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.
What reviewers say
AI generated
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.
Disappointing First Experience. Damaged Luggage and Poor Support
After using my Delsey suitcase only twice, it was already broken. At the baggage claim area in Beijing Airport, there was no Hainan Airlines staff at all. I could only go to the airport service counter. They offered either RMB 200 in compensation or a very basic suitcase without even a TSA lock. They said they could help forward my case to Hainan Airlines, but the processing time would be extremely long.
In the end, I had no choice but to accept the basic replacement suitcase. This was my first time flying with them. The ticket was not cheap, yet my Delsey suitcase was damaged. Very disappointed.
Do not fly with this airline forever delayed and loose your baggage then when they find it one day before you fly home they expect you to come to the airport to collect it!! Rude staff and cramped stuffy flights.
They are ranked as 5 star airline by skyTrax, but I'd say they not worth 3 stars in comparison to other similar Chinese airlines.
Firstly if you're having a connecting flight via China, and if you booked it as connecting flight, expect to still do a baggage collection and re-check in to the second leg flight departing from Hainan. False and misleading information on their website at the time of booking.
This hasn't happened with any of Chinese Eastern or Southern Airlines.
Secondly, some segments, e.g. Kul-Hai use older aircrafts without any IFE, and only snacks served. Despite being advertised as having IFE on most flights.
Choosing a seat is not available until the booking is made, and in some cases you're not allowed to select a free seat, only purchase paid seat at Manage Booking screen. Which again contradicts to what ks being advertised.
Some meals, e.g. Hindu is not available on particular flight segments for some reason. Again you'll only find that after the booking was made. Competitor airlines have these most of the time.
Customer service is bad,only trying to prove that they are right and that's the rules.
Overall bad value for money, and be aware before flying with them.
Extremely disappointing and unacceptable experience.
My baggage was delayed for several days with no clear communication and no proper information provided at the airport. I was never informed of any issue in person, nor contacted in a timely manner.
When my suitcase was finally delivered days later, there were clear indications that it may have been opened and inspected without my presence and without my consent. I was never notified that my baggage would be opened, nor was I provided with any written notice or inspection report.
After the fact, vague “security reasons” were suddenly mentioned as justification, despite the complete lack of transparency beforehand.
I paid for checked baggage.
I paid for travel insurance.
I paid with days of stress, inconvenience, and additional expenses.
This is not professional handling, and this is not how paying passengers should be treated.
Accountability and transparency are completely missing.
Can I give it zero stars?
"Rescheduled" my BC return flight by cutting my trip by 3 days - not the greatest crime, but the 'automatic' system to get a refund won't let you refuse the new itinerary! This was a couple of weeks prior to departure - so replacement flights cost me a LOT more money and had loooong layovers. Tried to call customer service to no avail, 3hr + wait on the 'online chat' service and still nothing.
The cabin crew had serious difficulty understanding and speaking English. I asked for cold water but was given boiling water instead. When I returned it and requested ice-cold water, I only received half a cup of room-temperature water.
My special meal request was not fulfilled, and I had nothing to eat for the entire flight to Haikou. When I complained, I was told that an email had been sent to notify me; however, I never received any email from the airline other than the booking confirmation.
Overall, this was a very poor experience. For your own sake, I would strongly advise against flying with this airline.
Illegal $500 penalty for a cancellation initiated by Hainan Airlines (Flight HU7925)
I am extremely disappointed and outraged by the abusive practices of Hainan Airlines. They cancelled my flight HU7925, and instead of providing a solution, they charged me a $500 USD penalty fee.
It is completely illegal and unethical to charge a passenger a "penalty" for a cancellation that was the airline's responsibility. I have full evidence of the cancellation notice and the unauthorized charge.
I have already initiated a formal legal process through PROFECO and other aviation authorities. I demand an immediate and full refund of this $500 charge to my original form of payment.
I strongly advise all travelers to stay away from this airline. They do not respect international consumer laws and their customer service is non-existent.
Flight Number: HU7925
Status: Legal claim in progress.
#HainanAirlines #Scam #BadService #Refund.
Do not book with that airline
I repeat never use that airline , I booked with them flights from Brussels to Thailand layover in Beijing they cancelled the last leg , offered to reschedule the last leg a few days later or a refund for only the last leg
I’m still in Thailand now situation isn’t resolved ,
Tried calling their Belgium number / American /thai the numbers don’t work they don’t answer emails
All I want is for them to reschedule both flights for me , they expect me to take the first flight and then wait around in Beijing for a few days
Why should I be in Beijing I booked from Thailand -Brussels how can they can cancel a half a leg without a normal solution
If anyone at Hainan reads this I’m still waiting … on the live chat
I feel sorry for everyone who had a bad experience with this airline, but my experience was great! I had two flights and it was my first time traveling internationally. The first flight was around 15 hours, from Seattle to Beijing. I had plenty of leg room and one of those little tvs to keep me entertained. Before I even sat down, each seat had a small pillow and blanket for you to use and they handed out a small bag of toiletries, which included a sleeping mask, a tooth brush and tooth paste, and fresh socks. They handed out menus for what we could eat on the flight and there were 2 meals and snacks and drinks offered throughout. All the staff were very nice and spoke enough English to get what you need. The seat was comfortable and the food was DELICIOUS??? Like, I didn't know plane food could be that good.
