Amazing deal

[awesum4 2,342]

My daughter  was coming over for my 70th just before Christmas but Jetstar wanted 1,200 and AirNZ wanted 1,500 for return flights each less than 4 hours.

So instead she's shouting me a trip to Melbourne. So I said I'll go over early June for a few days then go to Thailand, then call in on the return trip.

Out of curiosity I looked at airfares Melbourne to Bangkok return..  

I found 4,200,  then 3,500,  then 2,700, then 2,100,  then 1,900 the same as I paid in 2023.  Then 1,371 but 30 hours travel time via China.

Then I struck Gold on Jetstar.  Direct flight of 9 hours. Return with a 4 hour stop in Singapore using AirAsia.  For a grand total of $650. 

Absolutely no frills,  7kg carry-on, no seat allocation, no meal, no drinks, no infight entertainment.  Who cares, I'll eat at the airport and buy a coupe if sandwiches and a bottle of water. Have a couple of books to read, and games on my laptop. No cancelation insurance I'm going.

How it can be a third of the price of 2 years earlier has me beat. But that's their problem not mine.

 

[teelack 9,683]

Well if I was having a longish airport layover Singapore would be my pick. Lots things to do and places to go for free.

Another thought is that I did get a few Malaysian Riggit and bought a some beers on the Air Asia flight. Didn't really need them but helped pass the time.



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[yorta2 708]

14 hours ago, awesum4 said:

My daughter  was coming over for my 70th just before Christmas but Jetstar wanted 1,200 and AirNZ wanted 1,500 for return flights each less than 4 hours.

So instead she's shouting me a trip to Melbourne. So I said I'll go over early June for a few days then go to Thailand, then call in on the return trip.

Out of curiosity I looked at airfares Melbourne to Bangkok return..  

I found 4,200,  then 3,500,  then 2,700, then 2,100,  then 1,900 the same as I paid in 2023.  Then 1,371 but 30 hours travel time via China.

Then I struck Gold on Jetstar.  Direct flight of 9 hours. Return with a 4 hour stop in Singapore using AirAsia.  For a grand total of $650. 

Absolutely no frills,  7kg carry-on, no seat allocation, no meal, no drinks, no infight entertainment.  Who cares, I'll eat at the airport and buy a coupe if sandwiches and a bottle of water. Have a couple of books to read, and games on my laptop. No cancelation insurance I'm going.

How it can be a third of the price of 2 years earlier has me beat. But that's their problem not mine.

 

There is no way I'll ever fly Jetstar again! I flew direct from Sydney to Phuket and then return from Bangkok to Sydney. It was a nightmare. The return went via Melbourne (J.Star's home) and everybody had to have luggage X-rayed and inspected in Customs, due to some Chinese passengers having illegal foodstuffs. Many of us missed connecting flights (mine to Sydney) and had to wait over 12 hours for the staff to sort out alternate flights. No compensation, no food, and we were all very tired after an all night flight in cramped conditions, with out even water, unless we paid for it. Good luck on your trip. I hate them with a vengeance.

Oh, by the way, I booked my next flight to LOS yesterday and, due to high flight fares, I booked to travel with Singapore Air, who had a reasonably good fare, with seat selection on all legs, normal food and drink service included, and only an hour and a half changeover in Changi each way. $1140 AUD.

[awesum4 2,342]

choosing an airline always carries some risk.

There is no way I'll ever fly Qantas again after being stuck in Sydney airport for 14 hours because they had a dispute with their engineers and our plane got black-banned. The entire time no one told us what was going on, just said the plane will be here in an hour,  then the same thing 2 hours later 6 times. no apology, no compensation and McDonald's vouchers for food.

I've flown Jetstar without problems, this is a direct flight, I only have carry-on.

I'll take the risk on delays to save $600. That's 12,000 bhat I can spend on better things than a comfortable seat and an airline meal.

I would point out the luggage xray has nothing to do with Jetstar  they didn't pack the bags. 

But you have got a good price for a full service airline like Singapore.

Edited November 2, 2024 by awesum4

[jacko 8,866]

22 hours ago, yorta2 said:

There is no way I'll ever fly Jetstar again! I flew direct from Sydney to Phuket and then return from Bangkok to Sydney. It was a nightmare. The return went via Melbourne (J.Star's home) and everybody had to have luggage X-rayed and inspected in Customs, due to some Chinese passengers having illegal foodstuffs. Many of us missed connecting flights (mine to Sydney) and had to wait over 12 hours for the staff to sort out alternate flights. No compensation, no food, and we were all very tired after an all night flight in cramped conditions, with out even water, unless we paid for it. Good luck on your trip. I hate them with a vengeance.

Dear me that sounds like a bum deal.......

No claim to compensation is very strange, perhaps because the fault was not really with the airline, more the efforts at Melbourne. It all makes good TV though, which Australian customs is very famous for......

[teelack 9,683]

Dear me that sounds like a bum deal.......
No claim to compensation is very strange, perhaps because the fault was not really with the airline, more the efforts at Melbourne. It all makes good TV though, which Australian customs is very famous for......

I am sorry to say that due to travel woes in the past I avoid flying through Australia. Transit passengers are given a hard time compared with Singapore, KL and Hong Kong. Even travelling via Shanghai earlier this year was better.

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[Rawhide2 1,382]

Just had a look at pricing on my flights this weekend back out with scheduled return end of March and its £484

I paid £404 back when I booked it in November

Plenty of value about still

[jacko 8,866]

10 hours ago, Rawhide2 said:

Just had a look at pricing on my flights this weekend back out with scheduled return end of March and its £484

I paid £404 back when I booked it in November

Plenty of value about still

Whilst that is a pretty good price some other details are relevant.. like carrier and layovers. For example, I might pass if it was on Biman and with 12 hours layover in Dhaka.

