Delta, China, Visas, and 72 hour transit.

I finally had to make an account here and ask, because nonreving to China is a bigger headache than trying to figure out Russia.

My plan:

1. Fly to Hong Kong from Seattle (stay 3 days).
2. Fly on China Eastern Airlines from Hong Kong to Shanghai (stay 72 hours).
3. Fly from Shanghai to Detroit.

My questions:

• Does an outbound flight to the US from Shanghai qualify for the 72 hour transit visa if my previous flight was from Hong Kong? They strictly forbid departure-and-return flights from the same country, but technically I'm coming from Hong Kong, so...
• Is it possible to even DO this method while nonreving? Has anyone here done the 72 hour transit stay? Did they accept your standby itinerary? I'm scared of getting to Shanghai and them saying that your standby travel doesn't quality. I would be frightened and not know what to do...

If none of this is possible, my OTHER plan:

1. Fly from Detroit to Shanghai (stay for 5 days).
2. Fly from Shanghai back to Detroit.

My questions:

• Has anyone done this before? Did anyone use the Houston Chinese consulate? Did they accept your standby itinerary as acceptable for a visa? I simply don't have the money at the moment to book a refundable round-trip ticket just to show the consulate.

The Chinese embassy's website says they want a copy of a CONFIRMED round-trip plane ticket AND hotel reservation. If you can't provide either of these, you need a letter of invitation from a tour group or citizen which is simply out of the question for me.

I would love to hear everything from anyone who has done a similar trek before! :o

I believe if you want to do the transit visa you HAVE tohave a confirmed seat out of the country.
Two of us went to China last year, we both used standbyitineraries, one from Delta, one from United, with no problems. Also made hotel reservations on Hotels.comand then cancelled them after receiving the visa. There are multiple on line services to getthe visa if you cannot make it to the consulate for your area, if you searchfor China visa there is a post that mentioned the places we used for this andthe cost.
Without a Visa you might be able to non-rev to Shanghai witha purchased ticket to Hong Kong, just not sure if you can.

My only worry about leaving out of Hong Kong is the flights are crap. Right now there's exactly 60 seats but we all know how that goes. Do you have any experience with Hong Kong weight restriction to Seattle?

I not familiar with this market - but that noted when and if I were to travel that route I would
take a look at TravelNet for several days to see how SPAV travel pans out. Review the airport
standby list for all the information that can be gleaned out it:
Number of seats available before standby clearing (somewhere between 1-3 hours before departure)
Number of seats and standbys (type and class) cleared at departure
Pay attention to the number of revenue upgrades moving from coach to comfort to business
These upgrades make seats available in the customers previous class of service
A lot of standbys left with open seats is an indication of a Load Opt (Wt & Bal) restriction
Are there alternate flights that the non-revs are taking - using the airport standby list look at the
seniority date and class of pass (also the 3 letter name abbreviation) and see what these folks are
doing when they can't get on their primary flight and subsequently how well that works out
If they change their class of pass - perhaps they bought a ZED fare ?
For those that have worked in the customer service (aka passenger service) field this should be
without much effort - you know the ropes. For others find someone to help you understand
the information and how the system works (go to renuions breakfasts parties etc.)
Sure it is a lot of work - but you can do your research at home under less stress than being out
at an airport with less communication information available and worrying a lot about how the
averages stack up against your travel plans.
If Delta is not working for you check out the partner airline(s) programs - now you will not get
the somewhat inside scoop that you would with Delta's TravelNet but maybe a call to that partner's
reservation office to see if this is a good travel time (non-seasonal/holiday ?) Be polite and if
bugged and they are busy ask when is a good time to call back (if any).
Closing note:
Go to the Delta.com website (or partner airline) and research the least expensive fare that
can be bought to rescue you from a decision gone bad or out of control. Know your options* !
* Think of travel to some other city to get home i.e. orginal plans were HKG-LAX-ATL think
HKG-NRT-SEA-ATL or something on that order - get your fixed travel thinking out of the
box - be flexible.

AND "GOOD LUCK NO MATTER WHAT" !

In Review -
EDIT ADD NOTE - SORRY NO VISA PASSPORT DATA the topic of the thread - as noted
I am not familiar with this market but was trying to assist with work-arounds with LOAD-OPTs.

Excellent advice! :cool:

RM had the right advice as far as following the history of a flight prior to your target date. There is always one odd aspect w/Asian flts--no show factors are so weird. There is no rhyme/reason until flt day. Many businessmen reschedule after the fact and their companies pay as necessary. Make sure you check for major trade shows and any holidays that might be significant. I suggest keeping an eye on tripadvisor HK forum for advice regarding both. HKG is an amazing city. PVG--I could take or leave it; it can be horrifically HOT and HUMID! (how does 100+ sound?)

My family and I did the 72 hour transit in 2013.
This was what we did:
DTW-PEK for 72 hours stand-by
PEK-ICN confirmed tickets on CA
ICN-DTW stand by

If you plan to go PVG-DTW as a nonrev, they will not allow it.
We did all the correct way, and it still caused issues. The gate agents did not want to let us on in DTW, and had to call several supervisors. They also called United to verify our Air China tickets that were UA award tickets.