Air China review by Hugh

I have recently flown multiple flights with Air China, being Auckland to Beijing return on flights CA784 and 783, Beijing to Chengdu return, flights CA 1405 and 1408. I had read a number of reviews when I booked these flights so was not expecting too much, that said I went ahead and booked flights to China. (For the record I am a regular flyer with Air NZ, Qantas, American and United) I booked our flights on the Air China website, when doing so, make sure you have your passport details ready as you will need them. Remember in most cases you'll need to get a visa for China. A day before travel I was able to select my seats and print off my boarding pass for the internal flight. Could not print the international boarding pass. Check in at AKL was slow as ground staff (Air NZ) needed to ensure passport and visas were in order, also some time was spent explaining how your bags could be directed to your final destination in China without the need to clear customs at Beijing (this was a great service). Boarding out of AKL was OK. Food on the plane was quite good, just remember to choose the western food as the Chinese options may not be to your liking. I have read reviews about people saying the Chinese porridge for breakfast is ghastly, whether you have this porridge on a plane or in a smart hotel, the porridge in any place is ghastly. The beverages were in keeping with what Chinese patrons would have expected, so no sparkling wines, or white wines though if you like a strong red you'll be in luck. All of our flights were on 787 Dreamliner except for one on a 777 300 so all good here. IFE was as good as other airlines I fly (noted earlier) With Air China if you pay attention to the detail, then you'll be alright. Their website is slow so be patient. Despite some small niggles these were vastly offset by the extremely competitive price we paid to travel with them. The other flights we took with Air China were similar to the AKL to Beijing flights, all being punctual.