Premium economy review: China Southern Airlines to Guangzhou

Is it worth parting with some hard-earned cash or points for a premium economy upgrade flying to Guangzhou with China Southern Airlines? Here’s what you need to know.

Australia is without doubt a fabulous place to live, but a decided drawback is the long-haul reality of international travel. One way to make those travel hours more pleasant is to splurge a little on premium economy—even if you’re not quite making it to the pointy end of the plane.

I recently flew premium economy with China Southern Airlines (CSN) from Sydney to Guangzhou on an Airbus 350-900. The 9-hour 55-minute flight leaves at a respectable 11.15am and arrives at 6.10pm.

China Southern flights on the runway — Airbus 350 ready for takeoff. (Credit: Supplied/China Southern)

Pre-departure

The upside of arriving at the airport 40 minutes later than scheduled (thanks, Sydney traffic) was not having to contend with check-in queues—I just walked straight up to the counter. Had it been busy though, my premium economy ticket would have seen me ushered through the priority line quick smart, along with the business class folk, handy when lines are long.

The downside? Being one of the last to check in for premium economy meant I copped a dreaded middle seat. Note to self: arrive early to nab a better seat or choose your seat online. The check-in staff, very efficient and helpful, couldn’t assist in this instance but suggested I ask again onboard—just in case.

While I do love feeling a bit special in an airport lounge, sadly China Southern doesn’t include lounge access for premium economy unless you hold eligible status (Platinum, Gold or Silver) with the airline. Really I didn’t have much time to lounge about in any case. Although Qantas is an affiliate partner, only flights ticketed through Qantas are eligible for reward points.

Baggage allowances are generous: two checked bags up to 23 kilos each, a carry-on item up to five kilos plus a couple of small items such as a handbag or coat. My hand luggage wasn’t weighed.

Be mindful that Chinese security is very strict about batteries and power banks/chargers. They must be carried on board and chargers must be marked CCC as approved devices or they will almost certainly be confiscated at Chinese airport security.

Passengers can choose to upgrade seats after purchase and before boarding if available.

The seat

China Southern Premium Economy seats — Premium Economy seats provide significantly more legroom. (Credit: Supplied/China Southern)

A polite chat with a crew member just after take-off paid off: I was miraculously moved to an unoccupied window seat (25A) in the front row of premium economy—a massive win I was willing to take. Perhaps it was a no-show, but never underestimate the power of politeness and luck.

The layout of the Airbus A350-900 has just 24 seats in this class in a 2-4-2 configuration, providing a quiet cabin space. The seats are 3.5cm wider than economy and recline an extra 3cm, but the real comfort win comes with the 97cm pitch versus 81 cm in economy. Seat pitch refers to the space between rows (measured from the back of one seat to the back of the seat in front), which directly affects legroom and overall comfort. That’s significantly more legroom for a 10-hour flight.

The front seat provided even more leg room to stretch out in. Being fairly vertically challenged, I felt it was perhaps a little wasted on me but I relished the luxury anyway.

With no seat in front, the tray table and entertainment screen slide neatly out from the centre console, with a clearly delineated middle section to avoid potential armrest battles. There’s ample room for two arms at once. During meals, the tray can slide forward or back to adjust for different-sized people, which I discovered is pretty handy if you decide to put your jumper back on in the middle of eating a meal. It also folds in half, providing flexibility for holding just a drink.

A fold-out footrest adds support when you recline to grab some shut-eye. Though I didn’t sleep, I didn’t feel guilty about reclining for a while thanks to the generous leg room behind me and the shell-style seat design. This uses a fixed outer shell with an inner seat that slides within it to minimise the effect on the person behind and offers more personal space. A pillow and blanket add to the comfort.

Food and beverage

About 40 minutes after take-off, hot towels and a selection of non-alcoholic drinks were offered, served with peanuts.

Two meals were served during the flight—quite satisfying but standard airline meals. While the verbal descriptions of choices weren’t very enlightening (beef and rice or fish with potatoes), my beef selection proved a safe choice, tender and tasty if not imaginative. The chicken and potato salad with mustard dressing was more interesting and fruit was a good way to finish. With the benefit of time travel, suddenly it’s dinner time. The second meal was similar: pork mince and rice sprinkled with peas, risoni salad and fruit, buoyed by the surprisingly good warm garlic bread. The food offering is largely the same as that served in economy with some extras like snacks.

