johnkennett

Is it best to request the hotel (St Regis or Grand Hyatt) buy the tickets for SHA-PEK rtn before I arrive in Shanghai, or should I contac tthe local out of China Air China office and get them?

If I buy them in China, what can I expect to pay? ( Flights in August)

moondog

just buy your tix in sh from a travel agent (ctrip is ok).

it is better to buy 2 oneways rather than a rt because: 1) more flexible and 2) some agents will have a hard time getting you a good price on the pek-sha segment.

you should expect to pay anywhere between y300 and y780 each way, probably towards the high end of that range during august unless you don't mind taking very early or very late flights.

johnkennett

Thanks

The St Regis emailed me and told me that they could get the tickets and charge them to the room, and that it would cost 2600Y for the round trip! ($310US). I called the Air China office in Seoul, and they said that the round trip is about $260US for Y and 320$ for C class, buying just those sectors from here.

Sun July 31 to PEK, Tues August 2 to SHA/PVG- both flight about 5-6pm- would I have trouble jsut walking up to the ticketing counter at the airport and buying two tickets?

moondog

buying at the airport usually doesn't cost a whole lot more, but i still prefer travel agents for several reasons:

1) you get to choose from more than one airline
2) you can decide when you want to fly in the morning when you wake up
3) you can have a ticket in hand on your way to the airport (saves you y10 if you take the maglev)
4) chances are, there will be a TA within 200 ft of your hotel (can't recall whether or not this applies to st regis). even if not, all agencies deliver. just make a booking and give your concierge the necessary funds.
5) you can use ctrip to check schedules and fares, whether or not you book through them

ctrip can also offer you a competitive ticket ex-pek since they also have offices here. their number is 3406 4888 (in shanghai).

in any case, i wouldn't book tickets until a week before your flight, at the earliest. in china, there is little advantage to booking in advance unless you see great fares.

btw, i just checked your dates and the outbound is available for y790; the return y680, 7p on the outbound and 5p on the inbound, both to/from pvg on ca. those should come down a bit between now and then. even if they don't, there's no point in locking yourself into certain flights so early in the game (though such high fares are pretty easy to change).

ps - why do you want to go back to sh? most people prefer open jaws because they entail less hassle.

johnkennett

Thanks for your help!

Those prices are much lower than both the hotel and CA gave me here. We want to go to Shanghai and Beijing, but the KE flight times suit us better ex PVG, and it is cheaper, to fly in and out of PVG, and add the domestic flights than buy the in PVG out PEK ticket.

I was hoping to take the night train, to save on the hotel for the night- and get an early start the next day, but my fiancee is not keen on the idea of an overnight train with no bathroom facilities! That and the thought of sharing the 4 berth cabin with two others overnight. Is it possible to get a two berth Shanghai-Beijing rtn? What is the price- I saw on one site that the 4 berth is about 500Y o/w

dawei

The shanghai - Beijing (express) trains are very nice. I put my sister on one and they vacated the whole cabin for her. They do have two bunks as well. I've only been on board to help friends settle in but they never had complaints....

Also you are trying to buy your plane tickets too early for the cheapest price -- there is (or at least was) a magic date before which full discounts can’t be offered. If I remember right its something like the beginning of the month.

moondog

I would ask the hotel for help booking train tickets because, unlike plane tickets, there aren't any discounts to speak of. Plus, trains sell out and it's well worth paying a small service charge to avoid an extra trip to the train station (Shanghai may well boast one of the nicest train stations in the country, but it's still not a pleasent place). The (fastest) z trains all leave at around 7p and arrive at 7a. TMK, the soft sleepers are all 2 per cabin; cost is comparable to flying.