Hainan Airlines

[baddog666]

Beginning to make a presence in the US , flying out of Chicago, Las Vegas and Boston , as well as NY and LA with non stops via capital Airport in Beijing.

Took this flight in October ORD- BKK with a stop in PEK.

Business class fare about US$2600 RT

 

FYI.... Booked the same flight for later this month ( January ) for US$2063.  Have noticed the flight is now 4 days a week.

 

The good :

787 for the long haul

FA's are top notch

Great service

full flat seat , comfortable

Excellent food

Escort from gate to transfer in PEK

They use Terminal 2 in PEK which is small and quiet

 

The not so good:

737 for the 5 hour flight from PEK-BKK , just ok seat , limited recline

Lounge access is only fair... no dedicated lounge in Terminal 2..no showers..crappy wifi

Long layover on return flight

Seating is 2x2x2 so that means not all seats have aisle access

 

for this price.... hard to pass it up...nothing really comes close for Bizz class.

 

 

[matrix123]

Was it on time? A BM made a post and it is one of the 10 worse on time record airlines.

[baddog666]

Was it on time? A BM made a post and it is one of the 10 worse on time record airlines.

All 4 flights were on time.... bear in mind they fly a lot of internal flights within China... no doubt this is what gave them this rating... 

[matrix123]

All 4 flights were on time.... bear in mind they fly a lot of internal flights within China... no doubt this is what gave them this rating... 

 

Yes, that is what I was thinking. Domestic flights in China are really bad.

[user305]

Thanks for the intel baddog666!  This is much appreciated and there's not much out there to be found on these specific routes in my experience.  I wonder if this is just an promotional fare during service expansion or if they can keep it priced like this over the long term.  As airlines keep cramming more and more seats into coach I'm running out of room for my knees.  I recently purchased some long haul flights on NH because they were dirt cheap and the promotional text claimed an amazing 34" pitch.  Only to later find out that none of the flights on my itinerary qualified and I would be be experiencing knee crushing 31" pitch instead.  Premium Economy (an oxymoron if there ever was) has decent pitch on most airlines but at that point I'm already paying a minimum of $1,500 or more.  At which point J on HU seems like a much better option.

[baddog666]

I feel they are trying to promote themselves and the fares out of ORD are considerably less expensive than other US hubs. I am not 100% sure but I think when I flew them in October there were daily flights and now there are 4 a week. This may be seasonal or just simply economics due to demand.... either way $2100 RT Business is hard to beat.

I don't even live close to Chicago, but it is easy to access , a non stop one way for me was $63 .

[Whalley]

Sounds like a very good airline.

 

Hainan Airlines makes the Skytrax 5 star rating. There are only 9 other airlines in the world awarded this prestigious rating.

 

Their Boeing 737s are all new generation most being the 800 series. The 2-2-2 configuration makes every seat either a window or isle seat so it doesn't get any better than this. It's not possible to make every seat an isle seat, from your "737-not so good" list.

[davidge]

Sounds like a very good airline.

Hainan Airlines makes the Skytrax 5 star rating. There are only 9 other airlines in the world awarded this prestigious rating.

Their Boeing 737s are all new generation most being the 800 series. The 2-2-2 configuration makes every seat either a window or isle seat so it doesn't get any better than this. It's not possible to make every seat an isle seat, from your "737-not so good" list.

It is if you use the 'herringbone' layout that several airlines now do in Biz.

[baddog666]

It is if you use the 'herringbone' layout that several airlines now do in Biz.

Yes.... agree...as far as the 737 it is not a wide body so it is 2-2 , the reason I listed this as not so good is because it is an average recliner type seat typical of domestic Bizz class.

[davidge]

Yes.... agree...as far as the 737 it is not a wide body so it is 2-2 , the reason I listed this as not so good is because it is an average recliner type seat typical of domestic Bizz class.

I really like the Eva Biz layout as it is 1-2-1.

I'm guessing it's a narrower plane though.