Job Discussion Forums

SandyG20 · Joined: 12 Sep 2007 Posts: 208

Never flown international before - so beginning to look at prices (they want me to get ticket now - but I don't have the documents or visa yet) - anyone know of good sites to look at - maybe I am missing some. Have to say - tickets aren't cheap from the USA - midwest either - I am trying to keep it to 1 connection flight - with luggage that will be enough connections - not to mention trying to figure out the best cost on baggage since obviously I want those 2 big bags and carry on and the 1 other thing they allow. Do they charge for luggage - extra for each connecting flight? Do they reinspect your bags each time? Oh and the labor day weekend is when they want most teachers to come over - and that just makes tickets more expensive - doesn't it?

rogerwilco · Joined: 10 Jun 2010 Posts: 1549

You should insist upon having the visa before buying tickets.
What will you do if the visa never arrives ?

Jeremiah · Joined: 26 Jun 2010 Posts: 32

United and Delta are pretty good. Check out www.ctrip.com .

Go 1st Class young lady. You might never fly to China again, why skimp? Let it roll.

I love reading the differences.

SandyG20 · Joined: 12 Sep 2007 Posts: 208

Definitely waiting for the visa.

Reimbursement is 6000 rmb - last week that price about covered ticket prices from midwest USA (yikes I might have to 2 or 3 connections with luggage) and of course 1st class is not covered under this - only economy - as it gets nearer - will price increase even more? I can't see me paying that much to go over for the pay if the ticket prices go up too much.

University is probably looking at prices from Australia or even from east or west coast of USA - but I live in the midwest - so that makes a huge difference in distance.

I saw economy tickets that were 2000 US!

rogerwilco · Joined: 10 Jun 2010 Posts: 1549

I guess you realize that you will not receive the reimbursement until the end of the contract.
Your check-in bags should be transferred to your final destination.
You do not need to collect and recheck your bags every time you make a connection.

Just wait until you receive your visa, and if the airfare is more than 6000RMB then ask the school for a higher airfare reimbursement.
The typical reimbursement is 8 to 10,000RMB, not 6,000.

Miles Smiles · Joined: 07 Jun 2010 Posts: 1294 Location: Heebee Jeebee

Try airfare.com.

Jeremiah · Joined: 26 Jun 2010 Posts: 32

Young Lady, You can fly United from Chicago to HK, non-stop, 16 hours or so.

I assume a lay over is not that big of a deal. 2 connections = fine. 1 flight to Chicago, the next to Beijing and then another to wherever in China you are going.

Stop whining about long flights/connections or stay home.

2k is nothing. But, it all depends.

SandyG20 · Joined: 12 Sep 2007 Posts: 208

So a person could ask for more money and then just have the contract cancelled?

Jerimiah you must have a great job - that pays well - !

randyj · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 7:08 am Post subject:

http://www.flychina.com

rogerwilco · Joined: 10 Jun 2010 Posts: 1549

I fly direct on Delta from Detroit to Shanghai.

Greg 09 · Joined: 30 Jan 2009 Posts: 169

I've used these, and you have to use them all to make sure you're getting the best deal. Change your dates when you look around to see if a better deal is available on different days, some sites have a "flexible dates" box that you can click.

I also check on the airline website as well. I usually fly Delta, and get the best deal there most, but not all the time. Whatever airline you choose, make sure to join their frequent flier program.

As has been said, don't worry about your bags or stopovers. Stopovers can be a nice break to stretch your legs and get some real food, as long as its not 8 hours or something crazy. I'm a smoker, and I have a whole slew of stamps in my passport that are just smoke breaks.

When you go back to the US, you WILL have to claim and re-check your bags in your gateway airport.

2K USD is pretty high, even for a late booking.

http://www.airfare.com/

http://www.cheaptickets.com/

http://www.mobissimo.com/search_airfare.php

http://www.cheapoair.com/

http://www.flychina.com/

http://away.com/plan-a-trip/compare-rates.html

http://www.dohop.com/

http://english.ctrip.com/

http://www.vayama.com/cheap-flights/asia/

Miles Smiles · Joined: 07 Jun 2010 Posts: 1294 Location: Heebee Jeebee

Greg09:

Great resources!

