China Southern has just eight first class seats on their A380s, in a 1-2-1 configuration. Of the A380 products I’ve flown it reminded me closely of Malaysia’s, which also has eight seats on the lower deck, though they’re not fully enclosed suites. Anyway, China Southern’s A380 cabin felt a bit sterile in terms of the…
Continue reading: Review: China Southern A380 First Class Los Angeles to Guangzhou
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Great report as always lucky!! Did you get any clarification on why the other suites where occupied? 🙂
Thanks for reviewing, definitely not going out of my way to try this product.... I would be keen to see if anything will improve on the back of your detailed review and comments. The line: "It sure seemed like they took the whole “year of the horse” thing pretty seriously". Seriously had me laughing out loud!!!
The pajamas and bedding look exactly the same as what they gave me when I flew business class on that flight. Amenity contents are same. The food looks slightly better than what I remember in biz. I think the main differentiator between biz and first is the suite. The good biz seats are the ones where the seat is directly next to the window, separated from the aisle by the table - when you are sleeping it feels reasonably private.
If I had boarded that first class 1 hour prior to other passengers and they served me "French Korbel" as first class champagne I would still have time to get my smartphone and look for award space in any other Asian airline leaving LAX on that night. Good bye China Southern..... Welcome real first class!!! 🙂 As for the in-flight loading of the first class cabins that seems to me that FAs had their own side business and were making something by "allowing" passengers to use them. If I had paid for a first class seat I would be very mad. It reminds me of that BA flight couple years ago when the guy on first class woke up in the middle of the night to find a dead woman sitting next to him. Classy!!!!!
Two words to summarize this trip report: condescending, melodramatic.
Admittedly, the service wasn't as "First Class" as CX, LH, OZ, SQ, or TG. You didn't have to be so cynical about flight attendants who didn't speak "your language" well.
It's not that you can't post negative comments on an airline's service. It's the general undertone between the lines that makes you sound condescending and like a spoiled little princess, or maybe that's what you were aiming for? lol
@ Gabe -- Nope, sadly not, though there does seem to be quite a bit discussion at China Southern regarding the flight, based on what I've been told.
@ Tam -- I respect your opinion. I aim to write detailed trip reports which comment on every aspect of a flight's service. China Southern had, by far, the worst first class "service" I've had on any foreign carrier. Period. Hopefully that's useful to my readers, who may have fewer miles and fewer vacations days than I do.
And I wasn't intending to be condescending. I think the language barrier is worth noting. Just as I think airlines should have at least some German speaking flight attendants on routes to Germany, I think they should always have English speaking flight attendants on flights to the US. Just my two cents...
Ben,
hahaha...
Any tissue is fine but napkin is a women thing.
She just didn't understand why you want to wipe your face with that? and lucky she didn't give you one of those....
Lucky, at least you had edible food! My flight from CAN-YVR on CZ was quite bad... dripping condensation water on my head in a tired 777, and completely inedible food.
Not sure what fares are like ex. LAX but from MEL their business class fares to LHR via CAN tend to be cheaper than CX/BA/QF premium economy fares and first tends to be cheaper than business. Good hard product and low fares wins out for me.
Funny, Ben and Jenny's ice-cream - you would think they would have someone in their LA office proof the English on the menu. Also, I'm legitimately curious what "snow fungus and lotus seeds with apple sweet soup" is...
@ Ed -- That's a great point, their business class fares do seem to be very reasonable, so it can still be a great value.
As usual, informative and entertaining (and just the right tine). Sadly, you had a very typical experience of Chinese service. I've seen things improve drastically over the years going back to see friends and family, but they're coming from a very different place with regards to customer service (itself a new concept). So...thanks for taking one for the team.
Thanks for the great trip report. Sometimes, when you have a negative impression of one aspect of a trip it's very easy to generalize add negative comments to everything. You avoided that. I felt that your report was fair and balanced and you supported your opinions with facts. After reading your review, I'll stay in China Southern business class - the upgrade cost to first doesn't support the added value of the first class product.
Ben, sounds like your taxi at LAX was the roundabout way the A380s are handled for the south airfield according to:
Greg: The Chinese have a word for English errors like Ben and Jenny"s: Chinglish. It usually comes from hiring Chinese who also "speak" English (so to speak).
