Thumbs up for the cabin crew
Unlike some European airlines, most other countries flying narrow body aircraft have wider seats and more leg room in Business class. I had been flying from London to Beijing on Air China’s 777 business class, making a connection onwards to Phnom Penh on an Airbus A321.
This was one of the nicer flights I've experienced on a narrow-body. Even though there was no priority boarding for business class passengers, it was smoothly managed and the push back was 15 minutes ahead of schedule.
First a few negatives: this is an old style Business Class seating (2x2) with no IFE monitors. There was just an overhead drop down TV which did not hold my interest at all, despite noise-cancelling headphones supplied. However, the seat was wide and comfortable with plenty of leg room, although not much recline. The only storage apart from the overhead bins, was the pouch behind the opposite seat.
While taxing, safety announcements were made by one crew member reading out loud from her note book, turning the pages swiftly, and the other attendant demonstrating, which was quite amusing to watch.
However, what made this flight both outbound and on return enjoyable was the cabin crew, who were just fantastic and seemed genuinely happy to serve. Soon after boarding, slippers were opened from their packaging and handed to each passenger (just 5 in our cabin) and informed of the flight time. Hot towels were provided followed by a pre-flight delicious fruit cocktail. I was then offered a second drink of Champagne. A drinks menu was handed out but strangely no food menu. The flight attendant explained to each passenger the choice of what was on offer - ‘Western or Chines’ dinner. I opted for the Chinese meal. Twenty minutes into the air, I was then served with a choice of drinks from the bar (a single malt whisky), and Chinese White Wine to go with the food.
Delicious Chinese dinner and breakfast
Pre-flight fruit cocktail
The wine serving ensued, following the etiquette of showing the bottle, and tasting before pouring, which I appreciated. Dinner was served and the main fish course was very tasty. During the meal, refills followed. The desert was a strange cake like thing which I was not too keen on. Later it was coffee and Cognac. After the meal, I asked if I could keep the nice red chopsticks. They took the used ones away and returned with an unopened pair plus a souvenir Panda gift.
As it was a night flight, the cabin lights were dimmed, but the crew kept checking on the passengers if there was anything else we wanted. During the 5 hour flight despite the little recline on the seat, I was able to nod off for about an hour. On the return flight to Beijing, which also left on time, a Chinese breakfast was served with delicious Dim Sum and Congee.
The hard product on the A321 may not have been as up to date as some other carriers, but the excellent cabin crew with their very pleasant and engaging manner made the trip memorable.
