|
From Europe There are daily, non-stop flights between London and Hong Kong, taking around 12 hours with Cathay Pacific, Virgin and British Airways. In addition, most major European airlines fly non-stop from their respective major cities, for example Air France from Paris, Lufthansa from Frankfurt and KLM from Amsterdam and a ticket from London will often be cheaper with a connection at one of these places. Gulf Air and Emirates can also be cheap. From Europe, prices vary quite widely from month to month, the most expensive times are in August and just before and after Christmas, but even then, booking well in advance, you can get tickets from around £600. Book too late, and you may be stumped with a £1500 fare. The cheapest months are around May and November with prices coming down by around 50%. From North America From New York, Montreal and many other North American cities, flights have one or two stops and the journey takes around 20 hours. From Montreal, there are several airlines operating daily flights, including United Airlines, Air Canada and Continental, usually touching down in Chicago or Boston and prices range from around US$1,000 (May) to US$2,000 (December). From New York the journey time is around the same, although prices are lower, from US$700 to US$1,200. From Australia/New Zealand Frequent flights with Qantas and Cathay Pacific, many of which are non-stop, go daily from Melbourne, Sydney and other Australian cities, with prices around the A$1,000 mark, journey time 8-10 hours. From Auckland, these airlines, plus Air New Zealand, fly non-stop (11 hours) or via Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane. Prices are around A$1,200 in April, and A$1,500 in August, although the high and low seasons tend not to be as noticeable as from other destinations. Airport information Gone are the days of the white-knuckle landing into Kowloon’s Kai Tak Airport: Chep Lap Kok on Lantau (airport information http://www.hkairport.com, flight information T 2181 0000) is one of the world’s largest, most expensive and best equipped airports. It contains a good collection of duty-free and designer shops, restaurants, bars, a beauty salon, children’s entertainment area, showers and business centre. There’s a tourist counter in Arrivals with maps and leaflets. Once outside, staff at the excellent transport information counter will explain the various options for getting into the city, which include the high-speed Airport Express rail service, a plethora of bus routes including the Airbus (buses running from the airport, which leave every 10-15 minutes, include: A11, North Point Ferry Pier, via Central, HK$40; A21, Hung Hom KCR, via Tsim Sha Tsui, HK$33; A35, Mui Wo, HK$14, Sundays and pub hols HK$23), and a large taxi rank (expect to pay around HK$300 to get to Central). Most public transport operates between around 0600-0100. There are ATM machines, banks and left-luggage in Arrivals. Hong Kong Hotels Association booking counter is in Buffer Halls A and B, T 2383 8380 (Hall A), T 2769 8822 (Hall B), 0600-2400. http://www.hkta.org/hkha, hkhahrc@att.net.hk
|
