China Airlines to Bangkok

x00065954

Hi,

I am wondering has anyone have recent experience flying with China Airlines? I know this is extremely ignorant of me in thinking this but I have heard so many fake things coming out of China and health & safety regulations basically ignored.

I am searching for flights to Bangkok and by far the cheapest is coming from China Airlines. Am I just being extremely ignorant and branding everything with the one brush? Any feedback would be great. Thanks.

newacc2015

I know someone who went to Bangkok with them. They said it was horrific. The plane was ancient and the food was ****. I know someone who went to the Philippines with them and said the same thing.

Personally I dont care how I get from A to B. I would take a ****ty plane ride and money to upgrade to a better hotel any day. Than flying with a nicer airline for a few hours

jaymcg91

http://www.airlinequality.com/airline-reviews/china-airlines/

conor_ie

I flew Aer Lingus and Malaysian via Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok

Food was decent on Malaysian, Good selection of stuff to watch on board. Be prepared to run to the next gate if the plane is late ( as happened me!)

I looked at China Airlines as well but when I read the horror stories I decided to go with Malaysian!

**Timbuk2**

I flew this route last year and it was fine. Plane was an A340 with seat-back entertainment, food was fine and drinks were free.

Probably not as spacious as some long-haul flights I've been on, but it was ok. It's a long flight at about 11 hours.

Marcusm

x00065954 wrote: »

Hi,

I am wondering has anyone have recent experience flying with China Airlines? I know this is extremely ignorant of me in thinking this but I have heard so many fake things coming out of China and health & safety regulations basically ignored.

I am searching for flights to Bangkok and by far the cheapest is coming from China Airlines. Am I just being extremely ignorant and branding everything with the one brush? Any feedback would be great. Thanks.

Do you realise that China Airlines is from Republic of China, ie Taiwan?

spurious

jaymcg91 wrote: »

http://www.airlinequality.com/airline-reviews/china-airlines/

The same rating as Cathay Pacific and Emirates? Not sure how reliable a site that is.

jaymcg91

SKYTRAX World Airline Star Rating is the recognised global airline rating system that classifies airlines by the Quality of their front-line product and staff service standards. The Star Ratings are recognised as a global Benchmark of airline standards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skytrax

Pretty sure it's legit LOL .

Don't understand your comment on reliability.

spurious

It seems to be people giving airlines 1/10 because a flight was delayed or 10/10 becuase they liked the food. Flights can be delayed for all sorts of reasons. Food is a matter of taste. I wouldn't consider that in a rating of whether to fly with an airline or not.

Perhaps they don't have enough ratings on the site to make it useful.

THEIRISHMOB

Fly with Emirates of Etihad and you wont regret it.

I flew once to bkk with China Airlines and it was a nightmare.
Old Plane, terrible food, and turbulence for hours so would never fly with them again.

You get what you pay for in this life. Fly with Emirates.

duffman13

THEIRISHMOB wrote: »

Fly with Emirates of Etihad and you wont regret it.

I flew once to bkk with China Airlines and it was a nightmare.
Old Plane, terrible food, and turbulence for hours so would never fly with them again.

You get what you pay for in this life. Fly with Emirates.

Turbulence for hours? Hardly the airlines fault!

My gfs brother met us in Bangkok flying with China Airlines and said they were great. He flew in on an A340. I'm flying with them in two weeks to Bangkok and will report back but I've flown a number of long haul airlines and if it's anything over 100 euro in the difference to Thailand then Emirates or Etihad or not worth the money.

Edit: http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056772320/4

Found this thread, one poster had an issue with legroom and a couple with food but most found them very good to travel with. Info is probably a bit out of date as they use an A340 on that route now

x00065954

Thanks all for the feedback. Still havent booked my flights yet (going in November) so still debating whether Emirates/Etihad or China Airlines. Especially knowing 100e can get me a LONG way backpacking in Asia....

duffman13

x00065954 wrote: »

Thanks all for the feedback. Still havent booked my flights yet (going in November) so still debating whether Emirates/Etihad or China Airlines. Especially knowing 100e can get me a LONG way backpacking in Asia....

Ive done the same trip with both Etihad and Emirates but this time as I am backpacking im in pretty much the same boat. China Airlines gets the win for being the cheapest and also being the quickest. I will let you know in two weeks how I get on if you still havent booked. Good luck with the travels.

x00065954

duffman13 wrote: »

Ive done the same trip with both Etihad and Emirates but this time as I am backpacking im in pretty much the same boat. China Airlines gets the win for being the cheapest and also being the quickest. I will let you know in two weeks how I get on if you still havent booked. Good luck with the travels.

Thanks dude, same to you.

sleepingghost

My suggestion would be to book the lowest fair. China airlines are fine to fly with and are comparable with the others especially in economy class.

As an FYI, China Airlines are not actually a Chinese airline but Taiwan based.

I travel to Asia 4/5 times a year mainly with Etihad but have flown China Airlines and most of the competition on these routes. They are all very similar in economy and a once off flight (no Frequent Flyer programs to compare). Also their aircraft were refurbished last year so service level (IFE) should be comparable to Etihad/Emirates. Book direct or through a reputable agent. Malaysian airlines are brilliant if you can fly their A380 and they usually have cheap fares from Dublin.

Nonoperational

Did the same trip on China airlines. Absolutely fine. Food ok, free beer, got me there safely and on time.

duffman13

So just off this flight this morning and said I'd report back. The flight was fine and the food and constant supply of refreshments was better than the offering on both Etihad and Emirates.

The big let down was the in flight entertainment, it was adequate but nowhere near the standard of Emirates. Comfort wise it was fine, the plane was old and was a little less comfy than previous flights.

With 200 euro in the difference I'd fly Air China everytime. Even if it was a 50-100 euro saving I'd still pump for Air China, the 12 hours went fairly sharp so no complaints here