China Airlines/Gate1 tours advice
 

I found a great deal on a 12-day Thailand tour with Gate1. Has anyone ever travelled with Gate1? How was it? The included flights with this package are on China Airlines. Many years ago someone told me to avoid China Airlines at all costs, but I am hoping it has improved by now. I would be grateful for any advice on Gate1 or China Airlines. And if you have any other suggestions, I welcome those as well. Thanks.

I flew China Airlines to Hong Kong about a half year ago. It is definitely not Singapore Airlines, but if the deal is good, then it's not a terrible choice (I got a deal for $450 to HK including 3 nights hotel). The service was not so friendly and food was not very good either, but not a miserable experience in any way (except for the 4am layover in Taiwan).

Thanks, I appreciate your input.

I would really avoid China Air just due to their safety record. They seem to crash more then the other airlines.

Kikahead, do you have any proof of this, or is this an anecdotal urban myth to scare the hell out of people who plan to fly China Air?

I know a couple that used Gate 1 for a recent trip to Greece. They were very pleased because everything was as promised by the company.

Urban Myth.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/1930623.stm

http://www.flightsafe.co.uk/cca.html (Pay special attention to: "Eight accidents since 1987, four of them fatal. Three fatal accidents in 1988 now dropped out of the score calculation plus one in 1989")

That being said, I do things all the time that other people feel are unsafe (I eat at roadside stands in foreign countries, don't take malaria medicine, etc). China Air just isn't one of the things I'll risk.

I did put my mother on a flight from the Philippines to Taipei on China Air after she got bumped from EVA so obviously it is not the devil, I just wouldn't select it if other options were availible.

Wait a second. The BBC links that kikahead provided are for Air China, the mainland Chinese airline based in Beijing. China Airlines is the Taiwanese carrier, based in Taipei. Two different companies.

Here's a list of recent China Airlines crashes:

http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi_bin/a...China+Airlines

Over 700 people dead in the last 10 years, with a medium sized airline. You'll be the judge. And BTW, the crash at HKG is by CI's whole-owned subsidiary Mandarin Air. The plane flipped over at HKG, and burst into flames. It was a miracle that only 3 people perished.

And the earlier non-fatal crash at the old HKG (Kai Tak) was also spectacular. A brand-new 747-400 went into the water at the end of the runway. Plane was written off.

Holy shite. I just cancelled my reservations!