CHINESE AIRLINES: Your guide to which one is best
There are currently nine Chinese airlines that service destinations in Australia. That’s more airlines flying into Australia than from any other part of the world—more than Europe and North America. However, Chinese airlines don’t have a good reputation, and with many having ‘China’ in their name, it’s hard to distinguish them. This is your guide to price and quality, especially if you plan to fly with one between Australia and Europe.
Content of this Post:
Background
China was a major Australian export market up until the pandemic. It still is.
It was also a major business destination. Australia, on the other hand, was a favourite of Chinese package tours. China was one of our major markets for inbound tourists, again, until the pandemic.
The shutdown of China due to COVID-19 eliminated Chinese tourists coming to Australia, until China re-opend its borders in January 2023. Tourists have been slow to return, but recently the numbers are beginning to increase, and the flights to service them are coming from China, too.
Qantas used to fly to China, with direct flights to Shanghai and, from 2016, to Beijing. However, due to COVID-19, Qantas ceased flying internationally in 2020. Flights to Shanghai resumed when Chinese borders reopened.
In July 2024, the airline suspended its Sydney to Shanghai route due to low demand.
As of January 2025, Qantas does not operate direct flights between Australia and mainland China. However, Hong Kong has remained a significant destination for Qantas, with more than one daily flight.
Qantas maintains partnerships with Chinese carriers, offering codeshare flights to various destinations in China. Through its alliance with China Eastern Airlines. Qantas has over 20 direct codeshare flights per week between Australian capital cities and Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan, Hangzhou, and Nanjing.
Cheap Chinese airfares
Chinese airlines seem to have a lower cost base than most other airlines, and certainly Qantas. That allows them to offer some amazing deals, although their pricing algorithms need attention. Sometimes booking a fare, say Sydney to Europe, might be more expensive than booking each leg separately.
There are other difficulties with Chinese Airline websites. Some do not have an English-language version (Tianjin Air), while others almost want to hide their routes to Australia (Juneyao Air) on their websites and make them only bookable through third-party resellers. Still, if you poke around the interwebs, you can still find great deals. Under AU$1,500 fare to Europe, anyone?
But their service is sh*t?
Cultural differences, a language barrier, and different expectations can mean that Chinese airlines are often criticised for their level of service on their flights. Entertainment and food and beverage come in for particular criticism.
Not as many cabin staff seem to speak English as on other international airlines. English-language entertainment and attention to some details of service are also sometimes lacking.
That is all a broad generalisation because some of the 9 Chinese airlines that service Australia are outstanding or at least comparable to European and American airlines. Some even rival the service and comfort levels of other Asian and Middle Eastern airlines. Cathay Pacific ranks in the top 10 airlines for 2024 on Skytrax. Hainan Airlines gets five stars in Skytrax rankings, while China Southern has a four-star rating.
Ranking Chinese Airlines
Let me start by saying I have not flown internationally on any of these airlines, except Cathay Pacific. I’ve flown a few of the others internally in China, but that was close to a decade ago.
To frame my recommendations, I have used Skytrax reviews and star ratings. I know, I know. They are controversial because the same group rates airlines and sells consultation services to them. But there isn’t really another user-rated system available, so Skytrax it is.
Here is the list of Chinese airlines earning and their star ratings on Skytrax. The list, details and prices have been collated with the help of ChatGPT, Skytrax and newspaper sources. They are grouped according to their Skytrax Star Rating and then in their reputation score order. Fares are all return, prices are for June 2025:
5 STAR Airlines
Hainan Airlines
Flights: Melbourne and Sydney to Haikou. They do not appear to be flying on to Europe at the moment
Connections: Haikou hub serves 14 European cities, 10 Asian destinations, and over 70 within China.
Score: Five-star Skytrax rating (8/10). Staff service scores very good. User reviews generally rate the airline a 9 out of 10.
Economy
- Sydney-Haikou: $990
- Melbourne-Haikou: $950
Business
- Sydney-Haikou from $3800.
Website: hainanairlines.com
Cathay Pacific (OneWorld)
Flights: From Adelaide (seasonally) Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney to Hong Kong
Connections: Flies to 16 Chinese destinations and Taiwan, and 11 in Europe from Hong Kong.
Score: Five-star (7/10). F&B scores three stars, while all other categories — staff, value, comfort and entertainment get four stars.
