Air China to start IAH-PEK.

[rankourabu]

With a superior J and F product on their 77W, this may be a threat to UA, especially without a connection on the west coast.

Also great for routing award tickets!

schedule from airlineroute:

eff 02JUL13 NEW 4 weekly Boeing 777-300ER service
CA995 PEK1500 – 1540IAH 77W x135
CA996 IAH0130 – 0500+1PEK 77W x246

[bob_the_d]

that's good. their J seats look similar to sCO's B/E diamond seats. guessing it's the almost same thing with a couple modifications. and has 3 class configuration competing with sUA's birds, without the dreaded 2-4-2 configuration in J.

i don't fly this route, but competition is good.

[UA-NYC]

If they use the same seats on the A330 I rode (identical to TK), that definitely is a superior experience

[787fan]

Good news .... more Star hub to hub linked up ... If not for the visa issues, this would be a great flight to link Beijing with Latin America

[rob_flies_ua]

Plus you'll soon be able to transit-without-visa up to 72 hours in PEK

[LASUA1K]

I've flown Air China and I will stick with UA. No thx. And awful arrival time into PEK.

[anacapamalibu]

Originally Posted by rob_flies_ua

Plus you'll soon be able to transit-without-visa up to 72 hours in PEK

PEK-SHA-PVG Jan1 72 hr
verified now on Timatic

Timatic search from KLM website.


/ 22DEC12 / 1912 UTC
National USA (US) /Embarkation USA (US)
Transit China (People's Rep.) (CN)
Destination China (People's Rep.) (CN)
ALSO CHECK DESTINATION INFORMATION BELOW

China (People's Rep.) (CN)


TWOV (Transit Without Visa):
Visa required, except for Holders of confirmed onward tickets
for a max. transit For details, click here time of 24 hours. Transit
incl. two stops, with a total transit time of 24 hours, within
China (People's Rep.) is permitted.
- Not applicable at Chengdu (CTU).
- Nationals of USA are not permitted to use the two-stop
transit within China, if transiting through Tianjin (TSN),
Weihai (WEH), Wuhan (WUH), Xi An (XIY) or Zhengzhou (CGO).
Visa required, except for Holders of confirmed onward tickets
for a max. transit For details, click here on the same calendar day at
Chengdu (CTU). Transit incl. two stops, with a total transit
time of 24 hours, within China (People's Rep.) is permitted.
Visa required, except for Nationals of USA holding confirmed
onward tickets for a max. transit For details, click here time of 48
hours, provided arriving at and departing from Shanghai
Hongqiao (SHA) or Shanghai Pudong (PVG).
- All transiting passengers are subject to a check by
immigration officials. Passengers in transit are required to
hold passports or passport replacing documents that are
accepted for entry into China (People's Rep.). For more
details on document requirements, please enter China
(People's Rep.) as a destination.
- Leaving the transit area is allowed.
- Effective from 1 January 2013, nationals of USA holding
confirmed onward tickets can transit without a visa for a
max. transit For details, click here time of 72 hours at Beijing
(PEK), Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) or Shanghai Pudong (PVG),
provided arriving in and departing from the same city.

[ORDnHKG]

Originally Posted by UA-NYC

If they use the same seats on the A330 I rode (identical to TK), that definitely is a superior experience

No it is not, CA's C class on 77W are exactly like CO's C class seats.

CA's 330 use the same seats as BR's Premium Laurel.

[rankourabu]

Originally Posted by ORDnHKG

CA's C class on 77W are exactly like UA's C class seats..

Exactly. With superior service, equal J, better F, and the elimination of a NRT or LAX/SFO stop, for anyone going to China, this is great.

And the bosses will be happy with the 5am arrival - can put you to work the same day

[UA-NYC]

Originally Posted by ORDnHKG

No it is not, CA's C class on 77W are exactly like UA's C class seats.

CA's 330 use the same seats as BR's Premium Laurel.

Got it - too bad, I find the "open footwell" / 4 windows per row TK style to be far superior to the midget footwell openings

[ORDnHKG]

Originally Posted by rankourabu

Exactly. With superior service, equal J, better F, and the elimination of a NRT or LAX/SFO stop, for anyone going to China, this is great.

And the bosses will be happy with the 5am arrival - can put you to work the same day

Superior service ? NO. Inconsistent service ? YES

Not to mention chronic lengthy ATC delays at both PVG and PEK, I would still choose SQ/NH/OZ/CX/JL/TG/MH to Asia over CA.

Also, there are many Y fares only earn 50% miles, that might be something to reconsider.

[rankourabu]

Originally Posted by ORDnHKG

Superior service ? NO. Inconsistent service ? YES

Not to mention chronic lengthy ATC delays at both PVG and PEK, I would still choose SQ/NH/OZ/CX/JL/TG/MH to Asia over CA

you would choose SQ IAH-DME-SIN-PEK over a non-stop???

The rest would be a 2 stop event.

[SeaRaptor]

I avoid CA long-haul because of the horrible MP earnings chart they have. Only 100% PQMs for J and F? No thanks, I'll take a stopover and fly UA or OZ.

[LASUA1K]

Service is hit or miss. Ill stick with UA.

[Hartmann]

The significance of this flight is that it's another non-stop option to Asia out of IAH. The only other non-stop flight is IAH-NRT.

I look forward to another option, even thought it may not be the penultimate experience.