China Eastern

My wife took a flight to Ho Chi Minh city from San Francisco on Jan.1,2017.

She took three checked boxes weighing 50lbs each. I paid $160 extra for the third box.

I wrapped all three boxes with at least 10 rolls of packaging tape and 30 feet of heavy nylon rope to safeguard the boxes.

When she arrived in Ho Chi Minh city the rope and tape had been removed and the boxes had squares holes cut into them from a box cutter and the taped over with a small piece of tape. Many items have been stolen from the boxes. The people at Ho Chi Minh airport said its not their responsibility.

Who is responsible then? Why is this problem ignored? Why is they no accountability with that airlines or Vietnam officials?

Had two international flights from Heathrow to Shanghai and return via Beijing, that were punctual and 3 internal flights which were also satisfactory. The planes were clean and modern and the food ok. One odd element was that the crew insisted on keeping the window shutters closed on the day time flight from Shanghai to London, I think this to encourage people to sleep so they were less demanding as the crew kept disappearing.

Both international flights were not full so passengers were able to move seats and have at least 2 seats each.

We have 7 people took 8/16/2014 MU589 from PVG to SFO with departure time at 1:00 pm. We arrived PVG 2 hours earlier than the departure time. There is no sign to show which counter was servicing which flight. All north American flights mixed together so that the check-in line was very long. At 12:00 pm, some people behind us went to the check-in counter without any notification or display message. Finally, we went to the counter#28 and learned the boarding time was 12:15 pm. There were 5 minutes before boarding time. We had two groups (4 people flight to SFO, 3 people flight to SFO and transferred to LAX). The clerk at counter #28 completed check-in process for 4 people to SFO but talked 3 people who transferred from SFO to LAX to go to counter#16 for check-in process. The reason from this clerk was that she did not have enough luggage tags to complete rest of 3 people check-in process.

The actual departure time was 1:43 pm. This was the worst experience that we had in 20 years.

I have been on hold with your 800 number for 36 minutes and 14 seconds. THAT IS RIDICULOUS, No customer should have to wait that long to get information.

You need to hire MORE representatives or find some way to improve. That is no way to run a business.

Having read some poor reviews of this airline on this and other websites, I was hesitant in booking with China Eastern, but the fact that my wife and I were flying and each ticket was over £200 cheaper than the next best alternative was a deal-clincher for me.

We flew Heathrow-Pudong and then Pudong-Sydney and same return flights, 150 minutes in transit on way out, overnight accommocation in Arline hotel on return leg. The planes were new and clean and seat pitch was very comfortable. The food is, unsurprisingly, heavy on the rice and noodles side and was perfectly edible...probably slightly better on the return leg....the IFE on the headset had a great range of films, programmes and games and my wife and I were happily entertained on both legs. The only negatives were that some of the staff had very limited English, though it wasn't really a problem as there wasn't much to ask for, and the alcohol selection is very limited. Overall however, I was very impressed with this airline and would be happy to use them again....by reading the reviews, it seesm to me that the issues that arise sem to come predominantly from shorter haul flights, but that they are really getting their act together on the long haul flights.

I purchased two International round-trip tickets with China Eastern Airlines. Both went bad. The first one is a conjunction ticket for my mother marketed and sold by China Eastern, with only its confirmation number, ticket number, and airline codes on the itinerary, although the first leg was operated by Delta. The Delta flight had to be delayed because of a mechanical problem and there was no other flights that would make the connection on the same day. As instructed by Delta, I tried to reschedule my flight with China Eastern because Delta didn't have access to the International leg. I made literally dozens of phone calls and tried to be understanding on our part that we would be satisfied with any date as long as it can be confirmed because I didn't want my mom to be stranded unnecessarily at connecting air port. I was directed back and forth between their Shanghai, New York, and airport offices, and yet no one would confirm the seat for an alternative date, even if they were available at the time of my calls. They insisted that it was not their fault and they were not responsible for making the changes. Either I would need to pay penalty fees (apparently penalized involuntarily for the mechanical problem of a plane that they code-shared with Delta) to have confirmed seating because, as they explained, the seats could be potentially sold to other people, or as they cheerfully suggested, my mom fly to New York, but depending on the availability, might have to stay over nights at the airport without them providing hotel room. Of course this is unacceptable so I tried to call them day after day to get information on the next day's seating information, and they kept telling me the flights were over-sold, until I finally gave up, called Delta, explained the situation and begged for their help. Luckily Delta was willing (and able) to make a new reservation for us under their airline codes (including both legs), although the actual flights were exactly the same as those China Eastern lied to me as oversold. This caused four days' delay. In addition, China Eastern wouldn't let us cancel a subsequent, separate reservation with them, which couldn't be simply relocated because of the undetermined schedule. Is China Eastern indeed free of responsibility on tickets they marketed under their own name and is it really allowed to continue to sell tickets before trying to help delayed passengers? I don't think so.

