Jun 28, 2017, 8:46 pm

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

Cathay Award Guide Using Alaska Airlines Miles

Note: Cathay flights cannot be booked using alaskaair.com. Mileage requirements in chart form available on alaskaair.com.

Quote:

Request your Partner Award reservation on Cathay Pacific by calling Alaska Airlines Reservations at 1-800-252-7522 (TTY: Dial 711 for Relay Services) 5:00 a.m. - Midnight (PT), daily.

Routing Rules:

If it's not on the award chart, it's not allowed. For example EUROPE is To/From HKG only.
Stopover are only allowed on any CX award for North America awards as destination or origin. For instance: intra-Asia awards do not get a stopover. It must be a North America->Somewhere or Somewhere->North America award to qualify for a stopover.
The only awards that do not break at HKG are intra-Asia or North American ones. For instance, Australia-Europe/Middle East/Asia outside of HKG will be two awards (breaking at HKG). The AS award chart can be misleading about this and give you the impression you can fly an award like Australia/Europe-ICN, but the chart for these award types will show "Hong Kong".
One stop-over allowed on one way award. You can build open jaw and other advanced routings by booking multiple one way awards. Please note change fee rule below.
Allegedly stop-over only in Hong Kong, but some have posted success in other enroute cities such as YVR or SEA.
As of 5 June 2018 changes/cancellations made to a booking will incur a $125 fee which is waived for MVPG/MVPG75K. Bookings made prior to 5 June will be allowed one complimentary change or cancellation for up to 60 days prior to date of travel.
Awards can be booked 330 days in advance.
Cathay and Alaska (or an Alaska flight operated by SkyWest/Horizon on behalf of Alaska) are the only airlines allowed on a Cathay award. No other partner airlines may be used on a single award (e.g. American, JAL, Emirates).

North American Gateway Cities:

Western
Vancouver
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Seattle (Spring 2019)

Eastern (Can not be used if traveling to west coast)
Boston
Chicago
New York (JFK & EWR)
Toronto
Washington

Award Chart Links*:

Asia
Australia
Europe
India/Middle East
North America

Anyone with 90 posts and 90 days can edit the wiki. Everyone else if you want something added to the wiki please comment in the thread.

Cathay Pacific (CX) Award Redemption, Booking and Availability – 2017 and Later

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Jun 10, 2018, 10:40 am

#2281

Happy

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jul 2003

Location: Florida

Posts: 29,754

Quote:

Originally Posted by metoo

Will this itinerary work?

ICN-HKG-JFK-YVR, stopover at YVR, then YVR to LAX

ICN-HKG-JFK-YVR is not allowed on a single award because it is backtracking. JFK-YVR-LAX requires 2 awards as explained clearly by eponymous_coward in the post IMMEDIATELY above yours.

HKG-JFK-YVR or LAX have been asked gazillion times on this thread as valid or not, and have been answered gazillions AS does NOT allow backtracking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orwaid

Sure. One award ICN-HKG-JFK, one award JFK-YVR, one award YVR-LAX. Three separate tickets, three separate awards redeemed.

Correct.

osotoc likes this.

Last edited by Happy; Jun 10, 2018 at 11:21 am Reason: typo

Jun 10, 2018, 10:51 am

#2282

metoo

Join Date: Nov 2006

Location: LAX

Posts: 2,851

Thanks Orwaid and Happy.

How about this:

ICN-HKG- LAX, stopover at LAX, then LAX to YVR

Also, if I am not able to have a free stopover, can I at least have an itinerary from ICN-HKG-LAX-YVR. ( all connecting flights as there is NO biz for ICN-HKG-YVR)

Jun 10, 2018, 11:02 am

#2283

seawolf

Original Member

Join Date: May 1998

Location: NYC

Programs: AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTT, Hilton Diamond

Posts: 14,636

Quote:

Originally Posted by eponymous_coward

No, you cannot book this as a single award. Cabotage rules prevent CX from transporting passengers on a USA domestic itinerary, even if there is a connection in Canada. It would be a significant fine for AS and CX to allow this. You must book this as two awards on two tickets.

I agree that this can't be booked as single award but what is being described is not cabotage as CX does not have a US to US passenger route to begin with (unlike QF JFK-LAX but can not transport passengers on an itinerary wholly involving just JFK-LAX).

Last edited by seawolf; Jun 10, 2018 at 10:09 pm Reason: typo

Jun 10, 2018, 11:19 am

#2284

Happy

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jul 2003

Location: Florida

Posts: 29,754

Quote:

Originally Posted by metoo

That should work as one award. Use your one shot free change smartly because you will not get free change HKG-YVR opens up once you have done the proposed change going to YVR via LAX.

Jun 10, 2018, 12:22 pm

#2285

BW Flyer

Join Date: Oct 2005

Location: SEA

Programs: AS G100K, DL PM, IHG Gold, HHonors Diamond

Posts: 843

I am curious, now that Dragonair has become Cathay Dragon, and all their flights have CX flight numbers and CX handles all their reservations, can we book their flights using MP miles? I am thinking about booking one of their flights originating from HKG.

Thanka!

Jun 10, 2018, 12:40 pm

#2286

CDKing

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Dec 2007

Location: BOS/ORH

Programs: AS 75K

Posts: 18,323

Quote:

Originally Posted by BW Flyer

Nope. Still not eligible. If they become available it will be included with a deval of the award chart since it involves a renegotiation of the entire agreement. They are still sold as codeshares or under the KA flight number.

Last edited by CDKing; Jun 10, 2018 at 12:50 pm

Jun 10, 2018, 10:00 pm

#2287

BW Flyer

Join Date: Oct 2005

Location: SEA

Programs: AS G100K, DL PM, IHG Gold, HHonors Diamond

Posts: 843

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDKing

Thanks for clarifying this!

