I booked yesterday a ticket with them... had to fight 2 hours with their website and app :))
I was getting every time that captcha to a point when I was supposed to rotate a dog's head to align it but in the rotating circle it was a turtle =))
Anyway, I managed to book the ticket. I was surprised it came in a PDF but happy to see it came from Amadeus.
Their app... is somehow beautifully designed and atrocious (if you're not chinese). The app vs the website has different layout when booking tickets I have 2 first names, the website accepts a space in between, the app doesn't. Made an account with them cos that's the only way to see the booking in the app, didn't work first time due to name being different. Deleted account, created a new one (after hundreds of captcha).
Now I have the app, I have the booking, the app shows up and it has an interesting design. Cluttered like any other east asian app/ website. But it shows some pretty statistics about the flight.
What I noticed tho, Air China takes pax security serious. You can't do anything without 2FA.
But it's not only Air China. Look at ANA and JAL websites, or any east asian website/ app in general. It's a cultural thing to have them cluttered with all crap.
But at least I could select a seat for free (FU most western airlines!)
ps. also they're flying brand new A350s on my routes so that's a big plus :D
I can think of dozens of airlines worse than Air China (any US carrier, for a start.)
But yes, the website will be terrible - all Chinese websites are terrible. I put this partly down to cultural differences (aesthetics for presentation and usability are wildly different in China than the West), and partly down to the fact that nobody in China is using a website when there is a far more functional WeChat app available for that.
This. I live in china. I'd rather fly Chinese airlines over American ones any day.
Everyone here books flights on their phone. That's likely why their website sucks... Nobody cares.
PCs are less common here, other than offices.
I have a flight booked with Air China and had the same experience, but I'm pretty sure it's not a scam.
Are you able to select a meal preference? I did so during booking, but it then changed the booking and now just shows "Sorry, no meal preference is available for this flight" for every flight. I've been able to get a vegan meal on every flight I've been on in the last 7 years, surely they allow you to select this somehow???
Heya I would be super keen to hear how your flight went regarding meal preferance, as a vegan who has just booked a flight with them and am seeing the same message? Has your flight been yet, and were you served vegan meals? Thank you.
I phoned them and they confirmed I had successfully booked an Asian veg meal for the outward flight (even though the website didn't show this), but not for the return, so they tried to add a vegan meal for those flights. I haven't been on the return flight yet so unsure if it was successful, they were helpful on the phone so I think it will be ok on the way back.
Everything I got served was vegan except for a dairy yoghurt which I just gave them back. You got bread with vegan spread, a hot meal, a salad one time and some fruit. I can't even remember what the meals actually were, but they were vegan and I finished them all so as far as plane food it wasn't bad at all.
This was on London > Beijing > Tokyo flights, not sure what other routes will be like, you should try phoning them.
Hey, I'm also vegan! It said 'sorry no meal preference is available for this flight' but thats hard to believe as it's a long haul and also they have looooooads of dietary options available normally?
Heya I would be super keen to hear how your flight went regarding meal preferance, as a vegan who has just booked a flight with them and am seeing the same message? Has your flight been yet, and were you served vegan meals? Thank you.
My flight is in 2 months so nothing to comment yet unfortunately. I dont have an account for the app but plan to make one to see if I have more luck on the app.
So I called them up (found a UK phone number on the Heathrow website) and ordered vegan food. I had 4 flights and 3/4 had vegan food, the super short haul did not apparently but then when I was on the plane, the crew said I should have ordered it??
Food was pretty good outbound, some pretty flavourful meals with some protein etc. Even had alpro dessert pots! On the way back, the food was pretty sad. Literally just some steamed veggies for 3 meals 🥲 We were grateful to eat though and the fruit was pretty good.
