China Southern Airlines - recommend?

[LeyesHombre]

China Southern is offering some good fares from the US west coast. However, I've never flown with them. Any thoughts, good or bad?

[momo5]

I flew China Southern once to experience their BC on the A380.  It wasn’t bad considering the price at the time was close to 2k RT from JFK.  The jaunt from CAN to BKK, however, was on a crappy plane that wasn’t well kept.  

Transiting CAN can be problematic, though I’ve heard recently it may have improved.

Ive found the service on the mainland Chinese airlines to be subpar from what is offered elsewhere and transiting mainland Chinese airports is not as efficient as other major international hubs.  However, they do offer attractive pricing from time to time.   

It maybe a bit more adventurous in economy if there is a high density of inexperienced Chinese traveler.

 

[LeyesHombre]

Maybe I'll just spend the extra bucks and fly Cathay or EVA, as usual.

[Ziplee]

Planes packed with old Chinese folks, flying to Airports full of old Chinese folks... They were Pretty rude to me. The young folks actually like to hang around me and ask questions. YMMV

Flew Cathay too, about average. Had a guy say good things about EVA premium Economy. Me, it's ANA or Delta.  

[momo5]

34 minutes ago, LeyesHombre said:

Maybe I'll just spend the extra bucks and fly Cathay or EVA, as usual.

That’s what I would do.  I prioritize convenience to my schedule and comfort above all else.  

However, for those who prioritize price foremost, the Chinese airlines do offer some attractive pricing from time to time. 

[timbota]

9 hours ago, Ziplee said:

Planes packed with old Chinese folks, flying to Airports full of old Chinese folks... They were Pretty rude to me. The young folks actually like to hang around me and ask questions. YMMV

Flew Cathay too, about average. Had a guy say good things about EVA premium Economy. Me, it's ANA or Delta.  

I flew EVA premium economy Singapore to Taipei.  Close to business class seating for a fraction of the price.  I was very impressed and I fly frequently around Asia.  Probably the best deal on an upgrade I have ever had.

I avoid Chinese airlines although China Eastern & China Southern are not so bad. 

[ludwighigh]

I used them once from LAX-BKK about 5 years ago, and I will be using them again soon.

From the west coast, China Southern has a very convenient itinerary to BKK.  So you can leave LAX on a Friday night and have a full day of fun on Sunday, and on the return, you can have a good last night, leave the hotel at noon and still make the return flight.

The only problem is that the China Southern 357 flight from CAN to BKK, as others have mentioned, is an A320 and not the best experience.  I opted for a longer layover in CAN, and am taking business class seat on an A330 from CAN to BKK, arriving in BKK at 2:30.

The hard product on the A380 is very good - the comforter was the best I have had on a business class flight, and it was comparatively very quiet on the plane.  The meals, etc. are OK, not great.  CAN airport was pretty hot and humid when I arrived at about 4:15AM, the air conditioning was not turned on for several more hours.  On my return flight we were delayed in CAN for a few hours.

I have flown from LAX-BKK on EVA many times.  Their premium economy seating is very good.  The itinerary is also very convenient.  Business is even better, but it is substantially more expensive.

[ludwighigh]

Just got back.

China Southern has improved substantially since I last flew on it.  The hard product is the same, but the soft product has improved significantly.  The hovering-style flight attendant service can be a bit tiresome but they mean well.  The new terminal for China Southern in Guangzhou is pretty nice.

Should have stayed in the transit hotel in Terminal 2.  It was a pain in the ass to get to the Pullman hotel outside the terminal.  For certain room rates, they will escort you from the gate or arrivals to the hotel.  Otherwise there is a non-existent sign at the terminal 2 arrival area saying that the Pullman hotel bus comes to parking spaces 3/4 in the bus area outside of the arrivals level of terminal 2.  I took the inter-terminal shuttle bus and got off at the wrong stop, could see the hotel but there was no easy way to walk there.  hotel was nice once I checked in but would have got more sleep staying in the airport transit hotel.

The later flight from CAN-BKK wound up with me checking into my hotel at 4:45 or so. 

[javasumatra]

I've flown them once (2 sectors) in business BKK-WUH-SFO. I liked them, They're no Qatar Airways but $1800 biz return they were outstanding value.

