Yes
No
China Southern Airlines offers some great prices, but the reviews never seem to be that good about them. It usually involves 3 planes, and some of the changeovers can be 10+ hours, while other 30 minutes
I would rather pay more with an airline that I trust, but then that can be £100 extra per ticket.
Keith - Administrator
In the past year or so the flights from Heathrow have been departing pretty much ontime after going through a very bad spell off being delayed and cancellations.
Infact China Southern is flying pretty full to at least China at the moment, onwards I couldn't tell you as I have no dealing there. But I know over the past year they must be making a tidy profit from Heathrow.
I am with you on this too, i would rather pay that extra bit more,
A old member who does not come on here now booked with these and they changed his flight times and dates twice i think and in the end he got a full refund, and he vowed never to book with these again
I think all the mainstream Chinese airlines are on par with each other, and from what I gather they've all improved significantly in the past decade or so.
Their stopover times aren't the best though.
I'd use them if it cost around £350 and the journey time was decent. Other than that, they would be still behind the usual suspects.
The journey times are nearly as horrendous as the reviews.
Even tight-fisted me would rather pay a bit extra for not having to sit around scratching my Rs for days.
.. And of course by waiting and shopping around, I've managed to get a return ticket for 460 quid anyway...direct from Etihad, a first class airline who will get me there in 19 hours from Manchester.
China Southern Airlines are not on my list.
Once the airline is on my list then ticket price alone is not a deal breaker for me.
I have flown with them several times and I cant fault the service. You are right the journey times can be longer but as I am always on a very tight budget I often cant afford the luxury of shorter stops so I don't mind them. Also the ten hour stop I did have they provided a free hotel room with transport to and from the airport so I could get some rest as I am not good at sleeping on the plane.
Thanks Abigail. What was the food and service like?
Keith - Administrator
I have used China Southern in the past, but only so far as China, the service and pricing were fine, but i wouldnt consider them when going to the philippines, just because of the long stopover times.
The service was fine but I am really not a demanding passenger at all so not sure I have much to judge on as I didn't make any requests or anything like that. I am not really a fan of any airplane food but I wouldn't have said it was any worse than any other airline.
I chose to fly with China Southern on my last foray to The Pearl of the Orient Sea's after whittling the candidates down to three. I wanted to beat my 'highest score'. By that I mean, finding a price lower than my cheapest flight previously which incidentally was with Saudi Arabian Airlines back in 2011 at a cost of £444.
The three possibilities were
China Southern/KLM £375 from Birmingham
Air China £332 from Heathrow
Oman Air £405 from Heathrow
At this point Oman Air were favourites due to being the best airline but after finding out the arrival times in Manila and the stopover times, my mind was made up. Both Oman and China Airlines arrived between 10pm and 1am whereas China Southern landed at the wonderful hour of 11am which would be ideal. It would give me enough time to get through the airport and travel through the manic streets of Manila to reach my £100-a-night hotel overlooking Laguna de Bay on the outskirts of Muntinlupa City roughly in time for check-in and an afternoon in the pool. It didn't exactly turn out that way but that's another story.
An added bonus was that the flight was out of my home city of Birmingham. The stopover times were very good outbound. 45 mins in Amsterdam and 1 hr 45 mins in Guangzhou. On the way home it was over 4 hrs in China and around 2 in Amsterdam. Departure from Manila was at 1730.
Pro's
Tasty food (beef & potatoes, chicken noodles etc)
Clean modern aircraft
Polite and courteous staff
5 out of 6 flights departed on time
Con's
Crap website. Not very user friendly and English suddenly turns to Chinese halfway through. Very annoying.
Transfer at Guangzhou airport is like entering a grotty tube station from the eighties and the wait near the rear of the queue was tediously long.
The boarding pass from Amsterdam to Birmingham wasn't issued at Manila which meant traipsing around Schipol & dealing with unhelpful and snotty KLM staff after the self serving machine didn't work.
Would I fly with them again? Only if the price, stopovers and arrival/departure times were good but not from Birmingham. I would prefer only to change flights once or none at all. After completing a trip that totalled nine flights altogether, airports were becoming a pain.
... Jamie, I've only twice flown to the Phils and each time that was with Singapore Airlines. GREAT service - even if fairly expensive - and, anyway, on BOTH occasions, it was seven years' ago.
However, more importantly, it's good to see you posting here again! So,back to our midst, my friend.
