Ever bought domestic air tickets on chinatripadvisor.com ?
 

All different fares on the same flight and also on all domestic flights seem to have the same exact rules, regardless of the lowest or highest fare:

Before 24-hour of the flight departing, the time of flight can be changedOne way ticket: it does not pay the commission of refund ticket. The time of
flight can be changed after the flight departing or within 24-hour(included). One way: to accept the cancellation fee of 5% ticket fare.

I ask them to clarify and got following answers whici are still confusing to me me:

"Dear Sir/Madam,>> It depends which flight you book. If you book full price (no discount) ecnomy class seat, you can cancel it 24 hours. 5% cancellation fee will be applied.>> You can change the ticket to a new date for free"

and then again after my intermediate new question:

"Dear Sir/Madam,Lowest price tickets has more cancellation fees than hight price and some cheap tickets cannot be cancelled.If your schedule is fixed, then you can just choose the cheapest one. If your schedule is uncertain, then you may buy the full price (100%), only 5% cancellation fee is charged. ( please note transaction fee is non-refundable)best regards,"


I know that more flexibility is higher fare and less flexibility is cheaper but nevertheless I cannot see any specific rule for each specific fare so I am not sure what I am really buying !!

Do you have experience on buying domestic tickets with www.chinatripadvisor.com ?? Where could I get more clear information ?? Of course the web fares of the single airlines or other search engines are more expensive.. !!

Have only used Ctrip and like them.

Fabio, I've not used chinatripadvisor, but they are one of the companies that periodically spams this board. For that reason alone, I would refrain from using them.

thanks a lot !

I have just registered to ctrip and looks great !! they have same or better fares than chinatripadvisor and fare rules are clearly marked for each flight !! thanks again !!!

Experts: I just tried to check (domestic, one-way) flights for a date in March 2010 on C-Trip. The search does not seem to go through. Is it possible that:

1. I need to sign in before trying to search

2. The date is too far away

??? Thanks!!!

Experts: Please disregard the above query. I figured it out...you have to click on "flights" and not try to check flights from the box on the upper left of the home page. Sorry to be such a dolt.

For anyone who has booked with this site: What is the refund option in case of change or cancellation of trip? Anything to be aware of in general?

ekscrunchy

you come to the same results even from the box on the upper left corner of the home page, then, click on the filed "details" under the column ticket policy for any change or cancellation fees.
I am also new to this tool and find it great, nevertheless I have just written them asking how to book 3 adults and one child on the same flight. The site provides some information how to do it but I am unable to add any child to adults before entering my credit card details so I assume I have to book and pay for 3 adults first and then another reservation only for the child with a separate payment. I am waiting a reply from them. Does anybody know how to do it in a different way ? thanks !!!

Fabio and EK -- usually C-Trip lists domestic airfares and hotel prices 60 days in advance of the date(s) you put in, that's why it won't show 3/2010. And the closer you get to your desired date, more discounts show up. If needed, the agents speak good english and very polite. Tickets can be held at their airport counters or delivered to your hotels upon request. They deliver to local offices and homes too. We did a 4 city one-way flights/hotels order from them last year and they didn't miss a beat.

EK: Since I book 7 days in advance, didn't look into the refund option, you can send an inquiry tho. Also if you'd like to "practice and check rates", just put in 8/25/09.

My DS says Ni Hao to you, she is involved in a US based economy hotel chain starting in Shanghai, the design looks 4*, rooms are more european, small and no tubs.

Shanghainese

Thanks very much for your info. I have just completed my reservation request for domestic flight Xian-Shanghai on 08SEP09 and all 4 seats (3adults+1child) are booked !!!

Fare is not that bad, CNY 660 + 50 tax for the adults and 630 with no tax for the child, and it seems there is never a lower fare than this even in the next days from now. That closer to the departure dates more discounts show up is true but only if flight is still wide open and available. Some flights on the same route but in different days closer to today show only higher fares !!

Thanks again to all of you !! I like ctrip.com very much !! fabio

As I choosed to pay with credit card online I entered all the credit card details during the reservation request process. Afterwards they sent me the written confirmation of our reservation. Now they wrote me that in addition to the already provided online credit card details they need a fax or scanned copy by mail of:

1) signed credit card autorization form for the total amount
2) copy of my credit card, front and back
3) copy of the passport page where my signature is placed.

I followed their instructions so I did th fax, but now, on second thought, I wonder why they requested 2) and 3).

Don't you find it a bit unusual ? Was I too fast to do it ? I guess and hope they are reliable, but I need your comments..... thanks

They have only asked for 1), not 2) and 3), probably because I have used for so long. If you have doubts, when you land in China, go to their counter and re-confirm.

Anyone else experienced 2) and 3)?

I booked through travelzen.com and they did not ask for 2) and 3). I believe ctrip and elong ask for 2)and 3) if you use an international credit card.