Jun 10, 2018, 10:17 pm

#2288

Mauibaby2008

Join Date: Jul 2012

Programs: Delta Gold, Alaska Gold 75K, LATAM Black

Posts: 3,393

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDKing

Nope. Still not eligible. If they become available it will be included with a deval of the award chart since it involves a renegotiation of the entire agreement. They are still sold as codeshares or under the KA flight number.

(holding mine). He is right, see what just happened to LATAM. They added “TAM” flights, but devalued flight crediting from 100% of most all Y fare buckets to 25-100%.. ugh

Jun 10, 2018, 10:21 pm

#2289

eponymous_coward

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Aug 2007

Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot

Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite

Posts: 20,385

Quote:

Originally Posted by seawolf

CX cannot be used as a carrier for an itinerary between two points in the US, even if they are only flying an international itinerary. That is a cabotage violation. That is why AS will not book a single award USA-YVR-JFK. Cathay has the authority to transport passengers YVR-JFK on a single ticket, but not USA-YYR-JFK.

There is a rather famous for FT instance where you could construct itineraries on tickets that violated cabotage, although the carriers were all flying legal routes. Some FT wiseguy decided to fly a DOT complaint for some stupid reason on one of those tickets. Fines for violating cabotage ensued, and that little loophole went away. So yes, the DOT will fine you for cabotage if you let a ticketed itinerary to be constructed that violates it.

pbd456 likes this.

Last edited by eponymous_coward; Jun 10, 2018 at 10:30 pm

Jun 10, 2018, 10:54 pm

#2290

pentiumvi

Join Date: Mar 2015

Location: YVR

Posts: 1,081

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy

I'm not sure AS wouldn't allow HKG-JFK-YVR.

I've personally booked YVR-JFK-HKG successfully in the past when YVR-HKG was not available.

Jun 11, 2018, 7:15 am

#2291

CDKing

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Dec 2007

Location: BOS/ORH

Programs: AS 75K

Posts: 18,323

Quote:

Originally Posted by pentiumvi

I'm not sure AS wouldn't allow HKG-JFK-YVR.

Sometimes with AS you get things that are not allowed to go through. Heck you could even get someone to force through bookings at 350 days out. A few bragged about it on FT and not much later one of the AS employees that monitors these threads had IT put a fix in to stop it.

Jun 11, 2018, 7:33 am

#2292

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

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Join Date: Mar 2001

Location: AU

Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)

Posts: 14,403

Quote:

Originally Posted by eponymous_coward

But that DOT case involved a single airline flying GUM-Japan-USA, hence the cabotage issue of a foreign airline flying passengers on a domestic itinerary. This case is slightly different with two separate carriers. But I see the point.

Jun 11, 2018, 10:51 am

#2293

Happy

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jul 2003

Location: Florida

Posts: 29,754

Quote:

Originally Posted by pentiumvi

I'm not sure AS wouldn't allow HKG-JFK-YVR.

I've personally booked YVR-JFK-HKG successfully in the past when YVR-HKG was not available.

How recently you successfully booked the itinerary that should not be allowed?

Jun 11, 2018, 4:57 pm

#2294

seawolf

Original Member

Join Date: May 1998

Location: NYC

Programs: AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTT, Hilton Diamond

Posts: 14,636

Quote:

Originally Posted by eponymous_coward

Those cases involved foreign carrier ONLY (OZ GUAM-ICN-US and NH GUAM-JPN-US). These cases makes it clear cabotage can occur "regardless of the duration of the stopover, the passenger's immigration status at the intermediate point or points, the number of tickets under which the transportation is conducted, and the number of foreign air carriers under which transportation is conducted." In OZ case, fare was priced as combination of Guam to ICN and ICN to US fares (footnote 4)

In other words, the number of awards/fare involved is irrelevant in determining cabotage. If we take your definition as correct (foreign carrier involved, but NOT wholly involved), then AS (and AA) issuing a ticket involving more than one award for CX JFK-YVR and AS/AA YVR to US is still cabotage in eyes of DOT. And we know AA/AS will issue such a ticket.

Further evidence to consider (foreign and US carrier on itinerary):
In Orbitz, I can purchase AC LGA-YYZ connecting with UA to ORD.
Priceline sell US carrier LGA-YYZ connecting with AC to ORD.

In ITA MATRIX multi segment:

LGA-YYZ JUL 27
YYZ-ORD JUL 28

If you select AC for segment 1, segment 2 will only return AC flights departing more than 24 hours after arrival of segment 1. However it will return UA flights for segment 2 departing less than 24 hours after arrival of segment 1.

Seems to be me DOT considered OZ/NH cases as cabotage because it involved foreign carrier ONLY and OZ was also marketing it.

While I agree you can't redeem single AS award CX JFK-YVR connecting to US carrier to US, it is not because it is cabotage. If CX JFK-YVR connecting to AS YVR-USA is truly cabotage, I suggest filing various DOT complaints because AS/AA/AC/UA are still violating it.

Jun 11, 2018, 7:25 pm

#2295

PVDtoDEL

Join Date: Oct 2010

Location: SEA/ORD/ADB

Programs: TK ELPL (*G), AS 100K (OWE), BA Gold (OWE), Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat

Posts: 7,763

seawolf's interpretation is correct - as long as a US carrier flies a part of the itinerary and the foreign flag carrier's carriage is not between two US points, it is not cabotage.

Some examples to illustrate:

Cabotage:
AC SEA-YVR
CX YVR-JFK

Cabotage:
AS SEA-LAX
QF LAX-JFK

Not cabotage:
AS SEA-YVR
CX YVR-JFK