[Luv2Phuket]

Like ludwighigh and javasumatra my experience with them was in biz class, and I would echo their assessments - not stellar, but definitely acceptable if the price is right.  I would fly them in biz in a New York second for $1990 RT in business class (especially now that I can credit the miles to my American Airlines account).  Spectacular deal!

My colleague got stuck in economy on the A380 when I flew them, and he didn't seem NEAR as pleased.  Their A380 packs in a buttload of passengers in economy and travelers from mainland China do not have a great reputation among travelers.  Some of his stories seemed to confirm that.

 

 

 

[Roadglide]

I refuse to fly a mainland flagged airline, and with the shit pressure that the Chinese government is putting on Cathay to bow to their demands in regards to Hong Kong, Cathay is also off my list for now.  I will fly through Taiwan or Japan from the west coast now.

The Chinese government is out of control.   The company I work for has operations in China, and I got a training due notice today that I needed to a China employee code of conduct enhancement training today, and my reply to my manager was If you expect me to do this you will have my resignation letter on your desk before I do it.  3 hours latter I got the message that it was a Corporate error.  Fuck China!

[LASportsNut]

I have been to Thailand about 20 times and I have flown them 75% of the time.

If you combine the cost, the flight departure times, the flight arrival times, and the total flight times they are hard to beat.

I obviously fly from LAX.

[fatjack1]

This thread is definitely what I was about to start a new one on.  I have canceled the idea of Hong Kong air due to possible financial issues and them disappearing with my money.  Next up was - China Southern.  Everything about them looked good except wondering about CAN and transfer.  Since the report is improved and a non-issue I am about the pull the lever for a biz class seat.  LAX to BKK.  Uses a 737 between CAN and BKK but it;'s a 2 hour flight.  Think I'll manage.

[Biennial]

China Southern was the worst airline experience eve for me. I swore never to use them again. The worst part is the passengers. They are a special kind of Chinese who are very loud and rude. Then the airline has last-minute schedule changes, long unorganized checking queues, and ridiculous transfer practices at the layovers.

China Southern is the worst of the mainland carriers. Air China is not so bad. I prefer EVA.

[fatjack1]

14 minutes ago, Biennial said:

China Southern was the worst airline experience eve for me. I swore never to use them again. The worst part is the passengers. They are a special kind of Chinese who are very loud and rude. Then the airline has last-minute schedule changes, long unorganized checking queues, and ridiculous transfer practices at the layovers.

China Southern is the worst of the mainland carriers. Air China is not so bad. I prefer EVA.

Yeah I love EVA.  

Eva = $5000 for lie flat seat

China Southern = $2700 for lie flat seat

I don't expect to rub elbows with the masses in biz class.  But expand on when you had the bad experience and what it was.  It might change my plans.  I still haven't booked.

 

[thinkingallowed]

On 16/09/2019 at 13:31, timbota said:

I flew EVA premium economy Singapore to Taipei.  Close to business class seating for a fraction of the price. 

EVA premium economy is absolutely nothing like a business class flight on intercontinental travel.

[Biennial]

1 hour ago, fatjack1 said:

Yeah I love EVA.  

Eva = $5000 for lie flat seat

China Southern = $2700 for lie flat seat

I don't expect to rub elbows with the masses in biz class.  But expand on when you had the bad experience and what it was.  It might change my plans.  I still haven't booked.

 

These Chinese shout, push and shove by nature. If they are on the phone they shout. If they are talking to someone 3 feet away they shout. If they have a friend or relative 6 rows away on the plane, they will carry on a conversation shouting to each other. Often it's impossible to sleep on the plane. We had a 6 hour layover in Wuhan, and one MF on the phone kept waking me up while I was trying to sleep, despite my dagger-like stare at him.

There was a fight between two of them that delayed our takeoff. So violent that it broke the oxygen mask compartment above them. They were just going to separate them and leave them on the plane, calling it a "quarrel". But a fellow American passenger (lady) insisted that they be removed, and they were.

 

[Luv2Phuket]

The....um...."difficult" Chinese passengers are a little less bothersome in business class, with the 1-2-1 layout.  

That said, while I will fly them in business class, I would not fly China Southern in economy if it was free.

I've told the story in other threads a few times, but one of my friend's stories was that he was in an aisle seat, and EVERY time he got up, the older chinese couple next to him would pile their shit in his seat, then kinda glare at him when he got back and they had to move it again.  He said "WHERE did they think I was going?!?  Did they think I was jumping out of the plane?!?"