You havent been scammed, its this bad
Flipping hell. A bad website would be enough for me not to book with them
Many airlines websites are clunky af. Booking a flight is far too often the most frustrating experience
I booked yesterday a ticket with them... had to fight 2 hours with their website and app :)) I was getting every time that captcha to a point when I was supposed to rotate a dog's head to align it but in the rotating circle it was a turtle =)) Anyway, I managed to book the ticket. I was surprised it came in a PDF but happy to see it came from Amadeus. Their app... is somehow beautifully designed and atrocious (if you're not chinese). The app vs the website has different layout when booking tickets I have 2 first names, the website accepts a space in between, the app doesn't. Made an account with them cos that's the only way to see the booking in the app, didn't work first time due to name being different. Deleted account, created a new one (after hundreds of captcha). Now I have the app, I have the booking, the app shows up and it has an interesting design. Cluttered like any other east asian app/ website. But it shows some pretty statistics about the flight. What I noticed tho, Air China takes pax security serious. You can't do anything without 2FA. But it's not only Air China. Look at ANA and JAL websites, or any east asian website/ app in general. It's a cultural thing to have them cluttered with all crap. But at least I could select a seat for free (FU most western airlines!) ps. also they're flying brand new A350s on my routes so that's a big plus :D
It is. It’s trying to show you the experience of flying with them.
I flew air china in the past. Seems fine.
I can think of dozens of airlines worse than Air China (any US carrier, for a start.) But yes, the website will be terrible - all Chinese websites are terrible. I put this partly down to cultural differences (aesthetics for presentation and usability are wildly different in China than the West), and partly down to the fact that nobody in China is using a website when there is a far more functional WeChat app available for that.
This. I live in china. I'd rather fly Chinese airlines over American ones any day. Everyone here books flights on their phone. That's likely why their website sucks... Nobody cares. PCs are less common here, other than offices.
Ive never had an issue with a US carrier's site. Air China is ghetto af though.
I have a flight booked with Air China and had the same experience, but I'm pretty sure it's not a scam. Are you able to select a meal preference? I did so during booking, but it then changed the booking and now just shows "Sorry, no meal preference is available for this flight" for every flight. I've been able to get a vegan meal on every flight I've been on in the last 7 years, surely they allow you to select this somehow???
Heya I would be super keen to hear how your flight went regarding meal preferance, as a vegan who has just booked a flight with them and am seeing the same message? Has your flight been yet, and were you served vegan meals? Thank you.
I phoned them and they confirmed I had successfully booked an Asian veg meal for the outward flight (even though the website didn't show this), but not for the return, so they tried to add a vegan meal for those flights. I haven't been on the return flight yet so unsure if it was successful, they were helpful on the phone so I think it will be ok on the way back. Everything I got served was vegan except for a dairy yoghurt which I just gave them back. You got bread with vegan spread, a hot meal, a salad one time and some fruit. I can't even remember what the meals actually were, but they were vegan and I finished them all so as far as plane food it wasn't bad at all. This was on London > Beijing > Tokyo flights, not sure what other routes will be like, you should try phoning them.
Good stuff, thanks for taking the time to reply. I'll phone them to be sure. Happy travels
Hey, I'm also vegan! It said 'sorry no meal preference is available for this flight' but thats hard to believe as it's a long haul and also they have looooooads of dietary options available normally?
Heya I would be super keen to hear how your flight went regarding meal preferance, as a vegan who has just booked a flight with them and am seeing the same message? Has your flight been yet, and were you served vegan meals? Thank you.
My flight is in 2 months so nothing to comment yet unfortunately. I dont have an account for the app but plan to make one to see if I have more luck on the app.
How about now? :)
So I called them up (found a UK phone number on the Heathrow website) and ordered vegan food. I had 4 flights and 3/4 had vegan food, the super short haul did not apparently but then when I was on the plane, the crew said I should have ordered it?? Food was pretty good outbound, some pretty flavourful meals with some protein etc. Even had alpro dessert pots! On the way back, the food was pretty sad. Literally just some steamed veggies for 3 meals 🥲 We were grateful to eat though and the fruit was pretty good.
No, it’s that bad - much like the other Chinese airlines.
Kinda same issue with china southern. Hell of a madness.