One thing that I suggest to those who buy their tickets online is that they clear their history of cookies as they go from one site to another. I could never understand why airfares would rise shortly after I returned to a site to re-check prices. Clearing the cookies seems to affect the automatic tabulation of repeated hits on particular web sites.

SOMETIMES, calling the carrier direct will result in competitive prices. I was stuck in the position of having to wait for a late-arriving visa before I booked my flight. I was expected to arrive on a Tuesday, but by Friday, my visa had no arrived. I called the courier who assured me that the visa had been overnighted to me and would arrive via FedEx the next day. On Saturday, after my visa arrived, I called United and got a very good price on a ticket, as well as an itinerary with minimal layovers.

I can't say that this will work for everyone, but it is worth a try.

Greg 09 · Joined: 30 Jan 2009 Posts: 169

SandyG20 · Joined: 12 Sep 2007 Posts: 208

Yep I found a ticket for 800 to 900 then looked around - looked back and it was now almost 3000. Can't buy ticket until have visa however.

Thanks for all the great links.

Now I have to learn how to clear out cookies.

thessy · Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Posts: 111 Location: Xi'an

I've flown United and Continental to China and at least for those two airlines, you aren't going to find a lower price on any search engine than you will get from the airline directly. In fact most airlines have some kind of "low price guarantee" when buying from them directly because they need to pay third-parties a commission when you buy from them instead. The searches are good for comparison searching though.

Being from the midwest isn't any more expensive than most other places. You still need to connect through a city that flies to China (LA, SF, Seattle, NYC, Newark, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, DC) unless you connect in another country also (Canada, Japan, South Korea) then there may be additional options.

The fact that they want you to arrive labor day weekend does not make it absolutely necessary that you arrive in China at that time. There is nothing prohibiting you from coming a few days earlier and staying in a hotel until the school is ready for you (they don't need to be aware of that, and making them aware may even be a bad idea) if that will save you a bundle on airfare.

The actual flight procedure will be pretty simple, but giving better or more accurate help is impossible without knowing where you are originating or where you are going.

For the sake of giving an example, let's say you're from....St. Louis and your job is in....Xi'an. The minimum number of flights necessary to get from St. Louis to Xi'an would be 3. There's no way around that other than taking a train/bus/car instead.

Standard procedure would be something like this....

Check in at STL airport. Here your passport and visa would be verified by an employee at the airport, you would check your two pieces of luggage (the majority of international carriers permit checking two bags for free on flights from the US to Asia). Here you will also be given the boarding passes used for ALL segments of your flights until you arrive in China (and depending on your airline you may get the third boarding pass here too). You need to go through security with your carry-on. You then board the plane bound for let's say...Chicago.

Upon arrival in Chicago, you already have your boarding pass for your next flight (given to you in STL). Unless you leave the gate area, you will not need to go through security again here, you can just proceed to the gate for your next flight. Your bags will be automatically transferred, so do not go to baggage claim. Be sure to check the flight info screens in the airport, as the gate used for your next flight that was printed on your boarding pass back in STL may have changed. At this gate it is common for the airline to again verify your visa, as they bare some responsibility if they take you to China without appropriate documentation.

After arriving in Beijing/Shanghai (usually), you first would go through Chinese immigration, where your visa and passport are again checked. After that you would go to baggage claim and pick up the two bags you checked in at STL. Next would be going through customs, which generally entails just walking through a "nothing to declare" gate past a sleeping Chinese customs official. At this point there may be a place to 're-check' your bags where you just hand them off to an airline employee and use the 3rd boarding pass that was given to you in STL, or you may need to proceed to the airline counter to check in again and be given your boarding pass/check your two bags. You would again have to go through security with your carry on bag here.

After arriving in Xi'an, you would proceed to baggage claim, get your bags, and be on your way.