China Air has sale from LAX & SFO to BKK

[Guest FanOfThailand]

Thank you to Astrro for first finding this.

 

LAX to BKK $801.70 ( this includes all taxes)

SFO to BKK $791.70 ( this includes all taxes)

 

There are a few restrictions like travel days in/out must be Mon-Thur.

Travel must begin by April 30th.

 

You can't select your seat when you purchase the tickets (bummer). You can eCheckin 24 hours before the flight departs and select seats then.

 

I've never flown on China Air so I don't know about their service.

[Guest Astrrro]

You can't select your seat when you purchase the tickets (bummer). You can eCheckin 24 hours before the flight departs and select seats then.

 

I've never flown on China Air so I don't know about their service.

 

Glad to hear it turned out to be a good deal. I try to post them when I find them but often there are hidden extras and glad to hear in this case not.

 

I've flown China Air a number of times but not in a couple of years. As I remember, they don't have video on demand so better bring a good, easy, airline read.

 

As I remember the bulkheads had some extra legroom but forgot what rows they were, think there are two economy bulkhead rows. But if u can't get a bulkhead, I find that the backs of planes are emptier and it's nice if no one is sitting next to you, although who knows maybe a Taiwanese studmuffin. : - )

 

The New York flights stop at Anchorage to refuel, then Tapei, then generally non-stop to BKK, although sometimes with a stop in Taiwan.

 

They have free showers in the Tapei airport but no towels, so if you have an old towel that's ready to be thrown out, bring it along cause the shower will feel good.

 

The China Air frequent flyer program is not great. A few years ago you had the option of dumping the miles into a Delta account, not sure if that's still so, or if it would be worthwhile to do so.

 

[Guest MonkeySee]

Glad to hear it turned out to be a good deal. I try to post them when I find them but often there are hidden extras and glad to hear in this case not.

 

I've flown China Air a number of times but not in a couple of years. As I remember, they don't have video on demand so better bring a good, easy, airline read.

 

As I remember the bulkheads had some extra legroom but forgot what rows they were, think there are two economy bulkhead rows. But if u can't get a bulkhead, I find that the backs of planes are emptier and it's nice if no one is sitting next to you, although who knows maybe a Taiwanese studmuffin. : - )

I have flown China Air a few times in the last few years, usually the LAX-BKK flight. Older 747's but not bad. The food and service was acceptable and the prices were the best I could find.

[Guest Astrrro]

I always wonder what different people mean by service on a plane.

 

For me the three most important things I'm looking for to see if it's worth the price is:

 

1) Safety. I would be very reluctant to fly on most African carriers.

 

2) Leg room. Seat comfort.

 

3) Video on demand since I often can't sleep on planes.

 

But part of price is the FF mileage program.

 

Things like smiling, attentive flight attendants and good food isn't all that important to me.

[Guest buckeroo2]

The China Air frequent flyer program is not great. A few years ago you had the option of dumping the miles into a Delta account, not sure if that's still so, or if it would be worthwhile to do so.

I flew China Air - U.S. - BKK last year and I had the miles credited to my Delta FF account. I figured it was a one-time deal and I did not see any advantage to joining one more FF program. Toward the back of the plane the left and right sides are configured with 2 seats rather than the 3 seats found throughout the rest of the economy section.

[Guest MonkeySee]

I always wonder what different people mean by service on a plane.

 

For me the three most important things I'm looking for to see if it's worth the price is:

 

1) Safety. I would be very reluctant to fly on most African carriers.

 

2) Leg room. Seat comfort.

 

3) Video on demand since I often can't sleep on planes.

 

But part of price is the FF mileage program.

 

Things like smiling, attentive flight attendants and good food isn't all that important to me.

Of course safety is number one, but if the airline is able to fly in and out of the US, then they come up to the FAA standards. You might have to careful outside the US. China Air had a few crashes a decade ago or so, but I think that was just bad luck and not due to airline maintenance problems. A good price is usually what I look for in an airline. I am not that tall and so leg room is not that important. I cannot tell much difference in one airline's legroom from another. Video on demand is low on the list. After dinner and drinks, I usually do a sleeping pill and am out like a light.