My second flight was from Beijing to Osaka and it was a short 2 and a half hours, but they all gave us a small meal, which was yummy.
Had to check-in twice while on transit with Hainan air flights from Bangkok to Sydney
I was on a return flight from Bangkok to Sydney and Hainan air demanded to check-in twice and not transferred my luggage all the way to Sydney. I checked -in first at Bangkok BKK airport , then had to get out at Haikou airport in China, filled an exit form to pass through the immigration, they got my fingerprints & photo, got out from the transit and over to arrivals' area, collected my luggage again, then waited to check-in 2nd time until 12:00 am midnight to give them back my luggage and to get my boarding pass . I've been flying more than 40 years and this is the first time, that I had to check-in twice on a flight with a short stopover/transit from the same flying company. The ironic thing was that when I flew initially from Sydney to Bangkok, my luggage was transferred at Haikou airport to the next plane without the need to check-in twice and when I asked Hainan air's service desk at Bangkok airport why they don't do the same for the return flight, they told me to write a complain as they couldn't give me a straight answer. I'm just sharing my experience with you so you don't have such as unexpected event like mine with Hainan air .
My son is stuck in Haikou airport, China. He’s been in transit from Auckland New Zealand for 3 days. They cancelled his original flight and connecting flight, then rebooked him the next day to get to Haikou. Once there, they told him the only available connecting flight to Bangkok would be the next day, but turns out he was still booked on the original connecting flight UNDER SOMEONE ELSES NAME. They’ve now promised him business class on another connecting flight - he’s at the gate now and they’re insisting it’s economy class only. They’re denying compensation for any of his expenses or their muckups and he still has to get to Bangkok and fly home with them back to Auckland in 13 days. They’re ignoring the Montreal Convention. Absolutely impossible to get hold of. Do not use them. Dangerous for young, inexperienced travellers especially.
Poor service cant check in on line planes small and old , better to spend few more pennys and flight with reputable airline. Its cheap budget airline no in any flight alliance.
I traveled with Hainan Airlines from Hyderabad to Tijuana, arriving on December 20. During this journey, two pieces of my checked baggage were lost. A Property Irregularity Report was issued to me at the arrival airport, and I subsequently uploaded all requested documentation as instructed by customer service.
Despite repeated daily calls over the past four days, I have received no updates, no proactive communication, and no resolution. Each interaction results in the same response—that the matter has been forwarded to the baggage department—yet no one has contacted me. When I requested escalation to a supervisor, I was informed that the supervisor does not speak English and was only provided with an agent reference number (#7784), which did not help resolve the issue.
The absence of communication, escalation support, and accountability is unacceptable. I have been without my belongings for several days and have incurred additional expenses for essential items as a direct result of this delay.
none of the contact information works. The link on the website to change flight details does not work. No one answers the phone in Dublin. The chatbot NEVER connects to a human. One of the mainland China numbers worked, but only in Chinese. This is a spectacularly useless airline. AVOID AT ALL COSTS, IF SOMETHING NEEDS CHANGED, THEY WILL NOT HELP.
This is my reference no
etkt nor 8802982155479
I had worst experience with this airline ever they cancel my flight from London to bangkok then they cancel again from bejing to London same return flights without my permission they change and even not use return ticket apply for refund and loss i emails many times calls them many times all said we will help but no one get back to me and planes are worst too very bad experience just avoid this Chinese airline very bad my friend told me he had same bad experience
Won't fly again. Technical issues on a b787 at Brussels airport. Let waiting for hours while they try to fix the IT issues. Still not left. No information from staff. They dont care.
Flew business class from Manchester to Beijing and return. Seats old and uncomfortable, hardly any room in seat area for your belongings and THE worst in seat entertainment on the planet. Food was dreadful and cabin crew miserable and aloof (smiling must be deemed a disciplinary offence). Business class lounges are also dire. Only positive was the both flights were on time but I won’t be flying with Hainan again.
The Hainan booking system is awful. For a modern company their IT is appalling. I finally booked after calling a UK number. A few weeks later, out of the blue, and only a couple of weeks before my flight to Osaka from Manchester, they cancelled. This is something they seem to do regularly but I didn’t listen. After many attempts at contacting them over several days (poor IT again) I finally managed to speak to someone and a few days later received a refund. I have just found out that my phone call to their, UK(?) agent was actually bounced to China and cost me £250!!! With the original flight cost plus the extra I had to pay with another airline plus the £250 phone call it would have been cheaper to go Business class with Cathay Pacific!!!
***AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE***
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