Air from North America to Beijing.

[Nitrodog]

Could someone advise me of what airline Regent used to fly you from North America to Beijing.

Edited August 17, 2013 by Nitrodog

[Travelcat2]

There are many variables - one being which airport you are flying out of. We are on Cathay Pacific -- know of some people who were booked on Emirates. These are two of the airlines they use for Asia. I'm sure they use other airlines as well.

Edited August 17, 2013 by Travelcat2

[rallydave]

Next week China Airlines starts flying non-stop from Houston to Beijing and they are a Star Alliance carrier which Regent tends to use. Pretty easy to get from Montreal to Houston. Not sure this helps but, is another avenue to Asia that hasn't existed in the past.

[Nitrodog]

Thanks for the info. I'm hoping another Canadian will advise me on his/her Regent air details.

[JMARINER]

Next week China Airlines starts flying non-stop from Houston to Beijing and they are a Star Alliance carrier which Regent tends to use....................

 

China Airlines = Yuck

 

Regent put us on them for precruise shoreEx to Xian. Domestically, they were horrid. Reviews of others back this up. I hope that Regent would not use them for international.

 

J

29/403

[Travelcat2]

Thanks for the info. I'm hoping another Canadian will advise me on his/her Regent air details.

 

We do fly out of Canada...... Vancouver!

 

China Airlines? Double Yuck!!!!

[forevertravel]

We met a couple from Canada on our Beijing to Bangkok cruise. Regent booked them from Vancouver on Air Cathay. They said it was wonderful. We flew from DC Dulles nonstop to Beijing on United.

 

Forever travel: Mariner, Voyager, Navigator

 

:)

[findacruise]

We flew from Indianapolis to Chicago and then non-stop from Chicago to Beijing on United. With Air Canada being Alliance partner you could fly Montreal to Chicago and get the non-stop. It was a great flight. We did do Regent's business class upgrade because of the length of the flight.

[mpfund]

China Airlines is the airline of Taipei and is just terrific -- I have flown it several times.

 

Air China is the airline of China, which is the one I think you mean. Both airlines get 4 stars from Skytrax. All our US carriers get 3 stars.

 

I would suggest not jumping to conclusions -- or yucks as the case may be.

[rallydave]

China Airlines is the airline of Taipei and is just terrific -- I have flown it several times.

 

Air China is the airline of China, which is the one I think you mean. Both airlines get 4 stars from Skytrax. All our US carriers get 3 stars.

 

I would suggest not jumping to conclusions -- or yucks as the case may be.

 

Thanks mpfund, it is Air China from Beijing. Have recently flown domestic flights on Lan in South America, SAA in South Africa as well as China Eastern in China and all three were much better than any US carrier. On time, clean, free baggage, as well as full meals and snacks depending on the length and beer and wine included.

 

Much prefer most non US carriers and some people who tell others not to comment about cruise lines they haven't traveled on need to keep their comments to themselves when they haven't flown the airline especially about the airline of Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific) which is Chinese in the discussion.

Edited August 18, 2013 by rallydave

[1982CruzStart]

On our cruise in March we flew Air Canada from Vancouver to Beijing in Business class. On the way back we flew from Bangkok to Vancouver via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific also in business class. Both flights were great. We deviated our flights as we flew into Beijing a day early to go to Xi'an for a 1 day tour. We specifically requested Air Canada and Cathay Pacific based on personal experience and reviews.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I haven't done Regent Air to Asia, but Cathay Pacific flies direct to Hong Kong from Toronto I believe. They have a Premium Economy class, which I'm thinking that Regent could probably book as part of a deviation package (Oceania did this for us to Europe on BA's PE class, so I'm just guessing.) Husband has taken the flight on Cathay in this class, from New York, and he said it was reasonably comfortable--would never fly Coach that far.

[Travelcat2]

Did not mean to single out Air China. I could add several airlines to the list of "slanted", uncomfortable seats. Lufthansa (although changing out their seats this year) has slanted seats that go in about 20 configurations -- all uncomfortable. We prefer non-U.S. airlines but would fly Delta with flat seats before flying Air China or Lufthansa.

 

Agree that Air Canada seats are comfortable. British Air used to be our favorite but is now outdated (still preferable to many airlines). Seats are backwards and you have to climb over a strangers feet to get out of your seat (when seat in in a flat position). Cathay Pacific is very comfortable and easy to maneuver into the position you want.

