Talking Travel Extra: Great Prices on Hong Kong Flights in May

Your Talking Travel correspondent finds himself traveling a fair bit, as could be expected. Coming up on the itinerary is Hong Kong, a Talking Travel favorite.

Checking airfares Tuesday evening on the website of Cathay Pacific Airlines, which was named the world's best airline in July 2014, your correspondent clutched his heart when he saw prices for a proposed May 8-12 itinerary quoted at about RMB 6,500, roundtrip. What?

Incredulous, I turned to Hainan Airlines offshoot Hongkong Airlines. Same itinerary, RMB 5,000 less. Quickly I unsheathed my credit card, and with an audible shua! bought a roundtrip ticket for RMB 1,302, including tax. That's a good fare for a route on which a price double that would be considered reasonable.

Seeking further truth from facts, I searched the same itinerary on Wednesday morning on Air China, which I found available on that airline for RMB 1,321, including tax. Although a whopping RMB 19 more, this may appeal to members of Star Alliance.

Verifying the fare on Wednesday morning, Cathay Pacific finally caught on to what its two rivals were doing, and dropped its own price significantly – those dates are available for RMB 1,140, including tax, or RMB 1,070 including tax for departure on May 7. By the way, some of those fares may also be available for the May 1 holiday weekend.

All of that means it's a great time to go to Hong Kong. Bear in mind that the average temperature in May in Hong Kong is 25 degree Celsius, and that it can be rainy – the Special Administrative Region receives an average of 292 millimeters of rain during the month, and an average of 13 rainy days. Still, for a weekend bounce or visa run and a bit of fun, airfares are currently favorable.

Photo: Wikipedia