November 5, 2003 -- This fall, low fares to Asia seem to have slipped under many people's radar. The sales aren't advertised very much, if they're advertised at all -- but they're out there. In fact, there's fierce competition on most Asian routes keeping prices low, as long as you're willing to fly outside the Christmas holiday season.
Recently, we've reported on discount packages to Hong Kong and Beijing and Shanghai, but packagers don't have all the great fares.
If you're flying from New York, Korean Air's fares are unbeatable: $529 roundtrip to Hong Kong, $539 to Manila and $569 to Bangkok, all with a stop in Seoul. You even get Delta frequent flier miles for the trip. These fares are only available on flights between Sunday and Thursday; flights on Fridays and Saturdays are $50 more per leg. Book by November 23 for outbound flights in November. For more information, see www.koreanair.com/local/na/eng/pt/psv/ps_subList.jsp?promoid=56.
Taiwan's China Airlines has more sale fares than we can list here, but we'll point out $491 from LA to Taipei, $540 from LA to Bangkok, $470 from San Francisco to Hong Kong, and $500 from San Francisco to Taipei. Find the full list of fares from LA, San Francisco and New York to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and even Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar at www.china-airlines.com/en/price/price36.htm. Buy by Nov. 30 for travel during November to get these fares, and be aware that China Airlines doesn't have the world's greatest safety record; we'd pay a little extra to fly on a more reliable airline, like Cathay Pacific or United.
Speaking of Cathay Pacific: Their $599 fare from either San Francisco or LA to Bangkok doesn't offer frequent flier miles, but there are still reasons to book that airline's Deal of the Month (www.cathay-usa.com/dotm/dotm.asp). Cathay's service is world-renowned, and you get to stop over as long as you like in Hong Kong, where the shopping and nightlife might will make you forget about Bangkok entirely. (Just kidding.)
The best fares to Hong Kong's rival Singapore are from United. You can get these fares at www.united.com/page/article/0,1360,50106,00.html as long as you buy before Nov. 11 for travel through Dec. 11. A three-day advance purchase and six-day minimum stay are required. Sale fares for flights Monday-Thursday are $598 roundtrip from Phoenix, San Francisco and LA; $658 roundtrip from Atlanta, Denver, Miami and New York; and $678 from Boston.
For Tokyo, American Airlines has some surprisingly low, unadvertised fares: $459 from Los Angeles, $468 from New York, $547 from Chicago, and $658 from Miami. Similarly low fares are available from a wide range of American's gateway cities. There are, of course, a ton of restrictions on these fares: they're only available for travel Nov. 5-Dec. 10 and Jan. 12-Feb. 6, they're only available on Monday-Thursday flights, you can't use them on codeshare flights, and a Saturday night stay and seven-day advance purchase are required. But hey, these are terrific fares. You can book these on the American Airlines Web site (www.aa.com), but if you choose to ask your travel agent, mention fare code NXAA3D.
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