Economy
- Sydney-Hong Kong: $1,213
- Sydney to London: $1,593
- Melbourne to Hong Kong: $1,183
- Melbourne to London: $1,995
Business
- Sydney-Hong Kong: $5,109
- Sydney to London: from $9,338
- Melbourne to Hong Kong: $4,989
- Melbourne to London: $10,009
Website: cathaypacific.com
4 STAR Airlines
China Southern Airlines (Partners with some OneWorld airlines)
Flights: From Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane to Guangzhou; Melbourne and Sydney to Guangzhou and Beijing.
Connections: Direct flights to eight European cities, five in North America, and comprehensive domestic routes.
Score: Four stars (8/10) on Skytrax. Good sores for food, seat comfort, and value. Customer communication when things go wrong, especially requesting refunds seems to be their downfall.
Economy
- Sydney-London: $1375
- Brisbane-London: $1270
- Sydney-Guangzhou: $899
Business
- Sydney-Guangzhou from $2700
- Sydney-London from $7000.
Website: csair.com
3 STAR Airlines
Tianjin Airlines (No Alliance)
It’s not clear if this airline is flying to Europe, although it has a range of destinations listed, flights don’t seem bookable in June.
Flights: Sydney to Chongqing and Zhengzhou. Sydney to London fares have not been loaded for June 2025
Connections: 90 Chinese destinations; London is its sole European stop.
Score: Three stars (7/10) on Skytrax. Service and value rate four stars, while entertainment scores two.
Economy Sydney-Chongqgqing AU$382 (for March one-way)
Business Sydney-Chongqgqing AUD1,636 (for March one-way)
Website: tianjin-air.com (Chrome seems to translate successfully)
China Eastern Airlines (Skyteam)
Flights: Melbourne to Nanjing and Shanghai; Sydney to Wuhan, Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Jinan; Brisbane to Shanghai.
Connections: From Shanghai, they fly to nine European cities
Score: Three-star (5/10). Very low entertainment score at two stars. Other services score three.
Economy:
- Sydney-London: $1480
- Melbourne-London: $1460
- Sydney-Shanghai: $927
- Brisbane-Shanghai: $1570
Business
- Sydney-Shanghai from $3,100,
- Sydney-London from $7,600.
Website: oa.ceair.com
Sichuan Airlines (No Alliance)
Flights: Melbourne and Sydney to Chengdu.
Connections: From Chengdu to Istanbul and Rome
Score: Three stars on Skytrax (5/10). Entertainment gets a two-star rating
Economy :
- Sydney-Chengdu: $621
- Melbourne-Chengdu: $588
Business
- Sydney-Chengdu from $2,600.
Website: sichuanair.com
Xiamen Air (Skyteam)
Flights: Melbourne and Sydney to Xiamen.
Connections: Europe destinations include Amsterdam and Paris
Score: Three stars (5/10) on Skytrax. Scores evenly across categories
Economy
- Sydney-Paris: $1,433
- Sydney-Xiamen: $1,170
Business
- Sydney-Paris from $5,300
Website: xiamenair.com
Air China (Star Alliance)
Flights: Sydney and Melbourne to Beijing.
Connections: Extensive network from Beijing to 14 European cities, five North American destinations, and 102 Asian locations.
Score: Three stars (4/10). Entertainment and food scores are very low. Comfort, service, and value fine.
Economy
- Sydney-London: $1,313
- Melbourne-London: $1,410
- Sydney-Beijing: $936
- Melbourne-Beijing: $905
Business
- Sydney-London: $6,800
- Sydney-Beijing: $5,300
Website: airchina.com.au
Juneyao Air (connecting partner of Star Alliance since May 2017)
Flights: Melbourne and Sydney to Shanghai (four services per week)
Connections: Four European cities.
Score: Three-star (4/10). Food and entertainment two stars — comfort and service three.
Economy
- Sydney-Shanghai: $734
- Melbourne-Haikou: $703
Business
- Sydney-Shanghai from $2,500.
Website: global.juneyaoair.com
2PAXfly Takeout
I hope this analysis helps with your decisions when tempted by the substantially lower costs of Chinese airline flights to Europe. In Business Class, particularly, you could save thousands and still travel one stop to London, say, at a thousands-of-dollar discount for European and Australian airlines.
Just load up your device with entertainment, and be prepared to used some kind of translation service on your phone if you want to communicate better.
Don’t expect compensation if things go wrong, and be prepared to talk to the wall if there are any difficulties, as service staff, whether at the airport or on the phone, are likely to be scarce. Cathay Pacific may be the exception to this.
I’m not saying travel agents know everything, but other than Cathay, mine does not advise travel with Chinese airlines as a first option. That’s mainly because of the feedback of his customers and the difficulty dealing with them as a travel agent.
If you do book, because the price is attractive, go in with eyes open.
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