Summary: China Southern Airlines, with a 4star rating by Skytrax, is widely regarded as the best of the big three Chinese mainland airlines (Air China and China Eastern being the other two majors).  It’s a big airline with over 500 relatively young jets and it’s actually the world’s 3rd biggest airline in terms of the number of passengers flown.  But they disappointed me on so many levels, so I personally don’t believe they’re as good as many other global carriers.  Onboard service would be greatly improved if more of their FAs could converse in English, and if the food and beverage offering were drastically improved to offer tasty international standard dishes and drinks in addition to the more local focus today.  Their inability to transfer bags between flights in 65 minutes at their home base is very poor, as is the silence they hide behind when one tries to contact them for assistance.

The onboard hard product varies by aircraft type, from standard recliner seats to angled flat and fully flat seat-beds. I found the angled flat seats on the A330 to be terribly uncomfortable, but the older-style recliner seats on the 737 were fine for a short journey.

CZ pilots appear to have a policy of not communicating with their passengers, which I find unfriendly, and in times of flight disruption, very frustrating.  It’s my sincere hope that they would talk to passengers in the event of an emergency!  I was sceptical of the FAs’ knowledge of their company’s operations (aircraft changes, routings etc) and I was very concerned about their lax cabin safety procedures.

Overall 5/10. Would I fly with CZ again? If I return to China, probably yes because of their wide coverage, and my doubts that the other Chinese carriers would be any better. But I would need to be enticed by a very good fare, I would try to travel in First, and I wouldn’t go for a transfer connection less than 90 minutes.

Detail: PEK-CAN-NHA-CAN

In August 2018 Mr A and I flew in Business Class on China Southern Airlines (“CZ”) from Beijing Capital International Airport (“PEK”) to Cam Ranh/Nha Trang (“NHA”) in Vietnam, via Guangzhou (“CAN”) and back to CAN twelve days later.  There were commonalities as well as some differences between the China domestic sector, and the ‘regional’ international sectors; both caused me significant problems, but both delivered the odd positive surprise too.

CZ operates roughly hourly links between PEK and CAN with different aircraft types, and just 2 flights a day between CAN and NHA. I’d booked to be in First class on an 08:30 flight, but just 12 hours earlier a lady from our Beijing hotel discovered our flight had been cancelled due to weather.  -ve Note that CZ did not contact me directly.  After calling American Express (through whom I’d booked the flights) I was offered seats on the 07:30 flight which would make our connection from CAN. But that earlier flight didn’t have a First cabin, so I agreed to go in Business.  -ve NOTE: six weeks later CZ were still not offering Amex/me any refund for the downgraded service, but, kindly, Amex gave me a refund themselves.

CZ has a special VIP check in area at PEK. It’s more like an office or lounge than a normal check in counter, and it’s for First and Business pax and upper level frequent flyers.  From there you’re escorted into the fast track for security screening, which does make a difference in this huge and busy terminal.  BTW we had been greeted kerbside by an unidentified man, who helped with our bags, took us to the VIP area, waited a while with us while check in was completed, then took us to the fast track.  We didn’t pay him anything and he said he didn’t work for CZ, or for the hotel we’d been staying in. Very mysterious, but an example of how helpful we found the Chinese to be in general.  Our bags were checked through to Vietnam, and we were given a boarding card for the CAN-NHA sector. But at the desk next to us we noticed a family from America who were taking the same flights as us were told to collect their CAN-NHA boarding cards in CAN.  Unfortunately when inconsistencies like this happen in China you get no-where if you ask “why is that”.

After security we ignored the many shopping opportunities and headed to the CZ VIP Lounge.  It was only moderately sized, so it was quite busy, but we managed to get seats together with views over the apron, one of the runways and the international terminal beyond, and we helped ourselves to some of the few ‘western’ breakfast items available from a buffet section.  Through the window we watched the skies darken and rain begin to fall.  Business class pax were directed to a different gate than economy pax, where we boarded a “VIP” minibus to take us to aircraft side. Once there we got off the bus and walked up the steps in moderate rain, which is never fun, boarding the plane at 07:24.

