# Air China or China Eastern vs Air Canada



## FED

Has anyone had any experience with the Chinese Airlines and how it compares to Air Canada? I'm flying to Shanghai next month and I am wondering which is the best choice out of the 3 carriers. Its a long flight so I would like to choose the one with the best combination of service, food, English speaking, and seating. thanks.


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## Wisperian

I flew with China Eastern last year when I went to Beijing with my school and they actually had no mini TV's in the seats. Needless to say, I was bored to death. However on the flight back, I got upgraded to first class which wasn't bad.

But I'd probably stick with Air Canada. The China Eastern food was horrifically greasy and yucky. They gave us like.... eggplant something and it looked like my cat's diarrhea after he got dewormed. Not pleasant.


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## neven

great to read before lunch time!


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## waynet

One thing that scares me with Air Canada is I read somewhere that when they fly people to Asia they are using older airplanes.

I hope it is not true.



FED said:


> Has anyone had any experience with the Chinese Airlines and how it compares to Air Canada? I'm flying to Shanghai next month and I am wondering which is the best choice out of the 3 carriers. Its a long flight so I would like to choose the one with the best combination of service, food, English speaking, and seating. thanks.


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## neven

waynenet, i'd be more scared of lesser known carriers using older airplanes. Well it may be true air canada uses its older models for asian travel (not sure if it is), most western air carriers sell the planes they consider past their life time to those lesser known carriers (mainly in asia, africa, and south america)


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## waynet

I believe 2/3 of my last flights to Asia, I was travelling Air Canada.

The flights were fine.

But after hearing/reading this, I feel uncomfortable.



neven said:


> waynenet, i'd be more scared of lesser known carriers using older airplanes. Well it may be true air canada uses its older models for asian travel (not sure if it is), most western air carriers sell the planes they consider past their life time to those lesser known carriers (mainly in asia, africa, and south america)


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## Momobobo

I flew to China on Cathy Pacific and I have to say it was a pretty decent ride there and back. Food was decent for airplane food, you had TVs, and liquor and pop going down the aisle


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## athena

Cathy Pacific is the best. Don't fly Air China (the one from China). There is absolutely no leg room.


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## sdfish223

waynet said:


> One thing that scares me with Air Canada is I read somewhere that when they fly people to Asia they are using older airplanes.
> 
> I hope it is not true.


There is nothing wrong with older planes when they are with an airline such as Air Canada or really any airline from the developed world.

Age of a plane does not make it unsafe if the plane is properly maintained which an airline like Air Canada certainly does.

Its not the age of the plane that matters, but the airline operating it and maintaining it.

You really have nothing to fear flying Air Canada regardless of the age of the plane.

Delta Airlines in the US is a good example, they have a small fleet of DC9's they inherited from Northwest when they merged, average age is 34 years old, but when was the last time you heard of a DC9 crash in the US? As a passenger by looking at the plane, would never guess it was 34 years old as they are maintained well, and interiors have been updated over the years.


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## waynet

I agree with you. If they do regular maintenance on the air plane and don't use the plane anymore when it gets too old.

All the flights I took on Air Canada were pretty good. I did not feel any super loud noise.

But a friend of mine took Air Canada, she said the plane was so noisy that she was frightened. It was a scary ride that was what she told me.

For sure if I travel in North America, I will take Air Canada. But somewhere else, I don't know.



sdfish223 said:


> There is nothing wrong with older planes when they are with an airline such as Air Canada or really any airline from the developed world.
> 
> Age of a plane does not make it unsafe if the plane is properly maintained which an airline like Air Canada certainly does.
> 
> Its not the age of the plane that matters, but the airline operating it and maintaining it.
> 
> You really have nothing to fear flying Air Canada regardless of the age of the plane.


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## FED

Thanks a lot for all the responses and everyone makes a good point. In general I've heard bad things about China Eastern but I'm sure there's horror stories from every airline carrier at times. I mean, I like eggplant, maybe Wisperian's meal would've tasted good to me, who knows.

As for older planes, I've traveled a bit and it doesn't matter to me if the plane is older or not (as long as its not from World War 2). Like sdfish says, As long as they are maintained properly they should be fine, sometimes those older planes are built better.

I guess I'm leaning towards Air Canada at the moment based off responses here and research on the web.

Cathay Pacific sounds good too but do they fly non-stop from Vancouver to Shanghai?

No travel agent has quoted me a price for Cathay yet so it doesn't seem like it.


