API data can be corrected at check in. The agent usually scans the machine readable part of the passport to ensure it's correct. After all, you might have lost and replaced your passport since the ticket was issued. I suggest this isn't something to concern yourself over.

Chinese airlines are a different by requiring that API data is collected at time of purchase but it can be updated any time until you actually fly.

All true, I'm sure.
Personally I'd cancel and re-book.

This happened to me once. I booked using a different passport, and I didn't bring that passport to the airport. It was a big pain -- the check-in desk couldn't change the ID #. I had to call MU and get a rush job done by their back office.

So yeah, I would cancel and re-book if possible.

Actually, I called MU office, they would have been able to change the passport number typo, but when they saw
my passport copy they pointed out that the middle name was missing on my reservation, and refused to make the
change ( I always make my flight reservations with just last name/first name).
Anyway. after that last refusal, I bit the cost and cancelled and re-booked. It cost me about $100 CAD due to cancellation fee
and currency changes, but worth it for knowing there will be no unnecessary check-in impediments.
The only funny thing was that I was able to select the same seat that I originally had for the first flight, but
I was not allowed to select a seat for the second flight - although I had done so on the first reservation.

I would have tried to escalate and resolve the middle name issue while I had their attention, myself. Even if China Eastern's databases treat middle names in an intelligent manner (I don't know if that's the case), they need to realize that many others don't, and from a user (i.e. people like us with names in Roman characters) standpoint, compatibility is important.

I am glad I found this thread as well. Looking at booking SFO-KUL and with trip.com Flight+Hotel is basically the same price as booking just the flight on China Easterns website.

So, free hotel, hooray!

Can one pre-book seats on China Eastern and is there a cost?

I'm delighted to hear that MU is finally back in the US-SE Asia market (Chinese airlines have focused almost solely on O&D to/from the US since COVID), so thanks for your heads up here.

I've never paid for a seat assignment on MU, myself. On some tickets (lower fare buckets, I guess), I don't get seats until check-in, though.

Well, the flight times are terrible�.but its cheap, so� 🤷‍♂️

Assuming the stopover rules are generous (usually the case because state owned airlines want to encourage people to spend time/money in China), fares like that are a wonderful thing for many of us that we haven't seen for the past 5 years!

For some reason, not all airlines allow much more than 24 hours. In my experience, the price on MU jacks up when you select a stopover longer than 24 hours, whereas 3U allows up to a week. Not saying that this is the case for all markets, but this it what I saw.

Stopover promotions are often driven/subsidized by government (national, provincial, local) and/or various tourism related entities.

They are also a lever airlines use to stimulate demand, especially on routes that don't have robust O&D.

For both of these reasons, they are more common in second tier markets that are keen on promoting themselves (e.g. Xiamen, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an), but they also pop up in Beijing and Shanghai, especially during slower seasons.

In any event, as I mentioned in the post to which you replied, this is the first time I've seen ANY competitive US-SE Asia fares offered by a Chinese airline since 2019, so I definitely regard it as a positive development.

Before I forget, I want to report a recent customer service data point:
1. They hit me with a Y600 resort fee that wasn't included in the listed price
2. I called them and asked for it back
3. The lady who picked up the phone yammered on about how they are legally compliant (wrt how misleading they're allowed to be) for 2 minutes*, and finished off by offering $20 in Trip Coins
4. I said, "No, but I'll accept the full amount ($80 or so) in Trip Coins"
5. She countered with $40 in Trip Coins, and I accepted
*I should note that the other phases of the call (demand + negotiate + settle) took up no more than 30 seconds, in total. She already had my record pulled up when she picked up my call, and knew exactly what I was talking about, so she jumped right into her boilerplate speech.

I think they would have completely caved in if I pushed harder and dug out some statutes for them to chew on, but I was pretty content with the resolution I got from a time value perspective (i.e. spending 2 minutes to recover $40 is more appealing to me than spending 45 minutes to recover $80...let alone 43 minutes to recover the additional $40).

Was this a legit error, and did [c]trip at least update their site now to reflect this charge?

Are "resort fees" now starting to appear in China?

If so, why not name the hotel.

It was a pay at the property affair that became clear only after I received the confirmation email.

This particular hotel is in Florida, where resort fees are still common. I've never heard of resort fees in China, but I wouldn't be surprised if they creep into the mix at some point.