Lucky: Did you happen to notice if the Champagne was upgraded after takeoff? It used to be a fairly common airline practive to serve cheaper champagne before takeoff, then upgrade to the good stuff while in flight.
Great review. Really informative.
Informative review. Makes me want to try this product in a few months. Seems your initial review and this review will may have some affect on CZ.
I know this is a subjective question, but for yourself, what's the ranking of F products?
As for the communication issues, that's what charades are for, as you demonstrated. Makes it fun imho, at the very least memorable!
Wow. Sounds like an abuse by the China Southern Air Cabin Staff.
Sleeping in the First Class Cabin is one.
Then putting non-First Class passengers there. Some may be family members and friends. I just hope it is not like someone here suggested earlier, a paid upgrade but into the staff's pockets.
I think you did a good job with your review and if there was a complete abuse of the system, perhaps you could have gotten a better First experience than what you have.
Pls share with us as we all want to know what exactly is the airline policy (when they get back to you) with Staff sleeping in Suites & non-First passengers being upgraded to First later.
I really do think it was an abuse of the system. Do not forget that this increases the security risk when you wanted the First Cabin to be exclusive, and yet almost anyone could get into it. Just on this alone, I would not be able to justify the spending on First Class with them.
WHAT?! They served you the Ben & Jerry's ice cream instead of the Ben & JENNY's? How disgraceful! Now, I really want to try the Ben & JENNY's ice cream(see the menu?). 😉
Those pyjamas look like cheap knockoffs of CX's former Shanghai Tang ones... piping and everything!
is the Ferragamo amenity kit real or also a knock off ? they did a pretty good job copying the CX pyjamas ? i have a paid of those blue and orange.
For what it's worth, I find the word serviette is better understood in Asia than napkin.
Overall this flight has no shortage of memorable quirks. Some of the awkward moments remind me of one of my short haul 777 Air China flights... I had a cabin of 49 seats to myself, and the cabin crew had no idea what to do with me. Instead of a menu, they just prepared one of each item and asked me to pick.
Anyway, thanks for the informative trip report.
BTW, I think the flight number should be 328, not 329. On Feb 6, CSN 329 flew from YVR to CAN.
A couple of the things you are calling out are "normal" from a Chinese perspective:
1) Waiting while you look at a menu (typical in restaurants across the country)
2) Limited differentiation between napkins and tissue...often used in the same situations.
Again, your right to find these odd, but can go both ways.
Is that supposed to be CSN flight 328? I was on CSN 329 on the 6th and that was out of YVR!
Laughed the whole way through. I just pictured you in these awkward situations, perusing the cabin and seeing different people in seats throughout the flight.
Hmm... After the fireworks that occured when you posted the preview, I was expecting it to be worse or -- I suppose -- I was already prepared for it 🙂
@ Lucky -- so you think that FAs wanted all people to move up to first row so that it was more convenient for them to use row 2 themselves? And, at least, I didn't see any mention of smoking which, upon reading of FT, seems to happen pretty often on Chinese airlines (pilots and crew can smoke).
again, I hope someone here forward this full report to head of the company and let them see with their own eyes. Its not to shame a company but to point out whats going on with the functionality of its airlines and crews. Its a shame to have a $300 million dollars airplane and the crew treated as a commuter bus in F class.
I've had a similar experience at immigration in PEK but I actually was in transit. Taking LX from ZRH, landed really early and since I was in transit I had to use the special transit desk at immigration. Which wasn't manned. I was the first person there and waited about 8 minutes for someone to arrive as the line grew behind me. Eventually got through and went through other kind of immigration desk/passport check before I went through security to get back to the departures area.
SG
Flew business on CZ a couple times last year... had pretty much the same experience.
Started with 10 passengers in the whole section, woke up and every seat was filled with crew and/or other people who weren't there for dinner.. the crew member across the aisle from me slept without pants on (I didn't notice until he stood up just before landing, to put them back on).
The language barrier was pretty hard in general. The seat was pretty great though, so I would do it again!
@ Anthony -- Thanks for the clarification, makes perfect sense! Was my first time flying on an A380 out of LAX, so guess that's why it was unusual to me.
@ GlobalGourment -- Nope, I specifically asked, and they said it was the same champagne (though like everything else it could have been a communication issue). Then again, on Guangzhou to Tokyo it was the same champagne in first class once again.