Drinks on offer included red or white wine (the red a pleasing Australian shiraz), beer or juice. Spirits are reserved for business or first class. I loved the honesty of the pre-landing lolly offering, proffered simply as ‘sugar’.

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Entertainment

While wi-fi was available (and complimentary in premium economy), I took the opportunity to disconnect and give the in-flight entertainment a good rattle instead. The entertainment—including movies, podcasts and music selections—skews heavily to Chinese and Asian content, and you can dive into Chinese culture with a range of documentaries on history and folktales. A range of well-loved and classic western movies are featured, even if they’re not new (think Harry Potter, The Lion King or John Wick, for example). I was intrigued by the inclusion of a comprehensive documentary about Tasmania, seen from above. The television selection was more familiar and I happily binged almost an entire series of British crime drama Unforgotten without a skerrick of guilt. Concerned about the detriments of being inactive for too long? The Yoga on a Plane offering, promising chair-based in-flight exercise routines, might be just the ticket.

Service

China Southern's A350 Premium Economy seats — The writer’s seat change was accommodated.

Service throughout was polite, attentive and helpful, from accommodating my seat change and bringing an extra wine after dinner. Special services like wheelchairs or accommodating service dogs are complimentary but need to be requested 48 hours before departure.

Verdict

If you have some extra cash or points, a splash on premium economy will certainly ease a long-haul flight with a noticeable level of extra comfort and space, priority loading and extra baggage allowances. That’s the big win on this flight, though it’s a pity lounge access isn’t included to make it a bit more special.

At the time of writing, a return premium economy seat from Sydney to Guangzhou costs between $1300 to $2000 return, depending on dates and seasons.

After youth-led protests in 2025, this year Nepal elected a 35-year-old former rapper as Prime Minister. In a country where tourism is its biggest industry, what’s next for travellers?

In 1986, Nepal changed its clock. It had used India Standard Time since 1920 so, to differentiate, it wound its clock 15 minutes ahead of, not behind, its big-brother neighbour. Boss move. “Nepal is strongly opposed to the idea that our identity is connected to India,” says Community Homestay Network (CHN) guide Bikal Khanal.

Tharu dance is traditionally set to hand drums. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

Today, Nepal is the only independent country with a 45-minute deviation to universal time; an oddity that’s become a symbol of national pride. The quirk is nearly as endearing as Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport where carved varnished wood and shiny red bricks rule. One sign points to a ‘Travelator’ and another to a ‘Grievance Handling Desk’ while visas are noisily stamped at customs for US dollars, cash only. When am I?

Spot the endemic Nepal gray langur. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The 15 or 45 minute anomaly sees me tap out completely on timezone calculations. Why bend my brain calculating if it’s quarter to or quarter past elsewhere when I’m in the honking here and now of Kathmandu where the air is high-altitude crisp, the prayer flags flutter and the street dogs howl?

How tourism is changing in Nepal

Bardiya National Park is rich with wildlife. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

India is not the only association many Nepalis would like to shake. With eight of the world’s 10 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest and Annapurna, Nepal has long attracted mountaineers and trekkers, and expedition numbers are continuing to rise.

Tourism is one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign currency, so this growth is not negative, per se. But according to Ang Tshering Lama, who co-founded Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, being reduced to a mere trekking destination is limiting.

“Trekking is just one layer of our identity,” says Ang. “When it becomes the dominant narrative, it limits how we’re seen and how we see ourselves.” Nepal’s recent success, however, in diverting trekkers to less-trafficked areas such as Manaslu mofuntain, where visitor numbers rose by 117 per cent last year, offers hope that tourism can diversify even more radically.

Local men in Bhada village. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The founder of CHN, Shiva Dhakal, wants that change. “The whole idea of the Community Homestay Network is to promote experiences outside of trekking,” he says. “Community tourism changes lives and helps kids stay home instead of coming to the city or migrating to the Middle East.”

