From the name, is it from China? No, it’s surprisingly a state-owned enterprise from Taiwan despite the name. A little confusing?
A little on the background
China airlines is a full service carrier. The reason we decided to take this airline was due to the price. I found the price by chance through an online advertisement. Lucky me? YES!
With a 23kg check in baggage, 1 handcarry, 1 on-flight meal, with tax and service charges, we paid between $300-$400, which is much lower than Eva Airlines or Singapore Airlines.
Taiwanese are known to be very courteous and mild mannered in general. Therefore all the flight attendants were very warm and polite.
China Airlines is probably not very well-known if you often prefer taking Middle Eastern or European carriers. Most people have the misconception that China Airlines is from People’s Republic of China, or simply China.
The Flight
The journey from Singapore to Taipei was in a bigger plane with 3-3-3 seat permutation. It was comfortable and the seat were pretty sizeable.
Entertainment for kids were pretty limited. They do not have the popular series such as Paw Patrol, Thomas the Train or Tayo. However they do have a little section for games which both my kids enjoy playing. Therefore for a 4-5 hour flight, there was sufficient entertainment.
In case you are not aware, a lot of Taiwanese can understand Japanese. Therefore, there are quite a fair share of Japanese movies on the in-flight entertainment. They also have a fair share of both older and newer international movies such as Sex and City, The Intern and also The Greatest Showman.
If you are like me who enjoys food and travel shows, you’ll be a little disappointed. They are mainly produced locally by Taiwan and about Taiwan local scene. I did not see any internationally produced shows such as by National Geographic or BBC.
The Food
Seated in the economy class section, I do not have very high hopes the meals at the start. I think flying so high in the air with limited resources, it very hard for the airline to produce magic from the alleyway. But the mincemeat noodles was really good. And I finished almost everything until I was so full. It’s really a first for me.
As for the kids meal, it was very well balance, though nothing fancy. No cute designs, or interesting Sanrio print like their other national carrier, EVA.
Is it Worth the ride?
Well, at a discounted price and a short flight, it’s definitely worth it. However for a longer flight, I may not want to choose China Airline due to the limited in-flight entertainment available.
What is your favourite airline? Share with me in the comments below.
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