East coast USA to BKK for under $700.

[Shonen]

That's the deal I got on Hot Wire. Seemed too good to be true as the lowest other fares were about $1,000. It's with China Eastern which I assume is the bottom of the barrel service wise, but I'm used to low cost carriers so as long as we don't have a crash it should be fine,lol. It's for early February and prices seem low now. Usually I buy earlier but I had to wait for verification of my retirement.

Of course any savings I have will probably be added to the fee as I plan on changing the return date by adding another month to my stay.

[fedssocr]

Assume you'll be transiting in China. Just make sure there is plenty of time between flights as transfers in China can be a pain. Read a real horror story the other day of some one who missed their connection in PEK due to late arrival and a short connect time that led to thousands of dollars in added costs and aggravation. My own experience at PEK has been much less than ideal. Presumably China Eastern routes via their Shanghai hub.

[paulsf]

If price is very important, the Chinese airlines have been offering some great deals this winter. Usually midweek flights.

 

Good luck with retirement. All my trips were 7-10 days. Then I retired and now all my trips are 30 days or more. Just don't spend all your money the first week. With 30 days you can pace yourself.

[Moses]

I had flights with China Eastern few times. Onboard service is OK. Be ready: seat's space for legs is less than usual, seat headrest located lower. Also: 5 of 6 flights have been delayed for 3-6 hours. Esp. early morning and late evening flights usually are delayed by reasons of the fog or smog. 

[Guest abang1961]

When air fares are well-below market rates, one has to compromise - shorter leg room, awkward flight times, more lay-over/stops etc.  I took JAL to San Francisco once and they had to ferry me to the hotel as the next flight is 10 hours later.  

 

Cheap flights like Singapore to Guangzhou arrive at 2 am.. what to do when you walk out of the luggage and customs at 3 am.... find the nearest 24 hour fastfood restaurants.  Sometimes, none are available.

 

Yes, delays in China may be due to weather but the truth is that sometimes, they reserve the seats for last-minute official arrangements - if the President wants to chair a meeting in 3 hours, you better catch the first flight to Beijing!  

[calluna15]

I am willing to pay more on cathay pacific

For more reliable schedules and service.

Got back dec. 16 going again for another 2 to 3

Months march 4th. I said I would never do songkran

Again in pattaya oh well.

[kokopelli]

. It's with China Eastern which I assume is the bottom of the barrel service wise, but I'm used to low cost carriers so as long as we don't have a crash it should be fine,lol. It's for early February and prices seem low now. Usually I buy earlier but I had to wait for verification of my retirement.

Of course any savings I have will probably be added to the fee as I plan on changing the return date by adding another month to my stay.

I believe China Southern is at the bottom of the barrel;  I will be flying both China Eastern and  China Southern but not for another six months. Using miles for Biz Class 70K each way to USA booked on Delta.

[firecat69]

I used China Air recently which is a Taiwan based airline.  Very pleased with the service and used DL miles.  You have to call DL because they don't always post availability.

[Shonen]

 

It transfers from JFK to Shanghai and has only a two hour layover there. But coming back it's a four hour layover. I probably should have just taken Cathey for a few hundred more as they are very reliable, but I'll see.

[vinapu]

I used China Eastern in Dec 2014 and again in Dec 2015, nothing wrong with them, flights were on time, food passable and adequate. Only bad thing was plane too cold inside on one of the legs but I had it on other airlines as well like aforementioned China Air from Taiwan.

 

It looks that transfer through Shanghai is streamlined now, no problem both times.

 

I must have bad luck with Cathay, used twice and while service was great flight was late both times

[fedssocr]

I think Cathay's problem is that there's so much traffic in and out of HKG that air traffic delays are common. By the end of the day everything is delayed "due to late arrival of the aircraft".

[Guest whall]

Everything was perfect when I went on Cathay.