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There are many airlines flying between Australia and New Zealand. Qantas, Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand, Emirates, Jetstar, LAN, Air Asia, Philippine Airlines and China Airlines all offer flights across the Tasman. (And from September, Singapore Airlines will join the list.)
I've flown most of these airlines, but until recently I'd never tried out China Airlines. So, as the schedule and pricing worked well for me on my most recent trip to New Zealand (and I didn't need any QF status credits), I decided to try them out.
The Taiwan-based airline operates a number of Tran-Tasman tag flights, including Sydney-Auckland, Brisbane-Auckland and Melbourne-Christchurch.
My flight was CI51, which departs Sydney at 12.40pm and arrives in Auckland at 5.40pm. The flight was operated by an Airbus A330-300 that originated in Taipei. Some passengers were continuing from Taipei, but there were many passengers joining the flight in Sydney.
Check-in & Boarding
There was a moderate queue at the check-in counters, but enough staff members to ensure the line progressed fairly quickly. I waited about 15 minutes in total, and otherwise had no problems checking in.
As I don't have any status with SkyTeam and was flying economy, I didn't have lounge access in Sydney. But eligible passengers would have had access to the SkyTeam lounge near gate 24 prior to the flight.
Boarding was a bit of a zoo, with some passengers choosing not to wait in line or for their zone to be called. But from what I could tell, the priority boarding lane did seem to be policed properly.
On board: The hard product
The Airbus A330 seemed fairly new, and the plane was clean. Economy class seats are in the usual 2-4-2 configuration.
The economy class cabin
Because I booked an "Economy Super Saver" ticket, I wasn't able to select a seat at all (not even for a fee!) until online check-in opened 24 hours before departure. By the time it did, the best seat I could get was an aisle seat in row 15.
I found that the legroom was quite adequate for economy. I think it is probably a little better than most of the other airlines flying Trans-Tasman, with the exception of Emirates. There was also a small pillow on every seat.
The flight was around 90% full in economy, but almost empty in business class! Business is in a 2-2-2 configuration and I must admit, the hard product did look pretty good when I walked through the cabin. The seats looked very comfortable – certainly better than the hard product on the Qantas & Virgin 737s! Though I believe that the seats are only angle-flat and not completely lie-flat. I can't comment on the business class soft product.
Business class seats
Every seat was equipped with an in-flight entertainment system. I thought the IFE was pretty good. There was a reasonably comprehensive range of movies and TV shows (all with Chinese subtitles), and the touch screen was fairly responsive. However, the flight map function wasn't working properly.
IFE
On board: The soft product
The soft product met expectations. There were a few potential areas for improvement, but overall I was happy with the on-board service.
The Taiwanese cabin crew were friendly and professional, and the English announcements were understandable.
There was only one choice of hot meal. The chicken rice that was offered was quite tasty, although the portion size was a little on the small side and I would have liked to see another meal option available.
The single hot meal choice: Chicken rice with fruit salad and a chocolate biscuit
Soft drinks, juice and water were available with lunch. There was also a small selection of alcoholic beverages, including Heineken beer, and one type of both white and red wine. Most of the drinks came out of cans, but were poured from the can into a small cup, meaning each passenger received only half a drink.
We hit some substantial turbulence mid-way through the flight, so no tea or coffee was served. The cabin manager twice apologised for this over the PA.
Having departed punctually, we arrived in Auckland a few minutes ahead of schedule.
Final thoughts
I was pleasantly surprised by China Airlines. They provided a reasonable quality of service, and I didn't experience any problems. Although I still prefer Qantas and Emirates, I would consider flying them again if the price and schedule suited.
I actually think I found them slightly better than Jetstar, Air Asia, Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand (if on an A320). All of these airlines offer a quasi low-cost-carrier service, with meals, entertainment and baggage all costing extra. China Airlines offers a full service product on a wide-body aircraft, and often at a lower price.
China Airlines has some very competitive trans-Tasman fares in both economy and business class. Economy fares are often around the $200 mark, and I've seen business class for as low as $445 one-way.
