Check-in anytime anywhere

AirAsia was among the first LCCs in this region to start online/mobile check-in, and they've pushed the envelope further by opening check-in from seven days before flight to the moment your ticket is confirmed.

Reach airport two hours before flight, queue and waste precious time getting irritated by the slow-moving queue? That's so 90s.

Once the name and passport details are entered, and after declining the travel insurance option, an 'Important Notice' page will pop-up at the 5th stage of the check-in process-reminding you of the deadlines for checking of documents and luggage deposit, and other usual security notices.

While they recommend 45 mins as a cut-off time for documents check (self-printed boarding pass and passport), and do not say explicitly whether you will be denied boarding if you reach the counter later than that, I'd say 30 mins is the latest if you want to clear immigration and make it to your gate on time.

Not sure if they still handle 'counter check-in', but all of AirAsia's counters at Changi only display 'Baggage Drop'.

The last I checked, there was no need for document check at KL's LCCT.

Jetstar has an online check-in function too, but it's only open for flights 48 hours before departure, and you'll still have to go to the counter to get a proper boarding pass.

Standard check-in cut-off deadline of 40 mins apply.

Tiger and Scoot do not have web check-in facilities.

Jetstar opens early check-in counter

Jetstar

Jetstar has quietly started an early check-in counter, which means you can check-in anytime from 10am on the day of your flight, hence no more queues and you can get that preferred row ahead of everyone else.

It is located at Row 8 at Changi's Terminal 1. I would think this benefits those on transit, or someone who plans to shop alot before their flight, otherwise why would anyone be at the airport so early? 

You often hear people say "oh must be at the airport 2 hours before flight", but do you question why? There is absolutely no reason for you to do so. Jetstar Asia (3K) and Valuair (VF) flights close 40 minutes and Jetstar (JQ) flights close 1 hour before departure, so long you present yourself at the counter even just 1 minute before the deadline, you'll still be checked-in for the flight.

Do take note even if you've checked-in online, you'll still have to get a proper boarding pass at the counter.

The instructions don't specify a cut-off time, but I assume its "safe" to reach the counter 40 minutes before the flight, especially if you have bags to check-in.

Tiger Airways

Tiger has an early check-in counter too, at the far right side of the hall. I see no reason why anyone would want to check-in and head into airside early, since the area's a dump.

Otherwise, their counters close 45 minutes before flight times. I have seen people still queueing to check-in about 30 minutes to their flight, but that was due to lousy management of check-in logistics. They implemented common check-in counters and got everyone to form snaking queues. Of course they couldn't clear everyone in time and had to open another counter 5 minutes before every flight closes just to check-in those folks who have obediently queued for 1 hour.

I think they're reverted back to specific counters for individual flights, can't wait for them to move to Terminal 2 in September.

Tiger does not have any web check-in facility.

Hong Kong


If you're departing Hong Kong on Jetstar or Tiger, in-town check-in at Kowloon or Hong Kong stations are available, should you be taking the Airport Express. However, I find the Airport bus services alot more convenient, and the ticket price is just 1/4 that of Airport Express. But that's another story altogether.

Hong Kong Station

Kowloon Station

AirAsia

The most innovative of the lot, all in the name of cost-saving - the need for less airport manpower, and it benefits customers too.

You can check-in online or via the mobile app, up to seven days before the flight.

If using web check-in, you'll have to print the boarding pass and get it stamped or verified at the counter 45 minutes before the flight. I suppose if you have no bags to check-in you can afford to be a little late, say 35 minutes?

For mobile app check-ins, you'll have to scan the bar code at the kiosk to obtain a boarding pass, then get it stamped by a customer service personnel. Both web and mobile check-ins close 1 hour before flights, and 4 hours for AirAsia X flights.

Kiosks at Changi's Terminal 1 Row 11.

Scoot

No relevant information on its website, one can only assume counters open 2 hours and close 45 minutes before flights.

Seoul near yet Seoul far

So it seems neither Scoot not Jetstar can start services to Seoul in the near future, because SIA has used up all the slots allocated to Singapore carriers, says a Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) article.

The industry website adds that in addition to the four (4!) daily services, SIA also flies seasonal charters to Busan. But even if SIA cancels Busan, it only frees up a maximum of three weekly services.

"Scoot could only operate more services if SIA reduces its operation of four daily flights, which it is unlikely to do as the services feed into its key departure banks." CAPA adds.

It also says the Singapore government tried "on numerous occasions" to expand the bilateral agreement but the South Korean government just didn't budge.

Is protectionism at play? or are we not lobbying hard enough?

Looks like the only cheap option of getting to Seoul for now remains with AirAsia X.

S Korea has LCCs too 

Did you know, South Korea was the pioneer in the region's LCC industry? The airlines ply short-haul routes (within a 5-hour radius) domestically and internationally.

Asiana has Air Busan and Korean Air owns Jin Air, other independent airlines include Jeju Air, T'way air and Eastar Jet.

