Inflight Review : Hainan Airlines, carrier of inadequate meals

                       

Inflight Review by : Gan Yung Chyan

                              / KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to Everyone

On 30 November 2018, the reporter of this travel news medium embarked on Hainan Airlines' inaugural B737-800 resumption flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Haikou. He repeated the voyage on 10 December 2018. He had also flown with Hainan Airlines on previous domestic flights on the Haikou - Beijing Capital and Sanya - Guangzhou routes. The following review is a report on his findings on Hainan Airlines' international and domestic flights. Feel free to compare with Skytrax's ratings on Hainan Airlines.

Airline and Routes: Hainan Airlines is one of 10 Skytrax's five-star rated full-service airlines*. It is known for its onboard service and staff service. It is the fastest-growing Chinese airline with up to three new routes opened monthly. The recent new routes include Chongqing - Yangon, Shenzhen - Osaka Kansai, Shenzhen - Vienna and Haikou - Singapore. With headquarters in Haikou, it has bases in Urumqi, Hangzhou, Changsha, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Taiyuan, Hefei, Xi'an Xianyang, Beijing, Dalian and Sanya. New aircraft in its fleet include 11 787-8, 10 787-9, 5 737 MAX 8, 1 A350-900 besides 9 A330-200, 14 A330-300, 2 B737-700 and 160 B737-800 (Fleet Ref. HAI Vision). Hainan Airlines utilizes B737-800 aircraft on its domestic and Asian regional routes. Its parent company HNA is constructing the larger Haikou Meilan International Airport Terminal 2 to meet Hainan Airlines' flight expansion plans in Haikou. Initially commencing domestic flight operation in 1993, Hainan Airlines is 26 years old in 2019.

News : See previous news on Sayacinta - Airpost entitled "Hainan Airlines launches round-trip to Yangon from Chongqing on 27 January 2019" (http://kucinta-setia.blogspot.com/2019/01/hainan-airlines-launches-round-trip-to.html).  

Livery : The tail livery of Hainan Airlines shows wings of the Chinese Garuda (mythological bird), its horn, its stylized beak and auspicious clouds. It is the logo of HNA.***

Aircraft : The B737-800 seat legroom of Hainan Airlines is not spacious. Travel on this flight is safe. There are no media reports of this type of aircraft getting involved in any Hainan Airlines crash. There are no pillows and blankets on its Economy Class seats.***

Baggage Requirements : On international flights, a carry-on baggage measuring 115 cm in total to be stowed in the overhead compartment and a small item to be stowed under the seat are accepted. Carry-on luggage weight on international flights is maximum 10 kg plus a small bag, a small backpack, a laptop case, a hand bag, an umbrella or a small document bag. On domestic flights it is however maximum 5 kg only, which is pretty China standard.***

Safety Demonstrations : Adequate. ***

Inflight Magazine : The current only official inflight magazine of Hainan Airlines is HAI Vision, the bilingual Chinese - English inflight magazine produced by the publisher of its previous inflight magazine High Above. It features the usual travel stories, Hainan Airlines, HNA news and Hainan Airlines fleet configuration details and route maps.  It is complimentary to passengers. High Above which carries advertisements of HNA subsidiaries such as GX Airlines and Tianjin Airlines is no longer available onboard Hainan Airlines' flights. **** 

Inflight Service / Entertainment / Onboard Meals and Refreshments : There is no inflight entertainment on each seat Enjoy common inflight entertainment video above each seat. Inflight service is friendly. Drinks are served. The only free onboard meal available on Hainan Airlines' domestic and Asian regional flights is beef hamburger and refreshment is only yogurt! To some, this may not be acceptable for an almost four-hour journey such as on the route from Haikou to Singapore but this is served on the flights of Hainan Airlines to Singapore, Asia and on domestic routes. Do not expect any fruits, noodles and meat rice, not even vegetarian, for Economy Class and Business Class passengers. The Hainan Airlines web-site has no option for pre-select onboard meals. These are unbelievable aspects of Hainan Airlines so-called "five-star service" when the ticket price is more expensive than Jetstar Asia or Scoot! ***

Postcard / Stationery : No aircraft postcards and stationery onboard all Hainan Airlines flights. Try to write on its air sickness bag.**

Sky Shop : None. HNA has removed duty-free magazine Thirty Thousand Feet from all Hainan Airlines and HNA subsidiary flights to reduce production costs.***

Surcharges :  None. ***

Bookings : One can try to book a Hainan Airlines ticket at www.hainanairlines.com but this does not work for the Singaporean reporter as a China mobile number is necessary to secure the booking. Book Hainan Airlines' flight tickets at Ctrip (www.ctrip.com) and Trip (www.trip.com) as these are open to international customers that pay using MasterCard, AMEX and VISA cards with local contact numbers outside China. Hainan Airlines certainly needs to improve online ticketing experience for international customers. Alternatively contact Hainan Airlines at 95339intl@hnair.com on difficulties in online ticketing.**

Check-In and Departures : Although Changi Airport states check gate number four hours before departure at Terminal 4 for HNA carriers' flights, the counter for Hainan Airlines only opens at 7.30 pm. Flight departs at 10 pm and arrives in Haikou at 1.40 am. There is no on-line facility to print Hainan Airlines boarding passes at Terminal 4. Hainan Airlines needs to be clear on this! In China, Hainan Airlines and its HNA subsidiaries cancel its domestic flights at last minute when there are heavy downpours. Be prepared with travel insurances when flying with Hainan Airlines and HNA carriers in China!**

Ground service in response  to passengers' requests and enquiries : Bad. Hainan Airlines does not have GSA and sales office in Singapore. Ctrip and Trip appear to be the reliable ticketing agents for Hainan Airlines' international flights. SATS is the baggage handling agent of Hainan Airlines at Changi Airport Terminal 4.*

Overall Impression :  Hainan Airlines is a three-star full-inflight service airline overall rather than five-star. On the ground outside China, it is at most a two-star full service airline. Ticket is overpriced. It needs to reduce ticket price to match its onboard services on international flights. It needs to have office presence in international cities such as Singapore, Yangon, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sydney, Melbourne, Tel Aviv,  Vancouver, Vienna to address customer enquiries. Relying on Haikou, Bangkok and Taipei stations alone to handle international enquiries is certainly stressful!***

* https://skytraxratings.com/airlines/hainan-airlines-rating

** Poor / two-star
*** Good / three-star

**** Very good / four-star
****** Excellent / six-star (the highest category)