Paul‘s Flight Report
Air China, Flight CA969
PEK - SIN / Airbus A350-900
Flight Time: 5hrs 50minutes
Business Class

General Impression:

Before the Flight :
Check-in Process: In Transit
Lounge: Air China Business Lounge
Information:
Boarding @ Gate:
Staff @ these points:
Boarding in Cabin:
Welcome Drinks:
Punctuality:  , 10min early

During the Flight :
Food presentation:
Food quality:
Drinks:
Service Procedure:
Amenity Kit: No amenity kit
Entertainment System:
Seat Quality:
Legroom:
Lavatories:
Cleanliness:
General Atmosphere:
Announcement Pilots:
Announcement Cabin:
Cabin Crew:

After the Flight :
De-Boarding:
Baggage Delivery:

—-
= bad, a lot of work needs to be done
=not good, you will be busy with corrections
= good & normal, nothing special
= high level, but the icing on the cake is missing
= topnotch, leave me here!
= Half a Point/sheep

—-

On the Ground:
As we were in transit in PEK the only thing we had to do is to go through security control again. The queues were quite long and staff was extremely unfriendly and harsh. No one spoke english which is really strange for such a big international airport.
After security we had 2,5 hrs until our next flight.

The Air China business class lounge is located in the middle of the massive international terminal. It is the only business class lounge and so it is extremely crowded and loud. There isn't a single corner where you can relax or where it is a little bit more quiet to take a nap.
The quality and choice of hot food was good. Several stations throughout the lounge where you could get drinks and cold snacks.

Boarding started well ahead of the indicated time. We arrived at the gate about 2-3 minutes prior but boarding was already in full swing.

The crew was super present and friendly whilst boarding.
Welcome drinks (champagne, juice, water) and newspapers were distributed as well as the menu and wine list for dinner.
The seats were already equipped with slippers and headsets. No amenity kits distributed.

Inflight:
This Airbus A350 is configured with a 1-2-1 business class.
We got our two seats in the middle. The seats were more comfortable as the ones on the 747.

After take off the cabin crew started with the service.
Some nuts and a drink was served after take off shortly followed by dinner.
For the service a tray with salad and first course was served. Afterwards the hot dinner was served followed by fruits and then cheese and dessert.
The service was finished roughly 4 hours prior arrival so we could take a nap prior landing.

The food was delicious and fresh. Especially the hot meal tasted even better than on the first flight.

Bathrooms were ok but not as regularly checked and cleaned as on the first sector.

Once again the Cabin Crew was simply stunning, friendly and efficient. They were interacting with the customers and were smiling all the time.
They were super present in the cabin and went again the extra mile. They covered sleeping guests with blankets or played with children.

We were spoiled again and were surprised about the consistency in customer service on both flights.
Thank you cabin crews and well done Air China.

The inflight entertainment is ok and exactly the same as on the Boeing 747.
The system isn't the newest anymore and Air China is not really showing current or actual western blockbusters like other airlines do.
But... you have enough choice (around 200 films and series) to survive a longhaul flight.

WiFi is available on this Aircraft but we didn't use it as most of the pages we would have used (Facebook, Instagram) for our reports are blocked in China anyhow. So no need for it.

All in all another great experience with Air China. They really picked up in customer service and product. The level is higher as on many European airlines. To bad they have the underdog position.
I would definitely recommend Air China. Looking forward to our return flight.