Originally Posted by
kkua
3) run into CAN (NW9 goes HNL-NRT-CAN), overnight and catch a CZ flight into PNH next morning. The hotel and transit visa costs on the China side may negate the savings of flying into SIN.
You can transit in China for 24 hours without a visa. I just did this Sunday and its no problem at all, though if you're going in coach I'd avoid CZ at all costs.
I agree with other posters above... fly into KUL, SIN, or BKK and buy your own ticket from there.
Its not a daily schedule, but if the dates for for you then JetStar from SIN is actually going to be cheaper than AirAsia from KUL, even with the favorable exchange rate in Malaysia. Both require dealing with the LCC terminal which means clearing immigration and taking a bus/train to the other terminal.
Either one will allow you to stay in the transit hotel if you want since you exit your flight directly into the terminal, its not like other airports where you have to clear security first to get back into the airport.
Just using some sample dates, the Bangkok Airways flight from BKK looks to be by far the most expensive of the 3. I don't know if BKK uses an LCC terminal or not, nor do I know how easy it is to transfer in BKK. BKK does have a cash departure tax which I assume you have to pay if you leave the airside part of the terminal.
EDIT: Just noticed Thai AirAsia also flys BKK-PHN, its a lot cheaper than the Bangkok Airways flight.