Originally Posted by
garykung
...given that in the summer, PEK can be as hot as over 100F, as well as the polluted air.
Just my humble observations:
Beijing air quality in summer 2019 will likely not be as bad as many might think or have been led to believe through various news reports. They made huge strides in the last few years, with significant steps to curb pollution, and winter is always much worse than summer anyways...
And I disagree about waiting on purchasing W fare. I'd look for mid-week W fares and book as soon as possible, apply the GPU, and then monitor for PZ availability. It will likely clear a few weeks after booking, but hopefully before boarding!. But use
cablepick to check actual booking loads, and choose the one with the least booked seats. Also, the direct ORD-PEK should be as easy or difficult as EWR-PEK at that time of year, so no benefit in going ORD-EWR-PEK. And I see no reason to go ORD-SFO-PEK either: save her from some potential hassle/anxiety associated with changing planes - book the direct flight! UA851 (ORD-PEK) seems to be mostly flown with the old CO 77Y plane these days, meaning there's 50 business class seats available in 2-2-2 (a GOOD thing, as it's not 2-4-2). This is a nice plane with comfortable seats.
I am sure OP's daughter will have a GREAT time in Beijing/China!
Although, on that note:
Originally Posted by
teamdean
....High school age daughter going to China this summer alone....
Make sure she gets a good VPN (such as ExpressVPN) for her iPhone before she leaves, otherwise she might struggle to stay connected and thus NOT have a good time!
