Discount asian airlines

[torrenova 644]

Can you guys post up any of the cheap airlines which have set up in SE Asia in the last couple of years. The only one I can remember is Air Asia http://www.airasia.com/

 

Thanks

[Matty 0]

www.nokair.co.th

 

www.jetstarasia.com

 

www.tigerairways.com ( half owned by Ryanair i belive )

 

 

 

Matty

[redwood13 56]

http://www.valuair.com.sg/

 

BKK-Sg

Sg to HK, Jakarta & Perth

 

-redwood

[charlie298 0]

I flew with Tiger only last month.

 

They use a fleet of new A320's

 

Excellent service, Cheap ticket price

 

Singapore - Bangkok

 

Highly recommended

 

Charlie

[steveo 1]

Have a look at Jetstar Asia - they fly direct Singapore to Pattaya.

[Matty 0]

Have a look at Jetstar Asia - they fly direct Singapore to Pattaya.

But maybe not for long .

 

There has been some speculation in the aussie press that they will drop this route.

 

Matty

[The Mook 105]

This article from The New York Times may help shed some light on low cost asian airlines.

By NELLIE HUANG Special to THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

February 25, 2005

As a busy marketing consultant, Michael Corcoran spends more time in the air than he does at home in Bangkok. But all that flying around the world adds up, and since he started his own consulting company, Mr. Corcoran has been eager to find cheap flights. "I'm living on a budget," he says. So in mid-February, when he wanted to book a trip to Koh Samui, he started searching for a low fare. In the end, he scored a $50 round-trip ticket on Bangkok Airways. "You can't beat that. It's so inexpensive," says Mr. Corcoran. In the past two years, at least six new low-cost Asian carriers have taken off, some with backing from larger airlines. Among them are Jetstar Asia Airways (backed by Qantas), Tiger Airways (backed by Singapore Airlines), Valuair and

AirAsia. And this month, a new budget start-up, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, announced plans to begin flying to Europe from Hong Kong later this year. Some of the fares are remarkable, with prices often at least half that of a major carrier. Recent pre-tax specials include a one-way flight on no-frills Bangkok Airways to Phuket from Bangkok for $43. A one-way special on Jetstar

Asia to Singapore from Hong Kong was less than $25. And a round-trip fare on Tiger Airways to Bangkok from Singapore was $12.20. With prices so low travelers might wonder whether these airlines have invented a new sort of cattle class -- even worse than economy -- to cut costs. But while there are indeed pitfalls to flying these airlines -- getting their best rates often requires persistence -- they do offer real savings.

 

No-frills Flying

First off, a warning: These are no-frills airlines, and what you save in fares may cost you, literally, in other ways. On most carriers that means no assigned seats, so there's no guarantee of sitting next to the aisle. AirAsia and Jetstar Asia, for instance, charge extra for food and drinks. What's more, most airlines cut costs by eliminating business class so they can squeeze more economy seats onto the plane. And say good-bye to any frequent-flier programs -- they are too expensive for most of these airlines to run. Also, watch how much you pack: The weight limits for check-in baggage on some budget airlines are lower than on the major carriers. AirAsia, Tiger Airways and Lion Air have a 15-kilogram limit for all check-in bags. Cathay Pacific Airways, by contrast, has a 20-kilogram limit. (Expect to pay about $3 extra per kilogram

for any excess baggage when flying budget.) All told, little changes like these add up to a cost structure that is 20% to 30% lower than the bigger airlines, according to Peter Harbison, managing director of aviation consulting group, the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation.

"When the big boys think they can knock AirAsia out of the market by discounting, they are getting into a bleeding contest that they can't win," Mr. Harbison contends. Not that the big boys are necessarily sweating bullets. For one thing, says Cathay Pacific spokeswoman Carolyn Leung, budget airlines can't compete with the likes of Cathay Pacific in terms of transporting cargo -- "a key revenue component for Asia carriers" -- because they fly smaller planes. "We intend to

remain a full-service network carrier because that is what we do best. That said," Ms. Leung adds, "we always monitor the market closely and will keep all our options open."

