|
caberham posted:
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2013 12:01
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 03:34 |
|
|
So the school I plan to work for, American TPR English School in Zhuhai, mailed me all of the paperwork necessary for me to obtain a Z Visa through Worldwide Express Mail Service. With the tracking number, I can see that the package left Guangzhou on 8/20 (which I think is Chinese yesterday) for Chicago. TPR recommended that I purchase a ticket to Hong Kong for the 29th, and my concern is that I won't receive the paperwork soon enough to bring everything to the Consulate and acquire the Z-Visa in time for my flight. Does anybody know the average turnaround in this situation? As far as I know, I'll have everything necessary to obtain the Visa smoothly, but I've seen widely varying estimates for how long it may take. The school: A. recommended I buy a ticket for this specific date, and B. were entirely in charge of delivering the Z-Visa documents to me, so I just sorta trusted their estimate on how long things would take. Now I'm worried that I might be sorta hosed.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 02:57
|
|
|
Bloodnose posted:Cathay is my favorite airline that flies out of HK for anything. But even setting that aside, I would not choose Hong Kong Airlines because they will literally cause you to explode and die. Catchment and marketing, though, has made Auntie Pacific the Hong Kong baby formula of airlines.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 03:11
|
|
|
Rental Sting posted:TPR recommended that I purchase a ticket to Hong Kong for the 29th, and my concern is that I won't receive the paperwork soon enough to bring everything to the Consulate and acquire the Z-Visa in time for my flight. Does anybody know the average turnaround in this situation? As far as I know, I'll have everything necessary to obtain the Visa smoothly, but I've seen widely varying estimates for how long it may take. I thnk you can pay for a same day rush service with your Z Visa, although you should pass the $30 cost for this on to the school (inform them that you will do this and state that if they object you can take a later flight). If you have bought the ticket prior to receiving the visa then you are a braver man than I. Normally it is not considered advisable to do this. Has the package cleared customs? Also, remember that what your employer tells you to do in this instance may not be based on very much. It's better than even odds that your contact in the school has never applied for a visa in their life and has no idea what the service and application process is inside the US. Show them how long it takes to get a visa processed by linking directly to the website of the local consulate and then politley tell them what you are going to do. General advice, do not trust your employer's judgement more than your own. GuestBob fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Aug 21, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 03:13
|
|
|
Auntie Pacific  Compared to China Airlines, Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, EVA air, Cathay Pacific is good.But Singapore is good too because Singaporeans are stingy uptight entitled pieces of poo poo. So their service is truly spectacular  I still remember a Cathay flight attendant friend of mine bitching about flying to Singapore  The inflight entertainment is not bad, I think they just installed a UI and made everything more responsive. Business class was awesome  You get almost flat seats and your own private cubicle with really comfortable noise cancelling head sets.It's been 10 years since I have flown business, but man for long hauls it's so much cooler!
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 03:19
|
|
|
GuestBob posted:I thnk you can pay for a same day rush service with your Z Visa, although you should pass the $30 cost for this on to the school (inform them that you will do this and state that if they object you can take a later flight). Yes, if Google translate is to be believed, the package has cleared customs. I'm not sure how long it takes for a package to get to Chicago from Guangzhou, but I'm guessing it's not overnight. That's good news about the rush service option, I'll probably have to use it. Sure, it was somewhat foolish of me to buy a ticket in advance, but I didn't want to risk paying the extra $150 for a same-week ticket. I'm also mad that I chose United over Cathay, seeing all of the recent praise in this thread. I was just thinking  .
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 03:26
|
|
|
Rental Sting posted:I'm also mad that I chose United over Cathay, seeing all of the recent praise in this thread.  Have you ever been to China before? if it's next Thursday I can set you up in HK, exchange some RMB for some awesome American dollars  and send you on your way.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 03:57
|
|
|
As a general rule, US airlines suck. They may not be the worst in the world, but there ain't a one worth taking over a good Asian airline.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 04:12
|
|
|
A former coworker always flies United because he was in Tokyo when the tsunami hit a couple years back and they let him fly first class back to LA for free. That's pretty good.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 04:16
|
|
|
VideoTapir posted:...good Asian airline. Apart from Royal Brunei no gin and tonics allowed!
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 04:16
|
|
|
The one time I flew Air France it was on par with Cathay Pacific, I think.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 04:18
|
|
|
MeramJert posted:A former coworker always flies United because he was in Tokyo when the tsunami hit a couple years back and they let him fly first class back to LA for free. That's pretty good. Oh, he must have been traumatized! Did his coffee get spilled? (I was in Tokyo during the quake, too. It wasn't that bad.)
