oneworld member Cathay Pacific is marking the one year anniversary of their Chicago to Hong Kong service with a retro themed sweepstakes that offers a look back at their flight attendant  uniforms through the years.

Here’s a look at 66 years of Cathay Pacific history in just over 4 minutes:

Back to the sweepstakes, here are the details

Cathay Pacific is celebrating the one year anniversary of servicing Chicago with the Walking On Air fashion show. The show chronicles our flight attendant uniforms throughout the eras, modeled by our very own cabin crew.

The prizes:

Two (2) Roundtrip Economy Class tickets from any of our US Gateways (San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago) or Canadian Gateways (Toronto and Vancouver) to Hong Kong.

Five (5) nights stay at J Plus Boutique Hotel, courtesy of Tablet

A private, guided tour of our CXperience museum at Cathay City to see the fashion featured on our Walking On Air runway show.

Two (2) $150 vouchers for a dream jetsetter wardrobe for two, provided by Rent The Runway.

One month subscription to Birchbox.

According to the terms and conditions  you’re allowed up to two entries, and there are two ways to enter: pin your favorite uniform with Pintrist for one entry, and/or submit you email address for another.

The sweepstakes ends September 24.  Go here for complete details.  Good luck!

Speaking of winning stuff, one of the few good things about Mondays is that the Frugal Travel Guy’s Deal of the Day is sponsored by AAdvantage.  Share your best AA related travel tip for a chance to win 2,500 AAdvantage Miles!

Earlier this year I told you about a post I read on a food blog that reviewed the Japanese meal service on American Airlines.  Well, I’ve come across another interesting food related post on someone else’s blog, and I thought I’d share it with you.

Jay Cab writes the First Class Project blog and he has a look at a couple of Kosher meals served on a Cathay Pacific flight between San Francisco and Hong Kong. Go here for breakfast and here for dinner.

Photo: Kosher Gourmet in New York City.
Credit: Rupert Ganzer on Flickr

Cathay Pacific is offering some great fares to Hong Kong from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York JFK.  These fares book into Q, so you won’t earn any AAdvantage miles, but at $895 round-trip you might not mind.  Here are the details:

Two Weeks Only: 35% Off Flights to Hong Kong

This summer, fly nonstop to Hong Kong with our special fare of $895* available from now until July 23, 2012.

Here’s the fine print:

• Cannot be combined with any other fare or offer.

• The fares detailed in the offer/promotion are subject to availability and offered on a first come, first served basis. The limited number of seats for the subject fare allocated to a particular flight may be fully booked although seats are still available in other fare types in the same class of travel.

• This is a limited time and limited availability offer. Only available for a limited time through 11:59:59 PM PST on 23Jul2012 (or until deemed sold out). If you cannot find availability for the dates that you have selected, please adjust your travel dates.
May be eligible for Asia Miles & AAdvantage Miles, depending on fare class booked.
Waitlisting is not permitted.

• Departures between Friday – Sunday will incur an extra charge of $25 for each transpacific sector.

• Fares listed above based on a sample search for mid-week transpacific departure dates.
Cancellation Fee: $100 applies (non-refundable after departure).

• Change Fee: $100 applies per change per person.

• Minimum Stay of None. Maximum Stay of 6 Months.

• Electronic ticket purchase only.

• All fares, government taxes and fees, and surcharges are subject to change at any time.
This fare can only be purchased online by a U.S. resident with a valid U.S. credit card billing address and U.S. mailing address.

Go here for complete details.

Hopefully you’ve already booked your Business class award tickets to Tokyo for half the miles and you’re busy planning your whirlwind tour of Tokyo or maybe a Classic Tokyo/Modern Tokyo itinerary.   If you find yourself with a little extra time on your schedule or have a some extra vacation time, you might want to consider using Japan as stepping-off point to visit some other destination in Asia.

If a bowl of bird’s nest soup in Honk Kong isn’t enough incentive to leave Japan, maybe Double AAdvantage Miles will entice you.  Through February 29, 2012 you can earn Double AAdvantage Miles with Japan Airlines when you fly from Japan to 22 cities in Asia:

Airline:  Japan Airlines.  This promotion includes travel on codeshare flights marketed by American Airlines and operated by Japan Airlines (booked under the AA flight number).

Award:  Double Miles

Bonus  Code: JLSEA

Dates:  Travel between November 1, 2011 and February 29, 2012.