 

New Destinations

And, truth be told, in many cases low-cost carriers aren't even competing with the big boys -- they fly to places that aren't directly serviced by major airlines, such as Koh Samui in Thailand, or Terengganu in Malaysia. The goal is to create new "destinations" by wooing travelers with cheap flights, says Mr. Harbison. This, in a nutshell, is the model that made Ryanair, the budget

European airline, so successful. So far in Malaysia, where AirAsia operates most of its flights, that model is working, says Mr. Harbison. Bear in mind that budget airlines, like the major carriers, also have their own hubs that travelers must pass through to catch the flights. Singaporeans have several budget airlines using Changi International Airport as their hub -- Jetstar Asia, Tiger Airways and Valuair. But Hong Kong isn't a budget airline hub, so residents usually have to fly elsewhere to take advantage of cheap flights. And while Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta have the AirAsia and Lion Air hubs, respectively, in each case the bulk of the flights offered are only domestic. Like all airlines, budget carriers offer promotions. Tiger Airways, Bangkok Airways and Valuair each offer subscriptions to e-mail newsletters that carry deals. Otherwise, to find the best deals it's probably best to contact the airline call centers. This goes for fact-finding as much as for booking. While the Web sites of budget airlines might leap to mind when considering

booking, in some cases the online systems can be confusing and poorly maintained. That's surprising because such airlines supposedly save money by leveraging the Internet. But try to reserve a Singapore to Hong Kong trip on Valuair's Web site, for instance, and it spits out a complicated fare structure -- Flexi (, Flexi (M), Saver (W), etc. -- that users have to sift through

before figuring out prices. Alternatively, the sites can be aggravating and slow, such as Lion Air's, which has some pages still "under construction." Just before the Lunar New Year, Jennifer Yuen tried to book a Tiger Airways flight to Phuket from Singapore online. "Half the time the booking engine wasn't working," says Ms. Yuen, director of a boutique property-development company in

Singapore. "And then another time, I could see some promotional fares and then called call centers only to be told there weren't (such) fares available."

 

Quick Access

Yet when Ms. Yuen called the airline back later that day, the customer service representatives said there were actually plenty of the promotional fares left. She booked a $6.09 (one-way, pre-taxes) ticket to Phuket immediately. Finally, perhaps the best thing about this growing crop of airlines is that travelers now have more options to fly directly to cities that once typically

required a connection. Sure, Thai Airways flies to Phuket from Singapore, but you have to connect in Bangkok and it will take at least five hours. Tiger Airways will get you there in two hours by flying directly to Phuket from Singapore. And later this year, the new Oasis Hong Kong Airlines plans to fly direct to some European cities that currently require a connection in Frankfurt

or London. For some travelers, these discount fares could turn out to be dangerously expensive. With one-way flights as low as $25 in some cases, you could fly from Singapore to Bangkok and go shopping for the day. "I've considered it," says Ms. Yuen. "With these low airfares it's now cheaper to take the flight and buy your stuff there than to go to the local shopping center and buy the same stuff."

[livermore 0]

I don't know where the NY Times comes up with such crap. Just try get a round trip flight to Koh Samui from Bangkok for $50 bucks. I have flown this route several times and it has got to be the most expensive internal route in Thailand. Just picking two random days in May, the best I could come up with was 6,800 baht or $177 dollars. That was the cheapest option and it was more than 3 times the amount the bullsh*t article stated. Travel agents don't knock off hardly any money from the price as their commissions are pretty narrow, so any $50 ticket to Samui isn't even worth the paper its written on. Another part of the article claims a round trip ticket BKK to SIN for less than 500 baht or $12.20. Utter nonsense.

 

I know these discount airline have really brought the price of flying down in Thailand. I recently purchased a RT flight with Nok Air BKK to Chiang Mai for less than 3000 baht. This was substantially cheaper than Royal Thai. This article, however, is complete bullsh*t.

[dbric36 0]

Pretty cheap to Phuket if you ask me. 960 baht is cheap round trip

 

FARE GuestWeb THB299.00

 

Tue, 31/05/2005

Flight FD3014 15:55 Depart Bangkok (BKK)

17:15 Arrive Phuket (HKT)

 

I FARE GuestWeb THB299.00

 

 

Wed, 08/06/2005

Flight FD3015 17:45 Depart Phuket (HKT)

19:05 Arrive Bangkok (BKK)

 

 

Depart (I FARE)

1 Guest X THB299.00 THB 299.00

Taxes and Fees (details) THB 181.43

 

Depart (I FARE)

- Bookings made with this fare only permit flight changes more than 48 hours prior to scheduled departure for a fee of RM50.00/THB600/Rp125,000/MOP110/S$30.00 per guest per sector, plus any applicable difference in airfare.

- No name changes are permitted.

