China Airlines - Business Class?

[pattayaplayer]

Can anyone with experience flying business class on China Airlines give me a review of the seats, service, etc.  I am considering a very favourably priced business class ticket on KLM to BKK.  On the Amsterdam-BKK legs there is a choice of KLM or China Airlines.  The AMS-BKK leg timing is best on China Airlines, less stopover time in Amsterdam.  I'm just wondering if I will get an OK experience on China Airlines or should I wait for KLM.

 

I'd be grateful for any reviews of business class on China Airlines and any comparison with KLM.

[sang som mick]

I flew with china last year and found the service superb.

Food was excellent staff were very attentive +. nice little inflight pack .

I think  they have changed to a different aircraft so seating will be different .

seat plans  are available on seatguru .

I fly from birmingham and this year Turkish are showing as the cheapest.

[davidge]

I'll be interested if you get any further replies as well. Every so often, Business Class fares show up from Cardiff that are a lot lower than any decent airline from LHR. It's always KLM to AMS then China Airlines - using KLM on the main leg always shows up a lot more expensive for me? I've heard good things about China Airlines but it would be nice to get first hand reports.

[JonnyR]

I was extremely fortunate to get upgraded twice to business class with China Airlines and it was great.

 

There were 2 seats that would fit into the 3 in cattle class, and the seat reclined  a lot that a comfortable sleep was possible with buckets of legroom. My buddy who is 6ft 4 and he thought the seats were the dogs dangly bits.

 

Once seated in the plane, you were given a warm towel, and asked your choice of drink. I ordered the Vodka and OJ and my buddy got the Courvoiseur brandy.

 

I cannot remember the food only that it was served with proper knives and forks, and they were generous with the wine.

 

I've never gotten upgraded since, as I've flown with other airlines, but I can still hope. Both upgrades were on the BKK-AMS-DUB route, once was at the check in desk (didnt ask for it) and the other was at the gate desk (again didnt ask for it)

 

Also Schipol is one of the best airports 

[pattayaplayer]

I'm flying KLM from Toronto to AMS and connecting so it will be a 7 hour flight followed by an 11.5 hours flight from AMS.  So I want to know I can be comfortable and have a good sleep if I choose China Airlines from AS to BKK.

 

The stopover using China Airlines is about 5 hours, it's 9 hours staying on KLM.  There's almost no price difference.

[Billyboy294]

I was extremely fortunate to get upgraded twice to business class with China Airlines and it was great.

 

There were 2 seats that would fit into the 3 in cattle class, and the seat reclined  a lot that a comfortable sleep was possible with buckets of legroom. My buddy who is 6ft 4 and he thought the seats were the dogs dangly bits.

 

Once seated in the plane, you were given a warm towel, and asked your choice of drink. I ordered the Vodka and OJ and my buddy got the Courvoiseur brandy.

 

I cannot remember the food only that it was served with proper knives and forks, and they were generous with the wine.

 

I've never gotten upgraded since, as I've flown with other airlines, but I can still hope. Both upgrades were on the BKK-AMS-DUB route, once was at the check in desk (didnt ask for it) and the other was at the gate desk (again didnt ask for it)

 

Also Schipol is one of the best airports 

 

So i  assume the business class  seats don't lie flat like say BA. A warm towel and choice of drinks is the least you would expect in any business class.

[davidge]

I'm pretty sure KLM use 777's on this route while China Airlines use A340's. Check your exact dates/flights on seat guru to check.

If so, the seats on China are much bigger and have a bit more legroom.

SeatGuru lists both airlines as having angle-flat seats not fully-flat.

I've used KLM business class a number of times and it's fine, but not outstanding.

I'm hoping you get more feedback from someone who's used China recently.

Schipol is a pretty good airport if you do have to stop-over for a while.

[Billyboy294]

I have been googling.

 

 CHINA AIRLINES First Class and Business Class Seat reviews  

 

Customer Seat Review score :

30 reviews CHINA AIRLINES BUSINESS CLASS SEAT REVIEW   :   AIRBUS A340-300

 

Date

30 July 2014

Cabin

Business Class

Review by

A Daly

Sleep Comfort

Sitting Comfort

Seat Length

Seat Width

Seat Privacy

Recommended

"Terrible - tiny TV, flight from Amsterdam to Taipei and a seat that barely reclines. Plus the headrest either gives you a crick in the neck or a bad back."

