I have been traveling around Asia for more than 10 years and living in Indonesia for nearly 7 years now. Because of my love of travel I often found myself in situations where I was looking for inexpensive plane tickets. From the beginning I realized it was quite different to deal with domestic versus international flights. For example, in most countries when you purchase domestic flight tickets there is little difference in the prices between two "one way" tickets OR one "return" ticket. Sometimes there is a slightly discounted price for the return ticket.
It is more difficult to find discounted tickets when it comes to finding international air tickets. I have found that it is easier to get cheaper return tickets. So if you are planning to travel to a variety of cities (round trip with many layover stops) it can be difficult to find good deals. Below are some tips that should help you find the cheapest flights to Asia available online.
I have separated this article in two parts, international and domestic flights.
First, let's talk about international flight. There is a lot of good web site around there, but you will need to do a lot of searches before you find what you really want. I suggest you to start by looking for the available airplane companies which deserve the concerned country you are flying to or from.
For example, if you are in Indonesia and want to flight to Australia, you will most likely have to choose between Garuda and Quanta's airlines. You could also use other airlines such as Malaysia Airlines or Singapore Airlines. Regrettably you will undoubtedly lose time during your trip as you will have layovers in their hub cities.
Air Asia is one of my favorites when I fly in and around Indonesia as they service many cities. They are also quite inexpensive which is a huge bonus.
About domestic flight, I experienced two totally different experiences in Indonesia and Australia.
In Indonesia you will have plenty of choices if you are looking to purchase a domestic flight ticket. Indonesia constitutes more than twelve thousand islands. More than three thousands of these Islands are inhabited and I believe that more than a hundred of them have airports. So, you can imagine the number of possibilities and markets available in Indonesia. The main company airlines in Indonesia are Garuda (also provide international flight), Merpati, Mandala, Lion Air, Adam Air, Star Air, Batavia, etc.
Finding an inexpensive airline ticket is one thing but please don't forget about safety. At the moment I don't have any statistics about safety so I prefer not mention any airline specifically. However, if you have read the newspaper during these last few months, you probably are aware of what I'm talking about. Some of the above names are probably famous around the world right now, but probably not for the cheapest airfare.... However, please remember that airplanes are still one of the safest ways to travel in the world.
Once you have eliminated those companies with the worst safety records from your research, you can start to compare prices between the remaining few. Simply go to Google, type in the name of the company you are interested in and in a matter of seconds you will have their web address. If you want to purchase tickets in advance (let's say more than three weeks), you will find that most of the companies have similar quotes. The problem in Indonesia is if you want to order domestic tickets more than three weeks in advance...you will find there is no cheap airfare ticket available. You generally need to wait for the "perfect" time to order your ticket (between two and three weeks in advance.... be careful after that it could be too late) and you should be able to get 20% to 70% discount.
Obviously there is another way to find cheap domestic ticket plane if you want to order you ticket long time in advance. You can use Air Asia. They have very cheap airfare and good website. This is a service from Malaysia, and they provide many other cities and countries around Asia. A really good solution for Cheap Asia Travel.
In Indonesia, AirAsia only deserve the main cities such as Jakarta, Denpasar (Bali), Medan, Surabaya, etc... Globally, they fly over fifty cities around Asia. The service is limited (no seat pre-reserved in check-in), but it is safe and their fees really defy all concurrences for this range and types of services. They really get the Cheapest Flight in Asia I have seen so far. So, have a look....
Australia seems to work like most other countries in the others western countries. The farther in advance you book the more likely you are to find discounted airfare. Quantas has some great discounts available on purchasing tickets in bulk. If you need to book a lot of flights it could be advantageous. You also might find some great values if you book your tickets with Blue Virgin or Jet Star. Both airlines fly to many different cities in Australia however not necessary the same one. So, it really depends where you want to go. Sometimes you could do too much research. For example, once I was looking for a cheap airfare between Sydney and Darwin. Blue Virgin offered 450 AUD (via Brisbanne) and Jet Star didn't have this flight available. But when I checked a bit further into some others cities, I found out that I can get Sydney-Adelaide for 99AUD and Adelaide-Darwin for 167 AUD with Jet Star. Total 266 AUD. I just saved 184 AUD. Sometimes you will find better price with Blue Virgin. It all depends of the availability. Good luck on your research.
