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.
Dissatisfaction from Hainan Airlines - Formal Complaint & Demand for Full Reimbursement – Hainan Airlines Flight Cancellation
I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with my recent flight experience booked via UAE–China–Bangkok, particularly the return segment from Bangkok to UAE.
Upon arrival at Bangkok airport, we were abruptly informed that our flight had been canceled and had departed earlier that morning—without any prior notice. We were forced to book a last-minute replacement flight at the cost of AED 4,130 to return home, disrupting our work schedules and causing significant stress.
At the airport, your staff provided no assistance—they offered to rebook us only 3–4 days later, and granted just one night of hotel accommodation, which is insufficient given the circumstances were entirely your responsibility. We had to bear the full financial burden and logistical hassle ourselves.
Since returning to the UAE, we have attempted to escalate this formally. However, your team’s lack of urgency and repeated delays in processing our claim are both frustrating and unacceptable. Time is a crucial commodity here in the UAE, and your inaction has caused us both financial and professional hardship.
Here is a summary of the losses we endured:
AED 4,130 for emergency airfare
Loss of work and additional stress due to abrupt rescheduling and no communication
Personal and professional inconvenience caused by inadequate support
We therefore formally request:
A full refund of AED 4,130.
Compensation for the inconvenience and costs
A formal apology and a clear timeline for processing our reimbursement and compensation.
We trust Hainan Airlines takes responsibility for such systemic failures. We expect your prompt response and timely resolution.
I flew with Hainan from Belgrade to Osaka via Beijing. My original flight was from Budapest, but it was cancelled by the airline. The airline cancelled the flight and it gave me couple of options to choose for flying. Regarding the flight experience everything went well, much better than low cost companies in Europe. The 4 stars are because the reimbursement process for accommodation was very slow and the customer support is unresponsive.
no english speaking
unable to provide solutions in delay situations
i was in shanghai pudong. on 17 june. had my flight at 21 and they delayed at 3 am of following day.
my connecting flight would be lost.
they told me yes with smile.no solutions provided. no help.
no one english speaking. no help
i book by myself another flight and i asked the person to write some notes in order not to figure NO SHOW. she told me she didnt know what no show was.
such incompetent staff
they cant assist passengers. they don t know what is "no show". lost refund due to their incompetence.
they don t have any alliance
their aircraft are no better than air china
food also is no better than other.
dont take this company
One of the worst airlines, unfriend,. unhygienic, unhelpful, no privacy and do not respect the passenger and we transit for 6 hours. No one are allow to check in. So you will be roaming around the airport with out buggage everywhere as no one will bother to help better book direct flight.
After 3 hours of uncertainty, the flight was cancelled due to a technical defect. They refused to offer an alternative flight with another company 'because they do not have authorization'. The only alternative they had was to arrive 3 days later because this was the first flight they had. They advised to file a claim online themselves. Then, after multiple contacts, they refused to refund the cancelled flight and refused to provide delay compensation without a reason.
Never again with Hainan.
Flight cancellations – urgent assistance needed for June–July 2025 Milan–Osaka family trip NO RESPONSE FROM HAINAN AIRLINES YET
My name is Raquel Rosillo Cepeda, and I am writing on behalf of a group of eight passengers who booked round-trip flights with Hainan Airlines from Milan to Osaka, scheduled for late June to mid-July 2025. The tickets were purchased in March 2025.
A week ago, we were informed that two of our flights were cancelled. This has caused significant disruption, as most of our accommodation and internal travel arrangements in Japan are already booked and non-refundable.
Since then, we have made multiple attempts to contact Hainan Airlines via email, online chat, and the customer service hotline, but have received no response.
We are traveling as a large family, and this lack of communication has caused us considerable stress. We urgently request a prompt resolution—either the possibility to rebook the affected flights or to receive a full refund so we can make alternative arrangements.
We sincerely hope Hainan Airlines will address this issue as soon as possible.
Never Flying with Hainan Again
My experience with Hainan Airlines has been nothing short of appalling. I booked a return flight from Edinburgh to Beijing, departing 17 May 2025 and returning 31 May 2025. Out of the blue, I was informed that my outbound flight had been cancelled—with no explanation whatsoever.
Instead of offering a reasonable alternative, I was told I could either get a full refund or take another flight six days later on 23 May—which would ruin nearly half of my trip. This is completely unacceptable.
I found and paid for a new flight from London on the original date, but when I asked Hainan for a refund just for the cancelled leg, I was told they would cancel my return flight as well. So I’m essentially being punished for their cancellation. What kind of airline treats its customers like this?
