Flight options/advice for long haul to Hong Kong

[ImprovGal]

I applaud you- I don't know if I could keep myself awake for a full 16 hour flight!

I stayed awake for both flights plus the 4 hr layover, so.... 29 hrs total, I think.

It worked, though.

 

[abdgeek]

Hi everyone! This question is specifically targeted to people who have experience flying long haul flights (14+ hours).

We have booked the China ABD for next August and I'm trying to decide what flights we want. We are flying from the Midwest out of a small(ish) airport so there will be connections involved. I have a couple options but I'm just not sure what might be best.

Background on us: We are two adults in upper 20s with experience flying to/from Europe. We are very comfortable with flying and traveling in general, although this will be our longest flight yet, the biggest time change we've experienced, and our first time to Asia. We sleep okay on planes and plan to fly economy, although we might splurge for premium economy if the price is right.

The ABD start date is 8/30. We plan to arrive by the evening of 8/28 at the latest to have an extra day to adjust to the time change and to spend at HKDL (the extra day in HKDL on 8/29 is very important to us). We have two main options for flights:

Option 1: Evening flight out on 8/26, arrive in Hong Kong early AM 8/28.
-Pros: One extra day in Hong Kong. This gives us a buffer in case there are weather related issues (this is prime typhoon season in that area), as well as more time to see Hong Kong/HKDL.
-Cons: Evening flights are more likely to be delayed and the available layovers are not very long (1 hr @ DFW followed by 2 hrs @ LAX or 1 hr @ PHX followed by 3 hr @ LAX), so if our first flight is delayed there is a good chance we will miss our connection. All evening flight options also have 2 layovers, which is just annoying.

Option 2: Morning flight out on 8/27, arrive in Hong Kong evening of 8/28.
-Pros: Morning flights don't have as many delays. Morning flight options have only one layover and they have adequate time.
-Cons: No extra buffer day in case of weather or other issues (although will still have full extra day on 8/29 unless a typhoon hits or something). Layovers are long (4-6 hrs) and that will probably make our travel time seem longer than it is. In some cases the flights are very early, so potentially going into it with little sleep.

SO my question is- which option would you suggest? We tend to take evening flights but with a travel time this long I'm worried about going through a whole day of work then going straight into 23-25 hours of travel. But the extra buffer day could be really useful, especially if the weather turns sour.

I did the China ABD last summer and took a morning flight. I prefer morning flights, but unfortunately I didn’t arrive in Hong Kong until 10:30pm the next day because I had to fly through DFW and Korea with Delta. I was in bed by 1am and at HKDL by 9 or 10 am. I’ve flown a couple of 15 hour flights and never sleep on the plane.

Keep in mind that airlines can change your layover times up until you leave. I fly Delta and they always change them. Given that, you may want to book at least a 2 hour layover in most places, 3 hours for LAX. Most airlines changed their nonstop flights to HKG last year in favor of flying through Korea. Whichever airline you choose, check to make sure the itinerary you want is even possible.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Thanks everyone for your responses! After considering your advice and talking to my DH, we're going to take a morning flight with a 2.5 hr layover at DFW which arrives at HKG at 4:10pm (as long as the price doesn't do anything drastic). I think that gives us the best combination of opportunity to sleep, lower risk of missing the connection, and short travel time.

 

[Zemba]

I’m from the Midwest (non-major city, so always have a US layover) and have lived in Asia for the last 5.5 years, in Hong Kong for 2 of those years. I made the HKG-US round trip flight 6 times I think while I lived there, and I would always recommend the fewest total flights. The flight from Dallas-HKG is particularly brutal (insanely long!!!!) but then you get there and you’re done. The more layovers the longer the travel day seems, no matter the actual time. When I lived in Korea, I usually had to fly Busan-Tokyo-Chicago-my home town, and that extra flight just makes the day seem so my longer.

 

[Eastridge]

Be careful if you have a connection/layover at LAX. LAX has 8 separate terminals, some of which are not connected, plus the Bradley international terminal.

For example, your domestic flight might land at Terminal 2 but your flight to Hong Kong probably leaves from the Bradley international terminal. So you would have to leave Terminal 2 and walk a fair distance to the Bradley, or catch a bus. And then you go through security again. From some other terminals (4-8) you can walk a long distance airside but avoid having to go through security at the Bradley.

So check your arrival and departure terminals at LAX and budget enough time for the connection. I agree that 2 hours isn't enough.

 

[kaseyC]

For our July China ABD, we flew Finnair. They offered very reasonable Business class flights from Chicago and they are part of the Oneworld Alliance so our miles went to our AA accounts. We flew from Chicago to Hong Kong with about a 5 hr connection in Helsinki. Super easy airport to connect in and very nice business class lounge to pass the time. Our return was Shanghai to Chicago with about a 24 hr connection in Helsinki. I used Hilton points to book the airport Hilton for the night. We got a great night sleep and arrived in Chicago with little jet lag.

 

[OKW Lover]

For example, your domestic flight might land at Terminal 2 but your flight to Hong Kong probably leaves from the Bradley international terminal. So you would have to leave Terminal 2 and walk a fair distance to the Bradley, or catch a bus. And then you go through security again.

Good point, but there is an airside bus between terminals 2, 3 and the TBT so in that case there won't be a need to re-clear security.