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 04:20
|
|
|
Air France: the bread is much nicer, and they serve this! But when it comes to service and in flight entertainment, Cathay is better. *** Why not? you paid for it, might as well use it caberham fucked around with this message at 04:24 on Aug 21, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 04:22
|
|
|
people still care about in flight entertainment?
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 04:23
|
|
|
VideoTapir posted:Oh, he must have been traumatized! Did his coffee get spilled? I'm not saying he was traumatized, I'm just saying United was pretty cool to let him fly back to LA for free (on first class!)
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 04:28
|
|
|
caberham posted:Air France: the bread is much nicer, and they serve this! Yeah and also they kept pushing free bottles of wine on me, which was cool.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 04:29
|
|
|
VideoTapir posted:people still care about in flight entertainment? The selection of in-flight movies on Air Canada is awesome. They have lots of artsy independent films and cool lesser-known TV shows in addition to the normal blockbuster/network fare. Also their international films are usually subtitled in multiple languages so you can watch French or Japanese movies you've never heard of before instead of Big Bang Theory or whatever. They also showcase a lot of awesome and creative Canadian short films.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 05:02
|
|
|
caberham posted:
Nope. Haven't even left the country before. I wish I chose Cathay, since the prices were identical, and all. But hey, it's only fifteen hours of my life. I'd love to take you up on your offer, Caberham, but the school is directing me to jump on a ferry that leaves directly from HKIA to Jiuzhou Port, Zhuhai. That's a pretty convenient ferry, but I was hoping to be able to check out Hong Kong. I'm sure I'll get a chance in the coming weeks.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 05:20
|
|
|
Rental Sting posted:
Please for your own sake post this comment in the LAN thread.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 05:36
|
|
|
Big Alf posted:Please for your own sake post this comment in the LAN thread. I see what you're saying, but it was a direct reply to a post in this thread. Anyway, noted.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 05:48
|
|
|
VideoTapir posted:people still care about in flight entertainment? I like to catch up on the movies that I didn't get a chance to see, didn't want to pay to see, or what have never seen unless I was in such a situation. Delta and United usually have a good selection. American was pretty awful.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 05:58
|
|
|
VideoTapir posted:people still care about in flight entertainment? Yes. People still care about being entertained while in flight.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 06:10
|
|
|
Rental Sting posted:...the school is directing me... It certainly is.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 06:49
|
|
|
A friend of mine flew China Eastern from NYC to Beijing. Forgot to charge his iPad and didn't bring anything to read. No big deal since there's in-flight entertainment, right? He spent 16 hours looking at the back of the seat in front of him. No personal screen, communal screens only showed Chinese hitorical dramas with no subs.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 07:05
|
|
|
Smeef posted:No personal screen, communal screens only showed Chinese hitorical dramas with no subs. 'historical' (  ) is completely redundant here.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 07:39
|
|
|
Rental Sting posted:I see what you're saying, but it was a direct reply to a post in this thread. Oh you misunderstood, I wasn't being all supergoon or anything. I meant I think you should post this on the LAN thread as from what you have described about your employee so far, you might get some advice on there that probably isn't suitable for this thread. But advice you could probably do with hearing in your situation. See Guestbob comment for a small taster.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 08:42
|
|
|
I flew ANA/United codeshare Japan - USA this summer. Both were operated by United but had totally different vibes. Osaka - SFO had helpful staff but no personal tvs. Chicago - Tokyo had surly nitpicky staff but personal tvs. Idk with codeshares everything is unpredictable. But because I had an ANA membership my overweight luggage was $60 instead of $200 and they bumped me up to Premium because I had some soon-to-expire miles. : D
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 08:51
|
|
|
Uhh Cathay had like 2 seasons of Veep, a season of curb your enthusiasm and the entirety of the IT Crowd and Black Books on my flight from HK to Frankfurt. They also had a ton of movies and a ton of other shows, it was pretty drat good. Compared to DELTA which wanted $1.99USD per episode of non-Friends/Two and a Half Men/Big Bang Theory shows 
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 10:05
|
|
|
Rental Sting posted:So the school I plan to work for, American TPR English School in Zhuhai, mailed me all of the paperwork necessary for me to obtain a Z Visa through Worldwide Express Mail Service. With the tracking number, I can see that the package left Guangzhou on 8/20 (which I think is Chinese yesterday) for Chicago. You're going to be cutting it super close based on everything going smoothly. I did the Chinese embassy in Chicago in 2009 and missed the cut off for same day Z processing by about 15 minutes and I had to wait the weekend. Ugh. Get there early and get same day and you should, repeat SHOULD, have it by the 28 no problem. drat you cut that close though. I am in charge of hiring a girl from Chicago right now and I told her we will buy the ticket after she has the visa. I'll put it on the company bill, missing flights always freaks me out. Edit: it's only the 21st...you should be fine. Should only be a few days. Thought it was like the 25th haha. No idea why. Edit 2: it just left?? I thought it arrived. Ok you will be cutting it close. Good luck. The Great Autismo! fucked around with this message at 10:37 on Aug 21, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 10:16