The second ticket for my father had several schedule changes, but we agreed to all of them. After my father took the departure flight, however, they made yet another schedule change and the only choice this time involved an overnight stay at the airport (!). So I asked for a cancellation through Priceline. It took China Eastern a ridiculously long 2 months to decide whether to accept my request, again despite dozens of calls, many times waiting on the line for over an hour. This procrastination directly resulted in me paying over $200 more for making a new reservation. If the delay was due to the time to process bank transfer, China Eastern could at least confirm to Priceline and myself that the refund would eventually be approved so that I could start making a separate reservation earlier. In addition, the final refund was less than half of the total cost of the round-trip ticket. China Eastern explained it was one way fare for the original booking class. However, as a passenger we have no way of verifying their internal pricing (as far as we can tell, one way ticket is much more expensive than half the round-trip ticket). Luckily the difference is not large. Nonetheless the delay and refusal of China Eastern to resolve their own issues on both tickets and lying about seat availability are very disappointing. It seems that as a state-owned company, China Eastern has the least fear of losing business, and its employees know it well and don't have the smallest incentive to help resolve problems.

I bought a round-trip ticket from China Eastern Airlines and they lost my luggage both times!! I arrived in Sydney, Australia with no fresh clothes or underwear and had to live that way in a hotel for 2 days before they finally found it. No apology, no money refunded.

Coming back home they lost my luggage again! I'm still waiting for them to find my 2 bags, their phone numbers either are out of service or just keep ringing with no option to leave a message.

Besides having the worst phone service and losing my luggage constantly, the plane is dirty, completely uncomfortable, puts pork in your vegetarian meals, the flight crew have terrible attitudes and were very rude, they only show Chinese commercials or Chinese movies with no subtitles, and yes the plane does have a certain putrid smell. I couldn't listen to the radio because it only had Chinese artists, the films were all in Chinese with no dubbing, and there was absolutely nothing I could do on a 30 hour plane ride from NY to Sydney, and vice versa.

I even remember when they tried to hand me a burger and I told them I'd rather have some peanuts because I don't eat meat, they were so rude and told me to 'Just Try It.' I had to beg them for 2 bags of peanuts instead, which they handed me with such disdain.

I paid $1,100 of my hard-earned money (which was very hard to save) and got treated like a stowaway in a ship's cabin. It was absolutely dreadful and I urge anyone considering using their airline to Please Re-think it.

I'm never using them ever again!!

