My dishes were cleared promptly, my glass was never empty, and when I rang the call button to ask for extra water during the flight, it was answered with a smile and my request was promptly fulfilled. This is where I'm a little conflicted about Air China. Our flight was delayed by an hour and a half, so at 1:30 p.m., our original scheduled departure time, I made my way to the gate just in time to see our beautiful 747-8 taxiing in. This leads to crowded lounges (before you add in all the Priority Pass members) and a ground experience that's simultaneously excessive for those short hops and not quite enough for long-haul passengers. In my experience, Asian airlines don't differentiate between their short-haul international premium-cabin passengers (like those flying two hours from Beijing to Seoul) and long-haul passengers, like our flight going to New York. (Photo by Ethan Steinberg/The Points Guy.)Īt the end of the day, some of the same factors that make Asia the best continent for short-haul flying work against it for long-haul passengers.

With just a few tweaks here and there, Air China is not that far off from offering a highly competitive first-class experience. I'll admit I went in with low expectations, but that made the ensuing flight a much more pleasant surprise. happened to coincide with a award sale from Avianca LifeMiles, I knew it was my chance to finally sample Air China's first class. With airlines around the globe retiring their older 747-400s in favor of more fuel-efficient planes, these three airlines will be the last ones to operate the beloved Queen of the Skies into the next decade and hopefully beyond. Air China is one of just three carriers (along with Korean Air and Lufthansa) to order the next-generation 747. But there was one product I was still dying to try before I threw in the towel: Air China's 747-8 first class.

My first two attempts - flying business class with China Eastern on both a 777-300ER and brand-new 787 - left me sorely disappointed. But since moving to Shanghai about a year and a half ago, I've been curious about testing this widely held assumption myself. There's no way around the fact that mainland Chinese airlines have an abysmal reputation, especially compared to nearaby competitors like Cathay Pacific and EVA Air, who are among the world's best.

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available.

Boeing 777 300 seats air china