China Eastern

Economy Class

China Eastern serves complimentary meals and beverages on every flight, with menus leaning into Chinese cuisine, rice and noodle dishes are the norm, usually alongside a Western option.

What you get depends on route length: flights over roughly 7 hours get two full meal services plus a snack; shorter regional and domestic China routes typically get one hot or cold boxed meal and a beverage round.

What to Expect

Service Type	What’s Provided	Cost
Long-haul flights (7+ hours)	Two hot meal services plus a mid-flight snack, choice of two mains	Included
Regional/domestic China flights	One hot or cold boxed meal, choice of two mains, sometimes no choice on shorter flights	Included
Beverages	Soft drinks, juice, tea, coffee, beer and wine	Included
Premium spirits	Limited selection	Business class only

What’s Served

Typical main course options:

Stir-fried noodles: Noodles, vegetables, and a choice of meat or seafood

Rice with vegetables: Steamed or fried rice with vegetables and a protein option

Western alternative: Usually eggs or a pasta dish, offered alongside the Chinese option on most long-haul flights

Cuisine style: Asian cuisine inspiration with the taste of Chinese dishes, plus a Western option on long-haul routes.

Premium Economy

Premium economy hardware isn’t consistent across the fleet, some aircraft have a dedicated premium economy cabin with its own recliner-style seats and larger entertainment screens, while others use the same seats as economy with no separate hardware at all.

Check your specific aircraft type before booking if the seat itself is the reason you’re paying up.

The food, however, is the same tray served in economy, premium economy does not get an upgraded menu or different dishes.

What premium economy does get on top of the standard meal:

Ice cream on longer flights: Häagen-Dazs, the same treat served in business class

An amenity kit on overnight flights: Slippers, eye mask, comb, toothpaste, and earplugs

Special Meals

Booking Method	Restrictions
Manage Booking on ceair.com or the app	Look for “Special Services” — not enabled on all fare types
Call your local China Eastern office	Required if the online option isn’t available for your booking
Through your travel agent/OTA	Most can submit on your behalf — confirm directly with China Eastern afterward

Special Meals List

Request at least 24 hours before departure; some travelers report better reliability requesting 48 hours out. Vegetarian/vegan (VGML) is the most consistently fulfilled special meal on Chinese-operated routes.

Meals China Eastern commonly offers: Baby Meal (BBML), Child Meal (CHML), Vegetarian Meal (VGML), Vegetarian Oriental Meal (VOML), Halal Meal (MOML), Hindu Non-Veg Meal (HNML), Diabetic Meal (DBML), Gluten Free Meal (GFML), Kosher Meal (KSML).

FAQs