I feel proud whenever I manage to get a great deal on airfare (because it is not easy and takes great deal of research)
For mid-summer, non-stop flight with Continental
Flying into Hong Kong and out of Shanghai
$983 pp (includes taxes)
That is a very good deal, especially considering that this is not a round-trip ticket but like 2 one-way tickets.
It is a 16hr long flight to HK! I have done this flight few times before and it is tiring. But I am looking forward to my trip.
Booking it was not easy -- when I finally found this fare, I went to discuss it with DH, get a credit card, think about if a little more. Than, when I was ready to purchase my request was timed out. So I re-entered exact info and now the flight was $1,725!
I tried again and again but it was still the same. So I called Continental reservations line. They looked at it, told me "the cheaper flight was just sold out, it happens all the time, sorry we can't help you." I sounded my disappointment (politely) and just did not know what to do. I guess I had difficulty accepting it. So the rep told me: "I'll transfer you to Continental now, but they'll tell you the same thing".
This got me a little confused - since I was calling Continental in the first place. But I guess they maybe outsourced the reservation system or something like that.
The next lady looked at the flight I wanted and said "yes, it is $1,700" I was sad, of course. It is a huge difference. Than she said if I wait few minutes she can play around to see what she can find in the system. And she found that flight for that price! That was amazing. So I booked it right there. I was so relieved.
I booked both our tickets. We are going on the same flight but DH is coming home after 2 weeks (he needs to go to work). So it was a complex fare with comlpex requirements, and I got a great price on it!
I keep checking this itinerary - and it is still $1725 - it never went down again.
Scored(barely) a good deal on our flight to China. It was not easy!
April 18th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
April 19th, 2009 at 11:49 am 1240141780
April 19th, 2009 at 12:30 pm 1240144257
April 19th, 2009 at 04:26 pm 1240158416
April 19th, 2009 at 11:05 pm 1240182300
April 20th, 2009 at 01:13 am 1240189999
April 20th, 2009 at 04:20 am 1240201242
I looked into breaking it up - to fly through Singapore or other major Asian cities. It was not cheaper, even for a simple round trip ticket.
HK is the main hub in Asia... And NYC is a hub in North America.
We are coming back to another city and have specific date requirements, which made it harder.
So I am quite happy with this price.
Yes, I once got $337 one way fare NY to Beijing. But that was in February (big price difference from high-demand summer) and our dates were completely flexible, and it was 5 years ago.
April 21st, 2009 at 09:39 pm 1240349970