie selection wasn't great and everything was edited, which is to be expected. The 8 hour layover in Beijing was pure hell though.
"while this is still a fairly new plane, it’s already starting to look a bit worn out."
Like most things that are made in China...
"However, if you’re flying to Beijing, Air China is a great option to avoid connecting. It just wouldn’t be my first choice if traveling elsewhere."
Doesn't United also fly direct flight to PEK out of SFO? Which would be your first choice between the two?
if I remember it correctly, it is a CAAC requirement that cabin crew should prepare the cabin 40 mins before landing on Chinese carriers
@Nick "all asian girls like American guys", not sure you are beung racist or delusional.
Flew FRA - AKL (stopover in PEK) and return with them in business class in April / May.
The wine menu you received seems to be the sam as in BC - I didn't take a picture of the champagne but the rest matches (even that a few of the selections were out 😉 ).
Service was friendly but could be a bit more pro-active for my taste (you've got to ask yourself if you want something). FRA - PEK and return seems to be one of their flagship routes - they efen had one German native serving BC.
Seats are OK (lie flats on the 7W and 787), the food was good (on four flights I only once didn't receive my selection), IFE is very limited (remember - only ~30 western movies are released in China every year).
I went in with low expectations but their price was difficult to beat (while on sale it was competitve with PE on other airlines). In the end they exceeded those expectations.
Would I fly with them again? With prices that low yes, at "regular" prices I'd clearly prefer other carriers
mmmmhh 😀 Air China has the best mixed nuts I've ever eaten on a plane! The champagne wasn't too horrible either.
.....If only the lounge in Beijing could be completely redone....
I love your reviews. Whenever I look to travel on a new airline, I always check your reports first. One thing that stood out the most on this report is the wine menu and snack menu. Who serves that kind of cheap champagne in F when EVA serves Krug in their J class? The snack menu looks like it's designed for children. I'm a bit horrified, actually. I won't be flying with them nonstop from PEK - SFO, I'd rather transit in TPE and fly EVA.
Chinese are very different than Anglos. You cannot be a wall flower or meek. Frankness is respected not going with flow and smiling. Demand firmly yet respectively exactly what you want. No beating around bush or namby pamby--just precisely what you want w/o assuming they know what you want.
The first time I took Air China long-haul was like 5 years ago... the amenity kit still remains the same. Point for consistency? or ingenuity?
I have been to tons of fine dining Chinese restaurants that will serve canapes on the round rotating plate first, before serving something light but hot, then the star of the show(like entree) along with the main course(such as fried rice, noodle etc.) and then some deserts.