Cheap China Flts

[Cruiser Elite]

Anybody looking to head to China in next few months make sure you do a broad search for available flts and pricing. I have played around with Google Flights and plenty J ret MEL-PVG/PEK etc ~$2,200 mark - damn cheap and good timings.

Seems as though the Chinese carriers are handing on the lower fuel prices by way of lower tix cost much more than other carriers.

 

[Fiches Mouser]

Anybody looking to head to China in next few months make sure you do a broad search for available flts and pricing. I have played around with Google Flights and plenty J ret MEL-PVG/PEK etc ~$2,200 mark - damn cheap and good timings.

Seems as though the Chinese carriers are handing on the lower fuel prices by way of lower tix cost much more than other carriers.

Thanks for the heads up CE. Any gems? Who has the best J product into China?

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Direct with CA for $3K or via CAN with CZ for $2.2K - many more options also.

 

[Buzzard]

Shame I don't have the time to go to China :-|

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Shame I don't have the time to go to China :-|

I am seriously thinking to book CZ just for a fews days away for no reason - can get 2 rides in 380 J - so tempted.

 

[mushez]

That is tempting

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Many of the CZ $2.2Kers seem to have disappeared - I can still see CA direct for $3K - Sichuan showing sub $2.2K into Chengdu if anybody wants to go see some Panads.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

CA has some very good pricing, but it comes and goes pretty quickly. It's not uncommon to see CA in the $4000+ range and 'sold out' at certain times. But it has a good product (food aside, which is 'passable', but the champagne is chilled, the beds are long and flat, and the service is generally pretty good)

CZ has the issue of connecting in CAN. Horror stories of passengers who have miss connections and there's little or no assistance, and a language barrier. Unless you speak chinese and really need to go via CAN, I'd probably avoid it. Lucky's (onemileatatime) assessment of CZ is not entirely favourable.

MU has some good fares, but you need to check your aircraft type. Unless it's changed recently, one of the daily flights out of MEL was angled lie flats rather than full flats. What makes the chinese carriers excellent value for money is (a) non-stop and (b) the full flats. If you can't get one or both, you may be disappointed.

Sichuan Airlines is in the same boat - angled lie flats.

 

[mushez]

First search - CZ fares BNE-WUX for $1,833 AUD in J for late March - just now.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

First search - CZ fares BNE-WUX for $1,833 AUD in J for late March - just now.

to WUX? (edited, I see you have changed that) i found the $1833 - but that was each way.

 

[mushez]

to WUX? (edited, I see you have changed that) i found the $1833 - but that was each way.

Ahhh - correct. My bad. Was thinking I might suck up and fly CZ again, not at +++ $2.5k return

I did get 8600 RMB return if ordering via the Chinese site which is around $1,860 AUD - and that was suppose to include taxes - but didn't go further to see if any other add on charges were done and switched to AU website for CZ - so didn't question when I saw $1833 price.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Whilst I have never flown CZ MEL-CAN I have flown them a number of times intra Asia and they are fine - indeed I will be on board again next month connecting through CAN ending up in PEK.

CZ short haul hard and soft product on par with other second tier Asian carriers - they are no SQ or CX but they get the job done - as most are aware for shorter haul schedules are more important. On that point the only delays I have ever had with CZ have been out of SHA - need I say any more? I know guys who have flown CZ MEL-CAN-PEK/PVG and have not heard tragic stories of delays / cancellations - that part would not worry me.

As for the experience on CAN as a J pax I have found it fine - lounge whilst not spectacular is adequate for a couple hours - have never spent longer their. English problems in China are a thing of the past - you can go nowhere in China today and not find a young Chinese person within 5mtrs of you who is not willing and capable of translating for you - that problem is a thing of the past.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Whilst I have never flown CZ MEL-CAN I have flown them a number of times intra Asia and they are fine - indeed I will be on board again next month connecting through CAN ending up in PEK.

CZ short haul hard and soft product on par with other second tier Asian carriers - they are no SQ or CX but they get the job done - as most are aware for shorter haul schedules are more important. On that point the only delays I have ever had with CZ have been out of SHA - need I say any more? I know guys who have flown CZ MEL-CAN-PEK/PVG and have not heard tragic stories of delays / cancellations - that part would not worry me.

