bethzfl

What resources do you all use (ie: Orbitz, cheaptickets) to look for plane fares? We're interested in going to Hong Kong for 2 weeks next year. I'm confused about the airports, though.. Is Hong Kong airport the best way to go (HKG)? Thanks in advance for any help

Kathie

I find that the individual airline websites have better prices than places like orbitz and travelocity, etc. So use the general websites to look for airline and routing options, then check prices at the websites of the specific airline.

I'm confused about your question about airports... If it's Hong Kong you are headed for, there is just one airport (HKG). There are airports in nearby places, like Macau, but I don't know of any trans-pacific flights that land there.

rkkwan

There's only one airport in Hong Kong, HKG, as Kathie describes. The only "probable" alternate is the new CAN at Guangzhou, China, which as non-stops from LAX (China Southern) and Tokyo (Northwest). [United is also applying for service there, I believe.] It's several hour by bus/train to Hong Kong with an extra border crossing, and if you're American, you'll need Chinese visas. Prices are also not very low, so really not worth considering.

For non-peak season traveling, you can just book through major US Airline's websites. UA have daily flights from SFO and ORD, plus connection via NRT. NW has daily (sometimes twice daily) from NRT. CO has 5 times a week from EWR.

Cathay Pacific flies from LAX, SFO, JFK, plus the Canadian airports of YYZ and YVR, for a total of about 7-8 flights a day from N. America; but they almost always have higher fares than the US-based airlines.

Booking directly from airline's website usually avoid extra costs ($10+ per tickets, these days). But there are times where you can't book the cheaper fares on the airline's website, like major holidays; or times where you need to connect elsewhere for another airline. Then you need to use other websites.

For example, for my Christmas travel, a pure-Continental itinerary via EWR is about $1,500; while returning via Tokyo (on Cathay for HKG-NRT) is about $1,100. But that can't be booked on continental.com, so I used Orbitz. My sister also booked DFW-NRT-HKG on Orbitz recently on a mixed AA/CX/JL/AA itinerary, and they seem to have the most extensive choices among the major airline websites.

Another way is to get it through a travel agent specialized in HK/China/Asia travel, like those in your nearby Chinatown.

To get a glimpse of possible itineraries and costs, try beta.itasoftware.com. You can't book through them, but you can get an idea what fares are out there.

One low fare that pops up pretty often is via Korean Air (or Delta codeshare) via Seoul (ICN). But check the return time. For many itineraries, you need to fly HKG-ICN in the middle of the night, arriving in Seoul like 5am, and then wait many hours there for your US-bound return. Be careful!

easytraveler

You didn't mention whether you have hotels reserved or relatives to stay with.

I would recommend that, if you need a hotel, to look into the package deals - airfare plus hotel. A number of airlines offer these packages. The package would cost a lot less than if you were to book separately by yourself and package prices tend to be a bit more stable than just airfare alone.

rkkwan

Airfares from N. America to HKG are very stable in 2004. For example, from Houston, it's been around $780 on weekdays for most of the year on UA or CO. Slightly more on weekends. NW used to be cheaper, but not quite this year. And significantly more if you're trying to go around Christmas.

It's cheaper from the West Coast, and sometime from New York/Newark. It's usually cheaper on Korean Air (via Seoul) or China Airlines (Taipei), but all those add to travel time, or have poor connection. As I said, CX usually has higher fares, and so does SQ (to/from San Fran).

Fares have been stable because while travel has recovered this year (no SARS, no war), airlines have not increased capacity in any significant way. CX adds a non-stop to JFK, but that's it. UA still only has 3 flights to/from HKG, from SFO/ORD/NRT. At one time or another, they have flights from LAX and JFK. They'd rather have 747-400s sitting in the desert than flying.

Northwest is again only flying once daily to from NRT to HKG, and on some days twice. No non-stop from US. [At one time, they have a 2nd from Seoul.] This is despite addition feed from their partner Continental at Narita. Delta at one time flew to HKG, but no more. SQ flies SFO-HKG once a day, just like it did 10 or 15 years ago.

There used to be CP and AC flights from Canada, but after AC bought out CP, they are again down to just 2-3 flights a day from HKG, and with the smaller 340 and not 747.

Last year (2003), there were more cheap deals to HKG. I flew PVD-YYZ-YVR-HKG on AC for about $600 only; but this year very few such deals.

As for air/hotel packages, I seldom see any that's significantly cheaper than getting them seperately. Not saying never, as I saw a deal on China Airlines just recently for Chinese New Year 2005. Excellent package with several fancy meals included, for not much than just airfare. But those are just one-time deals that are not always available.