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## neven

i'll also add that JAL was by far the best flight experience i had for economy class


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## FED

Yeah Neven, I've flown JAL internationally also and it was great. No complaints. The food was what I remember the most about it, really good. Unfortunately they dont fly to Shanghai non stop. I don't want to stopover and add any more to that 12 hour flight.


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## plantedinvertz

Cathay is more pricey than china eastern, but Cathay has better service and better food.


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## sdfish223

waynet said:


> I agree with you. If they do regular maintenance on the air plane and don't use the plane anymore when it gets too old.
> 
> All the flights I took on Air Canada were pretty good. I did not feel any super loud noise.
> 
> But a friend of mine took Air Canada, she said the plane was so noisy that she was frightened. It was a scary ride that was what she told me.
> 
> For sure if I travel in North America, I will take Air Canada. But somewhere else, I don't know.


The planes they use within North America are not any younger, in fact the 777 is the newest plane in their fleet, and its used on various international flights over seas.

Anyhow here is the average age by aircraft type for Air Canada

Fleet age Air Canada | Airfleets aviation

Overall average age is 10.5 years.


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## waynet

Hi:

Good find.

Can you find out which planes are used for which parts of the world?

I heard the planes going to Europe are newer than going to Asia.

Anyway, if it is not safe, I am sure they won't let the airplane fly.



sdfish223 said:


> The planes they use within North America are not any younger, in fact the 777 is the newest plane in their fleet, and its used on various international flights over seas.
> 
> Anyhow here is the average age by aircraft type for Air Canada
> 
> Fleet age Air Canada | Airfleets aviation
> 
> Overall average age is 10.5 years.


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## rescuepenguin

Air Canada operates B767s and B777s to Asia. They had planned to replace their fleet of B767s with B787s starting 2 yrs ago.

Air China (flies to Beijing) uses A330s

last time I saw a China Eastern plane it was an A340.

Air Canada and Air China have in seat passenger entertainment systems. I can't speak for Air China, but I do like the Air Canada system.

Cathay operates B777s, but they only fly to Hong Kong (yes I know they fly to New York from here, but it is in the wrong direction).

If you want non stop to Shanghai i'd choose Air Canada.

Steve


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## summit

I fly to Hong Kong twice per year, as a tall person (6'6) I would recommend EVA air business class which is in between economy and first class, I don't know if they go to Shanghai, but from my experience they are far and above cathay pacific and air canada for service and leg room (the complimentary lounges are excellent), and quite a bit cheaper unless you step up into first class, in which it gets pretty pricey in all the airlines.


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## rescuepenguin

Eva goes to Taipei from here, so there would be a connection involved.



summit said:


> I fly to Hong Kong twice per year, as a tall person (6'6) I would recommend EVA air business class which is in between economy and first class, I don't know if they go to Shanghai, but from my experience they are far and above cathay pacific and air canada for service and leg room (the complimentary lounges are excellent), and quite a bit cheaper unless you step up into first class, in which it gets pretty pricey in all the airlines.


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## Dave

I'll add my .02 cents for what its worth. I am an air chaos (air canada) employee who works in line maintenance here in yvr. if given a choice, I would fly either ac, jal, or cathay instead. yes some of the airplanes we have are older, our 767's have been around for about 20 years, however they are well maintained and are very reliable. they undergo regularly scheduled checks. 

the age of the aircraft isn't necesarrily a bad thing. it depends on how they're maintained . if all the maintenance is done, then a 20 yr airplane can be just as good and reliable as a newer one. if an operator just puts fuel in the tanks and oil in the engine and nothing else, even a brand new airplane won't last long. there was an outfit down in the states that our heavy maintenance department did some checks and mods on, and this companies philosophy about the airplanes was this: "do the minimum to get it airworthy, slap a fresh coat of paint on it and get it out the door. its just like a bus". this company no longer exists, but its that mentality which decides how good an airplane is at any age.

I may get flamed for this next statement, but for the most part Ive found that passengers give maintenance of an aircraft a lower thought than the following: 
what was the ticket price?
was the crew friendly and attentive? service good/bad?
did they get from point a to b on time?
was the airplane clean or dirty? 
did the seat recline? 
did the entertainment system work, what kind was it? old style projector or new tv screens in the seatback infront of them? 
did the meal come hot?


my question is, when people choose to fly an airline, what do you look for? or how do you chose a particular airline?


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