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.
Service on board is exceptional, now one of my fave airlines
I made a return trip with Hainan Airlines In January 2023 during Chinese New Year. Flew from Beijing to Brussels, and Brussels to Beijing all economy.
Outgoing economy flight was excellent, no turbulence, offered three meals, plenty of water and drink. The travel agent got me my vegetarian meal, which I am grateful for.
Return flight, the travel agent was not able to get my meal delivered, so it caused some confusion when time came to getting lunch/ dinner onboard. They sorted it out gracefully and efficiently, which I am thankful for. The flight out from Brussels departed on time at 12.20, but the first meal offered was a bag of snacks (haha). I saw my fellow passenger next to me was not happy at all about this, but for me I couldn't care less. I just returned the bag back to the air hostess.
The flight is advertised as about 10 hours, but both the outgoing journey and return journey was faster, at about 9 hours, with no turbulence, the service was excellent.
For all those thinking about this airline, please remember it is a Chinese airline and so its aircrew may not be able to speak perfect English. If you struggle with Chinese or don't speak any, it shouldn't be a problem, as all the aircrew would speak to me in English (even though I am fluent Chinese speaker). Just be aware that if you ask them something that is slightly different to what they've been trained to say, then it might throw them off a bit (likewise if you have an accent, just speak slower).
The space in the economy class was pretty good, I was comfortable for the journey, despite never reclining my seat. The toilets were also clean every time I visited. This is the first time in my life I have ever seen that. On every other flight, there is p** on the seats/ floor etc, and it's just a horrible experience. The toilets on board were cleaned very often, and just were nice to visit when nature called.
Unless you preorder food, you will most likely be offered a Chinese style chicken and rice/ veg and rice combo in economy if flying to/ from China. Of course this depends on your flight route, so if you want something else, you better tell them before, otherwise you may not be able to eat that (it may be spicy/ different in taste to what you are used to).
Most of the passengers on board were all Chinese nationals, so don't expect to be able to strike a conversation easily.
The TV is really good, it has games, and other things on it. I played a lot of games on it during the flight, it was quite fun (especially the battleship game). I don't recall other flights having this.
Obviously if you fly business class on Hainan, your experience will be something like that on Singapore Airlines. The business class experience is really something else, and I am dying to try it out (especially their gourmet food, they actually have a gourmet chef on board, which I think is awesome).
Overall, the service is exceptional, on board the flight is where everything shines. The staff look really gorgeous too, that certainly helps! They have some really lovely clothes that are very traditional yet modern. Check in process is pretty standard, and luggage allowance is about 23 kg.
Flown once with them and it was a good flight but it was more of the people that were kinda disgusting. I hate to be that person but I'll just say "the customers of the airlines" were not considerate. Multiple people coughing and sneezing without covering their nose. Farting multiple times and being loud and this was on a long flight from Chicago to Beijing. Guess that's just how they are there and no wonder why it's common to see them with masks over their mouths!
Pros:
- It’s cheap.
- Gets you to China.
Cons:
- Cabin and ground crews speak almost no english, and communicating is impossible.
- They don’t offer web check-in, so you have to get in line every time to be assigned a seat with a person that doesn’t speak english and therefore won’t understand which seat do you want.
- Food on the airplane is trash. No comparison to other big airlines like Air France or Lufthansa.
- There’s no way to check-in to layover flights directly. You have to arrive to China, get off, grab your luggage, and check-in again.
- Check-in opens 2 hours before the flight leaves, so beware if you have one of those 6 hours or more layovers they sell you.
- Hainan VIP lounges are trash.
- Economy seats on their newest 787-900 are VERY uncomfortable.
- They tell you the planes have wifi but they don’t have wifi.
- There’s a USB plug on each seat, but they don’t charge your phone.
- They always tell you about their “5 star” rating from Skytrax but they don’t deserve such rating. An airline that doesn’t provide you with online check-in is one of the best 10 in the world? That’s very weird. They probably paid to be on the list.
Terrible Experience booking with this company, booked via SkyScanner and then got to their website, which glitched and ended up jumping from an 8.25pm flight to an 8.10am flight and an extra 12 hour stop over. Contacted the customer support immediiately and they weren't empowered to offer any help. Flight was within 7 days so they said I could have cancelled if it wasnt but tough. Flights were exactly the same price so logically they should have been easily able to fix their mistake but no. Clearly they dont care about their customers.
