zeltergiset

Has anyone travelled HKG to GCM? Which (oneworld) route did you take?

I'll be in J. Cheaper one-ticket options (relatively speaking) seem to be

• HKG-LAX-CLT/MIA-GCM on AA [keen to avoid AA 737 MAX from LAX-MIA if possible]
• HKG-DFW-GCM on AA [but flights don't align, so 18 hour transit in DFW]
• HKG-NRT/HND-DFW-GCM on KA/CX and AA
• HKG-LHR-NAS-GCM on BA [NAS is a relatively quick stop, I don't believe GCM passengers disembark. And would be nice to avoid US transit]
• HKG-DOH-MIA-GCM on QR

All of those options are within about HK$12k of each other on the dates that I'm looking at, and all take around 27-30 hours (except for the one-stop DFW one). So no clear winner in terms of timing or price. Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts?

percysmith

QRC3288

Transiting in the US can be such a nightmare, really third world stuff especially if you're not a US citizen, don't have Global Entry and/or are checking bags. It *could* always go smoothly, or you could end up in a 3 hour customs wait at JFK/LAX/wherever. Flying domestically in the US isn't that enjoyable either, for the most part. To the Carribbean obviously the US has hands down the best connections. But to the extent you could do something like percysmiths suggestion, it's a good one.

I'll add if you're not hungup on OW, the European carriers are probably a better choice. Do any of them fly to Cayman? If so that's be incredible. Or, just fly HKG-Europe-Carribbean to one of the counties or islands nearby, and do a similar transfer as Percy recommends. Ive just had too many business colleagues and extended (non American) family inevitably wind up with horror stories transiting America. It's generally not something I'd advise unless you absolutely have to, or have Global Entry. And even then I'd probably skip on checking bags.

QRC3288

I'll leave my post intact above, but I thought of something else:

Aren't there nonstop connections from ORD or JFK to Cayman? If so, I'd recommend that even though obviously you're transiting America like I recommend not doing above. But in this scenario you're just TWO flights total and I think that more than makes up for the inconvenience. Just leave yourself a very big buffer between flights.

Update
I see no ORD nonstops. But I do see at least two nonstops from JFK, granted early morning. One on JetBlue and another on some Cayman airline. Could you take CX846, land at 10pm or so, get an airport hotel and fly the next morning on JetBlue? The overnight would eliminate most of the risk / hassles that could arise during a US transit. Meanwhile, you cut down on a stop. Just one stop from HK.

Or, if you insist on a tighter connection, you could do CX888 ex-HKG. It stops in Vancouver. You'd arrive JFK at 6am, and have an 8:45am connection to Cayman.

CX846 option is about 30h hours total. CX888 option is about 24+ hours total.

dkc192

My vote is for BA. Sure, the hard product is viewed as inferior to CX/AA/JL/QR, but given your status and with some good luck, you should be able to choose some of the better J seats (e.g. row 53 or 59 on the A380 on HKG-LHR), which IMO make the hard product competitive with, if not better than, some of the other carriers. You avoid the US connection as you described, and have a relatively short, easy T5-T5 connection at LHR (this time of year the LHR-NAS-GCM flight seems to leave around 9:30am).

zeltergiset

Thank you, that is helpful.

Yes, a two-ticket, two-flight route via JFK looks a lot better than transiting in LAX. Overnight at JFK would be fine, I think.

Also possible to do HKG-DFW-GCM, with an overnight in DFW. Obviously AA rather than CX for the longhaul. But would that be a reasonable option? I have little sense of how the ports of entry compare to each other.

The only European airline serving GCM is BA, via Nassau. I'm leaning that way at the moment, including because it's a lot cheaper than CX to JFK and relatively easy, as dkc192 notes.

QRC3288

Air Canada works too! And ORD works after all too.

For HKG-Cayman with just one stop in N. America at same airport w same carrier:
*DFW (AA->AA)
*YYZ (AC->AC)
*EWR (UA->UA)
*ORD (UA->UA)

For HKG -> Cayman with just one stop in N. America at same airport changing carriers, actually all following cities would work:
*JFK (CX->Jetblue+Cayman Airways)
*IAD (CX->United)
*ORD (CX->Cayman Airways+UA)
*BOS (CX->Jetblue)
*EWR (CX->UA)

Unfortunately some of these timings don't line up great for connections. For example the Air Canada YYZ flights take 32 hours total. I think think CX via JFK is probably the best bet if you want to go via North America.

But overall, BA probably is better. You can skip the issues transiting in America. And fares don't look too bad! Not sure what the budget is but a one-way HKG to Cayman in F on BA is pricing at 50k HKD (about 6k USD), which seems very reasonable. Of course BA F isn't anything to write home about but that wouldn't be a bad way to go. Especially since there is really only one transit, which is at LHR.

percysmith

AC not a oneworld route though

feh

I looked into this about 2 years ago. (Proposal didn't become a project, so I didn't get to go).

What I found then:
1. Connections through the US West Coast are a nightmare
2. HKG-LHR-GCM on BA was the "hands down" winner, as no US transit. Only possible downside was 3 or 4 flights per week rather than daily. IIRC outbound connection was okay, but there might have been a long-ish layover at LHR on return

About a year ago I had to do HKG-BZE and opted for HKG-DOH-MIA on QR then MIA-BZE on AA, which required an overnight stop in MIA each way (I think one-way I could have risked a direct connection, but timing might have been tight)

ermen

for a country that hosts the parent holdco of so many (i would say the majority) HK companies and funds - sure hard to get to!

i always wondered how Ugland house coped with all the mail!

christep

Off topic, but I think BVI has more than Cayman, no?

zeltergiset

Thanks all, BA it is I think, particularly because I don't have Global Entry. Client unlikely to stump up for F, but I'll be okay in Club World.

Isochronous