186 reviews
My apologies for the delayed review again. I flew Air China business class, from Tokyo to Hong Kong via Beijing in Dec 2017. This report covers the second leg from Beijing to Hong Kong. I had 1.5 hour for my transfer which I thought would be safe for myself and my luggage, but it was not the case.
I've got my boarding pass of this flight at Haneda already. Air China is a Star Alliance member but I was surprised that their ground handling agent was JAL but not ANA. The boarding pass and luggage tag were also printed on JAL paper.
Obviously Beijing Capital Airport was not designed as a transfer hub. Connecting passengers have to walk through a very narrow and dark passage with just a few counters. After my boarding pass got stamped, walked downstairs (very narrow again) and queued for a chaotic security check. Many transferring passengers were squeezed in a cramped space with just two security counters. Staff keep shouting flight numbers to let passengers with tight connection time go first. I would say the whole process was disastrous. After getting myself thru the security check, my flight was already making the final boarding call. Need not to mention no time for checking out the Air China Business Class Lounge.
CA109 Beijing to Hong Kong
Air China A330-300 (Reg: B-8577)
Air China's A330-300 business class comes with flat-bed seats in 2-2-2 configuration. So passengers sitting on the window sides don't have aisle access if you got a fellow passenger. I masked the feet of my fellow passenger in order not to affect your appetite.
Had a glass of orange juice for my pre-departure drink
The menu and wine list of this flight. The menu will be taken away after taking your order (Probably they'll reuse it). A bit odd comparing to airlines like Cathay or ANA. But it's good in term of environmental friendly.
Taking off from Beijing Capital Intl Airport, misty as usual
Soon the meal services were started. I had a glass of Greatwall Dry Red Wine produced in Hebei Province of China. I don't usually drink red wine so I can't give any comment.
For the main dish, I chose the Chinese option - Gongbao Chicken. A bit greasy but taste good. The appetizer Five Spicy Smoked Pomfret was a bit weird, I just left it behind.
Desserts: Cake and sliced fruit.
After meal services, lighting was dimmed for a while before landing
Flying over Zhuhai and Macau. All flights from Guangzhou FIR must fly via this point to enter Hong Kong airspace.
Landed HKG at about 4:40pm
At the luggage claim, I kept my eyes on the carousel but I couldn't find my suitcase. I headed to the luggage lost & damage counter to figure out what happened. The gentleman at the counter key in my luggage tag number and told me "Your luggage is now on the next flight CA115 and expected to arrive after 2~3 hours." We all love flying F, but this time another word starting with F came up in my mind. Luckily my family is living in Hong Kong so the situation was not that bad. The gentleman told me to go home first, my suitcase will be sent to my home using express courier once arrived Hong Kong. Finally my suitcase arrived at about 1am midnight!
A Property Irregularity Report was given to me.
It was the first time I see a luggage tag in red mark, and a RUSH sign.
Avoid transferring in Beijing unless you have plenty of connecting time (say >3hrs), or you fully understand the possibility of missing flight (both yourself and your luggage). I can't deny the prices of Air China are really attractive, most of the time you could fly on their business class with just a bit more than the prices of economy class of premium airlines such as Cathay or ANA. But, it DOES come with a cost.
For the flight itself, I have no complaint as you get what you expected on Air China.
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 19 avis concernant 4 compagnies sur la ligne Beijing (PEK) → Hong Kong (HKG).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Cathay Pacific avec 8.4/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 3 heures et 37 minutes.
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11 Comments
An unpleasant transfer with a disastrous process.
The seat is quite confortable, especially for a 3 hours flight
"I don't usually drink red wine so I can't give any comment."
At least, will you drink it again ?
The cake looks being a sweet buttercream cake
The meal seems to be average at best.
Did you have to close the window shades ?
It was a daylight flight !
"It was the first time I see a luggage tag in red mark, and a RUSH sign."
Not enough !
Or they didn't care about all these tags
See you soon (or not ;) ) for the next flight
Yes the seat is decent for a short to medium haul flights. Indeed I flew from Beijing to Singapore on Air China and same type of aircraft too. I had a nice dream and the seat is perfect if you don't mind no privacy and jump over your fellow passenger when going to washroom while fellow passenger is sleeping.
I don't usually drink red wine so I probably won't lol, but it's quite interesting China has their own red wine manufacturer, actually this red wine is available from the Beijing Air China First & Business Class Lounge
That was a hazelnut cake (from the menu), but from my memory it was dry like a cleaning cloth
Usually I'll close the window shades as not to affect other passengers :)
I'll write the review for the return flights asap, hopefully lol
Had similar stories with CA at PEK on CA 985 form CKG to PEK back in 2016...... It;s miserable....
On your way back, MAKE SURE to use Singapore Airline Lounge, which is free for you since is Star Alliance Members. Also Thai Lounge. United. I look forward to a full review of those 3 star alliance lounges:))
Sorry to hear that. But I can't deny the ticket prices of Air China are very attractive... especially for their business class to Southeast Asia. You just invest a bit more than economy class of other airlines and get a better seat, also 125% mileage (for me I accumulate them into ANA)
I think in the opposite way lol. Of course I was eligible to access SQ/UA/TG lounges in HKG, but the default lounge for Air China is the CNAC VIP Lounge (a contract lounge mainly for Chinese airlines). Because I have NH*G status, access to SQ/UA/TG lounges is always available for me, but the CNAC VIP Lounge not. So this time I chose the CNAC VIP Lounge instead of *A lounges. To be honest, SG lounge in HKG is a bit overrated from my point of view. Of course they provide decent food selections but the drawback is too crowded. For peak hour you can't even grab a seat in the SQ lounge. My favourite goes to the United Club, food is not on par with SQ but not bad at all. Most importantly the United Club in HKG provides an open space and quiet environment comparing to SQ. For the TG lounge, don't expect much... I'll cover those three lounges for the coming reports! (Please be patient, sorry lol)
Otherwise it seems like it was a nice flight and really good value for money with lie-flats on a 3-hour flight. The catering looks decent, at least visually.
"I masked the feet of my fellow passenger"
- Thank you for that! Bare feet gross me out, haha.
Thanks again for another great report!
I think you're expecting on the new Beijing Daxing Airport if you're flying to Beijing a lot! Let's see any improvement in the future!
Did you able to get in any lounges in PEK? 7 hours was too much to spend in an airport without lounge access!
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