moondog

当当然然 (you only live once)

tom911

No options with NZ, AC, Singapore,Thai or Asiana into PEK? Did UA look at all these?

I was on Expert Flyer quite a bit looking at routings, and on my original return date UA showed "0" in all fare classes on their own metal out of PEK, which I thought was rather surprising this far out.

iahphx

Yup, as Moondog noted above, if you want to go to China for the Olympics, think Air Canada. For folks on the East Coast, their Toronto-Beijing and Toronto-Shanghai flights are very appealing and -- at least last week -- very available for Star Alliance reward travel. Register for the ANA ff program on line and use their award seat-finder to find inventory (at least up to 330 days out).

I've found that AC allows folks to book award travel even beyond 330 days, but some partners (like UA) apparently give you a hard time doing it. USAirways did allow me to book an AC itinerary beyond 330 days -- which may be moot now, given that the end of the Games should be more-or-less within 330 days.

I did see some limited UA award inventory into Shanghai, but I assume that's gone now.

BTW, can anyone shed light on when it would be possible to book a discounted INTERNAL China flight for next August. When I looked at Ctrip the other week, it was just at full fare. I suspect many of us will want to combine the Olympics with a visit elsewhere in China. From personal experience, one week of Olympic "experience" is enough for all but the most dedicated spectators.

moondog

I'd be very surprised if you were able to find any discounts greater than 20% next summer (it's much too early to book btw). Furthermore, my anectdotal evidence (fares are expensive, flights are full, bosses that force junior employees to ride trains are less and less common) suggests that demand for air travel has increased dramatically during the course of the past year. Finally, PEK itself is undergoing a major capacity reduction right now that is expected to be permanent.

allset2travel

So, it will happen by year-end. Good to know. Thanks.
You mean they will launch PEK and PVG new terminals before completion? I don't they are ready by Dec 11.

iahphx

Well that's a shame.

I'll have my family with me (4 of us) and I'd actually prefer to take a train if our itinerary permits it. We enjoyed (well, maybe "enjoyed" is too strong a word) our overnight trains last year in the 4-person sleepers, and I've never heard anyone say a nice word about flying within China.

The thing that worries me about taking a train to or from Beijing during the Olympics is that -- to my hazy recollection -- you can't make reservations too far in advance for Chinese trains. While that is not usually a big problem, I wonder if it could be a problem during the Olympics. I presume I could arrange air travel further in advance.

moondog

Now that you mention it, I recall reading that PEK's terminals aren't going to open until next summer, and on a soft basis. But, IIRC PVG #2 is closer to completion.

anacapamalibu

2007-09-13 06:04 Beijing showed its new airport terminal Wednesday
The terminal, which is scheduled to open for testing in February and full operation in July.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympic...nt_6101986.htm

T2 at PVG, have no idea when it opens..but construction looks like its near completion.

kb1992

My family always enjoy trains. In 2006 summer we took train K79/80 Shanghai-Kunming: 44 hours one-way.

If you book few days in advance once you are in China, soft sleeper seat is never a problem. Just ask hotel business center to book for you.

In fact, you could go for "Deluxe Soft Sleeper", 2 people in a room on selected trains such as T99/100 Z49/50 T109/110 T37/38. Fare will double, and ordinary Chinese won't spend that kind of money.

My 2008 Summer Train adventures will include train rides:

Shenzhen-Shenyang
Shenyang-Dalian
Dalian-Nanjing
Nanjing-Shanghai
Shanghai-Hong Kong

california09

Just spent much of the afternoon on the phone with a nice lady at the Delta international partner desk. Am trying to get from BOS to PEK for the olympics (dates are very flexible) for about a week. Long story short, we ran through many dates for Continental, Northwest, Singapore (none of which had availability) to get to Beijing for the olympics. Korean has availability, but all US-Korea flights are blacked out July 20-Aug 20.

Any recommendations on other routing possibilities? I was able to get into SIN on Singapore Air, but couldnt get from there to Beijing. Or should I just keep calling and trying?

moondog

Try ATL-ICN on DL metal. If you can't get seats all the way to PEK, you might want to look into TSN, DLC, or TAO (sailing events are being held there plus it is clean).

iahphx

Yeah, this is going to be a hard trip to get on SkyTeam. The Star Alliance worked well last month, though, especially redeeming for Air Canada. Not sure if there's any inventory left at this point.

Basically, to do this, you need to find an airline that loads inventory 330 days in advance. Continental, for example, doesn't. I suppose it's possible that seats will open up in the end, but I suspect at this point you'll have to fly to another Asian city and hoof it to Beijing yourself.

I'd also note that I used the ANA Star Alliance award finder to find seats and THEN told the agent what I wanted to book. Not sure if there's a similar SkyTeam search function somewhere. Without it, it would almost take a miracle to find a patient agent to sort through all the crazy possibilities for you.

california09

OK, so I'd like all of your opinions on my options. I can get all the way from BOS to PVG on SQ for 80K DL miles in Y (BOS-JFK-SIN-PVG), and then transport myself from PVG to PEK somehow. I've found flights on Air China for ~$350, which seems somewhat pricey.

Alternatively, I've found a ~$1,250 fare on Air Canada (BOS-YYZ-PEK). The travel time is significantly less, and the fare (considering its olympics) is pretty inexpensive. However, I've heard horror stories about AC, and especially considering my other option is SQ.

Third option - pay for SQ or CX flights for around $2K, directly to PEK.

What would you all do? How much better is SQ than AC? Should I save the miles for some other time?

moondog

i'd go with ac for sure.

california09

Thanks for the advice - I decided the same (travelling an extra 16 hours for a non MR doesnt seem like a good call). Really looking forward to being in Beijing next year.