China Airlines Flights CI 121 & CI 57 Naha to Taipei to Melbourne – Economy Flight Review
This video is a review of the China Airlines flights CI 121 & CI 57 Naha to Taipei to Melbourne in Economy class. China Airlines is the flag carrier of Taiwan.
The first leg from Naha in Okinawa Japan was on a A330-300. A distance of about 665 km and a 1 hr 15 min duration.
After a 11 hour stopover in Taipei we boarded an A350-900. It is a distance of 7,397 Miles or 11,904 Kilometers and a 9 hour flight.
CI 121 :
Scheduled Departure 11:55 – Arrival 12:35
Departed on Time 11:55 & Arrived Early – 12:27
CI 57
Scheduled Departure 22:35 – Arrival 12:05
Departed Early 23:43 & Arrived Early – 11:45
It was an affordable flight. Total cost of four separate Economy flights per person was AUD $1,565 for the following legs:
1. MEL – TPE
2. TPE – OKA
3. OKA – TPE
4. TPE – MEL
I also review the Departure Lounge at Naha Airport and the Oriental Club Lounge and Premium Plaza Lounge at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport.
Overall it was a good experience. Service was consistently good. Seats on the A330-300 were tight and somewhat uncomfortable but it was a short haul flight. There were no special meal options available (vegetarian or gluten free) and the entertainment system was small and limited. The A330 was showing its age a bit.
Seats on a seven year old A350-900 were reasonably comfortable and spacious, but a little hard for an overnight flight. The cabin crew provided good service, we had our meal preferences well catered for and was reasonably good. There was a good entertainment system on board with plenty of viewing options and the flight was well priced.
I didn’t like the red eye flight times (leaving at close to midnight from Taipei) but this is the only option with the direct flight from Taipei to Melbourne with China Airlines.
We were also lucky to just have missed the worst typhoon to hit Taiwan in over 30 years by about 12 hours! It did make for a bumpy flight back to Melbourne.
I’d have no hesitation in flying with China Airlines again and recommended them to you.
Look for the review of my tour of Taiwan and Okinawa in future weeks.
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Links:
– https://www.china-airlines.com/au/en
– https://www.instagram.com/chinaairlines.tw/?hl=en
– https://www.plazapremiumlounge.com/en-uk/find/china-regions/taiwan/taipei/taiwan-taoyuan-international-airport/international-departures-terminal-two-zone-a
– https://www.instagram.com/plazapremiumlounge/?hl=en
– https://www.orientalclublounge.com/en/
– https://www.instagram.com/orientalclub_lounge/?hl=en
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:32 Drive to Naha Airport
04:03 Naha Airport
05:17 Flight Details
06:12 Boarding & Seats CI 121
08:36 A330-300 Takeoff
09:41 CI 121 Food
11:21 CI 121 Landing
12:46 Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
13:14 Oriental Club Lounge
16:25 Premium Plaza Lounge
16:46 Departure Gate Taipei
17:22 A350-900 CI 57 Boarding & Seats
17:59 CI 57 Takeoff
19:18 Turbulence
20:09 CI 57 Food
21:46 Melbourne Landing
23:55 Summary
25:03 Bag and Uber Issues
26:01 Outro