• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » Trip Reports » Review: China Southern 737 Economy Class Bangkok to Guangzhou
China SouthernFlight Reviews

Review: China Southern 737 Economy Class Bangkok to Guangzhou

Matthew Klint Posted onJune 9, 2018November 14, 2023 12 Comments

China Southern economy class was very survivable. That’s neither a compliment nor a slight. It was a reasonably priced, reasonably comfortable 2.5 hour flight.

I landed in Bangkok after a redeye on Thai Airways. I had no boarding pass and could not check-in online, but had no trouble checking in and collecting a boarding pass from the transit counter. After adding my Delta number, I requested an exit row seat and was obliged. After enjoying breakfast and shower in the Oman Air Lounge, I approached the gate for boarding. The gate area was largely deserted: boarding had begun early. Please note this flight was in 2016.

a sign with a sign and text

China Southern 362
Bangkok (BKK) – Guangzhou (CAN)
Friday, June 17
Depart: 08:40 AM
Arrive: 12:25 PM
Duration: 02hr, 25min
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 41C (Economy Class)

Since we are talking about a 2.5 hour economy class flight, rather than dissect every element of in-flight service as I do with a premium cabin report, I’ll make four observations about the flight.

1. The plane was pleasantly filled, the seat was pleasantly comfortable.

Thankfully, I had an exit row, with excellent legroom. The flight appeared about 70% full, with many middle seats open. The middle seat next to me also stayed open. Seats are reasonably padded and do not contain a personal IFE screen.

a seat with a blue and white striped fabric

a plane with blue seats and people sitting on it

a seat on an airplane

a group of people sitting in an airplane

My seatmate had a snoring problem. I don’t mean to poke fun at him, but he sounded like a jackhammer and snored from the moment we took off to the moment we landed…

2. The meal was exactly what we used to complain about on domestic flights.

30 minutes after takeoff, a hot meal was offered. Fish or chicken were the choices, and I chose chicken. The chicken was extremely fatty, the bread stale, and the mayonnaise kept me away from the vegetables. But the fruit wasn’t bad.

This meal reminded me of why people people complain about airline meals. The food is a lot more than you can even buy on 2.5 hours flights within the USA, but the quality was very poor.

a tray of food on a table

a tray of food on a table

a tray of food on a tray

a tray of food on a plane

3. The lavatory had a real bar of soap.

Hearkening back to the old days, a single bar of soap was present in the rear lavatory. No liquid soap was available (the built-in dispenser had nothing inside of it):

a water fountain with a sign on the side

a bar of soap in a machine

a hand holding a white object

4. The plane wasn’t in great condition.

Toward the end of the flight, we hit a bit of turbulence and oxygen masks dropped from several rows. It made me wonder if they would actually work in case of emergency.

a air conditioner on a plane

CONCLUSION

We landed on time in Guangzhou to a very hot, very humid day. Unfortunately, we parked at a remote stand and had to be bussed to the terminal.

a plane on the tarmac

a plane parked on a tarmac

a plane on the tarmac

For $180, I scored an exit row seat with an open middle on a direct flight. The flight departed on-time, landed on-time, and included a complimentary meal. Honestly, it was fine. Don’t hesitate to use China Southern if you must. Just don’t expect anything special.

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article Emirates Wants to Skip Windows on Future Aircraft Orders
Next Article Sun Country Baggage Handlers Forget to Load Entire Plane!

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • bangkok earthquake

    Myanmar-Thailand Earthquake Devastation, Heartbreaking Video

    March 30, 2025
  • a room with chairs and tables

    Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge London (LHR)

    March 22, 2025
  • a room with chairs and tables

    Review: Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge London (LHR)

    March 21, 2025

12 Comments

  1. 02nz Reply
    June 9, 2018 at 11:31 am

    I think your post about the snoring seatmate is a little insensitive esp. given that you have a picture of him that could certainly lead to embarrassment for him. If you “don’t mean to poke fun,” why use language like “sounded like a jackhammer”?

