Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Can I book this and will they give me crap for it?

I will be in HKG in October vacationing with the wife and will be returning home to LAX.

Having learned much from these forums and resident gurus, I know a flight from TPE - LAX via HKG in F is much cheaper than a HKG-LAX in F directly.:D

SO... We need to figure out the best way to go from HKG-TPE-HKG-LAX.

We want to take these flights TPE - HKG - LAX, which I know is OK since it shows up as an option on CX website (and is WAY over the MCT).
TPE - HKG CX451 Dep 19:40 - Arr 21:20
HKG - LAX CX880 Dep 23:35 - Arr 21:50

My questions are this:
Will I have to collect the bags in TPE, clear Customs/Immigration, and check in for the TPE-LAX flight, or can/will they issue BP for all 3 flights and tag the bags through LAX?

And

Which of the following flights would be best to take from HKG - TPE?
CX510 Dep 14:55 - Arr 16:35
CX472 Dep 15:55 - Arr 17:40
CX400 Dep 16:30 - Arr 18:15

At this point, I am so confused. :confused: Your help is VERY much appreciated.^

Thank you,
Ryan

When you check in at HKG show them your itinerary and just ask them to check your bags for CX880. They will have no problem with this - the bags don't need to go to TPE.

I would get CX400 to TPE - airside transit is very straightforward with no bags.

Did something similar before. Two sectors left on a AONE. So went HKG-NRT-HKG-FRA. No problem checking the bags only for HKG-FRA.

Ah yes - the Narita Mileage Run: I know it well... the eternal dilemma of do I turn straight round on 451 and foresake the second Keiseki of the day in return for getting back to HKG an hour earlier? And will I be able to drink both bottles of Tignanello on 451 given the extra time on the ground in TPE :D Happy Days

You can eat olny so much kaiseki in one day anyhow. So we did HKG-NRT-TPE-HKG. Same plane, so less risk of delays. Also the lounge in HKG is much nicer than the (new one) in NRT.
Only passengers to NRT. Same crew back to TPE. Was quite funny, because they tried to understand the concept of a mileage run. At the end one of the ladies came to the conclusions: Oh, it is like a cruise, just on a plane and not on a boat.

I will be in HKG in October vacationing with the wife and will be returning home to LAX.

Having learned much from these forums and resident gurus, I know a flight from TPE - LAX via HKG in F is much cheaper than a HKG-LAX in F directly.:D


This is so true - reading airline forums made me realize how cheap ex-TPE A/D flights can be to NA, and I actually booked one for next month

CX400 HKG-TPE 1630/1815 Y
CX531 TPE-HKG 2020/2200 J
CX880 HKG-LAX 2335/2150 J

I also asked the MP agents to put a note in both reservations, and they did it without any questions/problem. Makes me wonder if a lot of other MP members and doing the same thing.

Thanks for the info.^

Do you know if we have to clear customs in TPE, or can we stay airside?

Thanks,
Ryan

No customs/immigration. Simply go straight to Flight Transfer, through security checks then up to the CX lounge. Voila!

-CF-

No customs/immigration. Simply go straight to Flight Transfer, through security checks then up to the CX lounge. Voila!

-CF-


Easy enough... thanks for the help, guys!

Ryan

How cheap are we talkin' for TPE-HKG-LAX in J? Would it be worth it to fly to TPE from elsewhere in Asia (say, BKK) to start one of these runs, assuming one has the time?

This is so true - reading airline forums made me realize how cheap ex-TPE A/D flights can be to NA, and I actually booked one for next month

CX400 HKG-TPE 1630/1815 Y
CX531 TPE-HKG 2020/2200 J
CX880 HKG-LAX 2335/2150 J

I also asked the MP agents to put a note in both reservations, and they did it without any questions/problem. Makes me wonder if a lot of other MP members and doing the same thing.

You know, I went to the CX website and priced an october itinerary for JFK-TPE return and TPE-JFK return all in J just to see what everyone was talking about. For the ex-JFK flight, the website returned to me J fares totaling nearly US$10K, but for the exact opposite itinerary, ex-TPE, the website returned to me D fares at about US$3850. That's a HUGE price differential. How come D fares aren't available ex-JFK? And I won't even bother about I, because if I-fare was available, I might at least once splurge for a J-ticket to HKG.

But for the TPE-JFK ticket, what do people who just want to return to HKG do? Throw away the last HKG-TPE segment?