Domestic air fares in China are usually much cheaper about 1 week before travel time. It is too early to book now for March 2010. Their schedule may change causing rescheduling or flight cancellation.

I forgot to mention that there is no fee on travelzen.com where I believe ctrip and elong charge 3% for using a credit card.

thanks to all of you

yes I used an international credit card (visa) issued in my country and they charge 3% commission on top.

My domestic trip Xian to Shanghai is on 8th Sep 2009 and the fare I found of RMB 660 is the lowest posible, booked in W class. It might be that a few days before departure a lower fare shows up which might be not refundable and no changes allowed, but I have some doubts that it will be much lower than RMB 500 so not that big difference at the end.... full economy fare is over RMB 1600

I have now checked travelzen.com and they have the exact same fares as ctrip: RMB 660 each adult and RMB 630 for the child.
As I already did everything with ctrip, including the fax of all reauested documents, I cannot switch now to another provider. I think I can survive with the 3% commission, however nice to know that travelzen.com does not charge it.

They wrote me right now that everything was fine with the payment and that they have issued e-tickets for us but they cannot send them to my mailbox ??!! They offered to post them to an appointed address in China.

Ok, I can give them our hotel address, but why cannot they send them to me by e-mail ??

This is my first trip to China and I never imagined that everything is so complicated.... !!!

Fabio: Many thanks for posting the details of the process of buying tickets on C-Trip. I am an e-ticket novice and very leery of buying this way. I guess I need to acclimate to the 21st Century!

I am no China expert, having been only once, but I would feel comfortable having them sent to your hotel. Let's see if the experts concur. I will have a similar problem myself, as I may book a ticket for a connecting flight..but will not bore everyone with those details now, but good to know that the tix can be held at airport counters, as I may need to pursue this option..thanks, Shanghainese for that last tip!

Also, an agent in Burma who was going to try to book my tickets also requested a photocopy of my passport details page, which I sent by postal mail. I guess this is necessary to book flights in some places...

S: A big Ni Hao to both of my favorite Shanghainese sisters! This is exciting news about the hotel chain..tell her that I would not miss a tub! I will be checking in closer to my visit for the latest eating tips! With only a couple of nights I have to plan precisely! Maybe two lunches per day (??))

Did you ask for paper tickets? Most tickets these days are e-tickets where you only print out the confirmation nos. to show at the airport.

ekscrunchy, HappyMom32 thanks for your messages

At the end of this day, after many back and forth mails to ctrip.com I see the whole matter also very funny !!

- I had asked e-tickets, just to avoid pick up at the airports and have the chance to print out the receipts or confirmation nos as you say HappyMom32
- they wrote me it is not possible for them neither to fax me the receipts (too expensive?) nor to send me by e-mail a scanned copy of these receipts (they do not have a scanner)
- they offered to deliver the receipts at Shanghai airport, but I replied that being the flight Xian TO Shanghai it was completely useless
- they can fax the receipts only to a chinese fax nbr so at the end I gave them my hotel fax nbr. Better than nothing !!
- I even do not have a PNR number with our reservations to call the airline directly and ask them our receipts.
- In the "contact us" page of Shanghai Airlines there is no email address to contact but only street addresses and phone numbers in China and some other asian countries.
- I will have now to call Asia from Europe just to try to talk to someone of the airline asking to email me the receipts.....

..... after I have spelled them our surnames, flight number, date, and not before they have understood correctly every details of our reservations and have found us on their passenger list during an expensive long distance phone call.

Sorry you had to go thru all that, better experience next time.

Oh, dear.

So this appears to rule out the possibility of using C-Trip to book a flight for which I would have to pick up a ticket at Kunming airport on the day of arrival...(I would be flying into Kunming and connecting with a Shanghai Air or China Eastern flight to Shanghai)..am I thinking clearly here based on what Fabio just reported??

BTW: Shanghai Air was planning a merge with China Eastern but the deal has just fallen through...

The whole process looks to me very complicated but not impossible if you are very patient...

Paper tickets can be delivered at your preferred chinese hotel address in advance. E-tickets receipts only faxed to a chinese fax number. Ctrip tells that we can check in with e-tickets at the airline counter just only with the passport.

At the end I found an e-mail address of Shanghai Airlines on their website and asked them directly to email me our flight and tickets details. They were very fast and this morning I received our confirmed reservation with ticket numbers and reference numbers.

For me it was just a matter to have at least something printed out to show the airline at check in, even though it would not be strictly necessary if they already have all details, but you know...... who knows ??

ekscrunchy: check also the mentioned travelzen.com how they deal with tickets delivery after you have completed the payment process

ekscrunchy

Here is a part of their FAQ section:

""""""""""""
What ticket delivery options are available?
Tickets will be delivered to you based upon your own request.
Tickets can be picked up at the airport counter or at our company (addresses are listed can be found during the China flight booking process)

Travelers booking e-tickets can check in at the airport counter by showing valid identification or passport.


