China Southern Airlines - any experience?

[BIWI]

Have a work trip coming up soon in China, and this is the only airline that flies direct to the city I'm going to.

I'll be flying business, and their flights are considerably cheaper than indirect routes (Cathay via Hong Kong or Qatar via Doha).

Any views or advice?

Anyone?!

I flew with them last year, long haul to China and then short into Vietnam. Basic but couldn't fault them for the price I paid. Take some snacks if you're a picky eater :0)

Ah. Was the food really that bad/odd?!

SCA Business is fine on Business Class. I flew to Guangzhou with them. The food is fine and not "weird" at all. Have a look on YouTube as i expect they have a business class review on there (most airlines do courtesy of travel bloggers)

Oh I didn't know that - thanks for the tip!

They’re fine - goodness facilities generally

I’d avoid like the plague/ flybto a major city and take a short hop with them if necessary

Have you had a bad experience NewBalls? I’ve flown with them a lot and they’ve always been pretty good

Can you say why, @NewBallsPlease00?

Their safety record is very hit and miss and they don’t have a large fleet so if you get a newer plane fine, sure all ok, but an older one long haul....
China eastern were worse, but if possible I’d use dragon (part of cathay) in and around China as first choice each time

Really NewBalls? I can only find good airline safety reviews for them such as www.airlineratings.com/ratings/china-southern/

They are IATA approved and a partner airline of KLM and Air France. And it appears they haven’t had a significant safety breach for 10 years aviation-safety.net/database/operator/airline.php?var=6924

But i’m not an expert on airline safety so don’t know if there are other databases?

Now you've really confused me!

I’m confused too BIWI i’ve Only ever has good experiences and i’ve Used them a lot. They aren’t too end luxury of course - but that’s reflected in the price.
Hopefully NewBalls can shed some light on her concerns soon.

Sorry I don’t have evidence just our eastern office doesn’t book us on them and they’re usually pretty slack 😂 I’ve been on flights with then shorter internal China which are ok but I wouldn’t choose them long haul with a choice, and would indirect with better like given choice . Others on here have used them and been fine, I guess it’s preference

Business is perfectly fine. It's not the same calibre as business on other carriers (Singapore, Qatar) in terms of food and drink, but the beds are still flat and you still get a similar level of service.

OK. So if you had the choice between Cathay or Qatar, which would you go with? Layovers in Hong Kong and Doha respectively.

Ok so actually their safety record isn’t ‘hit and miss’ and there’s no reason to ‘avoid like the plague’ . They are a perfectly reasonable carrier meeting international and EU safety standards.

Out of Cathay and Qatar I would definitely pick Qatar. I've flown with them a few times recently and they have been great! Flew long haul Cathay last year and thought it was terrible...staff were very rude.

China Southern is fine, have flown with them several times to west of China.
Personally I would fly business with Cathay via Hong Kong, as have always found the service very good, decent entertainment package and great staff.

Flights booked - going Cathay via HK in the end. Flight times with them were better despite not being direct. Thanks for all your insights!