They now fly many new routes out of Incheon and the previously domestic-only downtown Gimpo airport to neighbouring cities within the North Asia region, such as Bangkok, Taipei, Hong Kong and Macau.

Except Korea and the ports they fly to, nobody really knows these small Korean carriers, mainly because there is very little publicity and they don't operate in the LCC model that we're used to.

Their fares are by no means cheap. A random check on Jin Air's Bangkok to Incheon route shows usd350 one-way, inclusive of taxes. A ticker on the homepage says the route's lowest fare can be had for THB5900 or S$245 one-way. For a five-hour flight, the price seems acceptable, but a return trip would then come up to S$600, which I believe would be quite close to a promo fare on THAI, Korean or Asiana.

According to CAPA, the Korea-style LCC which offers perks such as free luggage allowance and drinks (and high prices) "is all the market will tolerate". But now that Peach has entered the market, followed very soon by Jetstar and AirAsia, the players may soon have to adopt the stripped-down LCC model to compete.

So maybe one day when someone in Korea decides to start a long haul LCC and wants to fly to Singapore, we can then perhaps expect a similar reciprocal arrangement to accommodate the additional landing rights.

Konichiwa 5円

update at 11.11pm: Yes there is a booking fee of 150 yen one way, so a return trip costs 310 yen, or approximately S$5.

AirAsia Japan's domestic routes sale launches tonight at 11pm. 10,000 tickets for just 5yen or S$0.08 one way all-in. Not sure if there will be a credit card booking fee, ala Jetstar Japan's 1yen + 200yen booking fee launch promo.

All flights from 1 Aug.

Routes:

Tokyo* (NRT) to Sapporo (CTS)

JW8521 NRT0745 – 0920CTS
JW8523 NRT1145 – 1320CTS
JW8527 NRT1635 – 1810CTS

JW8520 CTS0945 – 1120NRT
JW8522 CTS1345 – 1520NRT
JW8528 CTS1835 – 2010NRT

Tokyo to Okinawa (OKA)

JW8665 NRT1545 – 1845OKA

JW8666 OKA1915 – 2150NRT

Tokyo to Fukuoka (FUK)

JW8541 NRT0700 – 0900FUK
JW8543 NRT1140 – 1340FUK

JW8542 FUK0925 – 1115NRT
JW8544 FUK1405 – 1555NRT


*Do note that while AirAsia X flies to Tokyo's Haneda airport from KL, AirAsia Japan's domestic flights use Narita airport instead. Travelling time between Haneda and Narita takes about 1 hour plus and costs approx S$50 one way.


Promo travel period: Aug 28 - Nov 28

You may also want to try AirAsia's Chrome app for a faster booking process. 4 steps is all it takes.

So the sale is for Japan domestic. Then Singapore to Tokyo how you ask? Buy first, decide later. 

S$81.50 to Osaka/Tokyo/Seoul

You heard it first here.

AirAsia X's (AAX) sale on international routes begin this Wednesday at 12am, and here are the one-way all-in ex-KUL fares.

Kuala Lumpur to

Osaka/Tokyo/Seoul - RM200 (S$81.50)

Hangzhou/Chengdu - RM202 (S$82.30)

*Perth/Melbourne/Gold Coast/Sydney - RM250 (S$102)

**Taipei - RM252 (S$102.70)

*Return fares from Australian ports are usually more expensive due to exorbitantly high airport taxes. But now that Scoot flies to Sydney and Gold Coast direct from Singapore, AAX's promo may not be so tempting afterall.

**Jetstar and Tiger Airways ply the SIN-TPE route, so going to Taipei via KL is a waste of time.

Booking period: 16 May - 20 May

Travel period: 4 Jan - 22 May 2013


AirAsia X offers a 'Fly-thru' connecting service, where you can book Singapore to any of the above destinations with a transit stop in KL using just one ticket, and your luggage will be tagged all the way to the destination. However, you will still need to pay two sectors of credit card payment convenience fees (not applicable if paying via ENETS) and luggage fees for a one-way flight.

Although you do not need to clear immigration, the transit area within LCCT is nothing like Changi's, but there's (unstable) WIFI though. Also, the system only selects connecting flights that have a transit window of 2 hours or more, which can make the wait extremely arduous.

Connecting flights are priced very strangely, but I find booking separate flights making more sense then using the Fly-thru service. With only KL-destination confirmed, I can play around with SIN-KUL anyhow I want, and with almost 40 flights everyday, there's always another $18 promotion to go for. Also, paying in Ringgits also ensures a cheaper fare instead of relying on the airline's conversion rate.

Because the flight is so many months away, there maybe a chance where you can't make the trip. My advise is, do not include luggage allowance and meals during the initial booking, so as to cut losses if you really have to forego the ticket. You can always log in to your account (set it up before booking) and pay for those closer to the date or when the trip is confirmed. Yes, luggage fees will more or less remain the same (subject to fluctuation from fuel prices) as they do not penalise you for purchasing them later, unlike Jetstar.

