China Eastern Airlines offers five different classes of service across its brand, though individual aircraft will feature four of these classes at most. On the very high end, China Eastern passengers can enjoy either First Class or the Business Plus product.
Long-haul planes that don’t boast either of these experiences still offer Business Class and, in most cases, Premium Economy as well. Even if no Premium Economy cabin exists on your flight, however, you may still be able to purchase an extra legroom add-on to improve your Economy Class experience.
First Class
First Class is the most exclusive experience on China Eastern. Available only on 777-300ER and select A350-900 aircraft, first class features individual suites that convert to lie flat beds, equipped with doors in a 1-2-1 arrangement. If you fly first class, you’ll enjoy chef-crafted meals and luxurious perks including caviar and high-end champagne service.
Business Plus
Business Plus is an ‘enhanced’ product whose ambiance and comfort sits somewhere between First Class and Business Class. You’ll find this product on all A350-900 aircraft that don’t feature first class, as well as all Boeing 787-9 planes. In addition to being suites with doors, which can be converted into double beds or even family ‘living rooms’, Business Plus seats have well-stocked minibars and feature enhanced catering as compared to China Eastern’s baseline Business Class.
Business Class
If you’re flying long haul on China Eastern, whether to Europe, North America or Australia, you’ll be on a plane that features the standard Business Class product. It always consists of lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. I personally prefer the product on the A350-900 and 787-9 aircraft, which features doors for enhanced privacy. However, even if you’re on older 777-300ER or A330 planes, you’ll enjoy direct aisle access and a comfortable ‘reverse herringbone’ seat.
On regional and domestic flights, there is some variation in Business Class seats. Regionally-configured Airbus A330 aircraft have angled-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. On these planes, I make sure to assign an aisle seat so that I can have easy access to the lavatory. Narrowbody aircraft like the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, which serve primarily domestic routes, feature recliner seats in a 2-2 configuration.
Premium Economy
As is the case with many Western airlines, China Eastern only offers Premium Economy on some of its aircraft. In particular, you can expect to find Premium Economy on the 787-9, as well as onboard the Airbus A350-900, and on A330s configured that fly long haul routes. You can also sample China Eastern’s Premium Economy product, whose seats are reminiscent of domestic first class in North America, on certain 737 MAX 8, A320 and Chinese-built Comac C919 aircraft that fly domestic routes.
Economy Class
China Eastern’s Economy Class product is comparable to what you find on other airlines on transpacific flights. Seats are in a 3-3-3 configuration on A350-900 and 787-9 aircraft, and in either a 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 configuration on the 777-300ER. Depending on your flight, you may be able to purchase extra legroom seats at the front of the economy class cabin, or in emergency exit rows. Given the length of flights between the UK and China, I highly recommend the extra legroom option!
Pre-flight experience
Here’s what you need to know about the airport experience when flying with China Eastern.
Baggage policy and fees
Compared to airlines in Europe and North America, China Eastern has a relatively permissive baggage policy. With the exception of the most restrictive ‘Basic’ economy fare classes, all long haul passengers are entitled to a free baggage allowance of at least 20 kg.
If you’re flying in Premium Economy, Business Class or First Class, you can check multiple bags. All passengers on all flights can carry one small bag and one personal item onto the aircraft. This is true even if you purchase deeply discounted economy class fares. When it comes to ‘Basic Economy’ passengers, China Eastern is not as punitive as many European carriers are.
Check-in
If you’re flying from Shanghai Pudong (PVG), you’ll notice that China Eastern offers dedicated check-in counters for both First Class and Business Class, as well as a Premium counter for Premium Economy passengers and elite members of both its own Eastern Miles programme and for Skyteam elite flyers. At airports overseas and elsewhere in China, you may notice only a single Premium counter, as well as a standard check-in counter.
Although it is technically possible to check in online, I’ve found that China Eastern’s technology is unreliable. I’ve had instances, for example, where I was able to complete check-in, but not to get a boarding pass (neither a mobile/QR one, nor a printed one). Because so many passengers end up needing to avail airport check-in, I recommend arriving at the airport at least three hours early, especially if you’re flying in economy class.
Lounges
In spite of being a relatively large airline, China Eastern only operates one flagship international lounge, at its home airport, Shanghai Pudong (PVG). Accessible to passengers in First Class, Business Plus and Business Class, plus elite members of both the airline’s own Eastern MIles programme and those of its Skyteam partners, the lounge features a food buffet and limited bar service. Premium passengers will be able to use partner lounges when travelling on China Eastern from outside of China.
Several airports in China are home to domestic China Eastern lounges. Food and beverage within these lounges is limited compared to what you find in the international lounge. Additionally, only domestic business class passengers and elite members of Eastern Miles can access these lounges.
Onboard experience
Here’s what you can expect onboard a China Eastern flight.
Wi-Fi & entertainment
China Eastern offers Wi-Fi on most of its long haul aircraft, though you should be aware of a few facts before you purchase it. First, this service uses a Chinese IP address, which means that Western social media sites like Facebook and Instagram are blocked (unless you use a VPN). Secondly, coverage over certain regions may be limited, and the crew may or may not announce this before outages occur.
If you fly long haul on China Eastern airlines in any class of service, you’ll be able to watch movies and TV shows on a personal media screen. Do keep in mind, however, that you’ll have to deal with a smaller screen size and resolution on older A330 and 777-300ER aircraft than on more modern planes such as the A350-900 and 787-9. Additionally, Chinese entertainment options will likely be more plentiful than Western ones, so I recommend not watching all the ‘New Releases’ at once.
Amenities
Prior to covid-19, I often found myself underwhelmed with China Eastern’s business class amenity kits, which were usually un-branded and only featured a very basic range of products. However, since the pandemic, I’ve noticed toiletries from brands like L’Occitane en Provence and Clarins, as well as more stylish cases to package them.
Loyalty programmes, miles & credit cards
China Eastern’s loyalty programme is known as Eastern Miles. Frequent flyers on the airline and its partners can earn one of three elite statuses: Platinum, Gold or Silver. Since China Eastern is a member of the Skyteam alliance, it’s possible to earn Eastern Miles when flying on partner airlines, and also to redeem them for travel on other Skyteam carriers. Although travellers who reside in mainland China can earn Eastern MIles using credit cards, this is not otherwise practical.
Eastern Miles
You can earn Eastern MIles while travelling on China Eastern and also while travelling on China Eastern’s Skyteam partners, including Virgin Atlantic, Air France/KLM and Delta. To ensure you earn miles, verify that the fare class you’ve booked is eligible for mileage earning and also, that you’ve entered your Eastern Miles number at the time of booking.
Just as you can earn Eastern Miles while flying on a variety of airlines, you can also redeem them for travel on all Skyteam carriers. However, keep in mind that availability and pricing on China Eastern’s own flights may be better. Additionally, I do find the Eastern Miles website to be less user-friendly than those offered by airlines in Europe and the US.
Credit cards
Only travellers who reside in mainland China or are Chinese citizens can currently earn Eastern Miles purely based on credit card spending. However, you can indirectly use credit card points to book travel on China Eastern via the airline’s Skyteam partners. This could be by making American Express Membership Rewards transfers to your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or Air France/KLM FlyingBlue accounts, for example.
This KAYAK-commissioned article is presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up to date. The opinions contained in the article are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others. Find more perspectives in our user reviews below.
