mofa31

I flew business class on China Southern Airlines from Los Angeles to Dhaka via Guangzhou in September 2015. Here are the positives:
1. Relatively cheap fare compared to other airlines
2. Business class seats on Airbus 380 and Boeing 777 are fabulous. They can be converted to almost a flat bed. Excellent for a long haul flight.
3. Planes are new and clean.
4. Pleasantly surprised to see an Airline staff waiting at the gate, upon disembarkation from the aircraft to help assist with the visa (no prior application) and hotel voucher and accommodation. She actually walked me all the way to the hotel across the main street. The hotel was a 5-star hotel and was complimentary with free breakfast. [Note that there was no previous confirmation whether a hotel would be provided for the 18 hour layover in Guangzhou on my return trip. The travel agent and the China Southern rep at Dhaka flatly said that it would not be provided]

Here are the negatives:
1. The customer service is almost non-existent. The toll free numbers in Los Angeles and other cities in the US are worthless. No one picks up the phone, or you are put on hold by a robot. I even called the number in China, but could get through to anyone.
2. Since I bought the ticket through a travel agent, I wanted to confirm reservation directly with the airlines, which I never could.
3. Airline's website is equally worthless. Even though I had a confirmation code, itinerary number and an e-ticket number, I could not find my reservation online as they only provide info if the ticket was purchased through the airline.
4. Airline's sales representative in Dhaka was uninformed about the Airlines offering of transit accommodation for long layover in Guangzhou. It does say boldly on the airline's website to book a complimentary hotel if there is a long layover (>8 hours). But, it was not possible to book a hotel online on their website due to problems on the website itself, or may only people who purchased the ticket directly from the airline could do so. I do not know.
5. The service in the cabin needs to improve substantially. Some of the basic etiquettes were missing, like shoving food on plates to the table, where the table is already full with plates. The table should have been emptied before bringing more food.
6. The menu was not provided at the beginning, but the flight attendant just showed a menu and asked which item to choose without giving time to browse through all options. This was surprising, especially in a business class.

Anyway, overall I am happy with the experience, although it could have been better. I am sure over time, Airline will improve their services and work on their deficiencies. They need more training of the cabin crew, customer support and sales team. They definitely need to overhaul their archaic website and make it useable for all.

needmorevacation

Thanks for posting, there are always a number of China Southern Flights that pop up in my searches, and always much cheaper. Haven't gone with them yet, and may continue to hold off it seems

khtodd

Bumping this thread... Does anyone have experience with China Southern flying from the US in economy class?

jacketwatch

This is a two yr. old post but currently their ratings on skytrax are 4*.

http://www.airlinequality.com/rating...s-star-rating/

scdreamer

We will be on China Southern in a week, flying business class from San Francisco to Bangkok, with a layover in Guangzhou . Reviews online look pretty good, anyonewith recent experience or suggestions regarding this airline?

lauramsgarden

Hi Scdreamer, we leave in two weeks from LAX to Bangkok on SCA changing in Guanzzho - how was your experience? (we are going business class as well). My other question is on a 15 hour flight (it leaves at 11 am -) how many meals do they serve. We've never flown overseas going west....

jacketwatch

Just curious but what was the airfare cost?

I plugged in LAX-PEK for Oct. and got 10k for two for biz class with a stop vs. Hainan ORD-PEK NS biz for $5678.00 for two. We live near Chicago so would have to add air to LAX. Hainan is a 5 * skytrax carrier BTW, CS is 4*.

lauramsgarden

we paid about $5k for 2 business class lax to Bangkok, changing in Guanzhou

jacketwatch

I plugged in prices for Jan. same route and got $6633.00 now so congrats you got a great deal!

Same route for Oct. is $9236.00.

As for food our experience in trans Pacific biz is two meals usually. We have flown only on Asiana and ANA and you can get a snack in between if you like. I would CS is the same.

Have fun.

Larry.

lauramsgarden

Thanks Larry - our first trip to Asia so feeling both excited and nervous...stay tuned for trip report

jacketwatch

Indeed. Thank you. I will look for it. I try to get back to Asia as often as I can.

lauramsgarden

the good part was we got the good prices via expedia - the downside as has been noted before is that if you don't buy direct from CSA you can't use their website for things like seat selection etc which is making the control freak in me quite nervous

jacketwatch

Well you will fine I think. I plugged in some late Jan. dates on Expedia for your trip and now CS is about 6 k. The cheapest is China eastern at about $5700.00 and its not as well rated an air carrier. Once you are on board I imagine those nerves will be quelled. .

Have great flight!

Larry

jacketwatch

Just out of curiosity I looked at RT ORD-PEK in on Priceline and Hainan, which is the carrier I prefer is about $400.00 less than thru the official website. I am not sure if you can select your seats thru them whereas you can I am sure from their website.

scdreamer

We bought directly from the airline website - it was $6,159 for both of us to fly from San Francisco to Bangkok - R/T. Layover in Guangzhou both ways. Much better price than most others I looked at, and the reviews seem to indicate that CS is a 4-star airline.

On an international trip with a layover in a third country, I am always hesitant to purchase tickets from a third party, especially if the savings is not that much. If there are issues along the way, I want to be dealing directly with the airline employees, not trying to get in touch with a third party when I am in a foreign country.

Update - Our flights were great! Comfortable lie-flat seats, attentive service from the flight attendants, wide variety of video entertainment options, exceptionally clean lavatories. Food wasn't the best, but it wasn't awful, either. Flights were all on time - we actually arrived back in SFO almost 45 minutes ahead of schedule.

I would definitely book on this airline again.

jacketwatch

Very good to hear.It seems like CS is trying hard to up their product.

I am glad it worked our well for you.

myra90

Thanks for sharing useful information.