How cheap are we talkin' for TPE-HKG-LAX in J? Would it be worth it to fly to TPE from elsewhere in Asia (say, BKK) to start one of these runs, assuming one has the time?
Fares from TPE are amongst the lowest (if not the lowest) in Asia, closely followed by BKK so if you are originating from BKK, it's probably not worth going to TPE to start an iten.

To answer your question though. TPE-xHKG-LAX-HKG-TPE is around US$2,500 on discount business ticket (I or D), and only $4,000 for a full fare J. Can someone pls confirm as it was almost a year ago when I looked and it's no longer available on Zuji.

You know, I went to the CX website and priced an october itinerary for JFK-TPE return and TPE-JFK return all in J just to see what everyone was talking about. For the ex-JFK flight, the website returned to me J fares totaling nearly US$10K, but for the exact opposite itinerary, ex-TPE, the website returned to me D fares at about US$3850. That's a HUGE price differential. How come D fares aren't available ex-JFK? And I won't even bother about I, because if I-fare was available, I might at least once splurge for a J-ticket to HKG.

But for the TPE-JFK ticket, what do people who just want to return to HKG do? Throw away the last HKG-TPE segment? The discounted fares usually allow one stopover, you save the forth segment to start your next "extended trip". It's only a matter of time before CX puts a stop to all this, I am sure! :p

The discounted fares usually allow one stopover, you save the forth segment to start your next "extended trip". It's only a matter of time before CX puts a stop to all this, I am sure! :p

Especially when this is discussed here in the open for all to see and plan .... and CX bigwigs do monitor FT to some degree.

I know there's discounted J fares from TPE to US...but I have been trying to find good A fares and couldn't find any...they're mostly F only (and of course still a bit better than ex-HKG F fares). are there really some good A fares from TPE to US ? or, to say Europe/Australia ?

I usually find ex-TPE fares to be good in J...but when talking about F, it doesn't seem very attractive compared to ex-HKG prices ?

To answer your question though. TPE-xHKG-LAX-HKG-TPE is around US$2,500 on discount business ticket (I or D), and only $4,000 for a full fare J. Can someone pls confirm as it was almost a year ago when I looked and it's no longer available on Zuji.

The fact that zuji doesn't offer these cheap Bus CX tickets anymore might actually be indication that CX does not wish the ex-TPE trend to be common knowledge, or sell too much! Otherwise, how come zuji, a site that prides itself on offering the cheapest options etc, not offer those fares?

Somewhat of a related question, so I'd rather not start a new thread.

For various reasons, I've booked LAX-TPE on one ticket and then flying the same day TPE-Australia on another. I'm booked on CX 881, and my flight to Australia is around 23:00, so time/tight connections aren't an issue. It seems that if I was checking in at HKG I'd have no issues, but this is a bit different so I'm wondering two things:

1) Would CX be able to check my bags omitting the HKG-TPE-HKG sectors?
2) Even if CX would generally allow it, would the agents at LAX be able to handle the request?

Thanks!

Somewhat of a related question, so I'd rather not start a new thread.

For various reasons, I've booked LAX-TPE on one ticket and then flying the same day TPE-Australia on another. I'm booked on CX 881, and my flight to Australia is around 23:00, so time/tight connections aren't an issue. It seems that if I was checking in at HKG I'd have no issues, but this is a bit different so I'm wondering two things:

1) Would CX be able to check my bags omitting the HKG-TPE-HKG sectors?
2) Even if CX would generally allow it, would the agents at LAX be able to handle the request?

Thanks!
Why would you wanna do that?

Why would you wanna do that?

To minimise the risk of bags not making it through the connection in TPE...

IMHO i think you shouldn't worry about that, HKG seems to manage luggage pretty well.. at least in my 60+ sectors.. that included transfer or direct HKG

HKG and TPE are pretty good in handling luggage. The risk of losing your luggage is higher for special handling.

To minimise the risk of bags not making it through the connection in TPE...

Bingo! Don't need my bags in TPE, so I'd rather not risk it. But based on the advice here, I won't bother with the special request.

Thanks!

Just randomly looking around the combinations of flights available on the CX website, this deal really seems very advantageous for the US, at least for the dates that I checked. In September in business I'd save $5k off a US$8k fare to LAX, although I'd save just $1.3k off a $5k fare to Sydney and to go to London it's actually cheaper to fly direct than to go via Taipei. Is the website the best place to get these fares or are there travel agents I should think about using in Taipei? Clearly the US deal (and even the Aussie deal) are worth using if there's time but any suggestions for geting cheaper business fares to London (apart from book ahead of course).