sfsmiles415

I haven't flown international flights in almost a decade and now planning a family trip to Japan and HKG from SFO in June/July. Family of four - 2 adults, newly traveled 6 and 8 year old. Looking for most affordable way to fly from SFO to Japan and HKG. Doesn't matter if we go to Japan or HK first. SFO to HKG with layover in Japan or SFO to Japan with layover in HKG if there's such a route? Is it possible to throw in Hawaii at the end of the trip before returning to SFO? One adult would like to fly business class if price is right (have miles with UA and a million Marriott points). Travel window June 11 to July 8 plus or minus 2-3 days. Ideally 4-6 days in HKG, 15-20 days in Japan (Disneys, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka) depending if we can fit in 4-5 days in Hawaii. Hawaii is dependent on fares - would be nice to relax after a long Asia trip if it doesn't add too much to our fares. Just getting back to traveling so sorry if I should be posting my question elsewhere. Thanks in advance!

TA

You might find Zipair to Narita low cost carrier might provide you a different / cheaper option (from SJC, not SFO, so you have to be explicit to try that option in searches). New airline, no frills (have to buy seat assignment, food, etc), but perfectly serviceable.

Then flying around Asia could be cheaper from there. I have seen HKG fares are quite high lately.

sfsmiles415

Which airlines are cheapest to fly between Japan and HKG? Much appreciated for tip to try SJC!

jib71

Welcome to Flyertalk.

In general a Low Cost Carrier (LCC) will seek to beat traditional airlines on price - Hence the recommendation to consider Zipair between Japan and the US. You can find low cost carriers for Asian routes too .... Even so, there are days when you'll find better prices on traditional airlines, and you may find that it's worth paying a little more to get the schedule that you want or to fly with an airline that you have status with, or whose miles you can use to upgrade etc. etc.

There isn't a shortcut to finding the best fares - You just have to search for flights on the dates and routes that interest you. That means lots of keyboard bashing on sites like Google Flights, Skyscanner, and so on. If you have the patience to learn how to use ITA matrix, you may find that it lets you search in ways that other sites don't. If you browse the Marriott and UA forums you will find tips about how to get the most for your miles - and how to earn more miles to put toward your trip.

If you're looking for opinions about the most comfortable seat, the best service, the nicest lounge etc. then you might find this a helpful forum - helpful in the sense that there are lots of opinions, not in the sense that you will find any consensus.

For fares, you just have to search.

pudgym29

Quote:

Originally Posted by jib71

[edit]

In general a Low Cost Carrier (LCC) will seek to beat traditional airlines on price - Hence the recommendation to consider Zipair between Japan and the USA.
There isn't a shortcut to finding the best fares - You just have to search for flights on the dates and routes that interest you. That means lots of keyboard bashing on sites like Google Flights, Skyscanner, and so on. If you have the patience to learn how to use ITA matrix, you may find that it lets you search in ways that other sites don't. If you browse the Marriott and UA forums you will find tips about how to get the most for your miles - and how to earn more miles to put toward your trip.

If you're looking for opinions about the most comfortable seat, the best service, the nicest lounge etc. then you might find this a helpful forum - helpful in the sense that there are lots of opinions, not in the sense that you will find any consensus.
For fares, you just have to search.

If you have a Google account {you don't have to sign up for Gmail to have a Google account}, have it send you a daily e-mail showing what it found as the current fare from Bay Area airports to Tokyo (TYO searches for NRT and HND.) Be prepared if, somehow one day, it turns up a really cheap airfare instead from OAK or SJC.
I did not expect to be able to go to this year's Japan Do 2023 Tokyo when, on 24 March, it excavated a $998.15 airfare from Chicago to Tokyo for days including the DO. I considered this the on-line equivalent to the Grateful Dead parking lot miracle.

sfsmiles415

Skyscanner is new to me - will definitely check that out. ITA Matrix - that's the one...brings back memories of my traveling days. Thank you for these tips!

lolstebbo

FWIW Zipair is also starting flights out of SFO in... June, I think?

JapanFlyerT

I was using the Google scanner for Japan-SFO and saw fares go up and down by close to 50%. Some drops only last 24-48hrs though.

vg247

I think Japan is a very popular country to visit since it reopened, so fares and hotel rates aren’t going to be “cheap” anytime soon. We visited in December and are in Japan now, throughout all my searches past and for the future the fares have held. You can try to enter dat
es of travel on an app like Hopper to forecast when to buy or wait.


For Hawaii, low fares can be found however unless you stay at a Air BnB, hotel rat
es have also risen significantly post pandemic fyi