Hainan Airlines (www.hainanairlines.com) has a 1.8 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 149 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Travel & Vacation and its reputation is poor. 70% of reviews are 1 star, a relatively high share; The business has not yet replied to negative reviews; 89 of them were added in the last 12 months. Last updated 2026-10-25.
Most reviewers were unhappy with their experience overall. Customers frequently complained about unexpected flight cancellations, unhelpful customer service representatives, and extremely long waiting times when trying to resolve urgent travel issues. Travelers additionally mentioned major difficulties with the online booking process, severe baggage handling problems, and consistently poor communication from the airline staff members. Some people were satisfied with the attentive cabin crew, comfortable seats featuring extra legroom, and overall smooth on-time flights. A few other people also felt that the high quality of the food and the warm overall hospitality fully met their expectations during the journey.
Auto-generated from all reviews of this business. For reference only.My goal was to use an airline carrier (for my trip to Japan) which will safely fly me overseas from Europe. This goal was fully achieved via Hainan. I do see below much worse reviews from other travellers. I did not experience those issues. True, food could have been better, but this is a fringe service in my eyes - the major profile is flying..
I did not even start flying yet and can’t even check-in online. My flight has been changed to 15 hours later and no compensation or anything offered. They said that i have to accept the flight and if I want to rebook its additional charges
nice staff, £600 to get from EDI-PEK,plane is a bit aged, defo flying again and hihgly recommened
Unhelpful staff and terrible customer service. Unable to handle basic requests. China has many airlines; choose any other.
I had at least 30 flights with Hainan airlines. Always used to excellent. I thought at least found an airline which is genuinely good. However,Hainan recently started to follow the footsteps of typical 3rd class airlines. We all know, what other air lines do. Hainan has gone one step ahead. Almost empty flight . Flight attendants try to sell empty seats. First time in 5 years flying with Hainan, felt like Hainan become a begged airline to make extra money . Staff attitude also has changed significantly. It is very sad to see an excellent airline turning into a 3rd typical airline. A few cabin crews also adapted to speak a bit louder than usual. I have been told by a flight manager, this is Hainan new policy!
Es lamentable que una aerolínea así esté considerada de 5 estrellas cuando su servicio de atención al cliente es nefasto. No recomiendo viajar con esta compañía debido a su pésima gestión y falta de transparencia contractual. Tras sufrir un cambio de horario en mis vuelos provocado por la propia aerolínea, solicité el reembolso. Decir que este cambio de horario me enteré al meterme en la aplicación de la aerolínea. No recibí ningún coreo informándome de ello. La propia página web me mostró un aviso confirmando la alteración del itinerario y su sistema me emitió un correo oficial de "Confirmación de Reembolso" con la sección de condiciones de la tarifa completamente EN BLANCO, sin ninguna penalización económica escrita. Sin embargo, días después, me retuvieron de forma totalmente injustificada 400 euros (200€ por pasajero). Al reclamar, el servicio de atención al cliente se limita a enviar respuestas falsas afirmando que la tasa "estaba clara", ignorando sus propios documentos oficiales y las capturas de pantalla de su web que demuestran que el cargo estuvo oculto durante todo el proceso. Ya he presentado una objeción formal y, si no devuelven el dinero retenido ilegalmente, procederé a tramitar las denuncias correspondientes ante la Administración de Aviación Civil de China (CAAC) y las Autoridades de Consumo de España. CONSEJO PARA TODOS LOS VIAJEROS: Hagan fotografías y capturas de pantalla de absolutamente todos los pasos y gestiones cuando soliciten el reembolso de un vuelo. It is absolutely disgraceful that an airline rated as a "5-Star Airline" provides such an appalling and terrible customer service. I highly discourage anyone from flying with them due to their hidden contract terms. After my flights suffered a schedule change caused by the airline, I requested a refund. Please note that I only found out about this schedule change by logging into the airline's mobile application. I did not receive any email informing me about it. Their official website displayed an itinerary alteration warning, and their automated system generated an official "Refund Confirmation Email" leaving the Fare Conditions section completely BLANK, with no penalty fees disclosed or written anywhere.Despite their own documentation, they wrongfully withheld €400 (€200 per passenger) from my refund. When I disputed this, their customer service team simply copy-pasted generic templates falsely claiming the fee was "clearly displayed," completely ignoring my physical evidence and screenshots proving the fee was hidden during the entire process.I have already filed a formal objection. If they maintain this illegal retention, I will escalate the dispute directly to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and Spanish Consumer Protection Authorities. ADVICE FOR ALL PASSENGERS: Make sure to take photographs and screenshots of every single step and screen when managing a flight refund.
eDreams says they can't issue the refund unless Hainan gives the go-ahead. And Hainan Airlines replies that “they only handle direct bookings. If the booking was made through an agency, then the refunds are the agency's responsibility”. And amid this exchange of accusations, there's no way to get my refund for a canceled Madrid–Beijing flight. In the end, I turned to two government agencies, OMIC and AESA, so they can decide who is responsible for finally refunding me the money for the flight that the airline canceled. My suggestion: whenever possible, buy your flights directly from competent and reliable airlines if you don't want to end up with a similar story of the agency and the airline blaming each other. In this case, eDreams and Hainan Airlines.
