inter china air travel
 

hi. i'm planning a two week trip to china and would like to visit beijing, xian, kunming, dali and lijiang. do i need to purchase air tickets in advance, before leaving the states? or can i walk up to a ticket counter for a flight that day? and which airlines would you recommend, to take or to avoid? thanks.

Unless you travel during Spring Festival, around the first week of May or the first week of October, there is very rarely any difficulty getting on a flight the same day. However it is better to buy the ticket from an agent, and ask for a discount, a day or two in advance. But even on the day, at the airport, try asking for a discount, too.<BR><BR>The main domestic airlines between the cities you mentioned are much the same. For the last few flights you only have the choice of China Yunnan, which is fine. China Southern is usually voted the most popular airline with Chinese people, and is China's largest.<BR><BR>Peter N-H<BR>http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

peter, thanks for the info on flights. also glad to get the heads up as we are planning the trip to begin the last days of april and into the first week of may. any festivals or such we might look into catching? thanks again. reiko

Not sure about any festivals, but this year the public holiday will run from April 29th thru May 5th. During this time, you may find it difficult to secure last minute transportation.

The US air travel system and the Chinese internal air travel system are not tied together very well. I had a ticket issued in the US for an internal Chinese flight, and when I got to the airport they said it had to be exchanged, so I missed my flight, and the next flight was three days later. Once in Beijing, a travel agent there should be able to book tickets that are accepted on internal Chinese flights

hi, did you get a good rate to china, did you use a travel agent??<BR><BR>thanks

gustavo,<BR><BR>Where are you flying from/to? Lately, we've been flying China Eastern from LAX into Shanghai or Beijing. The roundtrip cost is approx. $650 for economy and $1550 for business class. I use a local agent that specializes in travel to Asia. As far as I know, you can't book internal China flights from the U.S. unless it's part of an international routing (i.e. a stopover in Beijing, then onto Shanghai). Internal flights can be booked thru travel agencies once in China, and unlike U.S. domestic flights, there isn't a huge difference between discounted and full fare prices. <BR><BR>BTW I just found out the holiday this year will run thru May 7th not 5th.

to purchase internal China flights, can you purchase using a credit card? or do I have to have cash?

When booking directly with the airline you can usually use a credit card, but you'll have to go in person. It's usually better to book a day or two in advance with an agent and negotiate a discount. Most transactions are still done in cash (the sums for most domestic routes are not large, after all) and there's a far greater choice of agents if cash is used. Some will charge a few per cent more if you use a card.<BR><BR>Peter N-H<BR>http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

I've always paid with a credit card but yes, sometimes the agencies will add a processing charge.