- This fare is capacity controlled. Seats offered at this fare are limited and may not be available on all flights.

- All fares are subject to change until purchased.

 

Return (I FARE)

1 Guest X THB299.00 THB 299.00

Taxes and Fees (details) THB 181.43

 

Return (I FARE)

- Bookings made with this fare only permit flight changes more than 48 hours prior to scheduled departure for a fee of RM50.00/THB600/Rp125,000/MOP110/S$30.00 per guest per sector, plus any applicable difference in airfare.

- No name changes are permitted.

- This fare is capacity controlled. Seats offered at this fare are limited and may not be available on all flights.

- All fares are subject to change until purchased.

 

 

Total Amount THB 960.86

 

 

I have read, understood and accepted all fare restrictions associated with this fare: Fare Rules, AirAsia's Travel Requirements, AirAsia's Terms & Conditions of Carriage (please check box to continue)

[torrenova 644]

That BKK-USM fare for $50 is complete shit I agree. Bangkok Airways has the monopoly on Samui flights and really fucks you over.

 

Last year, the flights Pattaya-Samui-Phuket were cheaper than the Pattaya-samui flights. Samui is a cash cow and Bangkok Airways are milking it.

[6cisco9 0]

I think we can agree that themook was simply giving info as he saw it. I give a general thanks to all those members who keep this forum up to date with current info.

[GoneBamboo 0]

I flew One-Two-Go, by Orient Thai, From Bangkok to Chiang Mai last Ocotber.

I paid 1150 Baht including tax.

 

I booked a flight for my buddy in December to Koh Samui on Bankok Air at the $50 US price. I've never come accross that deal when I book my own flights though.

 

www.onetwo-go.com

0-2267-2999

 

www.orient-thai.com

 

 

 

Salmon--The other pink meat

[The Mook 105]

livermore & torrenova: did not mean to upset you when I cut and pasted the NYT article (it is unabridged). One possibility is that a person may have to CALL a representative and ask if any promotional fares are being offered. I doubt these fares would be posted on the internet. We have a similar phenomenon here is the USA with hotel rates, unless you specifically ask for a promotional rate, you get quoted the standard rate. Just a guess, mook

[livermore 0]

themook,

 

I am glad you posted the article the more information the better. I just wonder about how much research some of these reporters do. Sometimes I read articles in my local San Francisco Chronicle, stating a fair is really low only to find out that it is some promotional fair that can't really be had. Even so the articles are written like this is a normal fair.

 

I have flown the BKK to Samui route maybe 6 times in the last 3 years and have never come across anything like what the article has written. But somebody on this thread has said they booked that for the $50 price. Who am I to say they didn't. So if anyone has any good tips for securing low prices I am all ears.

[GoneBamboo 0]

Hey all,

The discount flight to Samui I booked for my buddy was for the earliest flight leaving at 0600. This worked for him, as he arrived in Bangkok at 0100. Like I said it was low season, early December. Now being peak season, may have something to do with the availability of that fare. I hope this helps a little. Good luck.

 

 

Salmon--The other pink meat

[torrenova 644]

If you are in Thailand and need a flight, you cannot trust any agent. This is not to say that they are not trustworthy but just that they don't know and as they can never afford to fly really, they don't care or have the inquisitive sense.

 

To give you an example. I use a regular agent as my flights start and end in Thailand. She quoted around Bt42,000 to London return. I see in the Bangkok Post (which I get every day) a couple of agents advertising Bt26,400 for the same flight. So I tell my agent and she comes back a while later saying that it is available but I would have to take the daytime flight.

 

The thing is that they just don't have the up to date information. That particular offer ran out that day but they had never heard about it until I enquired. I could have easily paid another Bt15,000 or so for my ticket.

[GR_Fantom 0]

Any ideas/ information on which of all these budghet airlines are cheaper and safer??

[stevemcm 1]

I am told that Jetstar asia have cancelled the UTP - SIN service a passenger said he was told that his flight was the last one.

 

Stevoh.

[The Mook 105]

Livermore: I hear you. Promotional fares are often only a few seats per flight and very difficult to book; they must get snapped up almost immediately. I spoke with my aunt who has worked in reservations at AA for about 20 years and she tells me there are no regulations (in Asia vs. US rules) regarding the minimum number of seats per flight that must be offrered at a posted 'sale' or 'promotional' rate. She checked with a few members of AA's frequent flyer "buddy airlines". That may be key. I doubt very much you will ever see those fares on the Internet. MOOK