Ang grew up seeing people leave, “not because they wanted to but because there weren’t enough opportunities to stay”, he states. Yet from remote villages to living traditions; food, art, music and emerging subcultures, “there’s so much that’s not being seen.”

CHN is opening some of those doors. It doesn’t own, or fund, any homes. Rather, it promotes homestays to travellers on a single, slick platform, while fostering entrepreneurship in places where women, marginalised castes, Indigenous people and the youth stand to benefit the most.

A new generation demanding more

Dalla Town Hall, where volunteers discuss anti-poaching tactics. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The future prospects of next-gen Nepalis can no longer be ignored. On a Kathmandu tour with 33-year-old guide Monica K.C, we pass buildings torched in the September 2025 ‘Gen Z protests’, including the Supreme Court and Parliament House. Seventy-two people died. “They were anti-corruption protests,” says Monica. “Politicians’ children are living a lavish life but the airports are crowded with youngsters leaving to find work.”

We stop in ‘little Tibet’ at the wondrous sixth-century Boudha Stupa. “The wheel of life is Buddhism in a nutshell,” says Monica. “Things such as hate, ignorance and anger keep you rotating around the wheel, so you must follow the principles of Buddhism to detach. If you can’t, there’s no nirvana for you.”

Boudha Stupa's prayer wheels — Boudha Stupa’s prayer wheels are used to recite Buddhist prayers. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

In a sun-drenched twist to the usual temple visit, we ascend the stupa’s sloping plinth and roam its whitewashed dome. Tendrils of diaphanous prayer flags stream from a steeple-like structure where the Buddha’s unblinking eyes stare out. No nirvana for you…

bouda stupa prayer flags — Tibetan-style prayer flags embellish the whitewashed dome of Bouda Stupa, a Buddhist temple. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

The dome is delightfully free of guard rails or chiding from security. There is, however, a stern ‘No TikTok’ sign, perhaps in response to the youth’s newly flexed power. The booted-out Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was replaced in a resounding election victory in March by 35-year-old Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) – a former rapper and mayor of Kathmandu. The RSP’s manifesto indicates tourism is a priority, and that Nepal’s cultural identity in areas such as gastronomy will be strengthened.

Boudha Stupa vendors — Vibrant souvenir shops and cafes around Boudha Stupa. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

A more confronting stop awaits at Pashupatinath Temple. Today is Bala Chaturdashi, a Hindu festival where thousands of devotees gather to honour their dead ancestors. Vendors hauling foam mattresses do a lucrative trade as people set up for a night of vigil. This includes burning the bodies of recently deceased relatives on bamboo pyres in the Bagmati River, which flows into the sacred Ganges.

A woman at annual Hindu festival Bala Chaturdashi, in Kathmandu. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Wrapped in a shroud, the bodies are positioned with their heads facing north to the Himalayas where Lord Shiva resides. They’re covered with flowers and straw and set alight by male family members.

Hours later, the ashes are swept into the river where devotees will take a holy dip the next day. As much as Monica assures us it’s not voyeuristic to watch, I struggle to do so. “Here you see the reality of life because everyone ends up there,” she says, gesturing to the river.

Life unfiltered in the Terai region

tharu woman — Tharu woman and master weaver Parbati Chaudhary in Bhada Village. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The reality of life needs processing time, which the western Terai region delivers in spades. The Terai is largely separated from India by the Karnali River and Bardiya National Park, where elephants, rhinos and the elusive Bengal tiger roam.

Once a nomadic tribe, the Indigenous Tharu people are now the largest ethnic group here. “They didn’t know their daily life was interesting for international travellers but they’re starting to understand now,” says CHN founder Shiva.

Take a Jeep safari through Bardiya National Park. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

We fly Buddha Air to Dhangadhi airport and drive five hours to stay in Tharu homes. The journey to Bhada village is a blur of roadside fruit stalls, traffic-stopping sacred cows and fields sown with wheat, rice, mustard, spinach, cauliflower and potatoes. Nepal’s agriculture feeds only Nepal.

