Chinese Airlines
 

I am off on holiday to China in the near future.
What airlines should I chose to travel on internally?

might be safer to walk...

Thanks Vortime.:)

Sky9,
Check the statistics and you might be inclined to arrange your visit to avoid flying with any local carriers.

Avoid the ex: Russian model planes perhaps. Havn't looked lately at accidents per Pax takeoffs per airline or accidents per takeoff figures.

Given that the 2 most critical moments are from down here to the clouds and from the clouds back to terra firma those are probably the numbers that help inspire confidence.

Look at it another way - Chinese roads are more dangerous than those in the rest of the world so flying has to be safer. Now is flying safer than the trains - could be touch and go but how much time do you have to go from a to b anyway - China is a very big country.

My philosophy may not be right, but it sure worked for me so far.
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If your number is up - its up - if its not, you should be OK.:D :cool: :p

Go by rail, marginally safer than walking.:eek:

Good Rule of Thumb --
If they are not speaking english . . . get off

sky9
 

China these days is full of Boeings and Airbus and every other type of modern regional equipment. Its a great country to explore, enjoy!

Sky 9:
During the previous two years I have travelled extensively throughout China on every major and minor Chinese airline and at all times I felt just as comfortable as when I was captain of my own B747 ( before retirement ) MEEB is right and the rest are way off. Enjoy China , you will love it.


KIFIS

Fly with Dragonair or Hainan Airlines!

Thanks for you constructive comments. I have put a requirement for western aircraft only on my booking form, which the travel company seems to be doing anyway.

Have been flying China Southern on AMS - PEK - CAN and onwards to HKG. Had an enjoyable flight. B777-200 for the long haul. B757, B737 and A320 for the short range.

Since you state U.k. as your home country I assume you may be flying from there. Air China is operating B747s ex LHR.

Cheers
GW

No
Lufthansa:)

I've seen pilots from several at work. China Yunnan is about as first class as they come over there. Some of the others.....welll.....:rolleyes:
When I go over, I'm trying to arrange a train to get me to a big city where I can jump on a western carrier;)

I think they will have improved over the past 10 years or so ... they may even give pax safety briefings now. One passenger who enquired about this some years ago was given a blank stare and told " we crash, you die".
You have to admire such wonderful pragmatism...

I've flown on several internal airlines in China and never had a problem. In fact, I found them to be quite impressive. Certainly the horror stories you hear of non-compliance with Western safety standards from the passengers' perspective are a thing of the past.

Some safety issues I did identify, in no particular order:

- While jumpseating on a Dragonair (absolutely first-rate airline) A330 from Beijing to Hong Kong, it surprised me that the radio comms were performed in both Chinese and English concurrently depending on where the airline orginated from. Local airlines used Chinese and International airlines (including Dragonair) used English. This would surely have some situational awareness effects.

- At Hangzhou, before boarding a China Xinjiang Airlines 757 to Xian, my tour guide grabbed my bags and some money to buy the baggage handler a packet of cigarettes in order to avoid paying overweight baggage fees. The bags went through a side exit and straight on to the trolley. They had been x-rayed already but certainly not weighed, and this appears to be a fairly common practice.

- Some of the Soviet and local aeroplane types I saw parked are downright scary. Avoid them.

- Crews will not necessarily give safety briefings in English. That's not unreasonable, but if you're not a regular flyer, work out how to make a hasty exit yourself.

Having said that, I could produce a much longer list of the things that impressed me. In addition, they'll go out of their way to help you.

On the China Xinjiang Airlines flight, once we were in the cruise, one of the flight attendants came over and motioned for me to follow them up the aisle. Not speaking Chinese and having just bribed a baggage handler I wasn't quite sure what to expect and I was relieved when she offered me a business class seat to allow me to stretch my legs for the remainder of the journey!

Have fun, it's a brilliant country.

Thank you all very much, I am looking forward to it, great to hear that it has improved.