Are you looking to make a return trip from Australia to China? At last count, around ten airlines fly from Australia to China. Qantas is the only Australian airline, while the rest are Chinese airlines. With many people of Chinese origin living in Australia and returning to China regularly, this route offers a lot of choices.
We (Mark and Bec) recently flew the Australia-China-Australia router with Xiamen Air and Air China. Tickets to fly with Xiamen Air to China from Australia are typically cheaper than Air China tickets by up to 30%. So, would the Air China service be considerably better for flyers?
Xiamen Air typically flies the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, while Air China flies the Airbus A350-900. The Air China Airbus is a bigger plane with more room to stand and stretch near the galley and toilet areas.
Both planes were considerably old. After looking at their registration numbers, we could tell they had both been in service for over ten years and showed signs of wear and tear.
Which airline had the best service?
The meals on each plane between the countries were similar. Expect to get a beef, fish, or chicken dish with slightly spicy rice that is not over the top. You will also get some fruit, cake, and a bread roll. This meal setup is similar to that of most other airlines.
The meal service in Xiamen was chaotic at best, with no real order. It seems strange that they would start at the front, run out of meals, return to the galley to stock up with more meals and start from the back. Air China was far more efficient with its service and communication of what was available to eat. I will say both airlines regularly offered drinks on the flights.
The entertainment systems on both planes were adequate, with a good selection of Western movies to watch. I wouldn’t say there were any really new movies, but some titles that had come out in the last six months were available.
Music and games were available to pass the time on the flights. Air China offered better headphones than Xiamen. The screens on Air China were bigger than on Xiamen with better resolution and brightness..
I think the seats from Australia to China on Xiamen Air were slightly larger than Air China’s, while my wife Bec disagreed and thought Air China’s seating was bigger.
I always measure airline space by whether I can get the seat tray down as a larger person. I could fully extend my tray table on Xiamen, while I could not on Air China to Australia. I hate it when I can not fully extend the tray, it makes meals a balancing act on half the tray and causes me some travel anxiety.
Read More from Mark & Bec
The toilets on Xiamen Air seemed to have more room than those on Air China. Having said that, the toilets seemed cleaner on the journey with Air China. The staff on Air China spoke English well, while the Xiamen staff were not proficient in English, sometimes creating a barrier when requesting anything.
In the end, I would probably go with Air China because I thought their product was a bit more polished on a 9 -11-hour flight when presented with the choice. If money is an issue, fly with whoever is cheaper because both deliver a product that will get you there without too many issues.
Both these airlines flying the Australia-China-Australia route were as good as you would expect for economy-class tickets.
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