The SAS plane arrived in Moscow-Sheremetyevo Terminal F around 5:30 pm. The connecting flight with China Eastern Airline (CEA) to Shanghai is scheduled to leave at 7:50 pm in Terminal E. After a few minutes after touchdown, I boarded out of the plane and followed the transit sign. The bus arrived in terminal E and I went with the flow and came to an area where one staff checks everyone and asked to go to a certain queue. I followed the staff's advice to get into one of the lines. The staff in place realized that he could not issue a boarding pass for me and told me to join another line. The staff there too refused to issue a boarding pass and asked a third staff in the area to check my papers. The third staff upon checking my flight number then told me to wait in one of the unmanned booths. Only after a few minutes she realized that I have to pass another line for the luggage and screening into the departure hall. I asked her where exactly inside and she just told to turn right and find the 'transfer desk'. After going through the luggage and screening check, I turned right into a crowded area and looked for the 'transfer desk' sign. I arrived at this office about 50-55 minutes before departure time due to all the delays and mistakes by the staff. When I arrived at this office, a staff in the reception was talking to someone standing in front of the desk that also looked like a staff. I showed my papers and the staff told me to just sit and wait. I told her that the plane is leaving soon but she did not listen. They kept ignoring me the whole time I was standing in front of the reception and the staff who told me to sit and wait the first time told me to sit and wait again which I refused. About 23 minutes before departure, the staff that is processing the two passports of the other passengers has finished what she was doing but still looks preoccupied. About 20 minutes before departure, the staff finally took my passport. The staff said that I might miss the plane since there is not enough time to process the boarding pass. When I missed my flight they cannot come up with an alternative itinerary. After a while, they come up with a proposal that I buy my own ticket to Stockholm that leaves the next day at 8:50 am and start all over again!! They proposed that a SAS representative that will be available the next day might come up with a solution for me and probably get a flight that day. At about 01:30 am (next day), there is still no definite answer from the desk on my flight itinerary or a clear course of action. It was already late, people are leaving, and I haven't had a proper dinner. A staff from the office asked me to follow him while he was holding my passport. I asked him where we were going and what was happening and he just said that we are going to the other terminal. I pressed for more explanations but he refused to answer. He handed me over to another airport staff who in turn handed me over to a uniformed airport police/agent who also refused to explain to me what is happening. He just said 'No English'. I was then taken in a van to be transported to the other terminal with two airport agents. Then we arrived to a secluded area with an office and three benches with one unoccupied located just next to the office. I felt I am being treated as an illegal alien crossing the border with no food and water. A little bit exhausted and no agent wanted to listen, I slept on the bench until 7:00. When I felt thirsty, I had no choice but to drink water from the faucet in the toilet not really sure if the water there is safe. The most outrageous part of it all was that, instead of an offer of hotel accommodation and food compensation for stranded passengers, I was detained! The agents were neither nice nor helpful and every time I say or ask something, they just shut me out and wave to stay outside of their office. Around noon, a uniformed agent came and told me to follow him. I asked where we are going and he said terminal D. I pressed for more information but he just said he only speaks Russian. When we arrived in terminal D, they put me in an enclosed room (locked in and out) and one agent told me to sit and wait inside. The room looks like an interrogation room and there I spent another 3.5-4 hours not knowing exactly what will happen and still no food and water (not even a toilet this time). Fortunately I had my cell phone and made a contact with my travel agency and I could get the 9:20 pm flight to Shanghai with another airline, Aeroflot. SAS nor CEA did not pay for the ticket and ignored my complaints afterwards. Finally after 3.5-4 hours from the detention room, I was out and told to sit and wait beside an Aeroflot booth issuing boarding passes. Around 3:50 pm, I got my passport back and a boarding pass and I eventually left Moscow 9:20 pm and arrived in Shanghai around 10 am.

I'm not the biggest fan of China Southern but my company often buys my flights on this airline...and I prefer it over Air China anyday. However, China Eastern is one step above that.

One doesn't fathom why the two are so very different, but China Southern is cleaner, better food, and more comfortable.

Whenever I have an opportunity to take China Eastern over China Southern, I do.

Lots of things we didn't like!!! My sister and I travelled to Cairns Australia on China Eastern via Shanghai. The first leg of the flight for approximately twelve hours from Heathrow to Shanghai. We were offered a drink at the start of the trip. My sister and I both asked for red wine, the stewardess poured about an inch of wine in the cup. On the next visit after the meal they had run out of red wine, had no beer and no other alcohol on offer! I have never been on a flight where there was no bar service!It was the same on the three other flights. The food was atrocious and I'm not a fussy eater. A choice of only two meals each time either pork and rice or beef and noodle. I chose beef and it was laced with fat! On one of the flights there was no choice, the fish meal had run out! There was a person caught smoking in the toilets, this was reported to staff, don't think it was taken any further, but in the UK this is a prisonable offence with a heavy fine! The staff weren't at all friendly and hardly smiled, although the in flight vidoe showed a lovely cup of coffee with very happy staff, this wasn't at all what we experienced. If you have booked with this airline I would definately think of changing. Other people we met on the flight were thinking the same as us. Especially on such a long flight, think again.