Hong Kong China Pass questions
 

I am looking at next years travel plans and have considered the HK and China flight pass. I have a few questions.

1. The AC site shows the pass as non upgradeable, will this change with the new Tango Plus pass eupgrade policies announced?
2. I am a soon to be SE, is there any or much chance of op ups on the pass.
3. How tight is flight availability on the pass, I had thought of getting one prior to an end of the month flight but there were no returns available at all.
4. If there is no availability in "G" class can you pay the difference to upgrade a class to get a seat.

It's a long flight from YYC to China with no chance of upgrade so I'm mulling this one over.

As an aside for those with HK knowledge, I am arriving Dec 30 about 10AM and leaving at 19:10 in the evening, we would love to go into the city for a few hours if there is time. Can I check in on arrival and does anyone have suggestions for a quick Hong Kong experience, getting into town and what to do?

Not sure about check-in, but there is definitely time to go into the city. Take the MTR to Hong Kong Station (end of the line), and from there you can check out the shopping districts, the Peak and other tourist locations. Cost will be minimal and the travel time is about 25 minutes.

1. The pass books into G class, which is non-upgradeable with eUpgrades (and your YYC-YVR flight will not accrue status miles). That being said, there have been reports of people being offered LMUs on Tango fares.

2. Depends when you fly. You will be at the bottom of the SE list for op-ups (G is lower than everyone except Airmiles/Aeroplan tickets)

3/4. I believe that there needs to be available in G class in order for the pass to work.

It's a long flight from YYC to China with no chance of upgrade so I'm mulling this one over.
1. Unlikely
2. Unlikely, especially if you're on AC15/16
3. Availability is not good
4. No

IMO, the China pass is not a good product for us FFs.

As other´s have mentioned, booking class G is at the very bottom of the pyramid, and the pass is priced accordingly (read: good value for the price-sensitive pax, but not really much good for the FF who likes upgrades/exit row seating etc.)

1. Doubtful. Also, 99.999% change that this is also not one of the T+ passes that will be switching to M.
2. To HK you I would say you have the same odds as dying in a shark attack. To the rest of China it improves to the odds of you dying from food poisoning.
3. KVS or Expertflyer would be good ways to check availability. Otherwise you can just scroll through days.
4. Unfortunately no.

Thanks
 

Thanks for the quick and funny comments, it is as I thought on this fare code and I will likely not buy a pass. I will enjoy HK and take the train into town...

Yes, you can check in at the airport. If the AC counter at the airport has not opened yet, you can go to the *A ticketing counter and they can check you in if they are not busy. They also has kiosk but I have not tried it. You can also check in at Hong Kong Station or Kowloon Station at the City Check-in counter.