@ CL -- Best A380 first class products? Stay tuned for a side-by-side comparison. After all, that's why I tried all of them. 😉
@ Rich Larson @ Hawaiian Joe -- Thanks, you're both right, updated the post to correct it.
@ Ivan Y -- My guess is they wanted all the passengers in the first row so that they had the second row and area around the galley all to themselves.
Mainland China carriers have a history of premium cabin abuse. I remember flying on CA in the mid '90s, and our family would always get bumped up to C/F because we did business with the station manager (who has since retired). And this was an allowed practice back then! It really tightened up when CA joined *A, and the last unofficial "bump" we got was in '08. This occurred after boarding was completed. I am glad that the abuse is not as rampant as before; recently I have heard that CA has been firing abusers of the system. Hopefully CZ will tighten up their policies as well. It truly dilutes a premium cabin experience.
@hkairlinenews - When I fly first class I do not separate hard and soft product. It is first class all the way or it is not. Can I pay just for the hard product of the first class (1/2 of the ticket price) and bring my own food? No. Thus, real first class is the sum of hard and soft product such as Emirates, Ethiad, Air France, Cathay, Lufthansa and a few others. China Southern, United and even AA should be forbidden to use the term "first class" on their planes. They are misleading their customers.
If the company's senior officials are truly discussing this flight based on your online feedback, seems that the crew picked the wrong flight to screw around with the F cabin seats and F lavatory. I somehow get the feeling that the China Southern crews won't be doing that anymore. But clearly there was more going on than meets the eye on that flight, and i suspect it started with the cheap champagne you were served.
Thank you for the informative and entertaining trip report. Really enjoyed reading it with my 3 year old son 🙂 First class seats situation really puzzled me, hope we will find out what really happened. I am of the opinion, that hard and soft must go together, based on your report, I would not fly them, no matter how wonderful suite is by itself. Thanks !
@Santastico,
Funny how LH still has a ton of aircraft with dated F seats, worse than UA, AA (even 772), CA, CZ.
Hi lucky, thanks for the report! I didn't expect a raving report especially since it was a china southern product! Having sat in business from can-sin, the only real benefit that I thought was worth it was the amount of check in baggage you're allowed -3 pieces at 23 kg each! Also, we paid extra for an additional piece of luggage for something like usd90 which is a steal because SQ is like usd200+. But beware, the ground staff refused to accept my chase sapphire preferred. We asked for a reason (we speak good Chinese) and they refused to explain and tossed the card back to us and asked for another. They were very rude and with 3 representatives being available, nobody took the time to assist us!! Either way, my husband was transferred to guangzhou for 4 years and our experience there was a horror. We've since moved to taipei and it's like a whole other world. Btw, napkin is ”zhi jing" in mandarin in case anyone is interested. 🙂
Excellent trip report!
This report clarifies my imagination of China Southern first class experience.
Thank you for scouting!
@ Sammi -- Totally forgot about that. On that flight took off from the 24s (north runway).
An amusing review: First, that one heck of a long flight! But eight seats in FC - three occupied by ticket holders - should boost the soft service, even without the Engrish problems.. I guess not. That personal suite reminds me of a long-haul Amtrak train, but muuuch cleaner. The duty-free baggage is amusing; don't those folks understand that they are still getting screwed? The PJs, both colors and the rope-knot buttons are fun; I hope you kept them. And the food and beverages? What can I say? the pix show nice presentation, but with minimal care, it could be presented so much better. The half egg with the b'fast spread is pathetic, likely cooked 24++ before service and beyond help. One has to ask if they test this stuff at the age of actual service and after 12+ hours on a horribly dry environment. Most really do, but I guess China Southern does not listen to their caterers. And lastly, LMAO about that 'sparkling wine.' Sleeping crew in the UO seats is understandable - sort of, but their domination of the single FC lav, and their residuals is probably worth a letter to their principal U.S. agent or office. Disgusting! Good report and clearly not the line that I would select, especially for a 15+ hour trip.
Seems you are becoming a little obsessed with champagne 😉
All in all, while it does seem to have a solid hard product, the soft product leaves quite a bit to be desired. I guess this is an airline you just fly to mark off a checklist, and not one to fly again (unless you plan on sleeping the whole time).
@NO Fly Zone, the half egg is a traditional Chinese delicacy called Salted Egg. It supposed to be a little bit chewy and hard.
