Dear Asia experts.... Which airline would you choose? Alas, we will be flying economy. Or should we bite the bullet and consider Singapore Airlines?

Where are you flying from and to where?

LAX-HKG in December.

neither would be my choice, but eastern would probably be my choice..

It's all white rice and chopsticks. Enjoy.

Your scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as service, comfort and quality go, I'm afraid, with those 2 choices.

If the price difference is doable for you, look into Cathay Pacific. They're the only carrier (as far as I know) who do that route nonstop from LAX.

Singapore is an option (through Tokyo) -- and is eons better than Air China or China Eastern -- but direct flights always trump IMHO.

Like others have said, take other if you have a choice. Air China through PEK will require you go through immigration and ask for a visa-free transit. China Eastern through PVG supposedly has airside transit there, but that is very new and not sure how smooth it runs.

Another reason to avoid either CA or MU is that delays in Chinese flights along the major corridors, including PEK-HKG and PVG-HKG have become very common. You'll be better off with a connection at NRT, ICN or TPE if you can't afford CX's non-stops.

Thank you so much for your replies. After reading some of the reviews, it's definitely Cathay Pacific non stop flight for us. This is my first visit to South East Asia. My SO has been to Japan on business but I'm a total newbie.