China airlines business class to London

[mblached]

Hi This is my first post to the FF community. My wife and I are planning to fly business class Melbourne to UK late May 2010 and returning a month later . On the net is a fare of $4016 per person return via Taiwan with China airlines (rated 4 star) with Skytrax. I have looked on their site for reviews. Most of them are old reviews and the main complaint is older planes. Has anyone had a recent travel experience on business class with China airlines to help us decide to take the plunge.
The best business fare I can find after this is $6900 with Thai via Bangkok

 

[markis10]

Finnair is around $6200 with a mix of airlines, ex Mel its typically CX to HKG, then QF on the way back, well worth considering.

 

[Travel Guru]

JAL are around 6k per person on a companion fare, theyre fantastic.

Thai shouldnt be as high as 6900, they should also be around 6k.

TG

 

[RescuePilot]

Hi - In answer to your question one of our Flight Paramedic Trainers has just returned from UK (Lon) flying China and said words to the effect of "If it was the last airline in the world to fly he would go by boat" = Called him :idea:for further info for u - all meals cold, he and wife seperated by CSM (whatever they call theirs) upon boarding, lights left on for virtually complete flight, extremely rude to Caucasians and meals were virtually slopped onto plates. All his comments I am just repeating for you

 

[straitman]

Hi This is my first post to the FF community. My wife and I are planning to fly business class Melbourne to UK late May 2010 and returning a month later . On the net is a fare of $4016 per person return via Taiwan with China airlines (rated 4 star) with Skytrax. I have looked on their site for reviews. Most of them are old reviews and the main complaint is older planes. Has anyone had a recent travel experience on business class with China airlines to help us decide to take the plunge.
The best business fare I can find after this is $6900 with Thai via Bangkok

mblached,

Welcome to AFF.

The fare is possibly indicative of the quality in this case. They sell cheap because they have to do so to attract the custom.

China airlines is on the must not fly list for my company and they spend considerable amounts of time and effort working through these types of things via their aviation division.

Also I have quiet a few friends who fly or have flown for Qantas, Cathay and a few other airlines and they will not go near them either.

Personally I would steer a long way clear of them.

 

[RescuePilot]

mblached,

Welcome to AFF.

The fare is possibly indicative of the quality in this case. They sell cheap because they have to do so to attract the custom.

China airlines is on the must not fly list for my company and they spend considerable amounts of time and effort working through these types of things via their aviation division.

Also I have quiet a few friends who fly or have flown for Qantas, Cathay and a few other airlines and they will not go near them either.

Personally I would steer a long way clear of them.

Bill - same for our Company (the Para Trainer cashed in QF and took his wife with him), PT also said that safety briefings were cut short, PA UTS and he had to request a lifejacket for his seat as his was "missing"

 

[markis10]

You are not getting Air China confused with China Air, one being mainland and the other being the Taiwanese flag carrier?

Mind you from a safety perspective or safety history, there is not much difference, I remember asking Air China in Syd once to do a turn at 12 DME, and the readback was unsure, so I asked them if they had DME, the translator replied they had a ruler!

 

[blueflamenco]

Hi - In answer to your question one of our Flight Paramedic Trainers has just returned from UK (Lon) flying China and said words to the effect of "If it was the last airline in the world to fly he would go by boat" = Called him :idea:for further info for u - all meals cold, he and wife seperated by CSM (whatever they call theirs) upon boarding, lights left on for virtually complete flight, extremely rude to Caucasians and meals were virtually slopped onto plates. All his comments I am just repeating for you

I would agree having flown with them years ago. It was a good price for a poor student but never again!!

 

[lk1928]

Hi This is my first post to the FF community. My wife and I are planning to fly business class Melbourne to UK late May 2010 and returning a month later . On the net is a fare of $4016 per person return via Taiwan with China airlines (rated 4 star) with Skytrax. I have looked on their site for reviews. Most of them are old reviews and the main complaint is older planes. Has anyone had a recent travel experience on business class with China airlines to help us decide to take the plunge.
The best business fare I can find after this is $6900 with Thai via Bangkok

Hi, my husband and I travelled China Airlines business class Sydney-Delhi return last November. We were somewhat apprehensive, given the cheapness of the airfare. However, we were pleasantly surprised. The plane was modern, food and wine excellent quality, service very friendly and the range of inflight entertainment was also very good. China Airlines uses Qantas' lounge in Sydney [and, presumably, Melbourne]. Our only complaint - and a minor one at that - was that our flight arrived 30 mins before the China Airlines' lounge in Taipei opened. However, the facilities in that lounge were also very good. In short, we couldn't fault them. They aren't an SQ or QF, however our fare was one third of the QF business class fare to Delhi. We can certainly recommend them [and also a stopover in Taipei] and will most definitely be travelling with China Airlines when we go to Vancouver later this year.

 

[HardieBoys]

Just saw this offer online for Finnair to Europe in Business for $5990 plus taxes:

Qantas Airways and Finnair Business Class Special to Europe

I've done this route three times, and can recommend Finnair. Transfers in Helsinki are smooth and the airport, whilst small, has some interesting shops. I'm sure you could get an open-jaw to Europe if you asked, as I did last year.

There are also mixed-class (economy from Australia - Asia; business from Asia - Europe) for around $4000 return.

I can't comment on China Airlines, as I've not flown them.

 

[straitman]

You are not getting Air China confused with China Air, one being mainland and the other being the Taiwanese flag carrier?

Mind you from a safety perspective or safety history, there is not much difference, I remember asking Air China in Syd once to do a turn at 12 DME, and the readback was unsure, so I asked them if they had DME, the translator replied they had a ruler!

They are both on the 'off' list :!: