cheap flights to shanghai at christmas

[helenaparis]

does anyone know of any cheap flights to shanghai at christmas time from australia? qantas outrageously expensive and virgin too long, going via singapore etc, cathay too expensive....

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Firstly welcome to AFF helenaparis - this site is literally an eternal fountain of knowledge re all matters flying - so hopefully you will enjoy the site and be able to contribute contact back at the same time.

To get to your specific question - more info pls - dep port, class of travel etc.

FTR - I just love the your name - Helena was my mothers middle name and grandmothers christion name - and I just adore paris

 

[helenaparis]

oh thankyou cruiser elite! i love paris too....sigh
i am looking for flights to shanghai
dep hobart dec 24 or 25, ret jan 7 or 8 but the dates are flexible if cheaper of course. thanks again

 

[get me outta here]

helenaparis, perhaps yu can work something in with CX on here, it is a difficult time of the year. This may get you nearby 09 Oct 14 - 31 Dec 15 : Flight offer - Cathay Pacific Australia

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Helena if it's Y you are after then the Chinese carriers China Eastern / China Southern etc may well offer up some cheapies - but beware travelling Y on such length of flts on the Chinese Carriers. So are you after Economy seating or Business / First Class?

Whichever Class you want it will probably just require leg work on your behalf - you could check with FC or some other TA to see what they throw up for your dates and then just laboriously go through each carrier that flies ex MEL / SYD into PVG and see what you can find.

 

[helenaparis]

helenaparis, perhaps yu can work something in with CX on here, it is a difficult time of the year. This may get you nearby 09 Oct 14 - 31 Dec 15 :



thanks GMOH, will check that out....hp

 

[helenaparis]

just economy for this trip will be fine cruiser elite...have done it previously a few times, and china eastern was awful, we were seated separately and no vegetarian food on offer or able to be ordered on qantas code share...we only got to sit together by offering someone cash to change seats! many other passengers had the same issue with ce that day. i have corporate traveller working on it for me also so hopefully something will come up. thanks again

 

[dajop]

The other option may be (and I haven't looked, so not sure) is getting Malaysia Airlines out of MEL. They are really struggling filling their Chinese services at at the moment, and have been having some good sales lately.

 

[helenaparis]

good tip, thanks dajop, ma never occurred to me

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Yep as dajop has stated just need to check the airline sites directly - and keep watching this thread - amazing what some fellow AFF bright spark might stumble over - and the good thing about the AFF brother / sisterhood is the willingness to share info.

Particularly watch Foreigner - he might well come up with a 'Worlds Cheapest Return Flts HBA-PVG' list anytime.

 

[helenaparis]

fantastic, thanks!

 

[Sprucegoose]

Try MH. They have a decent flight around midnight out of Melb with morning connections northwards

 

[helenaparis]

thankyou sprucegoose, good idea

 

[MEL_Traveller]

thankyou sprucegoose, good idea

I would check for any option but MH. A recent interview with the commercial director again seems reluctant for MH to proactively manage, on their own, the safety of the air corridors they fly through.

Interview: Malaysia Airlines

 

[helenaparis]

thanks mel traveller

 

[moa999]

Have you tried searching in one of the aggregator sites.
eg. skyscanner.com

Best I can see on those dates are fares just under $2000, with the cheapest being China Eastern, then Qantas.

Reality is you are booking late, over a busy travel period, so there are unlikely to be many cheap fares.

 

[helenaparis]

yes i have tried skyscanner, orbitz, every site i can find!! best price i ended up with was from corporate traveller travel club - $1833 qantas

 

[MEL_Traveller]

out of melbourne I'm getting $1450 on China Eastern, perhaps could combine that with a cheap ticket on points from HBA to MEL?

 

[helenaparis]

at christmas ex hobart there are no cheap airfares! because of the yacht race etc. flew china eastern qantas code share last year, we were not even seated together, and neither were lots of people...

 

[dajop]

I would check for any option but MH. A recent interview with the commercial director again seems reluctant for MH to proactively manage, on their own, the safety of the air corridors they fly through.

Interview: Malaysia Airlines

Any option? Using this criteria I would also exclude Singapore Airlines and Thai as options for traveling to China.

In terms of MH, I am guessing lawyers would not permit any other public opinion to be put forward.