 

Travel writer Peter Greenberg had an article out last week discussing how Business Class is being upgraded. At the price of seats, it is about time they did some upgrading (in my opinion).

 

Everyone knows SeatGuru but not sure if everyone has looked at the comparison list. Here is a link http://www.seatguru.com/charts/longhaul_business_class.php . Since things change quickly, I would double check the information on the airline's website.

 

Side note for the OP: If you take Cathay Pacific to Beijing, it will stop in Hong Kong. If you have the time, stop in the Business Class lounge. It is over the top! There is a noodle restaurant within the huge lounge that makes noodle soup while you wait. It also has the longest bar we have seen.

[JMARINER]

China Airlines is the airline of Taipei and is just terrific -- I have flown it several times.

 

Air China is the airline of China, which is the one I think you mean. Both airlines get 4 stars from Skytrax. All our US carriers get 3 stars.

 

I would suggest not jumping to conclusions -- or yucks as the case may be.

 

I stand corrected: It was Air China. As I said, mine was domestic so I can not speak to their international service. But the domestic flights were the very worst I can remember.

 

j

[Gilly]

I second that - the only flight I can recall (including Aeroflot and some others with dubious safety records) where the aircraft was taxiing down the runway before everyone had taken their seats. Safety demonstration? Why bother.....

 

Air China and Cathay Pacific are at the opposite ends of the continuum IMHO.

[forevertravel]

We flew United non-stop from DC to Beijing in business class. It was an excellent flight with lie flat seats. There were several of us on that flight. The service and food was good. We liked Lufthansa because we like the service (first class is outstanding). I agree the seats in business class are not lie flat but the service/food is so good we don't mind. We are doing Mediterranean cruise next month and we are flying Lufthansa Orlando to Athens. We only fly Star Alliance so we can get our miles. We all have different airlines we prefer. I agree non-US airlines have better service. The reviews I've read about China Air are not good.

 

Forevertravel:)

[Travelcat2]

Just a reminder that it is important to check with your TA or Regent Air regarding flights. As I have learned, the contracts Regent has with carriers is not the same all over the world. Also, certain airlines that can be used to fly out of the U.S. require an addition fee if you want to use the same airline out of Canada (or visa versa). For instance, we could not use United to fly from Rio to Vancouver either because they did not have a contract in South America or perhaps not a contract into or out of Canada. We could use American Airlines but only with a $1,000/person fee. If this is not confusing enough, airline contracts can be changed and everything you think you know about the subject is suddenly incorrect.

 

Unless a poster is flying out of the same airport - going to the same destination, the advice many of us are giving may not be accurate. All we can give are generalities. I spoke with Regent Air for the first time and found them easy to work with. It helps if you know what flights you hope to get before calling. When I called I knew that they had been approving Cathay Pacific recently but did not know if the flights we wanted were full. We were lucky that we got the exact flights that we wanted.

 

This is a complex subject which is probably why Host Dan allowed us to start a "sticky" at the top of the home page for Regent. If everyone posted the flights they were able to get and the departure and arrival cities, it would really help. At least it would be a good starting point.

Edited August 20, 2013 by Travelcat2

[rallydave]

Hoping people do NOT post flights and airlines on the sticky as tc has suggested due to her correct statement that available contract airlines change quite often and also that people might just get lucky and get a non-contract airline without an extra charge, other than deviation fee, that would confuse people and cause more problems than help.

 

Also, can't imagine the number of confusing and multiple posts that people would need to sort thru to only find that their particular home airport no longer has a contract with their chosen airline.

 

To get the current up to date information, best to call or have your TA call the Regent Air Desk and get the correct answer from the horses mouth.

[JACKHAWK]

We requested on a air deviation & received Delta from BKK-NRT-ATL-SAV.

 

It is very difficult getting decent connection flights out of a small city like SAV.

[Travelcat2]

We will be doing that flight in March - Vancouver to Beijing (brief stop on Hong Kong) on Cathay Pacific. This is our new favorite airline:)

[borntobecruising]

We are booked on the non-stop Toronto to Beijing with Air Canada. The flight leaves at 3:30 pm a good time for a short flight from Montreal.

 

Colin

[Travelcat2]

We are booked on the non-stop Toronto to Beijing with Air Canada. The flight leaves at 3:30 pm a good time for a short flight from Montreal.

 

Colin

 

Hmmmm, think I am jealous about the non-stop flight. On the other hand, we are happy to be on Cathay Pacific.