Everything—my itinerary, budget, and plans—was carefully organised around this trip. Now I’m stuck, either losing money or scrambling for overpriced last-minute alternatives. Hainan Airlines has shown a complete lack of respect for their customers, and their rigid, unsympathetic policies speak volumes.
After digging deeper, I found plenty of other negative reviews. I only wish I’d seen them before booking. This airline is not reliable, not professional, and not worth your trust.
THE WORST AIRLINE COMPANY EVER!!!
The stopover in Beijing was the most primitive and unprofessional I have ever experienced. Almost no one speaks English, and you're left waiting for your connecting flight ticket with dozens of others because only one overwhelmed staff member is handling it all. Meanwhile, your luggage is probably getting lost somewhere underneath.
Once you finally get your connecting ticket and somehow find the completely hidden transfer window, you have to go through yet another slow security check. The staff are extremely rude, and they even confiscate duty-free items. This happens even though you're just transferring from a previous flight.
Then your luggage goes missing. It's nearly impossible to reach anyone via chat, phone, or email. When the luggage is eventually found — after many days — they refuse to offer any compensation. Two months later, I still haven’t received a single euro for being without my luggage for five days. I had to buy essential items, which they refuse to reimburse.
I even had to change my entire travel plans after someone at the airport told me, “It’s coming on the next flight,” so I waited — furious — near Bangkok Airport for three days for nothing. And when the luggage finally arrived, it was completely destroyed and had to be thrown away.
No compensation. No apology. Absolutely disgraceful. Avoid this airline at all costs!
I recently flew to Bangkok via Beijing using Hainan airlines. I booked before reading any reviews ( daft I know) and was really worried about everything after reading the reviews on here. my flights, luggage, the service, the food. But I can honestly say I needn’t have. I couldn’t check in online the day before and got a very terse response from the websites online customer service. But this is apparently standard and there were no issues checking in for any of my four flights. Maybe Expedia who I booked with should make customers aware of this so they don’t worry needlessly.
The staff on my every one of my flights were pleasant and professional, but on the last flight from Beijing to Manchester they were absolutely lovely. They couldn’t have done any more for me and they were so polite and spoke great English.
The food was mainly Chinese (shocking I know for a Chinese airline to provide Chinese meals, I only mention this because others have complained about it) but there were European options on every flight and I found all the food to be of a high standard. I didn’t drink any alcohol during my flights except the very last and they were more than happy for me to have two whiskey and sprites with no attitude or issue like some others have experienced.
My luggage was checked in and collected at my final destination unlike some others on here who have said they needed to collect and re check while at Beijing but I didn’t experience this.
Beijing airport isn’t the best. it has a small duty free a Starbucks and two identical restaurants at both ends of the small international terminal that didn’t really look very appealing. The seats are made so you can’t lay down if you have a long layover and there are constant announcements in Chinese and English crackling through an ancient tannoy system that seemed purposefully disturbing. all international passengers have to pass through a one man passport control and security area that would have had me worried as hell if I hadn’t had long layovers both ways!! The queue was horrendous going out but coming back I sailed through. You can’t take any lighters or aerosols and some portable chargers aren’t allowed on any planes in china so I’d advise to only take stuff you don’t mind getting confiscated. All that being said Beijing airport isn’t Hainan airlines responsibility and they can’t really be held accountable for the sparse selection of amenities there.
The only other issue I had was that I didn’t realise the flights weren’t atol protected until I got an email about my first return flight changing time, it was only an hour later and I originally had a 7 hour layover in Beijing so it worked out for the best. I do find it concerning that at no time during the booking process did Expedia mention my flights weren’t protected. I would have been screwed if any of them had been cancelled or late leading to me missing ongoing flights. So keep this in mind if you do book with them as it might stop me from using them in the future even though everything else was great.
Our flight to Beijing was canceled. We know that technical issues may happen, and of course planes shall fly only if 100% checked, but there was no assistance at all from their personnel, and they really had no idea of what was happening.
We had to go with them to Japan on a Saturday, and after cancellation the solution they proposed would have costed us at least 3 days of our honeymoon, as they told us we would have been able to reach Tokyo on Monday. Luckily we could flew with another operator (Qatar).
Positive note: we have been fully refunded within 10 days.
Luggage stuck at beijing. This happened to me on the way to Hong Kong and the way back home. Terrible !
There is no any refund. I landed at brussel but i live in the Netherlands. So now i have to go all the way back to brussel to pick up my luggage when it’s arrived.
