Trip Report: Paris The Long Way

Introduction:

Redeeming miles and points this summer for premium travel has been difficult, particularly to Asia. Airlines such as Japan Airlines, Korean Air, and Cathay Pacific have heavily restricted the amount of award space they release to their frequent flyers and partners.

In years past, you could easily find first and business class awards on these airlines if you had some flexibility with your travel dates and booked in advance. Additionally, these airlines would typically release unsold seats for award bookings in the days leading up to a flight.

Due to heightened demand since the pandemic, airlines are becoming more stingy with award space. It’s been months since I have since a first class award on Cathay Pacific or Korean Air.

While I hope award availability will improve next year as demand and supply stabilize, I was fortunate enough to string together some fantastic redemptions for travel in August 2023.

For this trip report, I traveled from LA to Paris the long way. I will review business class on Starlux from Los Angeles to Taipei (LAX-TPE) on its A350 and Taipei to Macau on Stalux’s A321. This will position me for my first class flight on Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to Paris (HKG-CDG) on its 777-300ER.

Finally, I’ll fly back to the US on United Airlines from Paris to Washington Dulles (CDG-IAD) in premium economy on its 767-300 (revenue booking).

Along the journey I look forward to reviewing the Starlux Galactic Lounge, Qantas Hong Kong Lounge, and Cathay’s First Pier Lounge Hong Kong.

Booking with Miles and Points:

Initially, this trip started with a redemption for Cathay Pacific first class that I made in December 2022. In late 2022, Cathay Pacific was still releasing some sporadic award availability. I was lucky to snag it before awards dried up in early 2023.

I made my booking using Alaska Airlines miles, and it cost 70,000 miles plus fees. Please review my full review for more details of the trip (coming soon).

While it was great to have this Cathay Pacific award booked, I struggled to find a way to get myself to Hong Kong for my Cathay Pacific first class flight to Paris. As noted, award space from the US to Asia has been extremely difficult to come by, and I was prepared to give up on my Cathay booking entirely.

Luckily, Alaska Airlines became partners with Starlux Airlines this year and made award flights available in the weeks before my Cathay flight. Alaska had great introductory pricing on award flights with Starlux from LAX-TPE (60K plus fees), which made this redemption an absolute steal.

Unfortunately, the introductory pricing with Starlux disappeared quickly, as I’ll outline more in my review.

The Pilot Brief

While award availability to Asia this summer has been virtually nonexistent, I lucked out with a Cathay Pacific award I booked in 2022 and the recent Starlux partnership with Alaska Airlines. With these bookings, I could travel the long way to Paris via Asia. I had a great experience on these flights, and I look forward to sharing the details with you in my flight reviews.

Please see my Starlux Business Class, Cathay First Class, and United Premium Economy reviews linked below.

1. Review: Starlux Business Class LAX-TPE A350
2. Starlux Airlines Duty Free (BeShopping) and Flagship Store
3. Review: Starlux Galactic Lounge TPE
4. Review: Starlux Business Class TPE-MFM A321
5. Review: Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Review
6. Review: Cathay Pacific First Class HKG-CDG 777-300ER (Coming Soon)
7. Review: United Airlines Premium Economy CDG-IAD 767-300 (Coming Soon)