Review of Air China flight Los Angeles Beijing in Economy

Airline Air China
Flight CA984
Class Economy
Seat 35A
Aircraft Boeing 777-300ER
Flight time 12:00
Take-off 25 Jul 19, 01:40
Arrival at 25 Jul 19, 04:40
CA 186 reviews
Harry_He
By 4206
Published on 9th November 2019

Routing

  • CA984 - Economy - Los Angeles -> Beijing - Boeing 777-300ER You are here
  • CA1643 - Economy - Beijing -> Harbin - Airbus A321 Coming soon
  • CZ6269 - Economy - Harbin -> Xi'an - Airbus A320 Coming soon
  • CZ6270 - Economy - Xi'an -> Harbin - Airbus A320 Coming soon
  • ZH9622 - Premium Economy - Harbin -> Shenzhen - Boeing 737-800 Coming soon
  • CA769 - Economy - Shenzhen -> Los Angeles - Boeing 787-9 Coming soon

SUMMER 2019


photo dsc08758

Good evening from LAX! 
This will be my first flight out of the six as part of my summer travel series. I will be going to stay 18 days in Manchuria and China spending time with family and traveling. I will be flying 3 flights on Air China (CA), 2 flights on China Southern (CZ), and 1 flight on Shenzhen Airlines (ZH).


photo dsc08760

Star Alliance airlines use the C check-in slots here at LAX's TBIT.


photo dsc08762

Plenty of departure tonight. Midnight is the peak hour for trans pacific flights.


Booking


photo dsc08763

Oh yeah that reminds me. I booked this flight with Amex Plat for a grand total of $550 everything included for the four legs: LAX-PEK-HRB-SZX-LAX. I was supposed to fly on Sichuan's Airbus A350-900 booked 4 months before departure for $750 (Air China was going for $1100 for this flight). "Thanks" to the trade war with the US, tickets prices dipped and I got this flight for a ridiculously cheap price a week before departure…(It would be very bad for the national carrier to have 30-40% occupancy rate). Air China needed to get rid of the seats somehow…


check-in


photo dsc08764

Love the Departures board.


photo dsc08767

This is my 3rd time flying this flight (CA984). Hope everything goes well!


photo dsc08768

Swift check in as always. Bags will be delivered straight to my final destination, Harbin.


photo dsc08771

Line at TSA was short as always. I hate LAX but also at the same time love this place!


photo dsc08773

Not a big fan of dogs…Gotta stay calm around them or they will pat me down!


photo dsc08777

I take a picture of this everytime…Don't know what it is but it looks pleasing.


photo dsc08778

Made it through the first time without having any mean ladies yelling at me. Proud of myself. (I am not dangerous I'm just a plane nerd)


photo dsc08780

Normal people would just go straight to their gate or shop around. NOT ME.


photo dsc08805

Beautiful livery. 


photo dsc08811

Here is the plane that I was supposed to fly on… Database showed 38% load…


photo dsc08812

Here's my favourite Chinese carrier hometown airline China Southern's A380 to Guangzhou.


photo dsc08813

Flew on CX's new 3-4-3 77W back in April.



photo dsc08803

Flew on HU's 789 too. It was fine, that's all I can say…



photo dsc08814

Walking towards Costco


photo dsc08816

SQ37 going to SIN. This is the very first time that I have actually got a decent picture of an A359ULR!


delta tour


photo dsc08784

Thanks for the chauffeur ride to Terminal 3 Delta! Been craving for some Shake Shack.


photo dsc08787

Gotta give Delta credit for assigning my "personal" ride in just 30 seconds…It's like Uber in world's 4th busiest airport!


photo dsc08788

Delta A321 and Delta Ford Escape


photo dsc08790

Big fan of Delta. Sadly their business model doesn't work for me. I am a Star Alliance loyal and my fav US carrier is United.


photo dsc08794

Delta 739ER  going to MSP


photo dsc08796

No one wants Shake Shack at 12AM? Guess I'm the only one…


photo dsc08797

Dang Terminal 3 looks fantastic! Good job Delta.


photo dsc08801

Going back to TBIT on my "private" bus


Boarding


photo dsc08825

Here's my ride! B-2087, a 7 year old 777-300ER.


photo dsc08828

Boarded in last group for sitting in second row of economy.


photo dsc08829

And with a swipe on my boarding pass, I am out of the United States. (debatable)


photo dsc08830

Claustrophobic jet bridge for a spacious and modern terminal. Now that's a juxtaposition.


photo dsc08831

Anyone feels like reading at 1AM?


photo dsc08832

And here we go. I had not a great experience with them last time flying, wonder if it has changed.


air china 77w economy


photo dsc08833-52215

2-2-2 config in J class.


photo dsc08836-61726

Darn it! Middle seat strategie failed… There goes $15*2 dollars..


photo dsc08837

Legroom is good even after my gears conquering the pocket.


photo dsc08843

Pillows and blanket were provided. That blanket is gonna come in handy but not for its intended purpose…


photo dsc08840

There is a premium economy section where you can get by spending $1000 more when booking or $15 more when choosing your seat… That's because the soft and hard product are exactly the same except for 3 inches of additional pitch.


photo dsc08838

Pushing back…Drama ahead (more than 1)


photo dsc08844

Because we were at the awkward gate 133, we needed to be pushed on D10 to D short of D10. The driver instead pushed us blocking the D/D10 intersection. The only one ATC acting as both 24/25 TWR and N/S Ground continuously yelled at us to get out of the way for Delta entering ramp… The pilots didn't understand… At the same time, a Korean was looking to get push clearance and ATC got mad because he stepped on ATC's mike…Drama that 300 other passengers didn't have a chance to appreciate. Poor Delta waited 10 minutes because of us…
Drama 1 of 2


photo dsc08845

5 minutes later we're off to China. Took of at 1:40AM, the exact scheduled time. Looking great so far!


photo dsc08846

Drama 2 of 2:
The middle seat lady complained about the PTV screen being…weird? (It was fine when I used it) She demanded to be moved to business class. Instead, FA offered her an exit row seat and she accepted. Free middle seat for us! Yay! 


photo dsc08848

Apple juice, not pee.


photo dsc08851

This light is super annoying when you are sitting right under it…


photo dsc08853

Power outlet works.


photo dsc08855photo dsc08857

Dinner


photo dsc08854

My mom's fruit platter, not bad.


photo dsc08858

Finished dinner as we left the US.


photo dsc08861

Crew bunk


photo dsc08862

Self serve station with NO SNACKS only drinks.


photo dsc08863

Database showed 97% load.


photo dsc08866

Woke up after a decent 5 hour sleep with 6 hours left to go. THE SEAT HURTS. It lacks padding. I had to wrap the pillow under the blanket so that I could sleep…



Watched two movies before breakfast… Outdated IFE system and small and crappy screen.


photo dsc08880

Breakfast…
Not bad just they used to serve breakfast breakfast on this route… 


photo dsc08877

Fruit platter


photo dsc08882-96240

Goodie


photo dsc08883

It said spoon inside yet my mom ate it with the "breakfast" spoon from the try.


photo dsc08886

Flying over my final destination, Harbin. See ya in 8 hours!


photo dsc08891

This mood lightning is putting me in a bad mood. It made the cabin looks so dystopian.


photo dsc08894

highly adjustable headrest.


photo dsc08900

Good morning Beijing!


photo dsc08902

Long final plus low cieling…Typical Beijing


photo dsc08905

On final 36L


photo dsc08907

And after 12 hours we're in China.


photo dsc08912

Grounded 787-9s due to engine issues. And grounded 737-8MAXs. Great job Boeing!


photo dsc08921

Parked next to B-2035, who suffered a compressor stall at IAD a few months later.



photo dsc08924

Now that's a much better jetbridge @lax


photo dsc08925

Thanks for the ride, B-2087!


photo dsc08928

Walking to immigration took a solid 10 minutes.


photo dsc08935

Mom has abandoned me to use the Chinese nationals electronic admission line… 
Immigration took about 20 minutes. 


transfer


photo dsc08937

After a smooth transfer, I made it to the Air China domestic lounge. 
Stay tuned for my trip to see the terracotta warriors!


THE end

See more

Verdict

Air China

7.9/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Meal/catering7.5

Los Angeles - LAX

8.8/10
Efficiency8.0
Access7.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0

Beijing - PEK

8.5/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.5
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

Okay flight with lagging IFE that lacks modern content (6/10). Crew were awesome (10/10). Food were decent at best; however, no in flight snack was provided (7.5/10). Cabin felt old and very badly maintained. The seat needs more padding (8/10).
Overall, a great flight with Air China for a great value!

Related

10 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 529621 by
    K2World 2191 Comments
    Thank you for this report, really nice pictures
    How do you know the load of the aircraft ?
  • Comment 529657 by
    Travelxperiance 30 Comments
    Great review ..That business class looked like a premium economy!!!
  • Comment 529665 by
    ThomasDutch SILVER 632 Comments
    It seems that Air China definitely improved their product compared to your last flight report if I read through it.
    -
    The middle seat lady complained about the PTV screen being…weird? (It was fine when I used it) She demanded to be moved to business class. Instead, FA offered her an exit row seat and she accepted. Free middle seat for us! Yay!

    I could understand that she would ask cabin crew if there's a possibility to be relocated due to a malfunctioning IFE system, but to demand a business class seat as in return for a broken IFE is a tad too much. I would've probably relocated her to an even poorer seat somewhere in the vicinity of a lavatory haha, but good that you had your free seat back.
    -
    Another excellent report and thanks for sharing!
  • Comment 529672 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    While I'm usually a fan of mood lighting on planes...not this weird orange lighting...yuck. Dystopian is the word.

    Too bad he seats lacked padding. At least they were in a more spacious 3-3-3. IME the middle seat strategy has only worked about 50% of the time and usually at the back of the cabin. You all got lucky with the "weird" IFE in the middle seat! LOL that she wanted to be moved to J...right, like that was ever gonna happen.

    Was the power outlet a regular outlet, USB, or both?

    Grounded 787-9s due to engine issues. And grounded 737-8MAXs. Great job Boeing!

    Sad ?

    Nice report as always.
    • Comment 529685 by
      Harry_He AUTHOR 66 Comments
      This is the fourth time it had worked for me haha. The 100% way is to buy the seat tho that’s kinda expensive... The power source was only an outlet. Somehow Air China’s 77W doesn’t have USB ports... They desperately need refurbishment although Chinese carriers never refurbish... Thanks for reading Kévin!
  • Comment 529847 by
    jish.b 283 Comments
    Thank you for sharing this flight report! I am excited to see what the rest of the series entails of :)
    Having flown CA on (slightly) different routes compared to this one, I do have a few comments...
    -With CA having several flights to LAX, I am surprised they haven't upgraded the 777s to have their latest product, comparable to those on the 747-8, 787 and A350
    -...which means the IFE would've been miles better as well...
    -No snacks?! Ouch.
    -Food hasn't changed clearly haha... well, it does the job..
    -Crew being nice, I have noticed this on all 4 of my CA flights as well. Awesome stuff!
    -An efficient transfer at PEK?!?!?! NO way!!!! :P

    Looking forward to the rest!
    • Comment 529848 by
      Harry_He AUTHOR 66 Comments
      I have a feeling that Air China would retire its 777-300ER fleet or move them to domestic service... Chinese airlines NEVER refurbish their planes...Haha yeah I was kind expecting no snacks, that's why I brought some...Thanks for reading my post!

Login to post a comment.