I've flown most of these airlines, but until recently I'd never tried out China Airlines. So, as the schedule and pricing worked well for me on my most recent trip to New Zealand (and I didn't need any QF status credits), I decided to try them out.
The Taiwan-based airline operates a number of Tran-Tasman tag flights, including Sydney-Auckland, Brisbane-Auckland and Melbourne-Christchurch.
My flight was CI51, which departs Sydney at 12.40pm and arrives in Auckland at 5.40pm. The flight was operated by an Airbus A330-300 that originated in Taipei. Some passengers were continuing from Taipei, but there were many passengers joining the flight in Sydney.
Check-in & Boarding
There was a moderate queue at the check-in counters, but enough staff members to ensure the line progressed fairly quickly. I waited about 15 minutes in total, and otherwise had no problems checking in.
As I don't have any status with SkyTeam and was flying economy, I didn't have lounge access in Sydney. But eligible passengers would have had access to the SkyTeam lounge near gate 24 prior to the flight.
Boarding was a bit of a zoo, with some passengers choosing not to wait in line or for their zone to be called. But from what I could tell, the priority boarding lane did seem to be policed properly.
On board: The hard product
The Airbus A330 seemed fairly new, and the plane was clean. Economy class seats are in the usual 2-4-2 configuration.
The economy class cabin
Because I booked an "Economy Super Saver" ticket, I wasn't able to select a seat at all (not even for a fee!) until online check-in opened 24 hours before departure. By the time it did, the best seat I could get was an aisle seat in row 15.
I found that the legroom was quite adequate for economy. I think it is probably a little better than most of the other airlines flying Trans-Tasman, with the exception of Emirates. There was also a small pillow on every seat.
The flight was around 90% full in economy, but almost empty in business class! Business is in a 2-2-2 configuration and I must admit, the hard product did look pretty good when I walked through the cabin. The seats looked very comfortable – certainly better than the hard product on the Qantas & Virgin 737s! Though I believe that the seats are only angle-flat and not completely lie-flat. I can't comment on the business class soft product.
Business class seats
Every seat was equipped with an in-flight entertainment system. I thought the IFE was pretty good. There was a reasonably comprehensive range of movies and TV shows (all with Chinese subtitles), and the touch screen was fairly responsive. However, the flight map function wasn't working properly.
IFE
On board: The soft product
The soft product met expectations. There were a few potential areas for improvement, but overall I was happy with the on-board service.
The Taiwanese cabin crew were friendly and professional, and the English announcements were understandable.
There was only one choice of hot meal. The chicken rice that was offered was quite tasty, although the portion size was a little on the small side and I would have liked to see another meal option available.
The single hot meal choice: Chicken rice with fruit salad and a chocolate biscuit
Soft drinks, juice and water were available with lunch. There was also a small selection of alcoholic beverages, including Heineken beer, and one type of both white and red wine. Most of the drinks came out of cans, but were poured from the can into a small cup, meaning each passenger received only half a drink.
We hit some substantial turbulence mid-way through the flight, so no tea or coffee was served. The cabin manager twice apologised for this over the PA.
Having departed punctually, we arrived in Auckland a few minutes ahead of schedule.
Final thoughts
I was pleasantly surprised by China Airlines. They provided a reasonable quality of service, and I didn't experience any problems. Although I still prefer Qantas and Emirates, I would consider flying them again if the price and schedule suited.
I actually think I found them slightly better than Jetstar, Air Asia, Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand (if on an A320). All of these airlines offer a quasi low-cost-carrier service, with meals, entertainment and baggage all costing extra. China Airlines offers a full service product on a wide-body aircraft, and often at a lower price.
China Airlines has some very competitive trans-Tasman fares in both economy and business class. Economy fares are often around the $200 mark, and I've seen business class for as low as $445 one-way.
The seats are a generous recliner, sort of a 'z' position - as you can see from this Flight Centre promo: 
