Review of China Airlines flight Taipei Hong Kong in Economy

Airline China Airlines
Flight CI641
Class Economy
Seat 63K
Aircraft Boeing 777-300ER
Flight time 02:05
Take-off 25 Jan 20, 08:50
Arrival at 25 Jan 20, 10:55
CI   #22 out of 95 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 106 reviews
Steven_mht
By 1351
Published on 15th February 2020

introduction


Have you ever flown with an empty Boeing 777 cabin except chartering one for yourself? I did…… 


photo img_20200125_084912-66391

I took a selfie during mid-flight, I enjoyed every moments in my flight very very much as there was no any disturbance. I could do anything I like, from listening the roaring of the GE90 engines to enjoying TV shows. 


photo img_20200125_055632

My journey started from the early morning in Taipei. That day was the Chinese New Year and it is our own culture to gather with relatives on that special day. After my 2 days aviation trip for the inauguration of STARLUX airlines in Taipei, I was heading back to my home city - Hong Kong for family gathering, so I was therefore picking this early flight. 


photo img_20200125_075647

The check-in process was smooth in the early morning and I was soon be there in the boarding gate for some plane spotting. However, the weather there was no so good, especially for the poor visibility….so I decided to get a light breakfast before boarding


photo img_20200125_081325

Soon I realised that my boarding gate was for the remote stand, I was told to get into this shuttle bus. After 20 minutes of waiting in this shuttle, it finally departed and I realised that this was the only bus carrying passengers for my B777 flight, while the shuttle bus was not packed with passengers.


photo img_20200125_090016

I love this special livery of EVA Air


photo img_20200125_084223

My flight:
25/1/2020
China Airlines
Boeing 777-300(ER)
B-18003
CI641 TPE/HKG 


What a great plane, I always love the GE90 engines, they're incredible! This is why I would always love to pick the 777-300ER / 777-200LR flights even for regional routes.


cabin


Actually there were not that many passengers to get onboard the plane, so I was able to get some pictures all around this pretty aircraft


photo img_20200125_084553photo img_20200125_084540

The business class cabin. I heard some may say the colours of the cabin are terrible, but I think it looks decent and comfortable, just a matter of taste I guess


photo img_20200125_084603

The premium economy cabin of China Airlines. A special point to note, is that the premium economy seats are sold as preferred seats of  economy for regional routes, the deal was great but I didn't upgrade myself for this 1.5 hours flight, as I saw lot's of empty seats during online-check-in.


photo img_20200125_100424

The economy cabin is in a typical 3-4-3 configuration. To be honest, this is my first time getting on a 3-4-3 configured B77W….. I have only flown with Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and the old configuration of Cathay Pacific which are 3-3-3 configured. But anyways, I couldn't make a conclusion on whether 3-4-3 B777s are that terrifying or not with this flight….


photo img_20200125_085539

The safety card of the China Airlines B777-300ER 


mid-flight & catering


My plane was incredibly empty, there were less than 20 passengers onboard my flight including all cabin classes. It was a great surprise that this situation was happening in a 777-300ER aircraft, which is the largest equipment in the fleet. I can assume this situation to be happened due to the outbreak of coronavirus in Asia with the political instability in Hong Kong, while passengers would tend to avoid travelling during these days, where airline companies suffer most.


I would say the service onboard was extremely good, nearly a one-to-one service, I could gain timely response when I requested for a drink. 


photo img_20200125_084901

An interesting fact was that there were no trolley carts in this flight, I was served by a FA directly, probably there were too few passengers on board.


Btw, the legroom was pretty good, better than I expected. The seat was extremely comfortable, probably no any one sat with me, even the whole back cabin. The IFE was fair, to be honest, I could't manage to control it properly….. But the screen was nice and clear enough


photo img_20200125_093141

The meal was great, I loved the taste of the pork, I always appreciate a main course was served during this 1.5 hour morning flight, and China Airlines is the only one among its counterparts (HX,CX,KA,BR) serving meals instead of snackboxes during non-meal hours flights for this route. 


photo img_20200125_094048

A traditional Chinese style dessert served along with the meal


photo img_20200125_091621photo img_20200125_105515

Finally returned my home city when I saw lots of Cathay Pacific aircrafts hanging around!

See more

Verdict

China Airlines

8.5/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Meal/catering9.0

Taipei - TPE

8.5/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.5
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.5

Hong Kong - HKG

9.2/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.5
Services9.5
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

My aviation trip to Taipei gave me surprises, from STARLUX to the empty 77W flights, had indeed gave me lots of memorable moments! These days are definitely the difficult times for the aviation industry, hope it would get recovered soon. For this flight, I enjoyed it a lot, especially the moments without any distraction and disturbance, somehow like flying with a B777 private jet!

Information on the route Taipei (TPE) Hong Kong (HKG)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 61 avis concernant 4 compagnies sur la ligne Taipei (TPE) → Hong Kong (HKG).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Cathay Pacific avec 8.4/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 1 heures et 50 minutes.

  More information

3 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 542318 by
    fiftytwo GOLD 1418 Comments
    Hi

    Lucky you !! Thanks for report !
  • Comment 542334 by
    hometoyyz 539 Comments
    Hi Steven. Thanks for sharing this private-big-jet experience!

    I heard some may say the colours of the cabin are terrible, but I think it looks decent and comfortable, just a matter of taste I guess


    Interesting. I’ve always thought CI’s J cabin is one of the most beautiful out there … although it does seem a little “dark” sometimes.

    I heard some may say the colours of the cabin are terrible, but I think it looks decent and comfortable, just a matter of taste I guess


    So when a CI agent at TPE moved me from a normal economy seat to a premium economy seat on TPE-HKG last year, it wasn’t because she thought I was cute, it was probably because I’m a SkyTeam Elite Plus? What a damper.

    The economy cabin is in a typical 3-4-3 configuration


    I refuse to accept 10-across 77Ws as “typical.”

    But anyways, I couldn't make a conclusion on whether 3-4-3 B777s are that terrifying or not with this flight….


    No, I suppose not! LOL.

    there were less than 20 passengers onboard my flight


    Makes my 30-person A350 flight on DTW-PEK the day after this looked like it was packed by comparison!

    China Airlines is the only one among its counterparts (HX,CX,KA,BR) serving meals instead of snackboxes during non-meal hours flights for this route. 


    I did not know that. I guess they still see it as a premium/prestige route, given the kinship of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

    Finally returned my home city when I saw lots of Cathay Pacific aircrafts hanging around!


    And unfortunately, it sounds like we’re going to see way too many CX aircraft “hanging around” all too often for the next little while.

    Looks like a memorable experience for such a short and mundane flight. A great series all told.

    Cheers!
  • Comment 542338 by
    airberlin GOLD 1872 Comments
    Thanks for the report. Nice to see those big planes used on regional routes... especially when they’re so empty :)

Login to post a comment.