As for the experience on CAN as a J pax I have found it fine - lounge whilst not spectacular is adequate for a couple hours - have never spent longer their. English problems in China are a thing of the past - you can go nowhere in China today and not find a young Chinese person within 5mtrs of you who is not willing and capable of translating for you - that problem is a thing of the past.

English speaking can be a problem, and I'm not sure anyone can rely on a 'young chinese person' at midnight or 2am at CAN (when the airport is empty) to sit there and patiently translate everything for you (baggage collection, TWOV, bus to hotel, hotel, bus back from the hotel, meal allowance, phone allowance, new flight options, new flight ticket details).

Sure there's no problem when things go as planned but unfortunately that's of little help when your flight is delayed. While no airport in China has a particularly good reputation for accommodating non-Chinese speakers during IRROPS, CAN is the one I have read most of the problems about.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Have you ever flown CZ MEL?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Have you ever flown CZ MEL?

I have, but only domestic. They were fine. I have also encountered lengthy issues at CAN trying to get a CZ ticket reissued.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Examples of what I was talking about - I have a trade show in Shanghai May so I have CX J MEL-HKG-PVG on pts through AA and SQ F ret - but quick Google Flights search for my dates yields these J results:

Direct with CA A$3158:



Direct with MU A$2994:



The ultra cheap CZ disappeared but 1 conn CAN A$3037:



Plenty other dates similar prices - as MEL consistently posts CA excellent product - I know some pretty sharp guys on FT swear MU service PVG-SIN-PVG on 330 as good as SQ - can't have it myself but they swear by it - I have done MU MEL-PVG on 330 and it was fine - would readily do it again. Anyways the deals are there if of interest.

 

[mushez]

I know some pretty sharp guys on FT swear MU service PVG-SIN-PVG on 330 as good as SQ - can't have it myself but they swear by it - I have done MU MEL-PVG on 330 and it was fine - would readily do it again. Anyways the deals are there if of interest.

Having done both SQ and MU on SIN-PVG-SIN - I would equally concur that there is little difference - other than maybe food served.

But that is not suggesting the MU is overall better than SQ - but rather SQ seems to be lackluster on this route than their normal standard.

While on topic but going off topic - I found the same with SQ SIN-CGK the one time I flew it around 5 years ago.

I prefer and rather MU because of their 2 x 23kg baggage allowance - which is the same allowance in all classes of travel - Y & J equally - as the 46kg allowance matches up with my EK allowance as Gold from BNE-SIN.

I would fly direct on MU - BNE-PVG if J was under $2,400 and if and when they fly ex BNE later in the year - otherwise my $700 flights in Y with EK to SIN, then after overnight in SIN the $400-500 in Y flights on MU from SIN-PVG the following day suit me fine.


The ONLY issue I have with MU - and any mainland China carrier on that point - is Chinese Civil Aviation prohibit the usage of any mobile phone device at any time during any flight. So if you get out your iphone in flight mode during any flight, and a flight attendant sees you - they will ask you to switch it off and put it away as it is prohibited. Normally I just use my Iphone to listen to all my music, but on Chinese Carriers, I have to pull out my Ipod Classic and use, because they get upset when I use the Iphone to do the same job.

 

[mushez]

The ONLY issue I have with MU - and any mainland China carrier on that point - is Chinese Civil Aviation prohibit the usage of any mobile phone device at any time during any flight. So if you get out your iphone in flight mode during any flight, and a flight attendant sees you - they will ask you to switch it off and put it away as it is prohibited. Normally I just use my Iphone to listen to all my music, but on Chinese Carriers, I have to pull out my Ipod Classic and use, because they get upset when I use the Iphone to do the same job.

Just was reading about someone flying CZ to NZ, and they didn't understand why they were asked to turn off and avoid using their kindle and thought it was bull they were told it was China Civil Aviation rules and applied to the flight for the entire flight, then it clicked - they are WIFI capable electronic device so banned during all parts of flight on any Chinese Mainland Carrier.

It is one of the major downsides of any mainland carrier, that their inflight entertainment is normally not that good, if they have one all - and you are limited extremely by what personal electronic devices you can use to entertain oneself.

The basic rule of thumb is if it can transmit or connect to WIFI, even in flight mode, you cannot use it at any time during the flight.