shanghai
 

We will be in Shanghai the first week in July. We plan to fly from Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur. Which airline is the best to use--Air Asia. China Eastern, or others? Air Asia seems to have the best schedule. Is this a good airline to use ? Would you recommend other airlines instead?

Thanks!

Either airline is fine. Air Asia is a budget airline, so has a lower baggage limit and no assigned seating. But you can prepay for an increased luggage limit and for early boarding. Also, it will arrive at the budget airline terminal in KL with is a mile or two from the regular terminal in KL. This would only make a big difference for you if you were connecting to another flight.

air asia is fantastic....make sure to upgrade your luggage and also pay for special seats...

Why do we need to upgrade on Air Asia? What if we don't? What is different? We don't know much about Air Asia.

Bob's use of the term "upgrade" is perhaos confusing, as we normally think of an upgrade to a differnt class of service, e.g., business or first. There is no business or first clas on Air Asia. Air Asia is a budget carrier. As such, it has a restrictive baggage allowance, but you can buy extra baggage allowance online when you purchase your tickets. You can also buy early boarding. That avoids the scramble as there is not assigned seating.

Compare prices - while Air Asia can be very cheap, after you add the things you normally think of as standard, it may cost as much as a full service airline. Is Malaysian Air one of your choices from Shanghai to KL? If so, it's an excellent full-service carrier.

I think I paid $11.00 to have early boarding and a pre-assigned seat.

Air China is the number one airlines in China. So just book it.

Is Air China the same airline as Air Asia?

Air China is the Beijing-based major carrier of China. But it's not the largest in China - that would be China Southern based in Guangzhou. Air China, China Southern and Shanghai-based China Eastern (and 3 smaller airlines) were formed when the Chinese government broke up CAAC in 1987.

No relation at all to Air Asia, the Malaysian-based low cost carrier.

How do you book online for the upgrade on Air Asia? I can only get the economy to come up on the screen.

It's all economy on Air Asia, but you can book an additional baggage allowance and early boarding.

You will be given options of pre-paying for extra baggage weight and for choosing a pre-assigned seat during the booking process. I chose both at minimal cost.

As Kathie said check the MAS fares. Join on the MAS website as a member, sometimes MAS fares work out cheaper than Air Asia after the latter's add-ons for meals, more luggage allowance, priority boarding etc. MAS is often graded as 5 star airline on Skytrax, not sure about Air China's grade.

Is Hangzhow (HGH) Xiaoshan International Airport in Shanghai? On the Air Asia screen it has Hangzhow (Shanghai) listed. How far is it out of Shanghai?

About 180km/110mi.

It's Hangzhou, you can take a high speed train to Shanghai. There is a chinese saying -- There is heaven above, and there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth, you could stay overnight in Hangzhou, enjoy the sights and food.

Yes, high speed train from Hangzhou to Shanghai only takes an hour, but it doesn't go from HGH. Not like places like Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) where there is high speed rail service at the airport.

What is the best way to get to the Hangzhou airport (HGH)from Shanghai? We leave Hangzhou (HGH) at 2:10 in the afternoon. Does the train go all the way to the airport from Shanghai? How early should we leave Shanghai so we won't miss our flight?

We have learned since buying our ticket on Air Asia that it does not actually fly out of Shanghai, but from Hangzhou. The website lists Hangzhou (Shanghai) which is confusing. This is information for anyone flying out of Shanghai. We mistook Hangzhou for Hongqiao airport which is in Shanghai.
Now we know.