Advice re ff booking. Any help would be great!
Nov 24, 2009, 8:46 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 20
Advice re ff booking. Any help would be great!
Hi there. I'm pretty new at this, and would really appreciate some of your advice please fellow flyers!
I've made an award booking for my mother in late Dec:
Melbourne - Hong Kong, Hong Kong - Vancouver using my Qantas FF points.
Dep Melb 8am arr HK 3pm,
Dep HK 1am arr Vanc 8pm. Thus a 10 hour wait in HK!
There is a connecting flight HK - Vanc 4.45pm which I really want to get her on!
No ff seats however. Being peak/holiday period, of course everything is heavily booked up.
After checking with Qantas a few times for a seat, I called Cathay to ask if there are any X class seats on the connecting 4.45pm flight, but none available as expected.
Is it worth calling qantas every couple of days to see if a seat has become available through a cancellation, or should I just give up and move on...?!
Any suggestions please?
Many thanks, and happy travels!
I've made an award booking for my mother in late Dec:
Melbourne - Hong Kong, Hong Kong - Vancouver using my Qantas FF points.
Dep Melb 8am arr HK 3pm,
Dep HK 1am arr Vanc 8pm. Thus a 10 hour wait in HK!
There is a connecting flight HK - Vanc 4.45pm which I really want to get her on!
No ff seats however. Being peak/holiday period, of course everything is heavily booked up.
After checking with Qantas a few times for a seat, I called Cathay to ask if there are any X class seats on the connecting 4.45pm flight, but none available as expected.
Is it worth calling qantas every couple of days to see if a seat has become available through a cancellation, or should I just give up and move on...?!
Any suggestions please?
Many thanks, and happy travels!
Nov 24, 2009, 9:13 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: SEA
Programs: Alaska MVPG 100K, IHG Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,705
IMO, it doesn't hurt to call every few days to find availability, though HKG-YVR is extremely difficult to come by. I live in the West Coast so YVR/SFO/LAX will all work for me with YVR being the most direct route, but I have yet scored an award ticket with YVR on CX.
Also have you tried the award finder engine on CX's website? You will need to apply for a free AsiaMiles membership to use it. Reports from other threads show that the award finder's availability is not too far off from those available to other partners, but it is really YMMV. It will be a good start though.
Happy travel to you, too. I will be on a CX flight for SFO-HKG tomorrow!
Also have you tried the award finder engine on CX's website? You will need to apply for a free AsiaMiles membership to use it. Reports from other threads show that the award finder's availability is not too far off from those available to other partners, but it is really YMMV. It will be a good start though.
Happy travel to you, too. I will be on a CX flight for SFO-HKG tomorrow!
Nov 24, 2009, 3:50 pm
#6
Moderator: Asiana & Qantas Frequent Flyer
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: STR/SYD/SMF
Programs: QF Lifetime SG, LH HON, OZ Lifetime Diamond +, HH Diamond, Marriott Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 14,406
Otherwise you can try to organize a tour for her in Hong Kong to make the most of the evening there. Sunset on the Harbour, nice dinner etc. before heading back to the airport.
Nov 25, 2009, 4:18 am
#7
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6
Don't be scared to do this - there are trains about 3 or 4 times an hour, and it takes about 25 minutes to get from the airport to Hong Kong central, for HKD 100.
Nov 25, 2009, 5:27 am
#8
Moderator: Asiana & Qantas Frequent Flyer
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: STR/SYD/SMF
Programs: QF Lifetime SG, LH HON, OZ Lifetime Diamond +, HH Diamond, Marriott Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 14,406
I am not scared. Have explored Hong Kong many times and almost always used the train. I was just suggesting something for the mother of BLBG.
Nov 25, 2009, 6:53 am
#9
Join Date: May 2005
Location: MEL
Programs: QF WP, VA, AA
Posts: 1,505
Nov 25, 2009, 8:45 pm
#10
Moderator: Asiana & Qantas Frequent Flyer
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: STR/SYD/SMF
Programs: QF Lifetime SG, LH HON, OZ Lifetime Diamond +, HH Diamond, Marriott Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 14,406