Originally Posted by
nickyboy
Yes, their example is useless as it (presumably) compares the pass with non-discounted tickets which no-one in their right mind buys
I think it only works if you're doing some of the longer internal flights. PEK-CAN/SZX works, as do flights to some of the more remote Western cities
I'm doing a PEK-SZX in January and might give this a try. Should save a bit. This is often around RMB1600 inc tax = USD235 so providing I can't usually buy my other 2 tickets for less than USD47.50 I should start to save
nickyboy
PEK-SZX does seem to be a tad high right now, though 1000 all-in appears to have decent availability. PEK-CAN, on the other hand (or at least the reverse), looks quite reasonable for the short-term.
A few more comments:
-if those prices are in Euros, there is virtually no way to get them to pencil
-Do they book into Y class? If so, I might be swayed because the ability to snag any open seat would be nice
-On the other hand, CZ tends to have thin schedules on many routes; for example, before I left China, CZ's PEK-SHA service was limited to a single daily 777... that often never even left PEK
Regarding flying out west, I can see this pass saving some coin (again, if it turns out to be dollar denominated) on trips to URC (a CZ hub), but if you want go further than that, you'll need to burn an extra coupon, in which case mile redemptions (from NW, DL, etc) become a much more attractive option.
In closing, since you're considering doing this, why don't you post your proposed itinerary and do a cost comparison (given the nature of ticket prices in China, you'll probably want to use an average of close-in fares and current fares on your preferred dates)?