Domestic airfare
Jun 3, 2023, 2:47 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: FRA/SXB
Programs: FB Gold
Posts: 1,995
Domestic airfare
When do you guys suggest buying domestic airfare for flights within China ? Excluding peak chinese holiday periods, are the prices pretty stable, or do they increase fairly steeply ? Wondering if this is something I can do just 2-3 months in advance, or if it's really "as early as possible", as the fares for year-end seem kind of high at the moment.
Jun 3, 2023, 3:29 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,222
When do you guys suggest buying domestic airfare for flights within China ? Excluding peak chinese holiday periods, are the prices pretty stable, or do they increase fairly steeply ? Wondering if this is something I can do just 2-3 months in advance, or if it's really "as early as possible", as the fares for year-end seem kind of high at the moment.
Jun 3, 2023, 3:43 am
#3
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: LON
Programs: BA Gold; LH FTL; IHG Diamond; Marriott Gold; ALL Gold
Posts: 1,758
Yep, China domestic is different from the rest of the world for flight pricing - I'd say never book more than 2 weeks in advance, I'd usually book about 7-5 days out. I once booked 10 days out but the price dropped so much that it was worth paying the cancellation fee and rebooking at the lower fare.
Also, book through Trip.com. A lot of the other western search engines never find the cheapest fares, even the international versions of the airlines' own websites. Trip.com service is generally very good.
Also, book through Trip.com. A lot of the other western search engines never find the cheapest fares, even the international versions of the airlines' own websites. Trip.com service is generally very good.
Jun 3, 2023, 4:17 am
#4
Join Date: May 2010
Location: AVP & PEK
Programs: UA 1K 1.8MM
Posts: 6,349
I'd say for First class cabin this is not my experience.
100% agree with trip.com/ctrip comment though.
Jun 3, 2023, 4:32 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,222
Works for business and economy fares on the trunk routes like Shanghai flights to Beijing or Shenzhen. I’m not really flying to the smaller airports which have fewer daily flights so I’m not sure for business fares. I could see those being sold out closer to the date of travel because they have 8 or 12 seats only to sell on those smaller planes.
Jun 3, 2023, 9:24 pm
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,222
Booking on Ctrip also requires you to have any customer service issues resolved using Chinese. Might not be a problem for most on this thread but just a call out in case the OP can’t speak Chinese.
Jun 4, 2023, 8:25 am
#8
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: AC MM E50 , Former SPG, now Marriott LT Plat
Posts: 6,262
My " most traumatic" Ctrip booking was years ago when a typhoon hit Xiamen, and my MU or CZ flight to BKK
the next morning was cancelled. Ctrip managed a cancellation and re-booking onto TG when the airport re-opened,
all in English and even with a slight refund.
Jun 4, 2023, 8:46 am
#9
Join Date: May 2010
Location: AVP & PEK
Programs: UA 1K 1.8MM
Posts: 6,349
Not in my experience.
My " most traumatic" Ctrip booking was years ago when a typhoon hit Xiamen, and my MU or CZ flight to BKK
the next morning was cancelled. Ctrip managed a cancellation and re-booking onto TG when the airport re-opened,
all in English and even with a slight refund.
My " most traumatic" Ctrip booking was years ago when a typhoon hit Xiamen, and my MU or CZ flight to BKK
the next morning was cancelled. Ctrip managed a cancellation and re-booking onto TG when the airport re-opened,
all in English and even with a slight refund.
yeah, I don't think it matters.
trip.com was done to make it 'look' more 'international', that's about it. the underlying support/engine is pretty much the same, IME.
Jun 4, 2023, 2:52 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: FRA/SXB
Programs: FB Gold
Posts: 1,995
Thanks for the hints, very helpful.
Flying Economy, can speak and understand but reading/writing is a different story. So the chinese ctrip site won't get me very far.
I don't know if I have the guts to book last minute though, considering I'd plan to join a guided tour and stuff and would hate to lose the schedule i want. Perhaps a month before I'd reserve the plane ticket then.....
Flying Economy, can speak and understand but reading/writing is a different story. So the chinese ctrip site won't get me very far.
I don't know if I have the guts to book last minute though, considering I'd plan to join a guided tour and stuff and would hate to lose the schedule i want. Perhaps a month before I'd reserve the plane ticket then.....
Jun 5, 2023, 3:24 am
#11
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,030
Thanks for the hints, very helpful.
Flying Economy, can speak and understand but reading/writing is a different story. So the chinese ctrip site won't get me very far.
I don't know if I have the guts to book last minute though, considering I'd plan to join a guided tour and stuff and would hate to lose the schedule i want. Perhaps a month before I'd reserve the plane ticket then.....
Flying Economy, can speak and understand but reading/writing is a different story. So the chinese ctrip site won't get me very far.
I don't know if I have the guts to book last minute though, considering I'd plan to join a guided tour and stuff and would hate to lose the schedule i want. Perhaps a month before I'd reserve the plane ticket then.....
Last edited by moondog; Jun 5, 2023 at 3:31 am
Jun 5, 2023, 4:56 am
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,222
The trip.com app has a calendar that shows you the lowest price on your chosen routing for the next six months.
If you search your desired routing you’ll see that buying a week or less in advance is the right strategy.
If you search your desired routing you’ll see that buying a week or less in advance is the right strategy.
Jun 5, 2023, 12:09 pm
#13
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: LON
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,915
I have also had pretty good results with customer support in English with ctrip in the past. Some agents have a better grasp of English than others, but none resulted in a hang up and call again because of a language barrier.
Jun 5, 2023, 8:27 pm
#15
Join Date: May 2010
Location: AVP & PEK
Programs: UA 1K 1.8MM
Posts: 6,349
It depends on quite a few things.
The train is generally more reliable as far as on-time arrival is concerned.
I have done plenty of train trips on this route, and prefer it to flying, but I usually book BUSINESS class train tickets (better than FIRST).
The train is generally more reliable as far as on-time arrival is concerned.
I have done plenty of train trips on this route, and prefer it to flying, but I usually book BUSINESS class train tickets (better than FIRST).