By the way, JetStar also provides some of the discount airfares in Asia as they fly to many others country such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc...
It is more difficult to find discounted tickets when it comes to finding international air tickets. I have found that it is easier to get cheaper return tickets. So if you are planning to travel to a variety of cities (round trip with many layover stops) it can be difficult to find good deals. Below are some tips that should help you find the cheapest flights to Asia available online.
I have separated this article in two parts, international and domestic flights.
First, let's talk about international flight. There is a lot of good web site around there, but you will need to do a lot of searches before you find what you really want. I suggest you to start by looking for the available airplane companies which deserve the concerned country you are flying to or from.
For example, if you are in Indonesia and want to flight to Australia, you will most likely have to choose between Garuda and Quanta's airlines. You could also use other airlines such as Malaysia Airlines or Singapore Airlines. Regrettably you will undoubtedly lose time during your trip as you will have layovers in their hub cities.
Air Asia is one of my favorites when I fly in and around Indonesia as they service many cities. They are also quite inexpensive which is a huge bonus.
About domestic flight, I experienced two totally different experiences in Indonesia and Australia.
In Indonesia you will have plenty of choices if you are looking to purchase a domestic flight ticket. Indonesia constitutes more than twelve thousand islands. More than three thousands of these Islands are inhabited and I believe that more than a hundred of them have airports. So, you can imagine the number of possibilities and markets available in Indonesia. The main company airlines in Indonesia are Garuda (also provide international flight), Merpati, Mandala, Lion Air, Adam Air, Star Air, Batavia, etc.
Finding an inexpensive airline ticket is one thing but please don't forget about safety. At the moment I don't have any statistics about safety so I prefer not mention any airline specifically. However, if you have read the newspaper during these last few months, you probably are aware of what I'm talking about. Some of the above names are probably famous around the world right now, but probably not for the cheapest airfare.... However, please remember that airplanes are still one of the safest ways to travel in the world.
Once you have eliminated those companies with the worst safety records from your research, you can start to compare prices between the remaining few. Simply go to Google, type in the name of the company you are interested in and in a matter of seconds you will have their web address. If you want to purchase tickets in advance (let's say more than three weeks), you will find that most of the companies have similar quotes. The problem in Indonesia is if you want to order domestic tickets more than three weeks in advance...you will find there is no cheap airfare ticket available. You generally need to wait for the "perfect" time to order your ticket (between two and three weeks in advance.... be careful after that it could be too late) and you should be able to get 20% to 70% discount.
Obviously there is another way to find cheap domestic ticket plane if you want to order you ticket long time in advance. You can use Air Asia. They have very cheap airfare and good website. This is a service from Malaysia, and they provide many other cities and countries around Asia. A really good solution for Cheap Asia Travel.
In Indonesia, AirAsia only deserve the main cities such as Jakarta, Denpasar (Bali), Medan, Surabaya, etc... Globally, they fly over fifty cities around Asia. The service is limited (no seat pre-reserved in check-in), but it is safe and their fees really defy all concurrences for this range and types of services. They really get the Cheapest Flight in Asia I have seen so far. So, have a look....
Australia seems to work like most other countries in the others western countries. The farther in advance you book the more likely you are to find discounted airfare. Quantas has some great discounts available on purchasing tickets in bulk. If you need to book a lot of flights it could be advantageous. You also might find some great values if you book your tickets with Blue Virgin or Jet Star. Both airlines fly to many different cities in Australia however not necessary the same one. So, it really depends where you want to go. Sometimes you could do too much research. For example, once I was looking for a cheap airfare between Sydney and Darwin. Blue Virgin offered 450 AUD (via Brisbanne) and Jet Star didn't have this flight available. But when I checked a bit further into some others cities, I found out that I can get Sydney-Adelaide for 99AUD and Adelaide-Darwin for 167 AUD with Jet Star. Total 266 AUD. I just saved 184 AUD. Sometimes you will find better price with Blue Virgin. It all depends of the availability. Good luck on your research.
By the way, JetStar also provides some of the discount airfares in Asia as they fly to many others country such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc...
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Discover these Cheap Travel Tips written by the illustrious Brad Alexzander and check out his Cheap Travel Blog
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