Offer:  Earn double AAdvantage miles when you fly nonstop on Japan Airlines on purchased, published Business Class and selected Economy Class fares from November 1, 2011 through February 29, 2012.

AAdvantage Double Mile offer is valid on Japan Airlines operated and/or marketed nonstop flights for travel:

From Tokyo Narita (NRT) to

Thailand Bangkok (BKK),
China Guangzhou (CAN),
Indonesia Jakarta (CGK),
India Delhi (DEL),
China Dalian (DLC),
Vietnam Hanoi (HAN),
Hong Kong (HKG),
Korea Seoul (ICN),
Taiwan Kaohsiung (KHH),
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur (KUL),
Philippines Manila (MNL),
China Beijing (PEK),
Korea Busan (PUS),
China Shanghai (PVG),
Vietnam Saigon (SGN),
Singapore (SIN),
Taiwan Taipei (TPE);

From Tokyo Haneda (HND) to

Thailand Bangkok (BKK),
Korea Seoul (GMP),
Hong Kong (HKG),
China Beijing (PEK),
China Shanghai (SHA),
Singapore (SIN),
Taiwan Taipei (TSA);

From Tokyo Osaka (KIX) to

Thailand Bangkok (BKK),
Korea Seoul (GMP),
China Shanghai (PVG),
Taiwan Taipei (TPE);

From Tokyo Nagoya (NGO) to

China Shanghai (PVG),
Taiwan Taipei (TPE),
China Tianjin (TSN),

To be eligible for this offer, you must be an AAdvantage member residing in the U.S. and you have to fly on one of these fare classes:

On American Airlines marketed flights
Business Class fares booked in J, R, D or I;
Economy Class fares booked in Y, B, H, K;

On Japan Airlines operated flights
Business Class fares booked in J, C, D, X or I;
Economy Class fares booked in Y, B, E, H, K.

Registration using bonus code JLSEA is required before you travel.  Go here to sign up or for complete terms and conditions.

By the way, in case you missed it, there’s also a Double AAdvantage Miles offer for flights to Tokyo from Vancouver and select U.S. cities.

Cathay Pacific is giving away 10 round-trip tickets from Chicago to Hong Kong in a new promotion:

Enter “The Chicago SCVNGR Sweepstakes” for a chance to win one of ten trips from Chicago to Hong Kong!

How to win:

Step 1: Enter your email address.
And for even more chances to win…

Step 2: Download SCVNGR & Complete Challenges around Chicago.

If you’re not familiar with SCVNGR, think of it as foursquare + scavenger hunt:

Great news! We’re launching challenges on SCVNGR!

We’ve built SCVNGR challenges in Chicago to help promote our new Chicago to Hong Kong daily service. Keep coming back to earn more points, badges and rewards! SCVNGR is a game.

For a list of places you can play visit: scvngr.com/CathayPacific

Playing is simple: Tap places. Complete challenges. Earn points and unlock rewards!
How To Play

Download the app for iPhone or Android

Tap ‘Places’ and search for your location

Do the special Chicago challenges to earn points

Unlock badges and rewards

Visit: scvngr.com/CathayPacific

According to the terms and conditions, you don’t have to be a resident of Chicago to enter and you can play and earn points at more than 20 airports in the US.

The approximate retal value of each prize is $1,100. Winner pays taxes. Go here to enter.

Speaking of Hong Kong, Darren over at Frequently Flying just got back from a long weekend in Hong Kong.  He’s working on some great trip reports detailing his experience in Cathay Pacific’s first class cabin and will be posting lots of photos and video.  So spend a litte time daydreaming and go here to follow.

Today is the first day of oneworld member Cathay Pacific’s new service between Chicago to Hong Kong so I thought that in honor of the occasion I’d share some links you might find interesting.

Earn Double AAdvantage Miles when you travel between ORD and HKG in First or Business Class:

Travel round-trip on a Cathay Pacific operated nonstop flight (booked under either the CX or AA flight number) from Chicago to Hong Kong, on a qualifying First Class ticket or Business Class ticket, and earn double AAdvantage miles

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles members can earn triple miles in First Class, Business or Economy class when traveling between Chicago and Hong Kong:

Travel round-trip from Chicago (ORD) to Hong Kong (HKG)
Travel between September 1 and November 30, 2011
Earn triple bonus Asia Miles on a qualifying First, Business or Economy Class fare class
There is no limit to the number of bonuses you can earn during the promotion period
Bonus miles are in addition to your standard base miles and class of service bonus
Pre-register for the offer online prior to departure

Cathay Pacific has published a Lonely Planet “Chicago to Hong Kong” guide on their website (be aware that the guide is a PDF that loads in the browser).

