China Southern offers direct flights between Auckland and Guangzhou.
China Southern offers direct flights between Auckland and Guangzhou.
What’s it like to fly with China Southern Airlines from Auckland to Guangzhou? Emma Gleason finds out.
With headquarters in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China Southern is one of three major airlines in China. It operates direct flights between Auckland and Guangzhou, a connecting point for routes all around the world, including Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, New Delhi, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, London, and Kathmandu.
The Auckland to Guangzhou flight is leg one of two, with my final destination being Kathmandu, Nepal. This review focuses on the first flight as well as my layover in Guangzhou.
To: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China.
The flight: B787 Dreamliner flight CZ306. The B787 is 56.72m long and enjoys 20% fuel savings in flight due to lighter aircraft weight (thanks to innovative engines and materials), which also means reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
Class: Economy with priority boarding and business lounge access with China Southern golden member status.
Visas and requirements: China offers 144-hour visa-free transiting through Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport for residents of 54 countries, including New Zealand. You need to have onward travel documentation for another country.
Departure airport experience: The desks opened promptly on time and a sign notified travellers that the flight was fully booked. I was lucky enough to have been given priority boarding thanks to the team at China Southern, experiencing golden member status, so checking in was swift (although the economy line seemed to be moving smoothly too).Heading straight through security – efficient and friendly, as it always is at Auckland Airport – I headed through duty-free straight to the Strata Lounge.
The lounge: It’s easy to lose time in a space like this (I’ve done a mad dash before) so helpfully the lounge’s departure board tells you how far the walk to the gate is – mine is six minutes – and there are audible boarding calls.
It’s Saturday so there isn’t the usual buzz of business travellers; the lounge was maybe half full, mostly with families. Everyone was very quiet, enjoying a moment of peace before their journey.
As far as lounges go, it’s quite large. The serve-yourself food is straight ahead as you walk in. I grabbed a couple of pork sliders and poured myself a cola from the fountain, and started working on notes for some stories. At 8.01pm, I checked the time in Guangzhou (4.01pm) to formulate a body-clock strategy, have a coffee, and then pack up and head to board my flight.
Boarding: Smooth, efficient and easy. (Though I was admittedly grateful for priority boarding.)
Fellow passengers: Late-in-the-day departures often mean (if you’re lucky) subdued travellers as everyone tries to sleep through the flight. After settling in and having some food, the cabin lights dimmed and everyone got some rest.
Economy class in China Southern. Photo / Supplied
How full: Fully full! But it felt very organised, and the staff were patient and helpful. Priority boarding and lounge access also help minimise wait times.
The seat: I was in economy and placed in the first row in our section, so there was legroom – lots of it! – and no one reclining back into you. Mine was the window seat, appointed with Evian water, a toiletries bag, blanket, and pillow, and it’s suitably comfortable.
Entertainment: My flight had a comprehensive selection of movies. I considered watching Oppenheimer or Aftersun (again) but, given the late hour, settled on a podcast instead so I could drift into sleep. I managed seven hours of it. Not bad.
The service: Professional, polite, and friendly – they run a smooth ship. The cabin crew were very conscientious and made a point of confirming I understood the arrangements for my onward travel.
Food and drink: Pretty good. We could select chicken and rice or chicken and potato. I chose the former, and it was very flavourful. There was a rather good potato salad with crunchy walnuts, and the chocolate mousse for dessert was delicious.
The toilets: Clean and conveniently near where I was seated.
Arrival airport experience: Perhaps it’s the early hour of the day, but our disembarkment and processing was so chill. Not what I expected from a busy airport hub in a populous country.
I qualified for a temporary entry permit – China offers 144-hour visa-free transiting through Guangzhou to 54 nationalities, including New Zealanders, if you have onward travel documents – so I filled in the special card and went to the permit desk.
From there you go through security, bag check, and customs – a breeze if you don’t have anything to declare.
As I was laying over for 15 hours, China Southern provides complimentary transit accommodation for passengers who qualify – connecting time between flights must be between eight and 30 hours, and some cabin segments are excluded – which includes a free one-night stay (with breakfast) at a hotel, and transportation there and back to the airport.
The whole process couldn’t have been easier.
I headed to the hotel desk, where they confirmed my booking and transfer, gave me a sticker, and I waited for the driver to collect me.
From there I was taken to my hotel, about 20 minutes from the airport, where I could rest, shower and – best of all – explore the neighbourhood and sample the food before heading back to the airport for my onward flight.
Final destination: My second journey from Guangzhou to Kathmandu, Nepal was also with China Southern: a non-stop flight taking just five hours. I arrived on time and without any glitches.
