Air fare $990, TOTAL $1447!

[griz326]

Lao Po's mom is in declining health and Baba ain't no spring chicken.

 

As a result, I feel it is my responsibility to get both of the girls back to see the 2 grandmas and grandpa before they die. ...so I checked fares from Montana to Nanning on Orbitz and saw that each ticket costs $990. I can live with that even though it's substantially more than I paid when I was courting Lao Po.

 

HOWEVER, the fees on each ticket amount to $457. What's up with 'DAT?

 

I really haven't started shopping yet, but my first probe just blew me away! Are those the sort of prices I need to adjust to? (Trip dates covered all of January - I'll refine those later)

 

Of course, living in Eureka, MT raises the rates on the trip quite a bit...but the fare fees are nothing less than mind-boggling.

 

Can anyone explain those fees and how to get around them? B)

[chilton747]

taxes and junk fees?

[tsap seui]

taxes and junk fees?

Everything is a game these dayz Griz, try simple ol' Travelocity or go directly to the airline website. I usually look at Travelocity and United, etc, to get an idea tehn I used AAA of all people to book the flight. They were as cheap or more so than anyone on the internet.

 

Things aren't nearly as cheap as they were even a year or 2 ago, much less longer. I had to saw off an arm and a leg to bring my family home from Chinertucky....gave my other hand and foot just to travel to and fro Guangzhou for the interview in July.

 

tsap seui

[david_dawei]

I don't always have the luxury of trying to find the cheapest flight since I always fly on United for mileage reasons... but I have seen *taxes* float to extremes. But my recent trip showed them at less than $100 overall which was a great surprise. Keep shopping.

[2mike&jin]

We just bought tickets to China and China Eastern had on their website a notice of a "fuel" surtax being implemented for North American Routes, i.e. generated from North America. 2 adults and a 21 month old - $4489.00 for Business - up a "tick or two" from previous trips. I also have to laugh at the "extra fees" for the VISA as well as the Chinese stick it to US folks who want VISA's -- just the price we pay! SO I'm out $5K and I haven't packed our bags yet!!!

 

I was barely able to get Lao Po to go back this year....I'm afraid when she sees what "inflation" has done to food prices in China she will flatly refuse to make the trip again.

[tsap seui]

We just bought tickets to China and China Eastern had on their website a notice of a "fuel" surtax being implemented for North American Routes, i.e. generated from North America. 2 adults and a 21 month old - $4489.00 for Business - up a "tick or two" from previous trips. I also have to laugh at the "extra fees" for the VISA as well as the Chinese stick it to US folks who want VISA's -- just the price we pay! SO I'm out $5K and I haven't packed our bags yet!!!

 

I was barely able to get Lao Po to go back this year....I'm afraid when she sees what "inflation" has done to food prices in China she will flatly refuse to make the trip again.

 

I had to laugh Mike....yep, wait till she sees the food inflation, along with clothes, shoes, and anything else one can purchase in China. Even with the exchange rate China is quickly slipping into an EXPENSIVE place to live.

 

Made in China, bought in America is way les expensive than buying the same thing in China.

 

Have fun on your trip.

 

tsap seui

[Yuanyang]

 

 

• Cabin Management fee
• Seat fee
• Seat belt fee
• Pillow fee
• Blanket fee
• Bathroom fee
• Smile fee
• "Using our airline" fee
• Water fee
• "You-must-be-rich-to-fly-so-here's-another" fee

... (you get the drift)

 

 

P.S. I usually charge a fee for this

[yuehan123]

Look, face it, first of all those 'Come On See My Low Fare Sites' are a joke.

 

With rare exception their fares rarely include taxes, fees and surcharges. Worse, good luck trying to book a real seat.

 

Our recent and cheapest fares to Nanning have been through Hong Kong.

[Thomas Promise]

Look, face it, first of all those 'Come On See My Low Fare Sites' are a joke.

 

With rare exception their fares rarely include taxes, fees and surcharges. Worse, good luck trying to book a real seat.

 

Our recent and cheapest fares to Nanning have been through Hong Kong.

Try Shanghai as well to Nanning.

[griz326]

Driving north to Cranbrook, British Columbia from here brings the fares down quite a bit. I've got to re-learn all of this stuff all over again

[garfield529]

I am in St. Louis and a graduate student that I know just booked her flight home in December for right at $1K total. She is flying Delta, not sure about connections and everything, but I am sure she is flying out of Chicago or LA. It has been two years since my last trip, so I can imagine the prices have gone up. We are planning to try for a B2 for my wife's mother for a trip next year, so I will soon get to lose a leg or two. I am really curious what the food inflation is going to do over the next year, especially among the folks who live off of so few rmb each month.

[knloregon]

Every thing is screwed up in the airline industry.

 

But to show you how much worse it can get ---- and thank God most of us don't have to deal with this ---- yet ----- take for example, the EU's 'carbon tax' (cap and trade) on airlines flying into EU countries. China was one of the first to see this for the absolute Fraud that it is----and delayed taking delivery on AirBus jets because of it---and threatens further boycotts --- this tax (fare increase) --- only affects us chumps flying---not the Corps.

 

And here's the proof of the absolute bogus (transfer of wealth) aspect of cap and trade: THERE IS NO INDUSTRY IN THE WORLD working harder than the Airlines to drive down the use of their fuel (fossil fuels) ---- all on their own, entirely without gov. intervention. In the last year, they have ordered billions of dollars of new fuel efficient jets --- with the plan of dumping their current fleet decades before the end of their useful life.

 

Since the airlines are doing it on their own-----why the tax?? It about growing gov. ---- not being greener.

[yuehan123]

In an earlier reply I stated my opinion that those low airfare websites are a joke.

 

Here's the headline and the link:

 

DOT fines Orbitz $60,000 for deceptive advertising

 

http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/18/8383116-dot-fines-orbitz-60000-for-deceptive-advertising

[Robert S.]

That is unbelievable the way the price has doubled since the last time I checked just a few months ago! The demand cannot have gone up that much and the supply of flights has not decreased so what is going on? Just some fee increases would not make the price twice as much.

[A&B]

I realize that this thread is a month old, but I thought I should comment.

 

I went to Beijing from Seattle in Oct for ~$900 RT on Hainan Airlines. The same flight during Nov and Dec is going for ~ $1160, quite a jump. I attribute that to the holidays. Surprisingly, I looked at the same flight in Jan - Feb 2012, it is back at ~$900. All fares include all taxes. Hainan is doing non-stop service SEA-PEK, four days/week. I am certain the fares will fluctuate, depending on supply/demand.

 

I didn't go through Orbitz or Expedia, I went directly to the airline.

 

http://www.hainanair.us/

 

Safe travels,

 

YMMV,

 

The B, of A&B