China Southern business class review: Guangzhou to Perth direct

China Southern is one of the largest airlines in the world, and for Western Australians it is the only direct link to mainland China. Having tested the economy cabin on the overnight Perth to Guangzhou service, we returned in business class to understand the product and the overall value on offer. Perth travellers can choose from some of the best business class products in the world, but only China Southern flies direct to Guangzhou, so we boarded hoping the ease of the trip would be matched by the quality of the cabin.

Find out what we thought in our full review, and watch our video for a closer look at the cabin and amazing meal service.

China Southern business class seat and amenities

China Southern configures business class on its 787-9 in a 1-2-1 layout with 28 seats across seven rows, so every passenger has direct aisle access. The seat converts to a fully flat bed of around 77 inches long with 23 inches of width. The window seats in rows with A and K lettering sit tucked against the fuselage away from the aisle and offer the most privacy, while the C and H seats face the aisle more openly, so it pays to choose carefully when booking. The two centre seats face the same direction with a divider between them.

There is one more thing to consider when picking your seat. The footwell opening on this seat sits to one side, so if you sleep on your right side choose a seat where the opening is on the right, and if you sleep on your left make sure the opening faces left. That small choice gives your legs the most room once the bed is made up.

The seat console holds a decent amount of storage with a small shelf and a closed compartment, along with the seat controls, the entertainment remote, a universal power outlet and the headphone jack. A second control strip sits low on the side of the console so you can adjust the seat without sitting up when it is in bed mode, a small detail that makes a real difference at 3am.

The bed is fully lie-flat, though China Southern does not provide a mattress topper, so you sleep on the seat cushion itself under the duvet. Each seat came with a pillow, duvet and slippers along with an amenity kit.

China Southern Lounge and ground experience

Travelling from Perth, business class passengers are given access to the Aspire lounge before departure. In Guangzhou the China Southern lounge had everything you would expect from a business class lounge, with snacks for those on the go, a buffet, plenty of drinks on offer and space to relax or work. There was nothing extra special about it and it lacks the opulence of some of the big Middle Eastern and Asian flagship lounges, but there was also nothing you could want for, and the core reasons you visit a lounge in the first place were all executed very well.

China Southern connectivity and entertainment

The aircraft is equipped with Wi-Fi and business class passengers get complimentary access. The speed was quite limiting though, so if you are hoping to get work done on the flight we highly recommend downloading everything you need before boarding.

Each seat has a large touchscreen with on-demand entertainment, a handheld remote and noise-cancelling headphones. The screen is showing its age in terms of resolution, as it is not 4K, but the library itself was full of choice. One of the questions we are asked most often is whether the entertainment on a Chinese carrier is entirely in Chinese, and the answer is a clear no. There really is a lot for everyone, with a wide selection of Western films and television alongside Chinese and regional content.

Meals, service and that impressive crystal glassware

This is where the gap between what we thought we knew about China Southern and what passengers actually receive blew us away. For a start, drinks came in beautiful crystal glassware that we have not seen before and each course was plated and presented with a level of care and sophistication that we were so impressed with.

The menus were beautiful, with fine detailing on the cover that set the tone before the first course even arrived. Very little is written about China Southern's business class catering and, on the strength of this flight, it is one of the most underrated meal services out there. It was exceptional and a lot of carriers could learn something from watching China Southern run a business class dinner service. We hope articles like this bring it the attention it deserves.

It is worth knowing that under the standard service flow, drinks are generally offered after the cold appetiser has been served, although passengers can of course request a beverage at any time.

We can describe the seat and exquisite menu, but our reel brings the experience to life in even greater detail.

China Southern safety, fleet and size

China Southern earns the full seven stars in the AirlineRatings.com safety ratings. It operates a fleet of 693 aircraft with an average age of nine years, which makes it the largest airline in Asia and the fifth largest in the world by fleet size, behind only United, American, Delta and Southwest. Measured by capacity it ranks fourth globally on 151.6 billion available seat miles. The airline runs more than 2,000 flights a day to over 220 destinations on a mix of Airbus, Boeing and Chinese-built COMAC aircraft.

Guangzhou and beyond

We covered Guangzhou as a destination in detail in our economy review, and everything we said there still stands. The highlights for us were Baomo Garden and Shawan Ancient Town, a cooking class, an evening in traditional Chinese dress at a banquet, and Canton Tower with the city lit up at night showing a completely different side of Guangzhou. The capybara cafe was an unexpected favourite, and on the food front the duck and the hot pot are must-tries.

For business class passengers the more relevant point is how the city works as a stopover on the way to Europe. Guangzhou to London and Amsterdam are flown with the same 1-2-1 lie-flat cabin, and connections through Baiyun are clearly signed in English. Guangzhou also has gorgeous hotels right across the city, so it is easy to mix work with pleasure, and if you are travelling on business and can extend your stay by a few days we would recommend it. In great news for travellers, the service will be going daily from Perth from December 1^st 2026 to 10 March 2027 so why not ask family or friends to come up and join you? Australian passport holders can currently visit China visa-free for stays of up to 30 days.

Summary

For us, China Southern's business class well and truly exceeded expectation. The seat is a proven lie-flat product with direct aisle access, the amenity kit is solid and the meal service was the surprise of the flight, with presentation and glassware that even ‘premium’ airlines don’t offer. The screen could do with an update and a mattress topper would lift the bed, but neither is a reason to look elsewhere for direct flights to China and beyond. Add a city as vibrant as Guangzhou at the other end, and the whole trip from cabin to destination is one we would happily do again.