Corporate Traveller reviews China Airlines
How was the flight? Choosing the right airline and a comfortable seat can deliver solid returns for your business trips. On a recent trip with China Airlines, one of Corporate Traveller’s employees uncovered good value for business travel flights.
If you’re looking for a cost-effective way to have extra comfort on your team’s next long-haul flight to Asia or the Pacific, consider this Asian airline. You'll experience high-quality service that delivers travellers to plenty of Asian destinations by lunchtime the next day.
At Corporate Traveller, we know it’s not easy (or cheap) to send your people halfway around the world. Over the years, we’ve booked thousands of customers on China Airlines. When you need them to be at the top of their game as soon as they land, ensuring a comfortable trip is essential.
Some business travel policies include options for Premium Economy or Business Class on longer routes. On long-haul overnight flights, China Airlines delivers amazing value for money.
A recent experience on China Airlines by one of our team
China Airlines offers Business, Premium Economy, and Economy Class on its trans-Pacific routes from North America to Taiwan. Flying out of North America, they offer daily departures from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Vancouver, BC to Taipei and connections to a huge number of destinations throughout Asia.
Got your passport ready? Here’s a recent review of a Corporate Traveller employee on a long-haul flight across the Pacific from Vancouver.
On this flight, China Airlines operates the Airbus A350. Flights leave early in the morning (departing around 1 am), so you’ll need to arrive at the airport around 11 pm the night before.
Why so early? Technically, you only lose one day as you cross the international date line, so you can get to your destination ready to go. For example, if you depart on Sunday morning, you’ll arrive in Taipei on Monday morning. Sweet!
Is Business Class a fit for business travel?
With Business Class, your journey will start with access to the SFO airport’s China Airlines Lounge, where you can grab a pre-flight meal and drink. Departing around 1 am, not much else is open that late, so you can relax up until boarding time.
Once onboard, the business class pod has a huge amount of space and comfort. It’s a completely lie-flat experience that comes in handy for getting a solid amount of sleep on the 12-hour flight. Sweet dreams!
When travelling in Business Class, you’ll experience excellent and friendly Taiwanese service, delicious meals, a vast range of drink options, and so many snacks. Onboard amenities include free Wi-Fi (even across the Pacific and East China Sea), a North Face amenity kit (with Norwegian skincare products), lounge access throughout, priority boarding, and priority security.
If you're a first-time business traveller, check out our 10 essential tips to help you make the most of your trip.
Premium Economy Class on China Airlines
Take a seat, relax, and stretch your legs. If Business Class is out of budget, there is still an incredible amount of value and comfort available in Premium Economy. Some carriers offer a 2-4-2 configuration in their Premium Economy cabins, but China Airlines offers one less seat with a 2-3-2 setup, and you can certainly feel the difference. Who wants the middle seat anyway?
Seats are roomy and comfortable at approximately 20 inches in width with another 39 inches of pitch. Each seat is encased in a shell so that the seat doesn’t actually recline into the space of the person sitting behind you. It’s more personal space, with plenty of legroom.
The Premium Economy experience includes premium food options, a wide range of snacks, and an amenities kit from North Face. There is still priority boarding available, but Wi-Fi will cost a few extra dollars, and Sky Lounge access is not included in the fare.
Is it worth paying for a higher class airfare for business travel?
In general, the answer is yes, but we also know that every business has different needs. Here are a few things to consider when sending your employees on long-haul flights across the Pacific. It all adds up to a better experience.
- Comfortable seats are better for traveller well-being. It's almost guaranteed that your traveller will arrive well-rested and much less stressed. Plus, they are likely to be one of the first to be able to exit from the plane, which means quicker access through immigration in certain destinations.
- Comfy, with a good chance of sleep. If work is supposed to begin as soon as you hit the ground, you’ll want to be ready to get to it. The best chance of that happening will take place when you’ve slept reasonably well on the journey.
- The probability of payoff is high. When you’re travelling for approximately 20 hours door to door, it’s worth doing the numbers. To fly in business class can work out to around an extra $90 an hour, while Premium Economy is much less. (Based on the cost of a business class ticket compared to an economy class on the same day, broken down over the period of the actual journey from check-in to arrival.) *Note that this could certainly change depending upon destination, day of departure, or fare class.
- Business Class avoids extra costs at the airport. Hard dollar costs such as meals at restaurants can be avoided by using the lounge and Wi-Fi costs are avoided because they’re included in business class fare. You can also avoid the soft-dollar costs like extra time at check-in and security etc. It all adds up to a better experience.
Travel tip: If Business Class is where you aspire to be but most of your trips are in Economy Class, learn how to maximize your experience with the economy classes here.
Along with the benefits above, China Airlines is part of the SkyTeam network which includes airlines such as Air France, China Eastern Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and Korean Air.
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