SkyTeam - JFK - HKG on China Eastern?? (newbie)

Apologies in advance if I am not posting on the right forum..

I am looking to go to HKG this Dec (fairly flexible, just want to be there for about two weeks over Christmas).
I would like to fly with a skyteam member to get MQMs - the cheapest fare I can find (just about an hour into my research) is out from JFK on China Eastern for $872 ai. (which I will use my miles to get me from SLC-JFK)

But after a brief research on CE, I am not sure if that is the smartest thing to do (given the horrifying reviews)... any experience/advice with the airline? or new route for me to get to HKG?

Thanks a million!!
Heidi

Make sure you have the most up-to-date visa information.

Although currently, making a connection at PVG does not require a visa.

But who knows?

good idea, thanks - I will def look into that.
I wonder if I can do a stop-over in PVG? always wanted to visit shanghai!

Be sure your booking class is eligible to MQM as cheapest MU fares are often excluded.

If you do a stop-over, you will need a visa.

Be sure your booking class is eligible to MQM as cheapest MU fares are often excluded.

If you do a stop-over, you will need a visa.

Yes, stopping in Shanghai you'll need a visa, which is fairly easy to get..

Why not DL? They offer competitive fares for HKG (via NRT/HND or DTW) and are better service/product-wise.

With MU, if a flight is delayed or cancelled, you're pretty much alone. No personal TVs fleet-wide in Y and as said previously, many of the cheaper fares are not eligible for miles.

Non-SkyTeam alternatives would be Cathay Pacific or Continental (EWR), both nonstop flights. Air China also offers low fares for JFK-PEK-HKG, and they're slightly better than China Eastern.

[QUOTE=toyotaboy95;16696850]Why not DL? They offer competitive fares for HKG (via NRT/HND or DTW) and are better service/product-wise.
QUOTE]

cannot find anything on DL that's less than $1500 in Dec, am I doing something wrong?

Why not DL? They offer competitive fares for HKG (via NRT/HND or DTW) and are better service/product-wise.


cannot find anything on DL that's less than $1500 in Dec, am I doing something wrong?

That's pretty much the "high-end" for discount Economy fares to HKG. But then again, it is December (Christmas season), and DL is an American carrier, so Americans would generally fly DL to HKG for the holidays.

If you do a stop-over, you will need a visa.

Yes, stopping in Shanghai you'll need a visa, which is fairly easy to get.. .

I thought that Shanghai has the 48-hour-transit-without-visa exception as long as you can show you have an onward ticket within 48 hrs of arrival:

http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=US&AR=00&PASSTYPES=PASS&DE=HK&TR=CN&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C

Yep, I forgot. I just remained on the same day exception at CAN.

I thought that Shanghai has the 48-hour-transit-without-visa exception as long as you can show you have an onward ticket within 48 hrs of arrival:

http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=US&AR=00&PASSTYPES=PASS&DE=HK&TR=CN&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C

Still effective?

All depends on your nationality...
You have a powerfull search engine here (http://www.iatatravelcentre.com/). You enter all your info: nationality, origin, destination and the website will give you your visa requirement.