  2. Kevin Reply
    June 9, 2018 at 12:11 pm

    @o2nz,
    Perhaps you should stick to reading MMS, it’s snowflake friendly!

  3. ktc Reply
    June 9, 2018 at 2:48 pm

    so you cannot complain even when the snoring is bothering your? is it because he cannot be responsible for what he did when he was asleep?

  4. Aaron Reply
    June 9, 2018 at 3:19 pm

    Did you have to leave the secure area to find the transit desk? I’ve always wanted to fly via BKK to go to Cambodia, but security is a pain in BKK(the agents are sticklers always trying to collect duties, and the security lines are painfully long) so I always end up connecting somewhere else

    • Matthew Reply
      June 12, 2018 at 8:22 am

      @Aaron: When I arrived form Tokyo, I did have to re-clear security, but it only took a few minutes. The transit desk is in the secure area.

  5. Brian Reply
    June 9, 2018 at 6:44 pm

    Your plane (B-1925) is 4 years old, as of June 2018

  6. 02nz Reply
    June 9, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    You’re perfectly within your rights to note that your seatmate snored. I just think it’s insensitive to also post a large picture of him for the entire internet to see who the snorer is.

  7. ifaho Reply
    June 10, 2018 at 12:55 am

    Mathew , you are such a disrespectful fellow. I do not know what the heck of an racist American/German you are. I am Chinese and I been to America. Only on a 5 hour business class did I get a real meal in domestic. In china, any flight above 1 hour has a meal. And you can complain just about snoring. Who doesn’t snore? Your american friends? My, how nice of you to post that picture up. You know that the man on their is my fellow collegue Henry Chen, right? Why, thank you! Now we can sue you to the Chinese court and you will get quite a good cure for your disrespectfulness by our friendly and loving chinese government!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  8. Tony Reply
    June 10, 2018 at 2:15 am

    seeing this hard product makes me LOL when people complain about the planes on AA/UA/DL. Whats the point of free catering if the food is inedible? Bathrooms without real soap? no IFE or wifi?

  9. Robett Blake Reply
    June 10, 2018 at 10:44 am

    Well done Matthew, way to completely disregard someone else’s privacy by posting a photo without their consent.

    Bet you would be kicking up a storm and throwing your toys out had someone else took a photo of you in your finest hours and posted it without your consent. A simple bit of photoshop would’ve done it.

  10. Matthew Reply
    June 12, 2018 at 8:22 am

    Picture of Sleeping Beauty has been removed.

    Please note, it is RUDE to snore loudly. Worse than a crying baby.

  11. Kelcy Reply
    July 2, 2018 at 11:52 pm

    Lots of places in Asia have bar soap so I’m used to that. The food makes me weary though. I have been considering flying China Southern on a long haul economy this October. I’ve heard they are better than China Eastern. Thanks for the review.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for May

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • Turkey Fine Passengers Unbuckle
    Impatient Flyers, Beware: Turkey Will Fine You For Standing Up Too Soon May 28, 2025
  • Korean Air First Class Lounge ICN Review
    Review: Korean Air First Class Lounge Seoul (ICN) May 28, 2025
  • a group of people in blue uniforms
    United Airlines’ Uniforms Get A Facelift—And A Political Filter May 28, 2025
  • Dog Diversion Delta
    Delta Flight Diverts To Care For Sick Dog. Justified? May 28, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) May 1, 2025
  • United Airlines Refresh Polaris Lounge Chicago
    First Look: United Airlines Reopens Renovated Polaris Lounge In Chicago (ORD) April 29, 2025
  • a hand holding a blue card
    Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K Bonus Offer Ending Soon May 2, 2025
  • Aegean Airlines Feast
    A Feast Fit For A King On Aegean Airlines May 23, 2025

Archives

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.