CI754 (SIN - TPE)
Plane Type: Airbus A350-941
Registry: B-18901
Class: Economy
Seat: 42K
Layout: 3x3x3
Reviewer: Malcolm Lu
Date: Nov 9th, 2017
It has been a while since I took a different airline to Taipei, so you could say I was genuinely excited when my company decided to book us on China Airlines for our corporate retreat to Taipei. The last time I took CI was over 5 years ago, way before the airline introduced their A350s and new cabin features. Initially, we were booked on CI752, operated by an A330, but our tour agency had a mix-up and instead booked us on CI754, which to me was a blessing in disguise, as CI754 is operated by the newer A350 XWBs which I have been eyeing to fly on for some time.
Well first off, I was booked into the flights Economy Class, Seat 42K, on the right side of the plane, over the wing. This section of the cabin features a new seat design, in which the 3 seats in the row can be configured to a "family couch". We were not able to explore this function as I was seated with strangers, but you could see the extra seat padding at the end of the seat, which would be folded up to extend the seat. This additional padding did make the seat to be slightly uncomfortable when its folded down, as my legs kept bumping into the padding. In terms of overall design and scheme, China Airline's new economy class interior has a contrast of dark grey with light maroon colours, and touches of natural wood textured panels to give the cabin a warm natural feel. LED lights on the ceiling change colour through the flight, when in the air they were white, while parked on the ground during boarding and disembarking, the lights were a warm orange tint.
Inflight entertainment is top-notch, with a very responsive touch screen system, easy to navigate UI and excellent quality headphones. Each seat has a USB charger as well as a power plug in the seat in front of you for your mobile phones and laptops respectively.
The food quality and service was good, with the standard economy class servings of 1 appetizer, bread, a small fruit bowl, dessert and a main course. As compared with 5 years ago, it has definitely improved.
As compared with my previous experiences on China Airlines, the flight experience has changed a lot over the last 5 years. Besides a new plane and new cabin features, the flight crew uniforms have changed, as well as their service standards have gotten better. The only thing that affected my journey was the bad turbulence we suffered along the way. It was really quite bad, and though no fault of the airline and crew, did hamper the mood for this flight. I hope my next flight with China Airlines will go smoothly and would love to try their premium economy class as well! Till next time :)
Cheers folks!