 

Actually it reclines 170  degrees but you seem to be sleeping on someones lap..

 

[Laid Back Larry]

Flew China Air from AMS to BKK a few times but the return  is not the best time. Like 01:50 in the morning and i have exerienced delays untll 03:30 in the morning.

That is quite demanding and you end up not eating the main meal. at  05:00 due to sleep.

 

In my time I have experienced that KLM has offers on Business class so if you can time your holiday to their marketing and keep an eye on their offers  can get good deals for business class and it's a bliss compared to economy.

 

You may also want to look at B'class with Finn Air via Helsinki or Thai Air via Copenhagen or Oslo. It's all in timing and season. August and January may do it.

If you are single and can scramble another few hundred Euros or pounds it gives you a great experience, sleep and a chance to hit the ground running.

 

I recent newspaper article told that B'class ticket prices are on their way down, As economy hits 400 - 500 Euros B'class start to come in at 1200 -1400 Euros.

 

Keep an eye.

[thinkingallowed]

 

I'm flying KLM from Toronto to AMS and connecting so it will be a 7 hour flight followed by an 11.5 hours flight from AMS. So I want to know I can be comfortable and have a good sleep if I choose China Airlines from AS to BKK.

 

The stopover using China Airlines is about 5 hours, it's 9 hours staying on KLM. There's almost no price difference.

China are fine from AMS to BKK and although Schiphol is a nice airport 5 hours is enough there.

 

I haven't flown business with KLM on that route but I believe they have the same 170 degree seats as China.

[QuotaMan]

Posted these pictures before but I enjoyed China Airlines business class, though any business class is better than economy right? Though I've heard some not so good things about business class on Philippines and China Eastern/Southern.

 

LAX/SFO to Taipei was 747-400 and Taipei to BKK was A330-300. Not completely lie flat seats but flat enough to sleep well. Food was good enough and service was nice.

[Laid Back Larry]

What comes below is just my impression from various business class experiences, I have not surfed the net to verify:

 

 

There seems to be 2 kinds of business class seats ,

   1.1 the newer are stand - allone cubicle for each seat (although there are often 2 and 2 together),  can lay down flat like bed, has some shielding to

        next   seat /passanger, television is in the wall of the cubilce in front and is not affected by that person reclining his/her seat

 

   1.2 Older or simpler version where each seat has more space than economy bout without its own cubicle within which a seat resides. The  screen is in the arm rest such that the reclining seat in from does not affect screen viewing

  

 

2.  The Old version seems to allow for 8 seats across, the cubicle for 6 accross in the same kind of plane. I cannot claim to have investigated or verified this, just my impression from memory and the pics from China Air.

 

 

3    China Air seems to be the older version, recent flights I have been on with te cubicle bersion is Air France, Thai Air seem to have both old and  new depending in route or plane

 

Now comes the thing: It might be worth while to check if there is a difference in business class fare for these different b'class seats, the ones without cubicle take less space, are less attractive from a recline point of view and should cost less but be highly attractive compared to economy.

 

Any one browsing flights and tickets noticing any trend on pricing according to type og business class seat I encourage you to report on it here, I will start to look at it when out travelling. There might be some good deals to be had with airlines without cubicles but still operating business class

[prathet-69]

EVA Airlines also flies the AMS-BKK-AMS route. Maybe give them a look as well.

[Luv2Phuket]

EVA Airlines also flies the AMS-BKK-AMS route. Maybe give them a look as well.

 

Not to divert the thread, but THIS is what EVA biz class looks like on the LAX-Taipei route....VERY sweet!  

 

 

[davidge]

Apologies to the OP for part-hijacking the thread. To avoid doing so any further, I've started my own thread:

 

http://www.pattaya-addicts.com/forum/topic/240262-bus-class-from-lhr-reviews-first-trip-for-decade/

 

Hope you get the info you want and have a great trip.

[pattayaplayer]

Apologies to the OP for part-hijacking the thread. To avoid doing so any further, I've started my own thread:

 

http://www.pattaya-addicts.com/forum/topic/240262-bus-class-from-lhr-reviews-first-trip-for-decade/

 

Hope you get the info you want and have a great trip.