Airbus A330-200 B-6077 was operating flight CZ3116 that day.  Some of CZ’s A330s have four classes on board, but this one only had Business, Premium Economy and Economy classes. Business class is at the pointy end and has four rows in a 2-2-2 layout, with fabric covered ‘angle-flat’ seats.  From my window seat 2K I could see the rain intensifying, but there were no announcements from the flight deck to indicate any problems, even though our departure time was already upon us.  As we sipped some Champagne we were given breakfast menus and asked to order right away.  But then the weather worsened, with lightning and extremely heavy rain, and I saw from my window that there weren’t any planes taking off.

With still no announcements from the flight deck, it was the cabin crew who came round to tell us we were facing an “indefinite delay” and breakfast would be served while we were still on the ground.  I had some fruit and a noodle soup with (inedible) beef slices and very tough pak choi.

As the delay progressed I became concerned about making our connecting flight from CAN to NHA.  The American man we saw at check-in discussed the connection challenge with the FAs, who, bizarrely, told us our next flight, CZ6049, was going to Hanoi, not Nha Trang!  When I showed them my boarding pass for the flight to NHA they got confused.  Then the American checked his phone for Flightaware.com and saw that our flight was shown as departing at 10:00.  But the FAs (after checking with the flight deck) insisted we hadn’t yet been given a take-off slot, and the delay was still classified as “indefinite”.  So we would likely miss our connection!

I went to the toilet at the front of the cabin at 09:30 and while in there I felt the plane move! When I came out the FAs were running around preparing for take-off.  They did the safety briefing, which included the (hopefully) Freudian slip of “if you smoke or otherwise behave anti-socially, you will be persecuted“.  Such formal scripted announcements seemed to be the limit of most of the FAs’ English skills.  -ve Note: How bizarre that the flight crew didn’t tell the pax or the FAs what was going on.

And so we taxied out past flooded parts of the airfield to runway 36R, from where we took off at 09:45, some 2 hours behind schedule.  But the FAs told us the flight would only last just over two hours, rather than the scheduled 3 hours, so we should be able to make our connection.

-ve Note: during the delay some pax in Business fully reclined their seats to have a nap, and were allowed to remain like that during take-off, in contravention of aviation rules!  The two men in front of me remained sleeping (reclined) throughout the flight and were only bumped awake when we touched down at CAN!  A shocking disregard for safety procedures by the CZ crew. -ve note: there were no a/c or usb sockets at my seat.

After take-off I tried to order a cocktail, but I was told that only wine was available. I passed on that.  Then I fully reclined my angle-flat seat/bed for some rest and found it to be the most uncomfortable seat ever. The seat was very narrow, its hard, thin, plastic armrests were painful to rest on, and there was a hard (metal) bar running across the seat where my bottom was.  I also didn’t like being told to close my window blinds, but I complied in case they summoned the on-board ‘air Marshall’ who spent most of the flight in the forward galley.  But the rest of the flight was uneventful and we landed on CAN’s runway 02R at 12:34, just about 1.5 hours behind schedule.

Once we deplaned we went as quickly as we could to the International part of the huge airport terminal, which involved going through the Chinese border, but we made it to our gate in good time for our 13:40 departure to NHA.  In fact we boarded the plane at 13:15.  -ve Note: CZ did not offer any help in expediting us through this transfer process. A buggy would have been ideal, especially for the American family who had to collect their boarding cards from the transfer desk.

Flight CZ6049 to central Vietnam was operated by B737-800 B-1525.  The Business class cabin had just 2 rows in a 2-2 layout of fabric covered ‘recliner’ seats, with a 42 inch pitch, which were perfectly good for this two hour flight.  Doors closed early at 13:25 and we pushed back from the stand at 13:45, with only a glass of water in our hands because Champagne wasn’t available on this flight.  After quite a long taxi around this big airport we took off from runway 01L at 14:03.

+ve Note: it was immediately noticeable that the FAs on this regional international flight were more competent in English than on the domestic flight this morning.

A lunch tray was served containing fruit, a small bowl of spaghetti bolognese which wasn’t bad, a bowl of bean paste soup (not nice) and some dim sum. The latter was pretty awful – thick rubbery and very starchy dough and bone-dry fillings.  I ordered a white wine, which was horrible and tepid, so I then ordered a whisky and coke. +ve Note: unlike on the domestic sector, a very limited selection of spirits were available on this flight.