[Guest Astrrro]

I guess service, attitude, and friendliness is not something I care too much about on a plane.

 

But it is very important for me at hotels.

 

At hotels I want the vibe to be right. If not I can find other hotels.

 

On a plane though, it just doesn't matter that much to me.

 

Toward the back of the plane the left and right sides are configured with 2 seats rather than the 3 seats found throughout the rest of the economy section.

 

I would choose the aisle seat configured with 3 seats. Think there's a better chance that the seat next to me will be empty.

 

When I check in, I try to get all the info mI can about how full the plane is and all other things being equal try to change my seat to someplace with no one sitting next to me and likely to stay that way.

[PattayaMale]

I just met 2 guys that were from Long Beach that flew China Air. They are both in their 30's, one is a doctor the other self employed. They flew economy and said the service and flight was fine. They had the middle seat between them empty so they were able to stretch out.

 

They leave Sunday to return to Long Beach and said that an upgrade to business class from Taipei may be an option

[Guest fountainhall]

Seems that China Airlines has had 5 fatal accidents in the last 20 years. Not fatal was a Boeing 737-800 exploding after it landed in Japan 18 months ago (fuel tank problem that I believe also caused the explosion aboard Toxin's flight at Don Muaeng soon after he started his first stint as Prime Minister).

 

The scariest incident (at least for me) was the 30,000 feet uncontrolled steep dive of a 747 before the pilots regained control and managed an emergency landing at San Francisco in 1985. That turned out to be pilot error. I get the creeps just thinking what went through the passengers' minds.

 

Curiously, I was at Hong Kong's old Kai Tak airport in 1993 when a one month old China Airlines 747-400 landed too far down the runway, skidded around and ended up in the water. Everyone got off safely, but the plane was a write-off. I was also at the then-new Chek Lap Kok airport waiting for a flight to Bangkok in August 1999 when a China Airlines MD11 turned turtle on landing in a storm and ended up ablaze on its back. That was largely pilot error.

 

Guess I am not the person you want to travel with! But Monkeysee is right. The airline's safety record has improved considerably in the last decade.

[Guest MonkeySee]

With the advance of computer simulator, pilots are able to train for all sorts of events. The old Hong Kong Airport was a scary and tricky landing for even an experienced pilot. If not pilot error, it is usually a mechanical problem. I am just glad that China Air's safety record has improved. When you look at the statistics, flying is really very safe.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

With the advance of computer simulator, pilots are able to train for all sorts of events. The old Hong Kong Airport was a scary and tricky landing for even an experienced pilot. If not pilot error, it is usually a mechanical problem. I am just glad that China Air's safety record has improved. When you look at the statistics, flying is really very safe.

 

Flying has become extremely safe in the last two decades, and seems to be imporving yearly. Unfortunately when there is an accident and several hundred people are killed, it brings on a lot of publicity. Yet, on a holiday weekend, we can kill several hundred in the US, and it doesn't get the public notice. You are safer in the airplane, than in the car on the way to the airport!!

[Guest fountainhall]

The old Hong Kong Airport was a scary and tricky landing for even an experienced pilot

 

But it was fun! I actually enjoyed seeing into the apartments below Rumour had it that the Cathay Pacific pilots could tell not only which apartments had their TV sets on but also the channels to which they were tuned! Despite Kai Tak's scariness, it was an extremely safe airport. I can only recall that one incident mentioned earlier in all the years I lived in Hong Kong.

 

You are safer in the airplane, than in the car on the way to the airpor

 

. . . and safer than on any other form of public transportation.

[Guest Astrrro]

http://www.china-airlines.com/en/promotion...ionen000207.htm

 

LAX to BKK roundtrip $650 including taxes. You don't accrue any FF miles though.