pazza

Hi,

We're travelling to the Gold Coast in January, and the airlines we're going with is China Eastern Airlines. We were told by the travel agent that the airlines would be putting us in a hotel in Shanghai as a stopover, there and back which sounded brilliant. So when i got in touch with the airlines, they told me that this was not so.
I then contacted the travel agent and they reassured me that it was all in the price i've paid.
All i want to know is if anyone has used China Eastern Airlines and was it a decent airlines to use, as we've got kids aged 7 & 10 and would be devastated if it was all a nightmare flight.

Please help !!

Steve.

Pollyana

Sorry Steve, no personal experience, but with friends in the business I have to say they are not an airline I'd use in a hurry.

http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/c_eastrn.htm

has some experiences - lits of domestic Chinese stuff, but there are some Aus flights about halfway through.

Good luck

C&R

I have flown 3 times with China Eastern from Shanghai to Sydney, and found them to be ok. The inflight entertainment will consist of tv's up in the aisle ways, and the food may be so-so. But if you have kids compensate for this by bringing plenty of things to keep them entertained, and maybe bring some food/sweets etc onto the flight in case they don't like it - it tends to be Chinese based obviously. Basically its a case of, you get what you pay for.

What hotel will you be staying at in Shanghai, make sure it's a western star rated hotel, and check out the area the hotel is based in, if you are based in Puxi, it will take one hour to get to the airport in Pudong, more so depending on the time of the flight and traffic. The taxi drivers do not speak English, so get the hotel to write Pudong airport in characters on a card, so you can show the driver.

suzy

Steve,

Just to follow on from Claire's post re the taxis. My friend who has just come back from Shanghai said they always arranged the fare in advance before getting into the taxi as well as gettting the destination wiritten down.

Also there is a website that gives info about all airlines and facilities on aircraft. I can't find it at the moment and I'm not even sure if the Chinese subscribe to it but I will pm you later.

Suzy

C&R

From Puxi to Pudong/Pudong - Puxi, the taxi fare should be no more then RMB180 - thats if the traffic is bad and at peak time. If there is not much traffic then it should be RMB150-160. When you arrive at Pudong, DO NOT get into a taxi via a tout [they will come up to you and ask if you want a taxi - do not be put off with the crowds, or let anyone change your mind, be ruthless]. The official taxi queue is outside the arrivals terminal to the right, there will be a blue taxi sign and barriers around it where you should line up. You should have the hotel name in Chinese to give to the taxi driver. Alternatively, try and get a driver booked via the hotel/airline and they will meet you in arrivals holding a sign with your name on it.

pazza

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the useful info, Pollyana, Claire & Richard, and Suzy, the more we we think about it the more we're going to cancel, with China Eastern Airlines.
So if anyone out there can suggest a really good airline from experience please let us know. My pals have flew with Qantas and Emirates and said they were good but they didn't travel with kids.

Thanks Again

Steve.

moneypenny20

Steve basically you do get what you pay for when it comes to air travel. I wouldn't touch Qantas with a barge pole but others like them. You get very few bad reviews with Singapore and I think they really look after children. Emirates are one that get mainly good but also some horror stories. It also depends where you want to stop mid way or any places you want to avoid.

Bert'n'Stella

We would highly recommend either Emirates or Singapore airlines. Both offer fantastic service throughout (a must for long haul, trust us!) and the kids will be fine - all seats have their own inflight entertainment system, so you can watch a film while they play games.

If you fly Singapore air you can stop over a night in Singapore to break up the journey. There is a great zoo there, and the shopping is very cheap!

Bert 'n' Stella

BLC

Singapore are one of the best for long haul, esp if in economy as far as looking after kids & things to do.

My BIL used China Airlines a few years back comign UK to Oz, after his story I would not consider them.

Good luck

moke

Hi Steve,
I flew with Singapore on my own and found them very pleasant (as pleasant as a 20 hour flight can possibly be!).
I then travelled with my Wife and 18 month old Son on JAL and they were fantastic! The Japanese appear to love Western kids and fellow (Japanese) passengers and cabin crew were all over him (which conveniently kept him quiet).
We fly out for good next month using Cathy Pacific. We haven't tried them before but have heard good reports.
Dean.

pazza

Thanks a lot,

You've just about made my mind up, it's either Emirates or Singapore Airlines.
We're already in the process of getting a full refund from the travel agents we're using, for them defaulting what they claimed we'd be getting. I wouldn't like to name them just in case they took us to court for liable.

Steve.

pazza

Thanks Dean,

I'll keep those other two in mind before we make our final decision.

Steve.

Pickle

I've flown Thai airlines and emerates and my better half has also flown emerates and singapore.

i would never under pain of death fly emerates again. not unless you want a cockrouch to share your dinner with. and some food thrown on the floor for an extra benefit, don't even bother to complain they just tell you nobody complains and ignore you.

Thai were very nice, and my better half thought singapore airlines were fantastic.
hope this helps
oh and singapore is a beautiful place for a stop over whoever you decide to fly with.

Greg, Michele and Bella

We flew Cathay in April and they were pretty good. When flying on from Hong Kong, as soon as you get on see how busy it is. Our flights between Hong Kong and Brisbane were half empty, so the quick ones on our flight got 4 seats to themselves. Don't be polite, because whilst you are thinking about it someone else will pile straight in!!!

pazza

Thanks,

I appreciate all the feedback, i know everyone's different, likes and dislikes are different to one another, but i think by the feedback we're getting, Singapore Airlines seems to be very popular with the pro's, winning the cons.

Cheers everyone

Steve.