@Audreyu8 Napkin would be "can jing", tissue would be "zhi jing" I don't think we differentiate the usage of the two woods that much
@lucky I believe the crews are facing disciplinary actions according to source. The original chief purser is now working in the main cabin.
@Tam - You want condescending and negative racial undertones, just go over to Gary at View from the Wing. Just make sure not to click on any of his credit card affiliate links. He can't help himself and usually says something 'condescending' or something with 'negative racial undertones' once every other week or so.
Ben on the other hand is the furthest from that. He was real nice when I met him at one of the FT Universities. I met and saw Gary a while back to and he just came off as an arrogant, insensitive jerk. Then I read some of his postings and that confirmed it for me.
Lucky is the BEST!!!!
From what I read from Weibo (Chinese microblog), the cabin crew who served you in the first class cabin on that LAX-CAN flight already received "punishment" from CZ. Basically everyone of that crew is now put on lower ranks and some of them are not allowed to serve in first class any more.
In general not just on A380. To narrow it down, how did this flight compare to International F on US Carriers? From what I've read in this review, it seems even worse than US Carriers F, which is a feat in itself.
I personally would've chalked this trip experience to meeting expectations when flying a China based carrier.
On a side note, checking CZ's website, there's no mention of expected cabin service =D
Is this "upgrade" practice standard for Chinese airlines? I've got a flight in economy coming up with China Air and would love to upgrade after takeoff.
I try to book CZ with skymiles but the delta agent can't find any seats. I tried 3 different agents and the answer was the same. LAX-CAN-LAX, 4/9 to 4/24. Expertflyer show O-9, O-5 respectively. I called Korean Air and use Air France's site and they were both available. Does CZ restrict business class booking to delta?
you may be suprised to see the discussions triggered by this trip report on Chinese media. Looks like CZ is taking it very seriously
I think this is an excellent review. I love the China Southern product and it is attractively priced. At the same time, it does look like the crew did some things they should not have done here and the restroom issue is a problem.
Lucky, if you were flying China Southern in business and could upgrade to first at reasonable price, would you do it? Have an upcoming flight from LA to Kuala Lumpur on CZ and wondering if it would be worth it to see if a paid upgrade is possible if the price is reasonable.
A few months ago, I took CX business from Dubai to LA via Guangzhou and was pleasantly surprised (although my expectations were low.) A380 hard product is quite good, comparable to Emirates and better than Korean and Malaysia; the food and beverage was adequate although not stellar.
One other thing, shortly after boarding in CAN, an announcement was made over the PA system that "On board upgrade system is in process" (or something like that.) Anyone know what that is?
@ Bill Sweeney -- I'd definitely consider upgrading if the cost were reasonable for the superior hard product. It is a great hard product if nothing else.
@ Bill Sweeney - Upgrades are definitely possible with SkyPearl miles in most cases but one needs to call Guangzhou and it is a lot easier in Chinese than English. First is sometimes even empty and offers great value in most cases. I've heard the same announcements about in-flight upgrades and am not sure what they are.
Check this out, review of CS's Dreamliner's business class. The writer was a guest of CS and this is somehow reflected in his review.
Well... about the First Class being occupied... see, that is the reason every time I fly Air China I am in either business or first. It is popular in China to go through unofficial "side channels," where around $200 USD will get me into business, or first depending on the specific flight attendant. This of course hinges on the fact that you know someone who is a FA or a captain.
The tray that hold the dim sum is obviously a plastic tray from Y ! Even if they have to serve food from Y, wouldn't you think the FA would at least put the dim sum on a F plate to serve at the very least ?
@ No Fly Zone - It seems like you are not familiar with Chinese or southeast Asian cuisine at all ! That half egg is a salted egg rather than a fresh egg ! No one eat congee with a fresh broiled egg ! Salted egg is a very common side dish/condiment to accompany congee, just like the pickles next to it, as plain congee has no flavor at all, the salted egg and pickles are used as to "spiced up" the congee ! The salted egg is an "old" egg rather than "fresh" egg, as it has to go through a salt curing process that takes up weeks at a time in order for the entire egg that including the yolk to be completely salted, rather than just add salt on the top the egg. Also, you won't crack open the shell of the egg not til you re ready to eat, so it wouldn't be dry at all. Salted egg is also very common to accompany with, when you order a barbecue pork and roast duck over rice dish in a Chinese restaurant.
