littletiger

i recently started flying CX and there have been several cases already that the corporate travel agent (same for ITA Matrix as well) can only see J fare for HKG-LHR route while D fare (much cheaper than J ) is actually available on CX's own website. It seems for some reasons that CX does not release lower premium fare to external channels (in these limited cases).

I have not tried this for other routes but I am just curious (as I am new to CX) whether it is widely the case for CX to keep the lower premium fare to its own channel. thanks.

cxfan1960

My old company's TA was able to book D and I fares. So unless something has changed now, it may just be your TA's problem.

However, there are indeed promotional I fares that are available on CX's web site only.

QRC3288

ITA Matrix / Google Flights typically do not show discounted CX fares. Has always been the case.

However, a TA not able to find D fare means you....Need to change your travel agent.

As cxfan above mentions, web special I fares cannot be accessed by TAs, but often D fare at many ourports is almost the same anyway.

1010101

I assume your travel agent is not based in HK/Asia? Some foreign TAs cant see anything other than fully flexible fares on CX. We use a global travel agent and the London office can never see discounted CX fares, we have to ask the HK rep to do it.

AAExpDFW

Agreed. The point of sale can be a limiting factor on your fare availability. Especially on a route lhr-hkg.

Other option is to use the HKG version of the CX website to try and buy it that way.

TravelwhileyouEat

I found that D and I fares can be booked through the correct agent not just CX...

I fares are usually only available online on OTAs when there are sales, I have never encountered a traditional TA who was able to give me an I fare since it usually books as a D fare (but the difference is sometimes just 50-100 USD based on the sub-bucket). Agreed with the others that say try a different agent or one based in the Asia-pacific region (HK, MNL, BKK, TPE).

gpia

Bolding mine - would appreciate if you could clarify this point. Am I understanding this correctly: You are saying that there are no "traditional" TA's that will get you I fares, but OTAs might?

Reason I'm asking is cause while my local HK agent can get me D class, he failed at booking me into I class ex-CAN. Time to change TA, or does this make sense?

brunos

Some I fares are available when booked jointly with a hotel or a tour.
And the POS is important for availability.

littletiger

thank you guys for all your inputs - really helpful. Yes, the TA is based in London and it always quotes me with J fare even I can see D fare available on CX's website. When I challenged the quote, it showed me the screenshot of ITA Matrix, J indeed being the cheapest fare. For some reasons, this TA (and ITA Matrix in this case) just cannot get D fare (based on the conversations, I think it genuinely cannot see D fare, not because it wants to sell higher priced ticket) , which is quite annoying.

TravelwhileyouEat

To answer this, yes... some OTAs do sell I fares, and I have been able to book these fares. It can even be cheaper than the ones on CX due to currency conversions (i.e. some OTAs can charge in a different currency other than USD or USD or HKD and save you on conversion fees). Though sometimes you get a real deal like my upcoming trip which saved me around 40% over the same fare on CX (most likely the OTA forgot to add the correct commission/add-on rate... but they did honor the ticket and I do have an e-ticket issued and my card charged).

But I really would like to know if there are traditional TAs who can book I fares, I may just not have encountered one? Maybe an HK based one?

1010101

You need to call/email the HK office of the agent, if they have one. Or use a different agent. If you have no choice but to use the London agent then there's nothing you can do. They cannot see the D fare availability.

sxc

ITA Matrix (and accordingly Google Flights) doesn't list the discount J class fares. I don't know why CX doesn't allow them to be listed because now that people are increasingly using comparison web sites, they are going to lose a lot of business that way.

kaka

ita gets restricted for some pos only. I recently checked ex fra and japan n were ok. Ex hkg wasnt

sscywong

I often check price using skyscanner, ita, ctrip CN and official site before placing order...

Any more suggestion?

feh

It might be an idea to have a couple of travel agents (i.e. one in UK, one in HKG). When I've flown beyond London (I'm HKG based) sometimes I book CX HKG-LHR from HKG then use a UK travel agent to book the next leg on a cheaper BA fare than possible to get from HKG.
The booking system knows where you enquire from and so limits fare classes (same thing happens if I try to book a BA flight LHR-Africa or LGW-Carribean online from HKG - it just gives me expensive fare classes)
Sometimes splitting the booking can save quite a bit. Other times there's little difference (making the risk of a missed connection due to late originating flight not worthwhile), in which case I probably have to book the entire thing with BA (rather than HKG-LHR on CX, then LON-??? on BA)
Note: I'm talking here usually of Economy or PEY, rather than C/J/D/I - but I assume the same principle applies