I need to travel from London to MEL just after Christmas day, which is not a cheap time to go.
I have been offered a number of flights with very long lay overs, however the best looking option on price v lay over time is;
CZ 304I then onto CZ 321D with only a 3h lay over.
I have flown this route with Garuda and was quite satisfied, but they have now stopped the Lon - Jakarta direct unfortunately.
Have others flown business with China Southern?
Is it ok?
Should I choose a different airline?
The other contenders are;
Phillipines - PR 721C + PR 209C
Royal Brunei BI 4Z + BI 5Z
Virgin VS 7Z + VA 24I (this is going via LAX)
The flights are quite pricey, however I do have quite a lot of Amex points. I have done some internet searching and it the points guy has advised that if you convert your Amex points to ANA, then book a Virgin flight its actually a lot better use of your points.
Has anyone actually done this before, I have never done the gaming on points before.
Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.
China Southern is fine in business and would likely be my first choice of the options you’ve listed. Don’t expect super luxury, but the product and service is good.
Royal Brunei’s layovers aren’t good - Brunei airport is painful even for 3 or 4 hours with lounge access. VS/VA combination will likely offer you the best product, but that’s an odd routing.
PR is fine (though I’ve never connected in Manila), but IMO China Southern is better.
I would search for award availability first on vs and if u find any availability now, I would go for vs definitely even if it is a weird route. If u have amex points consider one world with cathay pacific, qantas etc by transferring points to asia miles or even Singapore airlines with velocity or krisflyer transfer. If u must go for a paid ticket, China southern is not amazing but not appaling. Vs has the best product and service. I wouldn't consider royal Brunei.
My friend a dedicated QF flyer took my adviice: Malaysian / Oman Air via KL and Muscat half the QF J fare. Loved it. Short transfers, 3 7hr ish legs and loved the beds and food. Worth a look.
The Malaysian and Oman option is indeed a very good one. I've taken it several times - or AirAsia and Oman Air. Oman Air is spectacular value for money.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on
China Southern
NK
NK
Aer Lingus - Gold Circle Club
Member since 20 Nov 2017
Total posts 5
Hi All,
Chris C.
Chris C.
Member since 24 Apr 2012
Total posts 1,116
The Points Guy is an American site. You can’t convert Australian credit card points to ANA’s own frequent flyer program.
NK
NK
Aer Lingus - Gold Circle Club
Member since 20 Nov 2017
Total posts 5
I have UK Amex points... I am not sure if that will be the same?
Dredgy
Dredgy
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Apr 2017
Total posts 182
China Southern is fine in business and would likely be my first choice of the options you’ve listed. Don’t expect super luxury, but the product and service is good.
djtech
djtech
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Sep 2018
Total posts 375
I would search for award availability first on vs and if u find any availability now, I would go for vs definitely even if it is a weird route. If u have amex points consider one world with cathay pacific, qantas etc by transferring points to asia miles or even Singapore airlines with velocity or krisflyer transfer. If u must go for a paid ticket, China southern is not amazing but not appaling. Vs has the best product and service. I wouldn't consider royal Brunei.
paulkaz
paulkaz
Member since 01 Mar 2011
Total posts 32
My friend a dedicated QF flyer took my adviice: Malaysian / Oman Air via KL and Muscat half the QF J fare. Loved it. Short transfers, 3 7hr ish legs and loved the beds and food. Worth a look.
Dredgy
Dredgy
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Apr 2017
Total posts 182
The Malaysian and Oman option is indeed a very good one. I've taken it several times - or AirAsia and Oman Air. Oman Air is spectacular value for money.