Wonder what the bathroom looks like in Cathay Pacific First Class? Here’s a photo from travel blogger Lisa Lubin’s trip report. Go here to read her review and for photos of the food, the bathrooms, and amenity kits.

Speaking of amenity kits.  Here’s a peek of their new environmentally friendly travel kits:

Cathay Pacific offers entertainment on demand with the StudioCX service. If you’re lucky enough to be earning Double AAdvantage Miles this month and want to know how you’ll pass the time, go here to see the movie selection.

What’s life like at the back of the plane? Here’s a video tour and trip report of economy class on a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 from Modhop.

If you’re traveling on the inaugural flight today enjoy the bonus miles and share your review!

American Airlines partner and oneworld member airline, Cathay Pacific is launching new non-stop service between Chicago and Hong Kong on September 1 and to promote the new route, they’re offering Double AAdvantage miles for First and Business class travel.

So if menu items like Caviar and Balik salmon, Grilled beef tenderloin with red wine sauce, green peas potato mash, baby carrots, asparagus and red capsicum, Stir-fried prawn paddy with asparagus, and breakfast eggs cooked to order don’t excite you, maybe earning more than 35,000 AAdvantage Miles will:

Airline: Cathay Pacific and American Airlines

Bonus Code: HKGCX

Dates: Book your trip between August 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011. Travel on/between September 1, 2011 and November 30, 2011.

Offer: Travel round-trip on a Cathay Pacific operated nonstop flight (booked under either the CX or AA flight number) from Chicago to Hong Kong, on a qualifying First Class ticket or Business Class ticket, and earn double AAdvantage miles. There is no limit to the number of bonuses you can earn during the promotion period and the bonus miles are in addition to your standard base miles and class of service bonus. Just book your trip between August 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011, fly between September 1, 2011 and November 30, 2011, and register prior to travel.

Double miles for round-trip First Class travel between Chicago and Hong Kong booked in F or A
Total miles earned (base miles, bonus miles and class of service bonus) 38,935 total miles

Double miles for round-trip Business Class travel between Chicago and Hong Kong booked in J, C, D or I
Total miles earned (base miles, bonus miles and class of service bonus) 35,042 total miles

There’s no bonus for coach travel, but you’ll still earn 15,588 AAdvantage Miles if your flight is ticketed as an American Airlines codeshare flight or booked in H on Cathay Pacific.

A discounted First class ticket will cost you as much as a Kia, and at first you might think it’s a little expensive. However, to help you put that cost in perspective, I’ve put together these comparisons:

Cost
2011 Kia Optima MSRP: $18,995
First class (booked in A), Round-trip ORD to HKG: $18498.30

AAdvantage Miles
2011 Kia Optima: 0
First class (booked in A), Round-trip ORD to HKG: 38,935

AAdvantage Elite Qualifying Miles
2011 Kia Optima: 0
First class (booked in A), Round-trip ORD to HKG: 23,382

Total travel time
2011 Kia Optima: 2 days drive to Los Angeles, 22 days transit time Los Angeles to Hong Kong via Maersk Lines, Transpacific 6
First class (booked in A), Round-trip ORD to HKG: 15 hours, 35 minutes

Fully flat bed seats
2011 Kia Optima: Not available
First class (booked in A), Round-trip ORD to HKG: Available

So after a little analysis, I think it’s clear that it’s the Kia that is overpriced.

Registration is required before travel, go here to sign up or for more details.

Photo: “Cathay Pacific First Class”
Credit: Lucky at One Mile at Time via Flickr

It’s been a slow week as far as AAdvantage offers go, it’s usually that way at the end of the month when offers expire and news ones haven’t been announced, but despite the lack of new AAdvantage offers, it’s been a busy week for contests. Here’s a new one from oneworld member and AAdvantage partner, Cathay Pacific.

The start of their new non-stop service from Chicago to Hong Kong is just over a month away and to promote the new route they’re offering a new Facebook contest with the winner receiving two round trip tickets to Hong Kong. This new promotion is a little more involved than your usual sweepstakes and in order to win you’ll have to tap your creative side:

Use your artistic talents for a chance to win 2 tickets to Hong Kong!

To celebrate our new nonstop service from Chicago to Hong Kong, we’re hosting a competition on Facebook to blend these two iconic cities into one. Blend the cities’ skylines, monuments or streets using photography, sculpture, illustrations or any other medium you would like – the options are as wide as your imagination.