+ve Note: a few times during the flight a few pax from Economy came through the curtain to use the forward lavatory, but the FAs sent them back to the Economy lavs.

We landed in NHA 10 minutes early at 15:00 on runway 20 (the only runway) and parked off-stand, as there aren’t any airbridges at NHA.  We wasted too much time in immigration queueing at the ‘Visa on arrival’ desk to eventually be told that UK passport holders staying less than 15 days in Vietnam do not need a visa, and then queueing to get through immigration controls.  So by the time we got to our baggage carousel all our flight’s bags had been delivered, but our bags weren’t there!

When we went to the ‘baggage services’ desk they were anticipating us and had already part-filled our claim forms, and those for the American family. We were told the bags were still in CAN, but they couldn’t tell us exactly when they would get to NHA.  I found it very odd that they asked us to describe our bags – they weren’t lost, CZ knew exactly where they were!

-ve Note: a competent modern airline at its modern home airport base should be able to transfer bags within an hour. Flight transfers are built around that assumption world-wide, and some airlines (eg Qatar Airways) are fine with transfers of less than an hour.  So beware if you’re routing through CAN on CZ.

Our hotel has a representative permanently at NHA airport, so they kept a look-out for our bags, but couldn’t get any confirmation of when they’d arrive. American Express, through whom I’d booked, also couldn’t get hold of anyone at CZ for information, and neither could the wonderfully helpful staff at the hotel I’d left in Beijing, the Aman Summer Palace.  But 24 hours later one of our 3 bags arrived at NHA.  And a further 24 hours after that the other two bags arrived, without an apology or anything from CZ.  -ve note: appalling customer service from CZ and hard for them to justify why we had to wait 48 hours when they have 2 flights a day from CAN to NHA, plus other airlines operate the route (indeed our bags were eventually flown in by VietjetAir).

We got to NHA airport twelve days later for our flight back to CAN, and as we waited in line at the Business Class check in counter (why were we required to queue behind a dozen people when the Business cabin only holds 8?!) a CZ lady came up to us to confirm our identity and then she gave each of us a blank envelope containing VND2400000 (c£87), which she said was compensation for the “lost” bags on the way down. We accepted the money and we were surprised and pleased CZ had done this. But I later found out that the American family didn’t get this nice surprise when they flew out, so I don’t know if I was lucky because we were in Business, or because CZ had been pressed by Amex or our hotels.  So it seems CZ service recovery is only random.

After check-in there was a lengthy queue to get through emigration and security, and there was no ‘fast track’ for Business class pax.  But after 30 minutes we made it to the Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge, which CZ Business class pax are invited to use.

The Lotus Lounge was bright and airy, with big windows overlooking the apron and sufficient seating available at tables or on sofas. We could help ourselves to light snacks and non-alcoholic drinks from a buffet, but the choices were derisory and quite ‘foreign’ to a western diner. But the lounge was certainly better than being in the main departure concourse.

We went to our allocated gate when our departure was announced on the TV monitor, where we boarded a “VIP” minibus to take us to the side of the off-stand parked aircraft. Flight CZ6050 to CAN was operated by B737-800 registration B-1701 and it was identical to the layout on the flight down to NHA. English speaking FAs offered pre-flight drinks of water, OJ or apple juice (ie NO Champagne or any alcohol) and then came round with menus for us to choose there and then what we wanted for supper. Even though we were only in row 2, the pork dish had already sold out and only one fish dish was left for Mr A and I to fight over.

Doors closed three minutes early at 15:57 and we took off from runway 20 at 16:06.  Our food was served straight away, though I had to manage with a broken tray table.

I had that slightly surreal spaghetti bolognese dish again, a bland broth, a very suspect looking chicken terrine, a fish dish (yes I won the fight) and boiled rice.  I also had a whisky and coke, because this flight once again had a small selection of spirits on board, and I already knew their wines would be terrible.

The flight passed without further event, but at 18:20 local, some 65 minutes before our scheduled arrival time, the FAs announced we had started our descent. The descent was very gradual, given how far away we were from CAN, but the captain depressurised the cabin as if we were in a standard descent, which meant I had to suffer 45 minutes of blocked, painful ears!  Even half an hour later we were still over the South China Sea.

We landed at CAN on time at 19:23.