Asia - Reasonably priced Air Fares - Where to search

[Bill_McC]

What sites do you experienced travelers search when you're planning a trip to Asia? Do you search sites or do you use travel agents? I thought this might be a helpful topic for those of us that haven't made the trip or haven't made it in several years. For me its been almost 20 years since I've flown to anywhere in Asia and that was for business and I didn't care about dates, times, or costs.

Bill

[piglett]

Bill i sent you a PM

[Jeff S]

Asia is a very big place. Where in Asia?

[Bill_McC]

Primarily Philippines for my interests, but I was thinking that there are members here that will be interested in knowing about China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. I'm sure that some will be interested in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos too.

I'm trying to get a thread going that would give several options as to where to search and not be overly specific. As you said, Asia is a large area and covers a wide range of cultures so I was trying to be very general as far as final destination. I was hoping for more of a web site collection or maybe a few recommended travel agents. Maybe some search tips such as flying mid week is a lot cheaper than on a Friday or a Monday because all of the business travel is typically conducted on those days. Things of that nature.

Bill

[Ray]

http://www.mobissimo.com/search_airfare.php

[jm21-2]

I've gotten some very good deals on www.cfares.com . I think the site may have changed hands though.

[Ray]

I think you will generally find airfares cheaper if you depart & arrive back home in mid-week.

I was searching airfares between LA and Cebu today and some fares jumped over $300 by departing on a Friday vice Tues, Wed, or Thurs.

Often the lowest fares involve the longest transit times. Korean Air is usually the cheapest to the PI but the total travel times can be twice as long with very long layovers in Korea.

Cathay Pacific is running second in low prices and beats PAL by $200-$300.

Ray

[euforia51]

This is an interesting article regarding airfare that goes a bit beyond the general don't book on weekends, over holidays, or any other opportune time an airline would stand to make an extra buck.

[Dave H]

Often the lowest fares involve the longest transit times. Korean Air is usually the cheapest to the PI but the total travel times can be twice as long with very long layovers in Korea.

Ray

Hey Ray,

The only fight that I could book (other than first class) last year to reach the Philippines by my required date (baby's first birthday) was on Korean Airlines. If it happens again, I will probably be late or spend the extra money to avoid going back to Korea! The airlines was fine. It was the people on the ground in "K-land" that I didn't care for!   Was Hitler from Korea?   There are enough of them in the Philippines to deal with IMHO, but at least I don't have to do it on their own turf!  Believe or not...I usually like just about anyone who isn't a complete A-hole...  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koreans_in_the_Philippines

Dave

[william3rd]

Thai Airways is usually pretty steep since they are nonstop LAX to Bangkok.
Cathay has fare sales that are pretty good from time to time and layovers are in HKK. There are some pretty nice traveler's lounges there.
China Air also has reasonable fares. but getting let out in Bangkok at 2AM with an 8AM flight to Udon isnt pleasant.

I have seen a lot of dirt cheap fares out there but I am not a person who thinks that I am getting any kind of a deal when I have to spend 33 hours traveling to get somewhere I can get to in 20 hours or less for hundred bucks more.

[Jeff S]

LOL! Yep - me too. It's not all about whose is cheapest.

[thekfc]

I find the cheapest fares by calling airlines directly. I first do a search & then call.
I first choice would be Cathay Pacific.

Note to all - the airlines DO NOT publish their cheapest fare classes (neither on their site or search engines).

For those who want to do multiple stops, Cathay Pacific have the All Asia Pass.
Lass year the Pass was $1599. It includes round trip from JFK or LA and you could travel to HK & 2 other Asian cities within 21 days. You can extend the days or cities for an additional fee.
This year's Asia Pass pricing have not been published yet.

[Bob_S]

We shop around, starting on-line with the usual ticket sellers (Yahoo Travel, Travelocity, Expedia, etc.).  Departures on Thursday and returns on Monday tend to be cheaper than weekend travel, but not always, and not always cheap enough to sacrifice precious vacation days.  That gives us a ballpark figure from which to start.
Then we check the airline websites directly for any sale prices not listed.
Then check the print ads for JTB that has an actual office we'll visit in person anyway for our Japan Rail passes.  From there, we start sorting:
1. Direct flights take priority.  We avoid stop-overs unless it significantly reduces the per-ticket price (since there are 3 of us traveling, that can add up quick).  If it's just myself, I don't mind unless it requires taking more vacation time (which translates into $$$).  But when dragging along the rugrat through airports and airplanes, it is worth spending the extra dough to get the travel over with ASAP.
2. Asian airlines take priority.  We avoid American carriers unless we book so late that that is all that's left or if the price is nearly half that of the closest Asian carrier with direct flights.
3. The plane.  Modern 777's are more comfortable than older 747's.
4. Convenience.  If JTB's price is only a few bucks more than ordering on-line, we may let them go ahead and book for us since they'll handle all the hassle of the paperwork and we'll be using them to order our JR tickets, anyway, like I mentioned before.

Other options, for a real adventure, book passage on a freighter, or go by Ray's method and enlist!

[thekfc]

We shop around, starting on-line with the usual ticket sellers (Yahoo Travel, Travelocity, Expedia, etc.).  Departures on Thursday and returns on Monday tend to be cheaper than weekend travel, but not always, and not always cheap enough to sacrifice precious vacation days.  That gives us a ballpark figure from which to start.
Then we check the airline websites directly for any sale prices not listed.
Then check the print ads for JTB that has an actual office we'll visit in person anyway for our Japan Rail passes.

From there, we start sorting:
1. Direct flights take priority.  We avoid stop-overs unless it significantly reduces the per-ticket price (since there are 3 of us traveling, that can add up quick).  If it's just myself, I don't mind unless it requires taking more vacation time (which translates into $$$).  But when dragging along the rugrat through airports and airplanes, it is worth spending the extra dough to get the travel over with ASAP.
2. Asian airlines take priority.  We avoid American carriers unless we book so late that that is all that's left or if the price is nearly half that of the closest Asian carrier with direct flights.
3. The plane.  Modern 777's are more comfortable than older 747's.
4. Convenience.  If JTB's price is only a few bucks more than ordering on-line, we may let them go ahead and book for us since they'll handle all the hassle of the paperwork and we'll be using them to order our JR tickets, anyway, like I mentioned before.

Other options, for a real adventure, book passage on a freighter, or go by Ray's method and enlist!

[Ray]

Other options, for a real adventure, book passage on a freighter, or go by Ray's method and enlist!

Bob,

Booking passage on a freighter is not my idea of an adventure, but has been recommended here in the past for those with acute fear of flying.

Whatever happened to Darrel??

Ray

[Woody]

Other options, for a real adventure, book passage on a freighter, or go by Ray's method and enlist!

I tried enlisting. I started in Tennessee, made it as far north as a layover in Chicago, as far south as Georgia, as far west as Long Beach, CA, and as far east as London, UK. Most of that time being in Colorado and Kansas! Now how is that for government paid travel? This was Army, mind you. Those Navy boys sure get around! At least we didn't have our nametags sewn to our asses!. Didn't need 'em! The brass didn't care who they were [snip]ing, and we knew we were getting [snip]ed by the brass!