Marigolds are an important part of Hindu rituals. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

“The only thing we export is young people,” says our guide Bikal. As the light dims and we plunge evermore rural, mysterious mounds of compacted hay – some house-sized – loom like the creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Even our trusty driver gets flummoxed by a dirt road that abruptly ends and we find ourselves hurtling across a paddock.

On arrival, some are ferried to mud-walled cottages greened by gourd creepers, with thatched roofs and rustic-chic mosquito nets. Myself and two others are ushered to the home of corner store owner, mechanic and mushroom farmer Man Kumar Chilaruwa and his wife Rajkumari.

community homestay entrance — A warm welcome at a community homestay. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

They escort us to a bunker-esque back building with steel doors and a folding security gate, behind which is gleaming linoleum, dolphin-printed tiles and a shower cavity that must be gingerly stepped through to reach the toilet.

The ceiling lights emit a rainbow of colours (the bathroom light gets stuck in, frankly, a quite frightening red). We’re nevertheless touched that our hosts invested in all this bling when the average salary is around $275 a month.

In the coming days, we participate in Tharu traditions such as making moonshine, dancing, weaving straw handicrafts and gold-panning. We’re fed well with staples of rice, mustard greens, lentil pancakes, daal, curried chicken and tomato chutney served on antibacterial saal leaves.

food at community homestay — Dig in. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Sonara community homestay president Indradevi Tharu tells us river snails are often served, and the boiled and pickled flesh of rats hunted in the rice fields. “Perhaps next time?” we say and all have a laugh.

The power of community homestays

community homestay owners in Nepal — Barda community homestay owners Parbati Chaudhary and Ram Krishni Devi Chaudhary. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

Immersing Western visitors in foreign cultural practices is not new. But with the Tharu, I never get that uneasy sensation that I’m being performed for. Despite being the only tourists, there’s no ‘othering’; just warm, composed and ultra-dignified welcomes. Like we’ve always been here.

“I love to have travellers in my village so I can see the world,” says local woman Parbati Chaudhary. “Why would I travel the world when the world comes to me?”

The graceful acceptance the Tharu offer, as well as the slow pace, works miracles on my frazzled nervous system. One day I even take a nap on a vacant homestay bed.

Sonara community room — An authentic stay in the Sonara community. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Roosters strut and goats bray as we sit on the ground in al fresco kitchens, rolling rice flour into cylinders steamed to make dhikri (dumplings). When water is needed, we fetch it using a hand-operated pump as a family of ducks strolls by, side-eying us like curious neighbours.

Animal lovers will delight in Tharu villages. Kind and resourceful inventions are everywhere, such as snacking stations where two posts lean together, with leafy boughs dangling on rope for baby goats to forage from.

CHN’s CEO, Aayusha Prasain, nods knowingly when one in our group says she cried when she left her host, Shayam Chaudhary, in Bhada. Shayam’s 17-year-old son, Prashant, had translated, which deepened the connection.

“Community tourism turns travel into a relationship, not a transaction,” says Aayusha. “It places decision-making power in the hands of local communities, especially women and youth.” Since 2018, CHN has hosted more than 4000 travellers from 52 countries in 408 households, and estimates women’s participation has increased by 381 per cent.

In the Bardiya community, where vexing human-animal conflict has been a balancing act for decades due to elephants raiding crops, long-time homestay operator Salik Ram Chaudhary says young people keep the older ones on their toes.

“We can’t keep homestays stagnant,” he says. “We have to upgrade our service and redefine our product or young people won’t see it as an attractive business. If we can keep evolving with this travelling trend we’re confident the youths will stay and continue it.”

Back in Kathmandu, Monica explains that after the deaths of young protestors in September, a determination had spread to not let their sacrifice be in vain. “We want to keep holding the government accountable,” she says. “We don’t know what situation we’re facing, but we’re ready to face it.”

Interested in Nepal but prefer to experience it in total comfort? Read our guide to luxury travel in Nepal.

Here’s what it’s like flying Premium Economy with China Southern Airlines

Is it worth parting with some hard-earned cash or points for a premium economy upgrade flying to Guangzhou with China Southern Airlines? Here’s what you need to know.

Pre-departure

The seat

Food and beverage

Entertainment

Service

Verdict

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