Originally Posted by
CX HK
Sorry for bumping an 18 month old thread, but I thought it would be better than creating a new one.
On the topic of CX / MPC alternatives, for long haul flights such as HKG to Europe & North America, would it ever make economical sense to route through Japan and fly ANA / JAL instead?
Reason I am asking is because if there is no price difference - or indeed, if it sometimes is cheaper - to fly through say Japan or Taiwan, I would gladly do it. Unfortunately, as all flight schedules are currently out of whack due to Covid, I am unable to check for myself online so will have to require on the expertise of some of our other HKG-based members here.
Thanks!
To North America it surely makes sense. Time-wise and economically.
To Europe, Japan is a really far detour, it would literally add like 7-8 hours to your trip compared to non-stop. Pre-covid I also rarely saw competitive fares on HKG-Europe via Japan. Taiwan is not such a detour from europe, it would probably add 4 hours to a trip. However, for political reasons there are a lot less flights on Taiwanese carriers to Europe. There are more competitive fares than via Japan, but it still rarely is as low as others.
Generally speaking, switching to Star Alliance would make the most sense. You'd have ANA to the north, EVA to the east, Singapore/Thai to the south to choose from. I don't know what is the best program though. EVA or SQ probably.