|
|
|
Magna Kaser posted:Uhh Cathay had like 2 seasons of Veep, a season of curb your enthusiasm and the entirety of the IT Crowd and Black Books on my flight from HK to Frankfurt. They also had a ton of movies and a ton of other shows, it was pretty drat good. I've seen about half of Curb Your Enthusiasm and I've never watched it except on Cathay Pacific flights.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 10:27
|
|
|
Rental Sting posted:Nope. Haven't even left the country before. I wish I chose Cathay, since the prices were identical, and all. But hey, it's only fifteen hours of my life. If you want to acclimate to Chinese culture right away, ignore tr ferry, go hang out with caberham for two days, then make up some transparent bullshit excuse and show up happy a few days later. Really. Do this.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 10:30
|
|
|
Big Alf posted:Oh you misunderstood, I wasn't being all supergoon or anything. I meant I think you should post this on the LAN thread as from what you have described about your employee so far, you might get some advice on there that probably isn't suitable for this thread. But advice you could probably do with hearing in your situation. I'm on my iPhone and not responding properly so I guess my above post should go in the LAN thread also
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 10:31
|
|
|
I also endorse that suggestion. Unironically. And being in Hong Kong, I will buy you a moon cake to celebrate.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 10:31
|
|
|
Magna Kaser posted:Uhh Cathay had like 2 seasons of Veep, a season of curb your enthusiasm and the entirety of the IT Crowd and Black Books on my flight from HK to Frankfurt. They also had a ton of movies and a ton of other shows, it was pretty drat good. lol, they're actually charging money for their lovely shows now? I wonder when they'll figure out they can just depressurize the cabin, drop the masks and charge you for your air.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 10:33
|
|
|
Actually just hope it rains the day you get in, you can then do whatever the hell you want and as long as it rained, you are totally covered.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 10:35
|
|
|
Cathay Pacific is now just sounding more and more awesome. Unfortunately I'll only have a very short flight with them (Shanghai to Hong Kong) and then the long haul on South African Airways (not terrible, but no Cathay Pacific ). Going to have to come up with some excuse to do a long flight with CP.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 10:55
|
|
|
If you can fly Emirates or Ethiad they are better than Cathay in my experience. To be fair I flew from Doha to HK with Cathay and it was a horrible flight as parents refused to buckle in their kids and seemed to be confused by how to use a western toilet which had piss all over the floor. Nothing was as fun as flying from Nepal though, Ethiad staff going mental at people trying to make calls during take off, people trying to move around and trying to smoke. I felt pretty sorry for em!
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 12:54
|
|
|
Hong Kong and maybe Taiwan goons, how often are there typhoons? How regularly are there swell warnings? Do you know any surfers there, and have any idea how regularly they get in the water? EDIT: And while we are on the subject of flights, have you guys gone with Malaysia Airlines before? Any comments? BadAstronaut fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Aug 21, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 15:54
|
|
|
Malaysia is fine, it gets good marks. Basically, most Asian flag carriers or major Asian carriers north of Indonesia are fine as long as they're not tiny, poor countries that shouldn't really have an airline. If you're flying Singapore, THAI, Malaysian, Cathay, JAL, ANA, Korea, EVA and so on you're going to have an experience that's 100,000 times better than every single American airline experience you've had and you will quickly understand why every American who lives abroad says, "Never fly an American legacy carrier - especially internationally." Don't fly Indonesia- or Philippines-based carriers for safety reasons (it takes a lot of work to get banned from EU/US), that's where the "North of Indonesia" comment comes from. Obviously there are some major carrier stinkers, especially in the more established economies up North like Taiwan and China. On a side note, this is a list everyone should keep handy: http://maphappy.org/2012/07/wine-the-ultimate-list-of-airlines-that-serve-free-alcohol/ ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Aug 21, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 16:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 03:34 |
|
|
I cannot endorse Singapore Airlines enough. The service was amazing and even coach felt luxurious (well, compared to Delta anyway). The in-flight entertainment selection was great: lots to choose from and a good mix of new and old. This really does matter when you are stuck on a plane for fourteen hours. I too experienced the horror of no in-flight entertainment due to a broken headphone jack (thanks Delta!) and the boredom is indescribable. I have no idea how people stay sane in solitary confinement.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2013 17:16
|
|