Hainan Airlines regional international and domestic business class review: Good and excellent value but not quite five star.

[Austman]

On the Hainan Airlines website it is noted:

"In June 2025, Hainan Airlines earned the "SKYTRAX 5-Star Airline" designation for the 14th consecutive year, ranked 10th in the "SKYTRAX World's Best Airlines" listing, and secured top global or regional honors for Best Airlines in China, Best Airlines Staff in China, and Best Business Class Airline Comfort Amenities."

So, is it 5 star? Recently I took 4 x flights with Hainan Airlines, HU, all in business class.

It was a return ticket from KUL (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) to NNG (Nanning, China) via Hainan's hub HAK (Haikou, China). So regional international and domestic business class.

The flights:
1. KUL-HAK, scheduled at 3h30.
2. xHAK-NNG, scheduled at 1h15.

3. NNG-HAK, scheduled at 1h30.
4. xHAK-KUL, scheduled at 3h40.

The cost was USD 606.00.

The good:
Excellent value.
All flights were on time or early.
The cabin crew were delightful.
Check-in experiences.
The lounges offered in KUL and HAK (domestic and international).

The OK:
All flights were 737 operated with recliner seats in a 2-2 configuration.

The not so good:
In-flight meals and drinks were very limited on the KUL-HAK and HAK-KUL flights and non-existent (zero in-flight service!) on the HAK-NNG and NNG-HAK flights.
The domestic lounge offered in NNG was pretty poor. But all the domestic airlines, except China Southern, used it.
There was no IFE at all on 3 of 4 flights.
There was no Wi-Fi on any flight.
Although a partner with Velocity, there was no earning at all on the KUL-HAK and HAK-KUL flights.
They use KUL T2.
Not quite 5-Star by any means for these flights.

 

[Austman]

1. KUL-HAK, scheduled at 3h30.

This was HU756, scheduled to depart at 21:15.

Hainan use KUL T2. One of the few full service carriers that do. They have just one flight each day. I tried to find out how early check-in opened but it was impossible to find! I guessed it would be 3 hours before departure and I was correct.

At exactly 3 hours before departure, HU check-in counters in row Z opened. And there was one for business class.




It was all nicely done and I was issued with a lounge invitation:




I was having almost a full day in transit in Haikou so only my KUL-HAK boarding pass was issued.

With 2 x 7kg or 2 x 10kg carry-on allowed in business class, and I was HLO, I wondered how the KUL T2 LCC carry-on "police" would let me through, at the entrance to international departures, with my single ca 11kg carry-on? The answer is they check your boarding pass and if not Air Asia or another LCC, you are directed to a separate line where your carry-on is not checked for weight.

I had no issue with my single carry-on on any of my 4 flights.

 

[Austman]

The Travel Club lounge at KUL T2 was quite good!

It's located out near the international P gates where HU depart:




If you have a Business Class invite, you can get house wine. Else, I think it's limited to soft drinks and beer.




And there's a sizable dining room with quite good food options:

 

[Austman]

On board you are offered bottled water, other soft drinks, nuts, a moist towel and slippers before take off:




I found out later than even hot drinks are offered to business class, before take-off, on request.

The seats are quite comfortable. Two rows of 2-2:




But food and beverage is limited.

It's a 3h30 international flight and there is no choice of food. It's a single offering on a tray with various items.

And the only alcohol available is beer. There's a choice of two. There's no wine, no spirits.







The crew are delightful.

 

[Austman]

I had a rather long transit in HAK (18h50) so decided to make the most of it at a good hotel in Haikou.

Next will be my domestic flight experience, HAK-NNG.

 

[clifford]

It actually seems surprisingly good. For the price.

 

[Austman]

The flight arrived early to HAK but it was still past midnight. Migration and Customs were quick and I was soon ordering a DiDi in the ride-hailing area. You need to use the Chinese version of the DiDi app. You can then set the language to English.

Haikou Meilan Airport is a pleasant enough airport.

 

[Austman]

2. xHAK-NNG, scheduled at 1h15.

This was HU7029, scheduled to depart at 19:35.

Hainan have a dedicated business class check-in area for domestic flights. All quite nice and empty when I arrived:



You get a lounge invitation then it's of to domestic security which has dedicated lanes for business class. You need to get a lift up to the lounge, which at HAK domestic is called the HNA CLUB:




It's quite a nice lounge for a domestic lounge with the usual buffet but some cook-to-order options, ordered from a screen. And reasonable drinks.

 

[Austman]

On board, the same bottled water and moist towel was at the seat. And a packet of mixed nuts and berries which was the only food item supplied for this scheduled 1h15 flight!




The flight time was actually only about 50 mins. There was no in-flight service offered at all! The seat belt sign stayed on permanently, as did the toilet occupied light and the flight attendants remained seated. The crew's service was before take-off and after landing.

I noticed that some pax still used the toilet. And so then did I. So it seemed to be allowed. On my way back to my seat, I asked if any beverage was available and I was offered two beers to choose from. No glass provided. I was allowed to keep the one I didn't drink.

 

[Austman]

3. NNG-HAK, scheduled at 1h30.

This was HU7030, scheduled to depart at 22:00.

NNG is not a major airport for Hainan. They have just two flights a day, both to HAK.

Again, there is a dedicated check-in desk and separate security lanes for business class. But the lounge offered, optimistically called the First Class Lounge is pretty poor. No buffet food. Only cup noodles and small packaged biscuit like snacks. And soft drinks including tea and coffee. All or most domestic airlines use this lounge. China Southern does have its own lounge that I suspect is much better.

The lounge staff showed me another option. There was a "bookshop" like lounge which had the same food and drinks but was considerable more pleasant! I decided to brave it with a cup noodle, haha!



On board, I knew there would be no in-light service, so I asked for a beer before take-off. This time I was given a glass!




Again, the seat belt sign stayed on for the duration of the very smooth flight and the crew remained seated. The crew's service was before take-off and after landing. Delightful as usual.