JHP

Apr 9, 2023

China Airlines use short haul aircraft for long haul flight

I flew the business class with China Airlines from Sydney to Taipei on 3/4/2023 (CI52). When I purchased the ticket in mid February, the seating plan indicated that, in the business class, there were 4 seats in each row (I believe it was Airbus 350-900). As I had flown with China Airlines before, I was expecting a comfortable business class seating arrangement, comparable to Cathy Pacific or even Qantas. I selected 14D as my seat. A few days before departure, I received a notification from China Airlines that my seat was reallocated to 3D. When I logged into the airlines’ web, the new seating plan now showed each row had 6 seats. Without suspicion, I selected 4A as my new seat. When I boarded the aircraft on the day of departure, I realised that China Airlines had substituted this long haul flight with an aircraft suitable only for short haul flights (I believe it was Airbus 330-300). The space is very limited for the business class seating. The seat can only laid down to about 45 degrees and there was no room for me to put my legs straight. It was extremely uncomfortable and close to impossible for sleeping (and it was an overnight flight). The supposedly complimentary wifi for the business class did not work for me (I suspect the aircraft was not equipped). The whole experience became a nightmare. I believe it is unethical for an airline to charge the full fares for a long haul flight and substitute the aircraft with a short haul one, without any compensation. I would have been better off to take the economy class, at least saving myself an additional $3500 (I paid over $4800). I have written to China Airlines, but yet to receive a response. It is also noteworthy that Qantas’s direct flights from Australia to Taipei are also operated by China Airlines. I received a response from China Airlines. It confessed that the aircraft was changed from A350 to A330 without notifying passengers and offered a one-year one-way upgrade coupon for compensation. I drew its attention that any compensation should apply to all passengers adversely affected and refused to accept it. I will accept it only if the coupon has no expiry date. This is because I have no intention to fly with China Airlines again in the foreseeable future, if not forever, and I don’t want China Airlines to make money out of me again. In my view, China Airlines should make cash compensation as it ‘overcharged’.