Good to have you back Jamie
Thanks guys.
Arthur, Singapore Airlines are said to be the best carrier flying to the Phils so you made a good choice.
Price is a deal breaker for many travellers and that's fine.
Each to their own I say.
Used Singapore Airlines a few times, will be using them next trip 2016, will be booking about March for a June flight!
Just got back to UK with emirates,i looked at china southern but didnt like the stopover times,flew emirates as i like the a380's
Sometimes you're flush and sometimes you're bust, and when you're up, it's never as good as it seems, and when you're down, you never think you'll be up again. But life goes on.
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It's the passion that she shows to the outside world.
Welcome back mate.
Yes, I normally go with Either Emirates or Etihad (but next month, Qatar for the first time).
Overall convenience and good VALUE for money.
Hi Guys. I have used Etihad three times and flights usually 19 hours with 1.5 hour turn around and Abu Dubai the price was more than other air lines but they were clean friendly and helpful.
My wife flew PAL to UK Its a long flight and at the moment the prices are not as competitive as other air lines but we shall see what the prices are next October should we decided to fly back.
Take care John
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained"
"It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all" Lord Tenneson.
PAL £481 during October but offer ends end of the month.Originally Posted by songz777
http://www.pic-uk.com/special-offers...light/163.html
i flew with china southern in November from manchester- good price- just under £400 return and the first two legs were actually air france a very good airline.
however as soon as you land in china thats when the problems start- they bounced me off my connecting flight to manila - even tho i had booked 5 months previous, and had to fly the next day.
the check in girls had very limited english and they were "rejecting" a lot of onward travel passengers from actually getting on their flights for what seemed like visa issues (in the middle of their flights ???)
return journey had a 4 hour delay from manila to china and only just managed the air france connecting flight.
the big plus is of course cost- they have been as low as £335 for November dates recently but i think i will book with cathay pacific even tho they will cost £100-£150 more
I have enjoyed Cathy Pacific on a few occasions , a great flight time and just a short 2 hour flight from Hong Kong to Manila
sparky, I've read so many similar accounts on the internet reviews. No way will I go anywhere near that airline... especially for the sake of saving (at present) as little as 50 quid.
The following site is well worth a look to get a feel of what airlines are like from a passengers point of view http://www.airlinequality.com/rating...irline-rating/
Qatar 5 star, think mainly because they are prompt never known a late flight, in fact more often than not 5 or 10 minutes early arriving at Manchester. I've used them more often than any other airline and found prices very reasonable and decent service from cabin crews!
I used Qatar last month .
Gudonya GrahamI used Qatar last month .
I flew Air China last year for under £400 and earlier this year in the sale you could go for £330. When I went last year all the flights were on time. The late flight from Heathrow uses an old A330 and the seating is cramped (I was ok as I had all 4 seats empty in the middle row, until my daughter got jealous and booted me out). But coming back was on a 777 and it was fine......The early flight from Heathrow uses a 777 so should be better. Beijing airport is modern and the transfer is easy.
I am no flight snob and the end of the day it is an economy flight and they are basically all the same in that the seating is cramped and the meals are usually indifferent. Unless the extra money is not an issue to you then the difference between them is certainly not worth shelling out £200 more to go with a so called "better" airline. You can get a good meal inside you before you leave the UK, have a few beers and sleep on the plane.
Air China have at least two flights to Beijing from LHR every day and several onwards to Manila so if you miss an onward connection then there is no problem, unlike some other airlines.
With the extra £200 I saved per ticket I was able to book all of our families internal flights to Legaspi and have a few days island hopping in Bicol.
I also flew China Southern once and had no problem. The plane was a brand new A330.
In the past I have used: Emirates, KLM, Air France, Malaysian and Air China. All economy and not much difference between any of them.
Well of course it's good to read a variety of views and experiences.
Me, I'm as tight-fisted as they come, so the cheaper the better. Not bothered about food or drink either... or the entertainment system. I always take my own sandwiches etc anyway.
Legroom IS important to me though... being over 6 foot, and also the actual seat location. Some airlines charge extra for pre-selected seat, plus flight needs to be from Manchester (which I believe the Chinese ones do, but this can affect price).
I've been on most of the airlines, spread over the past 26 years .
I much prefer the stopover in Hong Kong to China or anywhere in the Middle East. If Carlsberg did stopovers.........
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