Direct or Indirect on MAN to the East?

[ethanegcc]

The second lot of 'price battle' threads and this time I was going to focus on whether direct or indirect to Beijing or Hong Kong had the better price, so, ultimately, which one was more attractive to customers as for many the main objective is price.

Further down on this thread, I will also be finding the cheapest one-stop options from MAN-AU/NZ.

 

[ethanegcc]

Battle 1: MAN-PEK: direct or indirect?

For random dates in April here is what I found:

Lufthansa/Austrian and Air France/KL/CZ are in there above Hainan but still at a very competitive price. Well done Hainan and I think I would definitely choose this non-stop option for the price it is at.

View attachment 4150
After a quick check, Hainan's prices are similar to this all summer.

 

[ethanegcc]

Battle 2: MAN-HKG: direct or indirect?
PLEASE NOTE: The price battles have now been moved to the frequent flier part of the forum for discussion, although these are related to MAN. If anybody would like me to do the same, but for EDI/BHX/LBA etc. please do not hesitate to ask.

Again for random dates in April.
View attachment 4154
As you can see Cathay Pacific is significantly more expensive than Hainan in terms of gateways to China, however it is not unreasonable as fares to HKG tend to be more anyway.

Within the 'best flights' section - which balances price and time - it comes third at £767 return for one adult, lagging behind Swiss and fellow OW carrier Finnair.

For longer flight times, Austrian and Lufthansa also undercut CX for this flight.

What are your thoughts? If you were travelling from the regions to PEK/HKG at the above prices/dates, would you choose LH/AF/EK/AY over a direct CX or HU option?