Like there are cracks in the seats. No vega option meals. Aircraft stinks. NEVER AGAIN
I recently flew with Hainan Airlines London - Auckland return Dates 10-03-25 - 30-03-25.All flights on time Service on board from the Stewardesses were the best I have ever experienced in my life. I am a frequent flyer They were better than Qatar and Emirates as far as I was concerned.
Food was exceptional and I have to mention again the Stewardesses went out of there way to be so helpful.Thank you for a great experience.
Currently, my luggage seems to have gotten stuck in Beijing and wasn't delivered on the flight to Thailand. I've given the airline two days to deliver it, otherwise I'll have to get new clothes and hand it over to the lawyer.
edit: 13.4.25
I'm still waiting for compensation from the airline because my luggage wasn't at the airport. They keep telling me to wait. What China is doing is a truly disgusting scam.
edit 26.05.25
Still no payments have been received. The guy wants to pay me $50 now, not €50. The airline seems to need to save a few euros. It's a disgrace.
But no money has been received yet.
This is the worse website I have ever tried to check in with in my life Hainan airline I now have a flight leaving Bangkok this afternoon and again cannot check in. your website lets me go through and put in all my details then tells me they cannot find my booking which seems strange as I flew on same booking coming to Thailand 2nd January. A website like this will put people off from booking with this airline. Please try and look at other airline websites and maybe do not let the person who designed this website anywhere near a new website
We booked tickets for 2 adults en 1 infant.
After some time they called us to say they cancelled our ticket for the infant and we had to book a new one because the one they sold us was invallid. New ticket was 3 times the price!
We had to have a child seat, they could told us that when we first bought the tickets!
This felt like a scam!
The child seat was highly unsafe!
It even came loose when the plane breaked while landing!
It launched forward and our child hit her head against the seat in front of her!
I have proof of this on video and still Hainan Airlines are denying this!
It would be installed 3 days in advance they stated but they only did it when we were already boarded and asked for the child seat.
The staff didn't look like they know what they were doing when installing the seat.
On the return flight there wasn't even a child seat.
For this we had to pay hundred of euro's extra!
The fact they basicly told me I was lying is the worst part! Zero respect!
Hairs in drink and food Business class not worth the extra money
I flew. Business and was disgusted with the service From Peking to Manchester. Firstly my drink.was served and had a short black hair inside the glass. It was replaced. My meal orders were inaccurate and when I did get something that I did want to eat I was disgusted to find a long dark hair in the food. I did not eat it. I and the cabin manager reported this to customer services. 3 months and a couple more emails they have not responded. Absolutely disappointing and upsetting flight as a solo flyer.
I had a fantastic experience flying with Hainan Airlines. The flight attendants were incredibly friendly and attentive, ensuring a comfortable journey. The food and beverages served were delicious and of high quality. The overall comfort of the flight was great, making it an enjoyable trip. I would definitely choose to fly with Hainan Airlines again in the future.
No vegetarian or vegan options for the dinners they serve
Recently had a flight with Hainan Airlines from Manchester - Thailand.
I was on the flight for Dinner and Breakfast. Being Vegetarian I thought it wouldn’t be a problem & there would be options… for dinner they have 1 appetiser (salmon) & 3 meals you can choose from, which all include meat. (Chicken with rice, beef with rice or risotto with chicken)
So I ended up with a tiny bread roll & the dessert which was chocolate cake.
I asked if I could have the chips, cheese & crackers which are during the flight as there was nothing for me to eat and I just got told they are later (which I never saw being served out either).
Breakfast included -
Yoghurt, fresh fruit, bread butter & jam
Plain omelette, potato, baked beans, tomato chutney with chipotle which I chose and after the dinner situation I was expecting another disappointment but the breakfast was very nice.
Or you can have noddles with chicken & mushrooms.
My personal experience, it was a good flight but with the food situation I probably won’t be using Hainan Airlines again unless they include options for vegan/vegetarians throughout the meals they offer.
Wanted to visit my family back in fuzhou and decieded to pick hainan this time instead of Airchina and TRUST the legroom is good , food is to DIE for and drinks [orange juice,beer,coca cola + even more] are good and fresh! The flight attendants are super sweet and helpful seeing that my daughter was cold she gave her another blanket with no hesitation! REALLY recommend to anyone who wants a cheap and good flight! 10/10
Also when it comes to wine , beer you cant have more then a certain amount (dont remember) because theyll think youll get drunk which is reasonable but thats all in my opinion!
Air China
China Eastern
Qatar Airways
Emirates
Global Juneyaoair
Norse Atlantic Airways
Etihad
Cathay Pacific Airways