Hainan Airlines is generally regarded as the best mainland Chinese airline, and I've had positive experiences flying with them. The airline primarily flies 787s to the US, as they have 38 of them, including 787-8 and 787-9 variants. The airline already has a varied business class product. Some of Hainan's 787s feature fully flat forward…
Continue reading: Hainan Airlines Will Fly A350 To Boston
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
One bonus of the A350 over the 787 on this route is that passengers can take comfort in the fact that they won't be on a plane built with "shoddy production" according to the workers who build it.
@Endre, as Beijing is exactly 12 hours ahead of Boston during the northern summer, it looks like the PEK-BOS leg is clocked at 13hr 15min and the BOS-PEK leg is 13hr 50min
@Endre - Odd that someone who flies "paid first class 90% of the time" is so curious about a business class flight on a crap Chinese airline. Saving those pennies by flying in economy to one day scrounge up enough for a business class ticket are we? lol
Hainan Airlines is generally regarded as the best mainland Chinese airline.
Should rather be written:
Hainan Airlines is generally regarded as the best "Skytrax income" mainland Chinese airline.
I cannot comment on long-haul business class, but I certainly don't agree that Hainan Airlines is the best mainland Chinese airline for flights within China. In fact, I would put it among the worst.
Air China, China Eastern, and others offer an extremely pleasant flight experience between major mainland Chinese cities. Planes are comfortable with good entertainment, they always serve a substantial meal, and they even have some nice lounges (especially Air China's PVG lounge). I am an American and I also tend to find the service lovely and the English level is quite good among their crew.
Hainan was actually my worst Chinese airline experience, and I've even flown some of the mainland Chinese low-cost carriers. The flight attendants are not trained in even the most basic safety precautions. There was a huge line to use the bathroom midflight and when extreme turbulence hit (to the point where the captain asked FAs to sit), the FA just let the passengers continue to stand in the aisle. Eventually, she had them crouch in the aisle instead of returning to their seats. She had absolutely no idea what she was doing and it was scary to imagine how she would handle an emergency. Also, they somehow spilled a large amount of urine in the galley floor. Overall, a terrible experience and I try to avoid Hainan domestically, though it might not be an issue for long!
@Dave that’s a different Endre and I feel like you have made this mistake before...
My problem with Hainan is their schedules. They have useful flights for me, but not when they only fly them 2 or 3 times a week. They fly alternatively from Chengdu or Chongqing from JFK nonstop depending upon the day, but it would be more useful for them to choose one and serve it everyday. They clearly want to sit on the routes rather than serve them properly.