Flight got cancelled 2 months before depart. No alternative offered.
I booked in Aug a return flight from Hong Kong to Las Vegas (through Beijing) in coming December for my own wedding. I booked through Cheaptickets.hk
By end of Oct I received an email saying there is some 'changes' to my flight. And attached a revised schedule from Hong Kong to Beijing. As I saw this change does not impact my other journey, I wasn't too aware of this. until 2 weeks later when I go to the website again to check for the detail of my another flight, I found my flight from Beijing to La Vegas was missing (as well as the return flight from Vegas to Hong Kong)
I called the agency hotline and the told me the flight was cancelled. Only HK to LV part was retained. I was frightened as I MUST GO FOR THIS TRIP!
They search for a while and offered only a flight depart 2 days later and arrived 4 days later (long transit).
At the same time I search in Hainan website myself and found actually there is a flight depart a day earlier. But they said they can't provide as this is not the airline offered.
I called the Hong Kong airline (Hainan's sub-company in Hong kong) and they said they can no longer see the record and asked me to deal with the agency.
At the end I have to purchase another ticket (of course another airline) myself. Double the price as the date is much nearer.
The story tells you (1) book through only official websites (2) book only international brands
Hello. My name is Olga. I want to give the most horrible reviews of the Hainan airline's service. And to warn the peoples who view this company as a potential for their trip, so that you refuse of this decision. or were ready for a horrible and rude service, and also that your things CAN BE STOLEN and you will never even wait for someone to call you back from this company in this situation, and for sure not to help solve the problem!!! Exactly this happen with my husband.
For beginning want to start from we travel A LOT. And not me not him never have more terrible service that start from beginning. They do not want to let my husband go to the board of plain .. the trip is Phuket (Thailand)-Haikou-Beijing-Las Vegas, because he no have Chinese visa, even if he not stay in China, it’s just transit ticket and every stop not more than 3-4 hour! And nobody notice him about that when he bought his ticket!They give him really hard time and lots of stress about this and let him to go on plain only 10 min before finish call boarding! He come 3 hours before the flight! And he pay almost 1500 dollars for this ticket!!!
After happen more terrible situation!!! My husband (Bryan) had with him like a carry laggage 3 paintings, which was VERY IMPORTANT FOR OUR FAMILY!, cause I’m pregnant now and it was special order for my baby's birthday! The question even not about money (even price was 250$ each, so total 750$), the question was about it was SPECIAL for us and we waiting 2 week in Thailand this paintings ready). So, they let him to carry it 2 flights!, but in the last flight Beijing- Las Vegas, exactly before Bryan step on the board, to him come the guy from Hainan Airlines team and tell that my husband can not to bring this paintings with him inside the plain and need to give it him. When my husband began to try to explain that these are valuable things and he would not want to give them away for no reason, this employee of the company rudely told him that he could leave the plane then and stay at the airport.
P.s. Repeat again it’s for 1500$ ticket cost, and 28 hours hard flight this service!!
Then this guy convinced my husband that nothing would happen with his belongings and he would get them together with the luggage in Las Vegas.
Like you already understand we never see our paintings again!, and for this 1 mounth I try to solve this problems (I call many times Hainan Airlines in China and some special service from them here in usa , and write and send many letters on ALL their contacts service mails, NOBODY CALL ME BACK from this company and in the letters they answer the same- that they still no have nothing about this situation!!
When I lost the last hope of returning our pictures and generally helping us, I decided to write this review for all people so that they knew with what horrible things they would have to face if they take advantage of the terrible service of this company.
Hainan the worth of the worth airline's company out there.
Being a regular business/Holliday's traveller, I can say with certitude that hainan is the worth of the worth airline out there. To make a long story short, valuable has been stolen from my bag, about 3000$ worth of silver coins and personal object, not only my personal belonging has been stolen but I had to wait 3 weeks to get my baggage back due to the incompetence of hainan. After runing behind the customer services for weeks to try to solve this insane behavior, I was proposed 30$ of compensation. What an insult !! And I'm to polite to tell them to buy a red dildo with those 30$ but will recommended to never travel or deal with this dishonest, disrespectful, insulting, cheap airline.
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