This flight is the first leg of my return journey from Nanjing to Manchester. This time I would be flying with China Southern to Guangzhou before my long haul with AF.
I arrived at the airport by taxi which dropped me off right outside the check-in area.
There was only a short queue for the "first class" check-in. When I got to the front it seemed to take quite a long time to get sorted and I was presented with my boarding card for this flight and it was explained that I would need to check-in again for my next legs once I got to Guangzhou. Strangely my bags were checked in all the way through to Manchester but I wasn't.
I headed to the security area and entered into the priority queue which proceeded swiftly.
Once through it headed through the departures area towards the lounge.
There seemed to be a number of different lounges for China Southern as I was directed to a particular one which was located above the shops. At the reception desk I was greeted in a not overly manner. The lounge seemed to be quite full and I thought I might be turned away, but luckily I was told to sit in one of the few remaining seats.
The lounge was quite full but the individual seats were comfortable enough. I logged on to the free wifi and searched for a plug socket, but there didn't seem to be one anywhere. The food counter seemed very bare, only a few random pre-packed snacks were available, but there was a decent selection of (non-alcoholic) drinks. No wine/beer or any kind.
After a while the boarding time was soon upon me, however there was no information stating it was time to board. I checked my phone to see what was happening.
A small delay it seemed. Then the screen showed a delay.
I waited
And waited
But no further information was given. I went to asked the staff, they said just to continue waiting.
I waited some more.
After another hour or more I asked again. Apparently we would be boarding in 10 mins. The departure was now going to be 2 hours late. Annoying, but I'd still have 2 hours to change in Guangzhou.
Typically, now there was hot food available at the buffet. But no time for me to eat any
It looked quite good.
Heading to the gate, I joined the priority queue and was soon on-board.
Even on this rather small A319, the two rows of "first class" seats were nice and spacious with plenty of leg room
In the seat pocket was the safety card, magazine as well as a list of prohibited items.
There were also some slippers
I was offered a drink of green tea and a newspaper before departure.
After take-off I was offered another tea and some nuts.
As well as some in flight entertainment on a tablet. There were a number of films to choose from, many of which were chinese but also a whole range of films from other countries, but strangely no hollywood blockbusters. I chose to watch a German film.
The food came soon after. I don't think there was a special vegetarian "first class" meal as it arrived in a foil tray. But it tasted fine.
After a couple of hours we were approaching Guangzhou and luckily I had just finished my film before the tablet was taken off me. We seemed to circle the city of Guangzhou before landed giving a great view of the city and all the neon lights. It looked really exciting down there, perhaps somewhere to visit on a future trip.
We landed at the terminal 2 hours late, but the flight was pleasant enough.
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Verdict
China Southern
8.0/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering7.0
Nanjing - NKG
7.5/10
Efficiency8.0
Access7.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness8.0
Guangzhou - CAN
5.0/10
Efficiency5.0
Access5.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness5.0
Conclusion
The lounge in Nanjing wasn't quite the relaxed experience it should be. The staff were quite rude on arrival and not very helpful regarding information about the late flight. The food selection was rubbish when I got there but the hot food seemed to be out in time for me to leave. There were no sockets to charge laptops and the internet connection intermittent.
The actual flight was comfortable and the food was ok. It was a really nice touch to have the tablet as in-flight entertainment. European short haul flights take note - good seats and in-flight entertainment. The only problem was the 2 hour delay.
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Thank you for this very pleasant FR! Too bad for the not-so-pleasant lounge. Don't forget to mark it ;) The onboard hard product seems nice, as well as the catering, was it vegetarian?
Same Flight few days before you (mars 09th 2016) NKG-CAN, 17h30. Same problem, 2 hours 30 minutes delay ! Bad wheather conditions over CAN (officially)
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137 reviews
3 Comments
Too bad for the not-so-pleasant lounge. Don't forget to mark it ;)
The onboard hard product seems nice, as well as the catering, was it vegetarian?
There's currently no option to rate a lounge at NKG, but as soon as I can I will.
Yes I got a vegetarian meal on this flight.
Same Flight few days before you (mars 09th 2016) NKG-CAN, 17h30.
Same problem, 2 hours 30 minutes delay !
Bad wheather conditions over CAN (officially)
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