I have just been looking at a flight to Bali (ex BKK) in a couple of months... and Skyscanner prices I got before Christmas I put alerts on  them ready to catch a price drop... but they have gone up since!

Edited January 8 by jacko

[teelack 9,683]

Whilst that is a pretty good price some other details are relevant.. like carrier and layovers. For example, I might pass if it was on Biman and with 12 hours layover in Dhaka.
I have just been looking at a flight to Bali (ex BKK) in a couple of months... and Skyscanner prices I got before Christmas I put alerts on  them ready to catch a price drop... but they have gone up since!

You bring up a good point.
I live in a provincial town and need to get a commuter plane to Auckland for international flights. Unless I am spot on with my flights I could be caught with a few hundred dollars in extra costs. This is for overnight hotels, shuttles etc.

I stay too long in Thailand for me to park my car, besides the distance involved.

Also commuter flights can vary by 100 % depending on the time of day.

As you have also pointed out, add to this the layover time as there are no direct flights to Thailand from NZ.

I Realise that the poster was only discussing lowest fares from the UK,and that's fine.

I did the homework for myself and the cheapest fare (while over $200 less ) would have cost me much more than the best fare as well as give me poor time options.




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[Rawhide2 1,382]

9 hours ago, jacko said:

Whilst that is a pretty good price some other details are relevant.. like carrier and layovers. For example, I might pass if it was on Biman and with 12 hours layover in Dhaka.

I have just been looking at a flight to Bali (ex BKK) in a couple of months... and Skyscanner prices I got before Christmas I put alerts on  them ready to catch a price drop... but they have gone up since!

China Eastern Jacko who I have flown before

Lovely seating 33" in economy no stupid underseat AVOD boxes either

Transit in Pudong Shanghai 2 hours 10 minutes

"Air time" is the same as say Malaysian or Cathay from Bangkok to or fro London so not excessive

Edited January 9 by Rawhide2

[jacko 8,866]

15 hours ago, Rawhide2 said:

China Eastern Jacko who I have flown before

Lovely seating 33" in economy no stupid underseat AVOD boxes either

Transit in Pudong Shanghai 2 hours 10 minutes

"Air time" is the same as say Malaysian or Cathay from Bangkok to or fro London so not excessive

Caught a review on YT only recently which was a bit negative on China Eastern (in Economy, ex Europe to Bangkok via Shanghai), food looked truly awful ex Shanghai.... a pal of mine told me 'does what it says on the tin'...although he is a pretty tolerant type who liked o save a few coppers. 

Edited January 9 by jacko

[teelack 9,683]

1 hour ago, jacko said:

Caught a review on YT only recently which was a bit negative on China Eastern (in Economy, ex Europe to Bangkok via Shanghai), food looked truly awful ex Shanghai.... a pal of mine told me 'does what it says on the tin'...although he is a pretty tolerant type who liked o save a few coppers. 

I flew with them last year . It wasnt all bad but I would rather not use them again if I had a choice. The stop-over in Pudong was boring and a cup of coffee reqired a second mortgage, 

One thing that was a pain after a long flight to get there was the combined layover and the time to fly to Bangkok. The time seemed endless. There are simply better options but the price is great assuming that you have easy access to the airport where your home airport is. 

[Kev 178]

Gee Teelack so you travel from South Island NZ to China then back to Bangkok, long haul mate. Not bad for a spring chicken like yourself 😷

[awesum4 2,342]

7 hours ago, Kev said:

Gee Teelack so you travel from South Island NZ to China then back to Bangkok, long haul mate. Not bad for a spring chicken like yourself 😷

North Island......it's too cold for him down here.

He lives in a small coastal town too far from Auckland to drive easily.

My mate flew that way from Christchurch in October. Christchurch to Auckland to China to Bangkok to Udon Thani.   Took about 38 hours...to save less than $100.

 

[Rawhide2 1,382]

On 1/10/2025 at 12:07 AM, teelack said:

I flew with them last year . It wasnt all bad but I would rather not use them again if I had a choice. The stop-over in Pudong was boring and a cup of coffee reqired a second mortgage, 

One thing that was a pain after a long flight to get there was the combined layover and the time to fly to Bangkok. The time seemed endless. There are simply better options but the price is great assuming that you have easy access to the airport where your home airport is. 

Unfortunately where we are from in UK its a minimum 220 miles to either Heathrow ot Gatwick

Take into account coach times and time between arrival and wheels up its typically 9 hours minimum

Not to bad coming to Thailand for obvious reasons but coming home is utter nightmare

Even when I came home on Thai (so obviously non stop) because of coach timings and getting home from final coach stop was 29 hours on Boxing day door to door.....I could have chopped 1 hour off that by leaving later from Condo but thats it

Edited January 11 by Rawhide2

[Rawhide2 1,382]

That China Eastern was decent again...food not the best but had A330 and 777 on the two sectors so no single aisle 737 etc

95% plus full from Gatwick to Shanghai and 100% full Shanghai to Bangkok

Very heavy flight traffic was circling for 30 minutes...;arrived about 45 minutes late

Immigration heaving

2nd trip in a row I was asked the question "no visa"

I had an onward ticket for 6th Feb so wasnt concerned but interesting that they asked again

Didnt ask for anything though but the kiosk beside me a female IO did ask young guy for something (I didnt hear) but he was frantically looking through his phone for something....no idea if he found it