How full: There were half a dozen empty seats dotted around our cabin, including two across the aisle from us, which I commandeered late in the flight in an optimistic attempt to get some serious shut eye. Economy was chocker.
Fellow passengers: We were heading up there just before Chinese New Year, so there were plenty of Chinese on board. Not many Westerners taking advantage of those terrific prices. Wake up, sheeple.
Entertainment: There's an impressive range of movies — including a couple that were feature hits in last year's New Zealand International Film Festival (like the excellent Good Times). I watched Suburbicon and something forgettable.
Food and drink: For dinner service, we went for a mix of chicken and rice, and seafood and rice. The chicken was reasonable plane-cabin fare. On the western side of the menu, a pasta with rich tomato-and-beef sauce did the job for the fussy-eating child. Warning for drinkers: The staff will pour a short measure of wine unless you point out and ask for the bigger glass. At breakfast time, there was a passable omelette, but the smarter option was the Chinese breakfast, a serving of seriously good dim sum.
The service: There were occasional language barriers, but nothing insurmountable.
Toilets: I do a lot of wandering on overnight longhaul flights and rarely have seen busier toilet cleaning. Commendable.
The final word: A great way to say "ni hao!" to Guangzhou.
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