TRIP REPORT: China Southern, Belgrade - Guangzhou

TRIP REPORT

CZ668

Belgrade - Guangzhou

B787-9 (6 years old)

January 2025

Booking was seamless through China Southern’s website and they offer competitive pricing compared to European and Middle Eastern carriers from Belgrade. I chose them over Air Serbia as the date and time suited me better on this occasion. My check-in at Belgrade Airport was smooth with a dedicated business class counter for this flight.

I went through the priority passport check and security line which was rather long. China Southern Airlines uses the Air Serbia Premium Lounge. Since it has been covered in many reports here, I won’t go into too much detail about. I actually preferred it over the China Southern lounge in Guangzhou.

Boarding started around 45 minutes prior to departure. I was among the first to board and was warmly welcomed by the cabin crew, as well as the sky Marshall which is a common sight on Chinese carriers. One of the crew members pointed me to my seat and came behind shortly to offer a welcome drink (juice, champagne or water) and nuts with raisins. She also immediately came with a bag of slippers packaged in a brown China Southern tote bag, which she unpacked.

The Boeing 787-9 business class cabin features a 1-2-1 configuration with direct aisle access for every seat. The first row is numbered as row five. For those travelling alone, I recommend choosing the odd numbered rows next to the window since they are closer to the window and have more privacy. The bulkhead seat is the best pick because it does not have a restricted footwall but it was already taken when I was purchasing my ticket.

The cabin in business class was about 85% full. There were Chinese, Serbian and Russian passengers. Economy was packed from what I could see at boarding.

The seat is comfortable and very well maintained. It is wide, has a universal power outlet, USB ports and a small compartment for storage, There were also noise cancelling headphones at the seat, a bottle of water, a plush blanket and pillow. There was also a nice L’Occitane amenity kit but I forgot to take a picture, and forgot to take it with me too.

I find the main international Chinese carriers to be similar, especially on long haul flights and I see very little difference between them and their service. At least among the Chinese airlines I’ve flown with - Air China, Hainan, China Eastern and China Southern.

Before departure the crew came around to take the meal order. As is the case on most other Chinese airlines, the crew member has a single printed menu and shows you the options. You have to make an instant decision, and she writes down your preference. On this flight there were three meal options for lunch and three options for breakfast, which is the second meal before landing. Usually there is one western option and the others are Chinese.

The cabin crew was professional, warm, and attentive throughout the flight. However, as is common with Chinese carriers their English is not all that great.

We took off on time and shortly after service started. The meal service was conducted efficiently, starting with a pre-meal drink and another round of nuts with raisins. Chinese carriers usually serve several appetisers, one after the other as you finish them, and these are not shown to you prior on the menu. The meals were good.

The IFE system had a decent selection of Western and Chinese films, TV shows, and music, though Hollywood titles were somewhat limited. However, China Southern probably has the largest selection of western films and tv shows compared to other Chinese carriers. The touchscreen was responsive, and the provided noise-cancelling headphones were of good quality.

China Southern also has WiFi on board the B787-9. There is a basic complimentary package and an expensive premium package, which is supposed to give you better speeds. It was, from my memory, 40 euros. However, there was no need for it because the complimentary WiFi had good speeds as well and you could surf the internet. Since it’s a Chinese airline, your gmails or yahoos won’t work. Most of the messaging apps don’t work either but, to my surprise, Viber was working perfectly and messages as well as media was sent and received quickly. The WiFi worked throughout the flight without any disruptions.

The flight to Guangzhou is rather long and this one took 11h20m, although China Southern flies north from Belgrade, over the Baltics, into Russia and then down to China. For the remainder of the flight, I watched the BBC’s “Great British Bake Off”, of which there was curiously around 10 episodes, and slept through the rest.

Around two hours prior to arrival, the crew served breakfast. While there was a tasty looking Chinese option with a selection of dim sums, I wasn’t hungry at all and told the crew I would skip breakfast. The stewardess insisted I have something and said she would arrange a snack for me, which was really nice of her.

The scheduled arrival time into Guangzhou was 5AM. Chinese airspace is notorious for its congestion, so we had to circle around for some time before touching down in Guangzhou around half an hour late, despite departing on time.

China Southern’s hard product and soft product were both very solid. Would I fly China Southern business class again? Definitely, especially given its competitive pricing and good onboard experience. I have flown China Southern several times now and I would say that together with Hainan they are the best Chinese carrier from the mainland in the premium cabin. In my opinion, ahead of both Air China and China Eastern, although they all have simmilar service levels, which I would put ahead of European ones but not quite up to the level of airlines from the Gulf and southeast Asia.

I apologise for the lack of photos but I wasn’t planning on writing a report. Still, I hope you could get a general idea of their service on this flight.

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