Treat yourself to Business Class

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firecat69

Treat yourself to Business Class

Post by firecat69 »

For no particular reason I was looking for airfares Los Angeles - Bangkok and return . Was shocked to find Business Class tickets as low as $1700-$1800 RT.

These were on Hong Kong Airlines new A350's on which their Business Class gets fabulous reviews. Maybe someone wants to treat themselves at a fare I can't actually believe.
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Undaunted
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Re: Treat yourself to Business Class

Post by Undaunted »

Interesting, I’ve near heard of Hong Kong Air.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
firecat69

Re: Treat yourself to Business Class

Post by firecat69 »

Oh and by the way the economy fare Los Angeles - Bangkok RT is $371 which boggles my imagination. It costs me more than that to fly Atlanta to NYC.

And there are other airlines close to those prices. Just Hong Kong is flying new A350's and at least in BC gets excellent reviews.
Dimsumbear

Re: Treat yourself to Business Class

Post by Dimsumbear »

Such a good deal, even for low or shoulder season. If I have to be cynical and sour grapes all about it, the mother company of Hongkong Airline is China Hainan Group. The group has its own Hainan Airline but it suffers financial difficulties and has almost gone default on its bonds several times. I won’t be surprised if one day all their flights - Hongkong Airlines included - were suddenly grounded by its creditors one day. A comprehensive travel insurance may do the trick while enjoying their hospitality in the air. Trust me, the inflight service is like on a different planet from Air Canada or Delta
fountainhall

Re: Treat yourself to Business Class

Post by fountainhall »

Dimsumbear wrote: Sat Sep 14, 2019 6:01 pm If I have to be cynical and sour grapes all about it, the mother company of Hongkong Airline is China Hainan Group. The group has its own Hainan Airline but it suffers financial difficulties and has almost gone default on its bonds several times. I won’t be surprised if one day all their flights - Hongkong Airlines included - were suddenly grounded by its creditors one day.
Hainan Airlines is one of Skytrax Top Ten Airlines in the World and gets better ratings on the Skytrax Review pages than almost any other airline. Presently it has an 8/10 rating. The parent company HNA does have large debts and Hong Kong Airlines is equally very much in the red. But it is regulated by the Hong Kong Air Transport Licensing Authority and I believe it has to stand on its own two feet financially. That said, it is carrying a mountain of debt - according to the South China Morning Post, it owes more than US$150 million to HNA - and has pledged to cut back on trans-Pacific routes and get rid of a few planes. It last received a warning from the Hong Kong regulator in June with another request for a restructuring plan. I cannot find one on the internet. Since axing all trans-Pacific routes has been considered, I would not book too far ahead until the airline's finances are in better shape. This is especially true given that overall bookings for the rest of the year are 30% down on last year.
Bookings for September to December have dropped by 30 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the airline – which carried 7.64 million passengers in 2018.
This is a great pity because Hong Kong Airlines offers a very good service. I have taken it several times from Bangkok to Taipei through Hong Kong. Its short haul problem from Bangkok is that most of its flights are technically overnight with awful departure and arrival times. There was one excellent departure at around 11:30 am with a return ex-HKG at 7:00 pm operated on an A330. Economy seating and service was excellent.

In January I discovered one of these internet error fares which showed a biz class return to Hong Kong on those flights in June for Bt. 9,800. The ticket was issued but a month later I received two emails informing me that each flight had been downgraded to 737s and there would be no business class. No apology. No offer of a refund or compensation. Being stubborn and never accepting what airlines and hotels tell me, I contacted the airline. After a lot of to and fro, they offered me biz class flights - on Bangkok Airways! I knew Bangkok Airways does not serve Hong Kong from BKK and asked if it was a non-stop flight. Yes, I was told! How long? 6 hours and 50 minutes! Well, I had a real go at them about that considering the non-stop flight lasts around 2'30". The Bangkok Air flights went via Koh Samui! Eventually when I threatened I would meet with my solicitor to discuss a lawsuit (which of course I could never do), they finally switched me to TG biz class at roughly the same departure times at no extra cost.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/tra ... -axing-all
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/art ... n-training
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Re: Treat yourself to Business Class

Post by Gaybutton »

fountainhall wrote: Sat Sep 14, 2019 7:10 pm they finally switched me to TG biz class at roughly the same departure times at no extra cost.
I'm glad you stood up to them and refused to let them cheat you. It was their error, not yours, and they published it. They're the ones who should have to eat it, not the customer.
Dimsumbear

Re: Treat yourself to Business Class

Post by Dimsumbear »

Ditto....the same error fare happened at Cathay Pacific and they honored each and every reservation. They were so obliging many wondered if it were a clever marketing pitch to begin with
fountainhall

Re: Treat yourself to Business Class

Post by fountainhall »

CX had two computer errors in consecutive months. One set of tickets was from Vietnam to New York. First class return tickets ex-Danang cost just US$679. First and business class tickets ex-Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh were gong for less than US$1,000. When the error was discovered, the tickets ex-Danang went back to their original $16,000 price!
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Re: Treat yourself to Business Class

Post by Gaybutton »

fountainhall wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2019 9:45 am tickets ex-Danang went back to their original $16,000 price!
$16,000 ?!?!? Not me.
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