Hainan Airlines — 18-Day Baggage Nightmare, Zero Accountability My checked baggage was held at Beijing Capital Airport due to a security check on my outbound flight (HU407, Edinburgh, 19 June 2026). For 18 days across my entire holiday in Scotland, London and Morocco, Hainan Airlines sent me ZERO updates despite two open PIR cases. I was forced to buy all essential clothing and toiletries myself — £1,276.61 in total. I eventually had to personally locate my own baggage using lounge staff during my return through Beijing. The airline did nothing. When I submitted a formal legal claim under the Montreal Convention, Hainan Airlines replied TWICE with the exact same copy-paste response: "We have urged the relevant department to handle your case." No case handler. No acknowledgement of the claim. No payment timeline. I have now escalated to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), and the Hong Kong Consumer Council. Avoid Hainan Airlines if you value your belongings and your time.
I flew from Milan to Shenzhen and back + one domestic flight in China. All flights were great. Planes were on time, crew were so professional and kind. Most important, on the two longest flights, seats had more space for legs than most other companies I had flown before and I really appreciated it. If I have the opportunity I’ll surely fly again with Hainan in the future!
Myself and my wife "Chinese" travelling from Manchester UK to Chengdu via Beijing on the 6-7-2025. flights were on time . we were in Economy class the leg room was fine the entertainment system OK and hospitality was good the cabin crew were attentive to there duties . All in all a very comfortable experience. I also liked the livery of the aircraft really nice indeed. Ive booked with them again. I do find it strange why there are some negative reviews. 10/10 for Hainan Airways
we were canceled we got E-Class mercedes transfer, to Radisson Hotel, and everything covered. 4 stars becouse we still didnt take off, but they really took care of us. tommorow will be flying so we will see
Worst website ever. Our seat reservations were canceled couple of days before our flight. When i went to the website it says "Online advance seat selection service is not available within 48 hours before flight departure. For details, please call the customer service hotline on (+86 898) 95339.". Also can't check-in, can't even find my booking. Such a poor website.
Worse airline ever. Rude, incompetent and useless. Do not book flights with them.
Basically nothing works. Can't manage booking. Can't contact them. They keep changing the aircraft and unassigned my seat and I can't select it again. Can't check in online and need to go to the counter. Basically their whole website and app don't work. Impossible that this is a real "5 star" airline
Terrible experience. They changed my flight and didn’t offer any changes. Now I’m stuck in a foreign city for 24 hours without accommodation and lost money from the accommodation I’ve already booked. Customer service is literally non existent and rude
Terrible website with poor use of English and numerous bugs and glitches. We have been trying to book a flight for well over one hour for just two people and have had to start over multiple times. Meal selections are ridiculous and reek of prejudice (what is a "Muslim meal") or are clearly contradictory ("Vegetarian vegan meal"). All round a nightmare booking experience in need of a drastic overhaul
I have just travelled from London Heathrow to Auckland New Zealand with Hainan Airways. I was a bit concerned about the flight after reading mixed reviews. I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised. My flight stopped in Changsha and Haikou on the way to Auckland. There are other routes available. I travelled in business class for a very reasonable price. The planes were great and all ran to time. The food was a very good standard and there was plenty of it. The cabin staff were amazing and even made my bed up with a mattress and proper sheets and duvet. The ground staff were very courteous and couldn’t have been more helpful. The headphones were of a very high standard and there were a variety of films to watch. We must remember that it’s a Chinese airline so the films and food represented their culture in a very positive way. We used the BA lounge at Heathrow. There was only a very small lounge in Changsha and a small selection of refreshments but a larger lounge in Haikou with a selection of food during the night. There was even a noodle bar where food was cooked to order. I would definitely travel with Hainan Airways again and I’m looking forward to my return trip
Online check in does not work at all. Repeated efforts create the same result and it's obvious they expect their customers to test it for them. Assuming I actually get to fly, I will write a second review of the experience. Not impressed.
Very disappointing experience with Hainan Airlines from start to finish. Despite paying for seat selection, my seating arrangements were not respected, and the handling of the situation at the airport was extremely poor. The flight was apparently overbooked, yet no proper solution or compensation was offered. Communication throughout the process was frustrating and lacked professionalism. What disappointed me the most was the customer service afterwards. Instead of genuinely addressing the concerns raised, the responses felt generic and dismissive. As someone who travels frequently and has used many airlines over the years, I can honestly say this has been one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever encountered. I understand that operational issues can happen with any airline. What matters is how customers are treated when problems arise — and unfortunately, Hainan Airlines failed completely in that regard. I would not recommend this airline based on my experience.
My wife and I, both in our late 60's, flew Business Class from London to Melbourne via Haikou with this airline. We found the Special Assistance they provided my wife at London, Changsha, Haikou and Melbourne airports to be excellent and their help took alot of the stress out of our journey. The Cabin crew were all extremely polite and despite our inability to speak Chinese they made every effort to be understood at every stage of our journey. We would certainly consider travelling with the airline in the future.
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