What is the difference between paper tickets and E-tickets?
Paper tickets will be delivered to the address you provide or can be picked up at various Ctrip offices or airport counters.
For travelers booking e-tickets, check in at the airport counter by showing valid identification or a passport.
"""""""""""""

Check well ctrip airport office opening hours in Kunming if it is doable during your transit with your arrival time and departure time to Shanghai

oops sorry above are ctrip.com FAQ, not travelzen.com

with travelzen, e tickets were e mailed to me. I just printed them out and checked in at the airport. The process was very smooth.

I did buy air tickets from ctrip once after I was already in Beijing, over the phone. The paper tickets were delivered to my hotel free of charge.

Thanks HappyMom32

Yes, ok with ctrip for paper tickets delivered to the hotel for free. What I found not ok with ctrip is they did not email me e-tickets like it is done and expected all over the world.

Excellent information. Many thanks! I will attempt the ticket purchase next month, so will likely have more questions and a tale to tell.

I also have my iron in the fire with Agent Hanuman's personal agent in Bangkok...

Hopefully, one of these options will pan out and I will be able to get out of Burma and on to Shanghai!

try to check for fares at all the websites (ctrip, travelzen and elong). I find that sometimes there are deep discounts on ctrip but not on the other sites. They don't all list the same flights or fares.

Fares do fluctuate a lot. Sometimes a sale will disappear but will come back a few days later.

It is worth it to hold off and wait until it is close to travel date, unless you have no flexibility on the flight time.

Have fun planning.

Hi Fabio

If you were going to buy the soft sleeper train tickets from Bejing to Xian, try to do that ASAP when you get to China.

I was not able to get train tickets for all 4 of us in the same cabin. Only the upper bunks were available and I did not want to split the family and share the cabin with two strangers. This forced me to book air tickets only 1 day a head of the planned day and it turned out that the air fares were cheaper than the train fares.

We had a fabulous time though as you can see in the trip report that I posted.

HAVE A GREAT TIME IN CHINA

HappyMom32

Thanks for your suggestion !

I requested to book all 4 of us in the same soft berth cabin Beijing to Xian already some weeks ago. Chinatripadvisor.com told me they will do their best and if not we can try switch to one of the two other overnight trains departing more or less at the same time. Our train trip will be on 5th september evening so thanks for your reminder. I will write them now to see if tickets are now already on sale for that day !!

By the way, as I expected, flight fares Xian to Shanghai have dropped to RMB 500+50, no change or refund allowed, so this is not tha much less than what I have paid (660+50).

For sure I will read your trip report !!! thanks again !!

Question:

I am in Shanghai now and want to book air from Shanghai to Xian for Tuesday morning (it's late Sunday night for me). I realize I cannot book within 24 hours of the flight so I'll need to act quickly in the morning.

Would it be better for me to have our hotel book tickets in the morning (Mon) for us as I've heard there is a better price once here in China, is this true?

I did check prices and they have come down from $171 to $114 each on the internet.

****
Re: sleeper train. I had a friend who works here in China book my Z train 2-berth sleeper car (with toilet :) ) and at first all seats were blocked/booked by the government. It wasn't until this week that they secured our sleepers for us.

Hope you can get what you are looking for, Fabio. Can your hotel assist you to purchase your train tickets?

Hi BeachGirl

I could not get the hotel's staff to book the same air tickets for me at the same price. They said that for that particular price that I want I would have to book with ctrip (or the website where I found the fare).

Booking by phone with ctrip will get you the same price as those listed on the internet. If you don't feel like going through the hassle of photocopying, faxing the credit card, the authorization form etc. , try to call ctrip and they will deliver the tickets to your hotel for free. I did this in Beijing though, not sure about Shanghai.

I find that travelzen.com has the best internet procedure though but sometimes they don't have the same lowest fares as ctrip.

good luck

As fa as I know ctrip also offers the option of tickets payment by credit card or cash at their airport office at time of tickets delivery, if you choose this option. This would avoid the complicated fax procedure used when payment is online with an international credit card.

Yes, chinatripadvisor replied me today (sunday!!) that our tickets have already been purchased on my requested train and that we are all 4 booked in the same soft berth compartment. They will deliver our tickets at our hotel once we get there !

I just bought tickets on travelzen.com (thanks Happymom! for travel tomorrow between Shanghai & Xi'an. All I had to enter were names and passport numbers. No copies required.

Glad you got your compartment, Fabio! Be sure to bring toilet paper and sanitizing wipes if you haven't read about the shared toilet.

The planning is fun, isn't it!

bookmarked for the toilet paper !! thanks !!!

we are leaving august 31st !!! can't wait.. !!!

would be nice if you will report about xian ! I read somewhere that it is suggested to visit the 3 warriors areas in the opposit order, starting from no. 3, than 2 than 1 !!

HAPPY TRAVELS, FABIO!!

thanks ekscrunchy !!

all the best for your trip planning !