Grand Prize: The winner will get 2 tickets to Hong Kong and a cultural Feng Shui architectural tour, courtesy of the Hong Kong Tourism Board. In addition, the winning entry will be featured on the Cathay Pacific Facebook fan page and will be on display at select airport locations.

Here’s the short description of how it works: create your work of art, submit it to their contest page on Facebook and let people vote on it. The ten entries with the greatest number of votes will then advance to a final round with the winner being selected by artist Maria Lobo. To read more visit the Cathay Pacific  Facebook page.

On another topic, you’ve probably already read this, but if not, check out the Frequently Flying to see a vintage American Airlines’ 747-100 seatmap which includes dining table seating in First Class.   Also, read this store from the View from the Wing blog about a possible  oneworld MegaDO.  If you’re not sure what a oneworld MegaDO is, think of it as AAdvantage camp/oneworld palooza.

Have a great weekend.

Tour of Cathay Pacific’s new Business Class

American Airlines partner and oneworld member Cathay Pacific will launch non-stop service between Chicago and Hong Kong on September 1. United is the only carrier offering round trip, non-stop flights between the two cities, and even though Cathay hasn’t started service, they’ve already indicated that they plan to fight it out with United by expanding their code share relationship with American and by offering several promotions.

Already this summer they’ve offered discounts on their All-Asia Pass, 15,000 bonus AAdvantage Miles for First and Biz class service (expired), and a 100 Tickets for $100 sweepstakes. Starting August 1, they’re offering Double AAdvantage Miles for premium class travel between September 1 and November 30:

Earn double AAdvantage miles for roundtrip travel from Chicago to Hong Kong
Airline: Cathay Pacific and American Airlines
Bonus Code: HKGCX

Dates: Book your trip between August 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011. Travel on/between September 1, 2011 and November 30, 2011.

Offer: Travel round-trip on a Cathay Pacific operated nonstop flight (booked under either the CX or AA flight number) from Chicago to Hong Kong, on a qualifying First Class ticket or Business Class ticket, and earn double AAdvantage miles. There is no limit to the number of bonuses you can earn during the promotion period and the bonus miles are in addition to your standard base miles and class of service bonus. Just book your trip between August 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011, fly between September 1, 2011 and November 30, 2011, and register prior to travel.

First Class (booked in F or A) earns 38,945 AAdvantage Miles (base miles, bonus miles and class of service bonus). Business Class (booked in J, C, D or I) earns almost 35,042 (base miles, bonus miles and class of service bonus).

Go here for more details, or to register using bonus code HKGCX.

Have a good weekend!

“Cathay Pacific’s Airbus A330-300 with oneworld special livery sitting at a gate of Hong Kong International Airport.”
Photo credit: Luke Lai on Flickr

Beginning September 1, 2011, American Airlines partner and oneworld member Cathay Pacific will be offering service between Chicago and Hong Kong. To promote the new route they’ve been offering  some really cheap (sub-$1000) fares, and now they’ve just announced an even better promotional fare: 100 Tickets for $100:

Cathay Pacific now offers daily service from Chicago (ORD) to Hong Kong (HKG) with easy connections to over 60 cities in Asia.

To celebrate, we’re offering 100 Economy Class roundtrip tickets to Hong Kong at $100 each! Please note that all travel must be ticketed and completed by December 31, 2011.

Starting on July 7, 2011, 25 tickets will be up for grabs each Thursday in July.

To purchase a ticket, visit the special offer page at 3:25:00 PM CT (Chicago flight departure time) on the following days:

Thursday – July 7, 2011 3:25:00 PM CT
Thursday – July 14, 2011 3:25:00 PM CT
Thursday – July 21, 2011 3:25:00 PM CT
Thursday – July 28, 2011 3:25:00 PM CT

So Thursday you might want to stay close to your computer because according to the rules the tickets will go to the first 25 people to correctly submit an entry :

During any Entry Period, visit the Cathay Pacific US homepage, cathaypacific.com/us, and click on the banner for the “100 tickets for $100″ landing page and follow the links and instructions to complete the “100 tickets for $100″ claim page. The first twenty-five (25) people in each Entry Period to correctly complete the directions to claim a $100 Cathay Pacific airline ticket from Chicago to Hong Kong (the “Offer”) will be contacted by a Cathay Pacific representative for additional instruction on how to receive the Offer.

Go here for more info or to read the complete terms and conditions. Good luck!