Upon being seated, the apple juice martini and dire $5-a-bottle champagne were probably as prescient a tip-off as to the remainder of the flight as anything. Nice review. One of the most interminable layovers I've ever had in my life was at the woebegone Guangzhou airport a few years ago. Twelve hours of hell, followed by a 15-hour flight on China Southern. I should have gotten a medal when I got off the plane in L.A.
Sparkling white wine should NEVER be confused with, or refered to as, champagne! Two entirely different things in every respect. I do notice in most Economy cabins, the FAs refer to it as champagne in offering around the water/orange juice/champagne (not) tray around take-off time.
This is one of the MOST USEFUL reviews I've ever written. It was a novel with three acts... I am so grateful! And I'm sending my client on Cathay.
I flew the Guangzhou to LAX on the A380 last year. They don't offer paid upgrades at the desk. I was told I had to ask the attendants once I was boarded. I did ask upon boarding as well as they announced that if anyone wanted an upgrade to ask. I got upgraded from economy to business for $1100 which they charged my card before I was allowed up. Once in business they gave me the Salvatore kit but for meals they said since we were originally booked in economy they didn't have any extra meals so I was given my economy meals for the duration.
It's possible that the family sitting in first had also paid the upgrade during the flight and not a upgrade as a favor.
Thank you for writing this report. I enjoyed reading your opinion on China Southern Airlines.
What I enjoyed most was all the photographs that you took during your flight, that made the trip more real for me.
What you have done though, is make me want to take a trip on this airline. You have given a truthful view on how you felt about it all, BUT it actually reads well for China Southern Airlines.
I actually burst out laughing at the way you viewed things, but I understand why you felt that way, it was a different cultural experience for you. The way you reacted was understandable, but IMHO, you wrote a good report for your experience flying the China Southern Mighty A380.
Have you flown any other trips on the Mighty A380 with other airlines?
This review is truthful and breaks the experience down nicely. I was thinking of taking business class from JFK to CAN in November with CS. I have always been flying business class with Cathay as long as this kind of crazy long haul trips are concern. I have always appreciate the kind of service Cathay was able to offer. The only thing that made me ever consider taking a flight with CS is to avoid the transit time I will waste at the HK airport if I take Cathay. But this review is making me think twice about flying with CS since all the times I have flied with them was not pleasant regardless of long or short haul. I still remember my CS flight from Guangzhou to Seoul that a passenger open the overhead while the plane was on the runway to take off and the FA just walked by. The luggage was literately jiggling in the overhead ready to bounce out. That freaked me out as to how professionally trained these crews can be. Honestly, when I broad the plane my life is in their hands. That's why I have always try to avoid CS flights ever since. I think this review is giving me better insight to reach my decision.
Wait, what did you expect. You use tissues to clean up. Don't you. What do americans use then?
Personally, I agree that CS did not have the "best" servace. But please, it came across as a bit rude about what you said about the flight attendent...
If an airlines has for destination the US the least they could do is speak ENGLISH !! nothing condescending about that, thats just common sense . Never mind the common sense thing or professionalism , I understand its entirely waisted on a Chinese carrier . I do thank the reporter for his article I just wish I would have read it earlier and for my part I can honestly say business class on china southern was a horrible experience never to be repeated , its united airlines from now on . Ho ! and for good measure they manage to loose my luggages LOL.
I must have had the same crew on my two flights his week. On the a380 fight was woken up by the smell of cigarette smoke five times and then again on my a319 flight twice I could smell someone smoking in the plane. Food was lack luster. Service was atrocious. It's an experience I'd never like to have again.
probably thiefery and conartists. 5$ champaigne--seriously for F? This again presents yet more examples of abuse and fraud in Chinese airlines. Lotsa funny business and BS.
At least from a hard product perspective, the first and business class seats look like what is used by Asiana on its A380s.
And that’s why I never want to fly on a china airline, and on more general terms, I never want to use anything made by china
"When I went up to use the restroom I saw the captain sitting in the flight attendant jumpseat reading a newspaper. Just very, very odd…"
I would suggest that you saw "a" captain reading a newspaper. I see long haul cockpit crew hanging out in the forward galley, socialising, fairly often. Usually just before or just after a toilet visit.
A good review, thanks. I contrast the toilet skid marks with Singapore, where the FC toilet/s is/are cleaned after every use.
A real shame about the 'champagne'.