Reply To: Chat thread – Wednesday 8th January

[phantomchickenz]

Looking for some advice/experiences from others. I’m planning on taking the family of four to NZ in J for Christmas, and Qatar reward availability is not playing ball (only have two seats outbound so far), so looking at other options. Two look promising:

1. Air China ex Budapest, but with very long layovers (20-22 hours). About £10,750 for family of four including positioning flights and en-route accommodation. 2-2-2 layout.

2. KLM ex AMS, with the second leg on either Malaysia or AirNZ. Short layovers, and about £15,500. 1-2-1 layout.

Now a £5k difference should make it a slam dunk to go with option 1, but I’m familiar with the carriers on option 2 and the 25hr journey vs 42hr+ is appealing. I know a few of you have done China before – any concerns with transiting (incl a landside hotel) in Beijing or with Air China in general?

What would you do?