I'm leaving for Chengdu in less than a week. Most of my inside-China travel will be by inter-city bus, and I will end up in Kunming (KMG). My return to the U.S. is from BangkoK. So I have to fly from KMG to BKK.

O/W airfare on TG or MU from KMG to BKK is $293(!), and I am resigned to getting hosed in paying it. I chose not to buy ahead of time because Expedia and similar bookers want $5 per ticket fee plus $20 to ship paper tickets to me.

I will be passing through airports in PEK and CTU. Am I more likely to get a discount from China Eastern's in-airport ticket office, or should I look for a travel agent in Chengdu? (There are three at the Traffic Hotel alone.)

Bowgie

Am I more likely to get a discount from China Eastern's in-airport ticket office, or should I look for a travel agent in Chengdu? (There are three at the Traffic Hotel alone.)


Definitely use an agent. With the exception of certain promotional fares, agents often offer lower prices (and never higher) than then airlines themselves.

For example, I often fly AC between China and the US and, whenever I've called AC in the past, they've given me phone numbers of travel agents that undercut them by 40%+. In fact (while not relevent to you), one of them is near the Lido in Beijing, which is on the way to the airport for pretty much everyone.