Air China or B.A

[EasyBaby]

Hi all, i've done a little research on Air China who im very tempted to book a flight with soon, but i've read some VERY mixed views.
Just wondering if i should pack the extra sticky tape and holy water and go for them or pay an extra £200 and go B.A?
Im flying LHR to Bejing (dont know that code!) then onto MEL.

Any experiences you would like to share?

EB;)

[Carnage Matey!]

Well Air China did send one of their jumbos swimming in Hong Kong harbour a few years ago! If you're going straight on to MEL then its probably a lot quicker with BA and after eighteen hours cooped up in an aircraft you'll consider any price worth paying to shorten the ordeal.

[fruitbat]

BA... on that kind of length journey an extra couple of hundred quid is well worth the cost!!

[Golf Charlie Charlie]

<<<
Well Air China did send one of their jumbos swimming in Hong Kong harbour a few years ago!
>>>

It didn't. That was China Airlines - different airline, different country.

[Old Smokey]

Beijing = ZBAA / PEK (No prize for the origins of PEK).

[apaddyinuk]

Oh god go for BA..... Iv tried Air China about two years ago to Beijing. Teeny weeny seats, very strange crew who were robotlike and no individual IFE screens so had to watch subtitled chinese movies. Remember China is a communist country so I watched some movie which seemed to be full of very anti-western propoganda!!! Mind the catering was nice... but then im a sucker for chinese food, the philastine american beside me had the western option and it looked still alive.
In a nutshell...it was not an enjoyable experience. However it was an interesting one and if its curiosity thats driving you to do it then maybe give it a shot!!!!

[Peking Duck]

Hi, I am a Brit who has been living and working in China for almost three years, and I have done the LHR-PEK about a dozen times in that period. Roughly half those trips have been with BA and half with Air China. My wife prefers Air China, I have a slight preference for BA.

For me, the big difference is that BA economy class has the seatback IFE with a much better range of entertainment than you have on Air China which just has the screens in the cabin. For me on a reasonably long flight that makes quite a difference. Otherwise, not a lot to choose between the two. I find both provide a very professional service and both feel pretty safe. Air China are perhaps not so good at providing information on what’s going on if the flight happens to be delayed. Another slight quirk is that Air China does not tend to serve mealtime drinks until half way through the meal service. On the other hand, their flights are often not quite so full as BA and you can often find you can get an empty seat next to you.

I slightly prefer BA from the timing point of view as the outbound flight is earlier in the evening than Air China and gives me a better choice of onward connections to where I live when we get to Beijing.

Hope this helps; happy to respond on any specific points.

PD

[katz]

My preference would be BA for sure ;)

[MercenaryAli]

I don't want to sound alarmist but..... just look at the relative safety records of "Third world airlines" and make your own mind up!! Remember most of these airlines no longer hire expats, either as pilots or mechanics!!...speaks for itself!

[spannersatcx]

You could of course fly with Cathay Pacific, far better service!:ok:

[EasyBaby]

Thanks for all your replies, they have just confirmed what i thought :ooh:

So next question which nice person (s) is going to help fund the extra cost to upgrade me to a better airline?

A cheques, postal orders and also all major debit and credit cards will be accepted :O

Here now begins the Get EasyBaby to Australia fund!!!

EB;)

[perceval]

the bit from mercenary ali was brilliant , never seen something that narrow minded , disinformed and openly racist on an open discussion forum .Mate , this is the 21 st century ... and with that kind of attitude , no surprise that 'expat' pilots have problems getting jobs .
I have news for you :airplanes have crashed into the ground that were operated , maintained and flown by white people from western countries as well .Sorry to shatter your aryan superiority dreams and welcome to the real world :mad:

[Evanelpus]

Perce

Wholeheartedly agree, where does Ali get off??

As far as I am aware, the safety record of Air China is not a bad one (however, as always here, I'm waiting to get flamed).

Many years ago I flew Air China from HKG to PEK, nothing sticks in the memory, which means, that it must have been an okay flight.

[Globaliser]

MercenaryAli: I don't want to sound alarmist but..... just look at the relative safety records of "Third world airlines" and make your own mind up!! Remember most of these airlines no longer hire expats, either as pilots or mechanics!!...speaks for itself! Not only alarmist, but just plain wrong as far as Air China is concerned. Unlike some of its more newfangled compatriot airlines, or the similarly-named airline from another country across the water, CA's own record is blemished by only one fatal accident, at Pusan in 2002.

[Captain Airclues]

EasyBaby

I'll start the fund rolling with £10 (tell me where to send it). Only 19 more donors to go.

Airclues

[EasyBaby]

lol. Oh that would be too good to be true!!!

EB;)

[Fester T Adams]

If I were you EasyBaby, I'd hold the captain to his promise. :E