I am sitting in middle aisle seat 2G, on this very old China Airlines A330-300 Business class seat from Denpasar, Bali, to Taipei. The seat is so old – an angle-lie flat seat, but there is no one next to me thankfully, a tiny TV screen, a large soft pillow and fluffy quilt. But this upgrade was purchased with just 15000 CI points on top of my paid economy fare and the points were about to expire so I can’t complain….yet.
Service starts with a drink (I choose the green guava and pineapple juice) and hot towel service, before taking off.
Shortly after takeoff the meal service begins. Interestingly there is no white starched tablecloth, just on the foldout tray. First comes the canapé- smoked salmon and Camembert cheese.
This is followed about 2 hours (!?) later by an appetizer of Roasted Duck breast with green papaya salad. And then the main course of a pre-ordered Nasi Goreng (chicken fried rice).
During the 2-hour period between the canapé and main meal, I watch 3 episodes of Percy Jackson and when finished, want to sleep until dinner is served. But….
The seat moves from position 1 to position 2 and back (see picture for clear image) but not to position 3 – a straight flat angled-seat. I request the flight attendant to look at it and she agrees it is ‘strange’. The seat next to me is the same. Another flight attendant comes and together they decide to call the cabin supervisor who is dismissive and defensive and says ‘meal service is in 10 minutes so do you still want it?’. I tell him to forget it – I’ll deal with this later (= a strong letter to China Airlines).
Back to the main meal. Not good. Suck is salty. Chicken is hard. The cabin manager throws the garlic bread on my plate. Ok maybe I’m exaggerating but I am pissed. The ice cream is rock hard at first, but after waiting a while it is ok.
Returning to issues: Additionally my original headphones do not work and I have to get a new pair. Also the remote control is broken, and so – as the space between the seat and the screen is about 1 meter, I have to reach far forward each time to use the touch screen functionality on the AV screen.
Besides the cabin supervisor, the rest of the cabin crew are friendly and apologetic.
We land ahead of schedule.
Rating: 5.5/10
