I am planning to fly on CX Y to HK in early December and return the day before New Year. How soon do I need to buy my ticket? I know the time I travel is peak season and tickets might be hard to get.

early December should not be too hard getting seats. hmm as for the day before New Year, it might be tough. first week or so of January is usually always sold out and overbooked unless SARS decides to come bak again. i'd say book early, perhaps by late Oct early Nov. anyways it wouldn't hurt to book earlier then that.

Thanks Jakob!
I checked with Join Us Travel(a travel agency recommened by someone here on Flyertalk)today for a CX discount business ticket from Columbus to CNS with a stopover in HK in December. All the discount business seats are sold out.

You can book your ticket now even. The earlier the better due to your return. But bear in mind that CX's 'peak travel' policy may be in effect in that, all reservations must be issued within 14 days of booking.

Another tip for travelling on peak days such as New Year, three days to x-mas, ESPECIALLY in winter: do buy the more expensive Y ticket, even full Y if necessary. There is a difference.

you can always check availability on galileo. i don't know which departure port you prefer, but there are plenty of tickets for 12/30 available ex LAX and YVR still
- it's all 9s and 4s


[This message has been edited by mhtaipei (edited 09-10-2003).]

Actually David's return to North America on 12/30. Anyways, ex HKG to North America is also wide open still on 12/30 to all destinations.

But if you are looking for ultra-cheap ticket, act early... Also, low season ends on Dec. 4th. After Dec. 5th, there is a noticable increase in fare. So, book early before all the low seasons disappear.

Thanks everyone!
mhtaipei: Why did you suggest me to buy the full y fare? You can buy a discounted J ticket for the price of a full y fare.

How do you get on Galileo? I thought it is only for travel agency only?

I don't think I am looking for the unltra cheap Y ticket. I need to buy the H class ticket to qualify for AAdvantage miles. It usually costs more.

Can I still pay the low-season fare if I leave on 12/4 and come back on 12/30?

You can check sub-class availability here (amongst others):

http://flyaow.com/classcathay.htm

Also, the price of the ticket is depend on the day of departure. You can leave during low season and return on high season.

Thanks everyone!
mhtaipei: Why did you suggest me to buy the full y fare? You can buy a discounted J ticket for the price of a full y fare.

Flights are often full during peak season especially in J, with no discounted business seats left. I used to think full Y is a scam, but I ended up being upgraded and handed a first class lounge pass every time I bought a full Y ticket.

How do you get on Galileo? I thought it is only for travel agency only?
i use this site which is in german, but not hard to decipher, i think someone once posted an english one:

http://www.aeroplan.de/ap_rb_galileo.htm

Abflug ... Port of departure
Ziel ... destination
leave Buchungs.... empty
enter dates under Datum "DDMM"

I need to buy the H class ticket to qualify for AAdvantage miles. It usually costs more.

H is a reasonable choices. My warning was directed against the really restricted tickets.


Can I still pay the low-season fare if I leave on 12/4 and come back on 12/30?

Yes, it's the date you leave that counts. I seem to remember the x-mas prices start on the 19th this year.



[This message has been edited by mhtaipei (edited 09-11-2003).]

high season starts on the 19th this year ?
is that ex-US or ex-Canada ?
last year it started on Dec 5 and the year before was Dec 15 ex-Canada.

At least for ex-Vancouver, high season starts on 5th of Dec. and ends of 24th of Dec.

http://www.campbelltravel.bc.ca/en/ticket/cx.asp

interesting, i didn't know it started so early. in taiwan, uk and japan ticket prices always change around dec 20 give or take a few days.

The English version of Galileo access: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/...travel/galileo

The link seems to have died....!

Yup. The aeroplan.de folks disabled the service I was using. Would fix it if I were able / if I knew how...

http://www.optimalmove.com/flyertalk/galileo.html has an alternative -- though this site can only show one fare bucket at a time and can't show "special" (semi-public) buckets like AA's C (for upgrades from coach to business), etc.