Budget long-haul experience
This is a budget airline, expect a budget experience. The flight was delayed by 2 hours, with no communication with the passengers whatsoever - it turned out they had to find a new crew because they hadn't allocated enough rest time - their problem. I missed my connection and was put on an alternative flight with another airline. I had to collect my luggage and change terminal. The new airline demanded that I pay for overweight luggage despite China Eastern approving it - so I had to go back and forth between terminals on the bus a couple of times to get it sorted. To be fair China Eastern did manage to sort it out by calling the airline, which I appreciated. On the flight, cabin crew offered frank, not overly friendly service and didn't speak great English. There was no alcohol available, and when I asked for a gin and tonic the hostess didn't know what that meant. It was odd that their English was poor since 90% of passengers were British. Crew referred to each other as 'baobei' - which means 'baby' in Chinese - I didn't mind but some might consider inappropriate. There was only one meal option, which the hostesses thrust into each person's seat. Food was okay - though I would note the hake for the second meal was actually very good. Film selection was limited and poor, particularly the non-Chinese ones. This airline is fine if you really need to save money, but I would recommend trading up if you can afford it, particularly for multi-leg flights.