nologic

Just flew Chengdu to Beijing on CZ 5184 at 16:50 in business class.

The plane was an internationally equipped A380, with lie flat seats in business class (upper deck).

The food was so-so, sort of like a domestic US economy class flight back in the days, with a tray with a choice of entrees (beef noodles in a bowl, or mystery duck or mystery fish w a bowl of rice, a small fruit plate, vegetable plate, and sweet cake/custard desert).

There was a choice of two French red wines and a full bar /the scotch was Chivas 12 year old). I didn't inquire about other options, but presume there was white wine and possibly even champagne.

The on demand AVOD was excellent with a very large choice of movies.

Flying time was approx 2.5 hours.

The fare was "65% off" or ¥1780 compared w most economy class fares that time in the ¥1400-1500 range, although they can be as low as ¥1000 if booked early enough.

Still, a very enjoyable flight. There was a first class with two rows which was full and otherwise sold at approx ¥6000.

I had taken a business class flight from Yinchuan to Beijing on Grand China and a first class flight on China Eastern earlier in the week and this was far superior (the business class seats were nicer than the first class seats, which were like current domestic F seats). The food was negligible to yucky fried rice and the only alcohol was beer.

This CZ flight was a world apart.

moondog

Narrow body flights that depart before 9a are the best IMO.

dartmouth19

How do I find a biz-class flight that cheap? I'm looking to go from Beijing to Chengdu, one way, on Dec. 4th. China Southern Airlines is quoting me $770 for it.

nologic

For some reason that great flight on the A380, which is CZ 6183 in that direction, is showing only one seat left in full fare business class (I use elong.net) at ¥5070, although th 8:05am flight is available at 67% off business class fare of ¥1690. That must be a surprisingly busy date to be so full of far in advance.

moondog

Discount fares typically aren't loaded until ~45 days out.

nologic

That was my instinct and suspicion, but then I saw the 8:05am flight on CZ on that day available for ¥1690 (67% off, which is the fare I paid), while the later 11am flight only had full fare business class, with a notation "only 1 seat available."

So now I'm confused.

moondog

I searched December 4, and only found close to full fare...perhaps someone grabbed the 1690 fare on the flight you saw (though more likely it was pulled because nobody books flights 4 months out in China).

In any event, 1690 fares are widely available inside the 45 day window.

dartmouth19

Hmm... I'm really only interested if it's around the 1000 RMB range because $40 extra dollars over economy for the great sounding business class you described definitely seems worth it to me. Double the price is less justifiable. But I'm just a college student so others still might find the 1690 to be valuable.

Thanks for the help! I'll keep checking it as it gets closer, but, if I am seeing economy fares for $111 USD for Beijing to Chengdu on Dec 4th in the evening, will that price change much as it goes forward (either up or down?)

moondog

Y costs 1690 on that route. I can't recall ever seeing discounted business/first fares that are less than Y on any route, though many are exactly the same (as in this case).

ETA: I stand corrected. I was just looking at NNG-SHA for next week, and noticed that Y is 1740, and the cheapest first fares are 1390.

dartmouth19

Sorry, I believe I misinterpreted the OP.

"The fare was "65% off" or ¥1780 compared w most economy class fares that time in the ¥1400-1500 range, although they can be as low as ¥1000 if booked early enough. "

I had thought that the ¥1000 fare was for the Biz Class, but now I realize that he was referring to economy.

How does ~600 on Air China sound for Dec. 4th, BJS to CTU?

moondog

I would hold off until 30 days in.... should be able to grab something in the 450 range, but more importantly, there's not much point in locking yourself in so early.

dartmouth19

Fair enough, I'm just worried about availability and needing to lock it in. Plus I think the group I'm going with for that specific flight has already booked their tickets and I would really prefer being on the same flight as them.

Now the question is whether that ~150yuan/$20USD is worth my peace of mind to stay with my group... But you can't help me with that anymore than you already have. Thank you so much, moondog!

moondog

If your plans really are that set in stone, then i suppose there isn't a great deal of downside to locking it in.