 

No problem.  I have learned a lot from all the posts and photos.  I will have KLM's new fully lie flat beds on the Toronto-AMS leg.  With little difference between China and KLM's old business class on the AMS-BKK leg I will take China and arrive for an early morning boom-boom with my TG.

 

On the return KLM have a day flight from BKK which will allow an overnight by the AMS airport which will break the journey nicely and reduce the jet lag.

 

Good luck with your search for Bus class from LHR.  I would not rule out Egyptair if I were you.  They are quite a good airline and they fly new 777's and the country seems reasonably stable again.  I don't know prices from LHR but they are very cheap in Bus class from many other European cities.  The only negative is no booze but if the price is right that wouldn't be a big deal for me.

 

The other option you might consider is taking a train onto the continent and flying from Paris, Brussels, AMS.  Part of your price problem flying from LHR are the outrageous taxes imposed by the UK which are super-outrageous for Bus class.

[davidge]

No problem.  I have learned a lot from all the posts and photos.  I will have KLM's new fully lie flat beds on the Toronto-AMS leg.  With little difference between China and KLM's old business class on the AMS-BKK leg I will take China and arrive for an early morning boom-boom with my TG.

 

On the return KLM have a day flight from BKK which will allow an overnight by the AMS airport which will break the journey nicely and reduce the jet lag.

 

Good luck with your search for Bus class from LHR.  I would not rule out Egyptair if I were you.  They are quite a good airline and they fly new 777's and the country seems reasonably stable again.  I don't know prices from LHR but they are very cheap in Bus class from many other European cities.  The only negative is no booze but if the price is right that wouldn't be a big deal for me.

 

The other option you might consider is taking a train onto the continent and flying from Paris, Brussels, AMS.  Part of your price problem flying from LHR are the outrageous taxes imposed by the UK which are super-outrageous for Bus class.

Thanks for the advice. My one experience of Cairo Airport many years ago was so bad it puts me off! They do seem to have decent connections, though a longer journey.

 

If I could put up with the small seats in KLM Cityhopper, I could get from Cardiff to AMS and back for £99 in Economy and save almost £1000 on the Business Class fare! Bloody annoying UK taxes!

 

Plenty of time for me to look. I'll find something!

[pattayaplayer]

Thanks for the advice. My one experience of Cairo Airport many years ago was so bad it puts me off! They do seem to have decent connections, though a longer journey.

 

 

 

I was in Cairo Airport last year and Egyptair operates from a very new terminal.  Nice and clean and new, as good as any terminal in Europe or North America.  I went in and out through it very quickly and smoothly.  The only thing crowded was Egyptair's business class lounge.

[davidge]

OK thanks. I flew Jeddah-Cairo-Jeddah with Egypt Air a good while ago. Still remember the only choice of meal was rice and sheep testicles :-)

 

Connecting through Cairo is a couple of hours extra flying than connecting through some other places but, after what you've said, I'll feel happier giving it a go if I see a very cheap fare.

[Laid Back Larry]

The last few threads shread light on something  which never occurred to me, namely that the cost of a business class tick may be co-determined by the  business class fare taxes by the airport concerned. This is what I read from the info about London Heathrow.

 

It means we should understand the tax structures at different airports for business class fare  and (for Europe) check out inexpensive ways of getting there, city hoppers, the channel tunnel train for Brussels, Paris and AMS, Ryan Air, Norwegian Air etc.

 

When I fly privately I usually book myself for the family on the net, when I fly in my work I book via an agency. I think they will get the idea when explained to them, check B-class fares from various reachable airports in Europe to BKK and review cheap options for getting there other than feeder planes with the same airline.

 

I will make an effort to check this out next time

 

 

On a side note I rescently read  newspaper artcle on the Net that UK travellers who wanted to fly to Bangkok as inexpensive as possible now have identified London - Oslo - Bangkok as a way to go. There are 2 airlines now flying direct to BKK from Oslo, Thai Air and Norwegian. With the latter I read you get cheap flights from London. In addition I read here in Thailand that Asia Air will start to fly direct from one or several airports in Europe. The future of flying to LOS is looking up.