Yea I mean the $1200 I found was cheapest that day. For the time you picked to go I won't be shocked if you easily found it for $1000 when it's all said and done if not just a tad lower. You got many months to go so it's all good.

i would try going through a chinese agent.
i looked online for a flight to HK during the 2 week olympic break, online = $1500

i went to some random chinese agent = $1214

that's $300 difference!

^
Where did you look?

Remember that any agent that you go through is using the same sites that you can look up on the internet. There really is no cost savings with using an agent, if you have the time to check the internet for deals everyday.

i just passed by the crystal mall one downstairs on the way to the parking lot. silkway?

that is true, they look at the some websites, just that i don't really know where.

on Cathay's official site, it's somewhere around $1300
expedia/travelocity = $1500+
honger agent = $1214

and this is for the olympic break prices. she also told me that $1214 is valid until May12, but i don't know how much of that is BS

Agents sometimes have access to space that was sold at wholesale.

on the same topic .

lets assume I have no luggage to check in or out

I buy the same fare SEA -> YVR -> HKG

Can I essentially, go to the YVR airport and board the YVR -> HKG flight at the time the YVR flight leaves?

No. You'd have to check-in at SEA first otherwise, they will deem you as a no-show and will result in a penalty if applicable.

On the subject of HK flights, my parents recentlly booked YVR-HKG flight on China Eastern for $800 taxes in. It's the lowest I've seen so far and cheaper than any of the online offerings. They told me that Air China was $80 more if you don't like China Eastern. When I checked Cathay, they were asking for about $1100 at the time.

They actually found the deal at one of the Chinese travel agents (I think it was Happy Times or something like that).

Isn't China Eastern the one that has the really crummy planes or is that Air China?

I'm not sure. They (China Eastern) fly Airbus A340-600's for the Vancouver-Shanghai leg which are fairly new. I've read that they're somewhat notorious for delays and canceled flights but heard that their international planes are pretty decent.

I flew on China Eastern from YVR to HKG, with a quick stop in Shanghai and to date, it was the third worst flight I have ever been on.

But we flew on some older plane, so the seats were very crowded and of course there were lots of fobby Mainlanders on the plane and the stewardess were all old fobby mainlanders.

On the flight back, the plane left HKG an hour late, then left Shanghai 2 hours late but landed back in YVR 15 minutes early. Coming back was a lot nicer as the plane was less than 30% full and I had the entire row to myself.

Oh, hmm...so you didn't like it because of the clientele on the plane and the cramped seats or were there other issues? I'm interested in finding out so I can tell my folks to watch out for stuff...

My parents were trying to be cheap...I offered to pay for a Cathay flight but they didn't want anyone to have to fork out an extra $300x2 passengers.

I can live with the clientele since I was asleep most of the time.
But on the flight there, it was an older plane and the seats were narrow. To top it off, the plug for the ear phones was on the inside of the arm rest so it was right up against my right thigh and it was pretty uncomfortable.

On the flight back, it was on a newer plane where the seats were wider and more comfortable.

My 2 worst flights was from Vegas to Miami on Spirit airlines in a plane with non-reclining seats, and second was going to the Dominican Republic with Air Transat. Damn franchophones that served crappy food which gave me food posioning, and the damn plane was falling apart too. :cry: