Anyone else looking at flying to Canada this July? Making flight arrangements.

I'm heading back in June, almost in July :) Foregoing Canada day?

i'd like to know: what's the best route to fly to canada? through Beijing? Hong Kong?

The best route is probably from Seoul or Tokyo. Cheapest probably HK, Shanghai, possibly Guangzhou.

thanks. sorry, why is the best route from Seoul or Tokyo? you mean shorter flight time?

From what I've seen, cheaper flight by about $100 / ticket.
However, I'm trying to compare luggage capacity against having elite status with Air Canada (Star Alliance).

Ticket price w/ luggage, vs. cheaper ticket plus the cost of luggage.

It might also be worth checking Chengdu for non-direct routes.

something else i'm curious about. does anyone know: do airlines allow for 2-3 night stopovers without additional charges? would be nice to stay in tokyo or seoul a couple of nights if the route happens to be through there.

@justalex
Elite status is a must. Economy class is very strict on luggage on most airlines now with every new policy change tightening the noose even more. Korean Air to Americas (I assume Canada qualifies) still offers two checked bags @23 kgs per bag, free of charge, no elite status required. But no Air Canada miles for you.

www.koreanair.com/local/na/gd/eng/aa/bt/eng_bg_0101.jsp

@Magnifico
Since you didn't mention what you mean by "best" I decided on a combination of good airport for transfer, flight time, and carriers that fly from those locations. HK is also excellent, and maybe a better choice starting out of KMG. Guangzhou and Shanghai are fine airports, it's just that most likely you'll be flying a Chinese or American carrier, neither which rank as a good flying experience in my book.

As to stop overs, Korean Air has a very good stop over program. I have never tried it, but it's more advanced than most. Seoul airport itself offers day trip/tours into the city designed to meet anything from a 3 to 8 hour layover.

www.seoulstopover.com/koreanair/index.asp

I think Japanese carriers like JAL or ANA should allow Tokyo stopovers for free or a $100usd fee. I don't think they offer a package like Korean Air, but I haven't checked.

Thanks a lot for detailed reply. Appreciate it.

I believe Cathay flies out of Hong Kong. And I think one perk they offer is an outlet for laptops, which is really convenient for such dreadfully long flights.