So if you're keen to visit the next sakura season, just secure that long-haul flight and worry about the rest later. My estimation is that a return ticket from KL to Japan and Korea should cost approximately S$180, seat only, promo fare both ways.

AAX to PEK schedule

AirAsia X has revealed the schedule for their new Beijing service, and Centre for Aviation (CAPA) got it right, it will be a midnight slot. In fact, the timing is almost similar to Jetstar's.

KUL - PEK: 1845 - 0050 (+1)

PEK - KUL : 0250 - 0830

(Schedule only available on AirAsia's China page)

Jetstar

SIN - PEK: 1835 - 0100

PEK- SIN: 0210 - 0850

With Beijing now opened to budget carriers, many expect Shanghai to be next on the cards. Currently, LCCs are still banned from landing at Shanghai's Pudong or Hongqiao airport, mainly for protectionism reasons. They are however, welcomed to fly to nearby Hangzhou, which both Jetstar and AirAsia X fly to.

On the other hand, Scoot will be starting Singapore's first direct connection to Tianjin from August 23.

SIN - TSN: 0130 - 0730

TSN - SIN: 0900 - 1500

Do you have any desire to travel to China for leisure holidays? Or do you fly wherever cheap fares are available, even if flight timings are ridiculous (like the above)? Let us know!

Mailing lists

They may be annoying but I strongly believe that joining these mailing lists will come in handy on days when there are special member-only sales (or preview)!

Like yesterday, Jetstar opened its Take A Friend for Free sale to JetMail members from 3pm. The email reached my inbox at 2.22pm, giving me a good 38 minutes to get an overview of the sale.

Jetstar often implement group-wide sales, which means Jetstar Australia also has a similar promotion ongoing. They are in fact running an 8th Birthday sale, which started at 5pm their time.

The 1 yen Jetstar Japan launch was in fact opened only to JetMail Japan recipients, all for just 2 hours.

The trick to ensuring you receive all group-wide sale notices is, sign up for JetMail three times, each indicating your 'nearest' airport, i.e. Singapore, anywhere in Australia and anywhere in Japan.

Most of Scoot's sales had preview access for members, so it certainly pays to be on their list.

AirAsia loves drumming up hype for their big sale events. They will drop hints on Twitter a week leading up to the sale date, email alerts are sent out two to three days in advance, with details on fares and how to grab them 101.

Tiger has a paid "privilege" Stripes program that gives members 24-hour preview access to sale fares, but for certain events only. Looking at what has been on offer, I say spend your $29.95 elsewhere. But do sign up for their normal mailing list because they still broadcast the usual sale alerts.

I also recommend following all the above on Twitter: @TigerAirwaysSG, @AirAsia, @AirAsiaSG, @JetstarAirways, @Jetstar_Asia, @Jetstar_Japan

Budget flights 101

The drill has become all too familiar. You receive an email alert; see the banner, newspaper ad; friend tweets about the deal, all alerting you to the promo of the day. Do you hit the website straightaway to book? Or prefer to discuss with friends to decide on the ‘perfect’ date before checking out what’s available? 

Timing

It all depends on what the deal is, and which airline that’s offering it. If you are really keen on getting the advertised deal, be quick, flexible and keep an open mind. Once you get wind of the promotion, log on to see what’s available, i.e. check to see if weekend flights are eligible (if you prefer weekend travels), schedule, and if you’re eyeing a particular Public Holiday, good to note if the dates around it are reduced. Then, try to book within an hour if possible so that you get the advertised fare.

Tiger ran a 90-minute flash deal promotion over four days recently, offering seats between $28 and $68 to the usual hotspots such as Penang, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipei etc. I consider this a grab-and-go sort of promotion. Not much time for you to decide and ponder, because at $48 to Hong Kong and $68 to Taipei, there really isn’t much to worry about. Yes some destinations like Bangkok only had weekday flights on sale, while Hong Kong was almost promo-for-all, once you work out what’s available, select the date and book, simple as that.

Newly launched Scoot has been throwing up some fantastic deals recently, not just to fill the plane but also to create publicity. It sold Sydney, Gold Coast for $88, and Bangkok for $44. Launch deals don’t come by often, and you’ll be silly to miss them.

Jetstar Japan also launched their domestic flights for just 1 yen, but with a booking fee of 200 yen. At 201 yen or approximately $3 to fly from Tokyo or Osaka to Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa, it was too good a deal to pass. But that’s domestic, then Singapore to Japan how, you ask. Why worry? Just book, instantly and very randomly.

The infamous AirAsia midnight sale hasn’t been that attractive lately, partly due to prices, but also the amount of booking requests that hit the server making it very tedious to book. My take is that unless you spot a certain route which is unusually cheap, it is not worth the wait.

How much is a deal?

Kuala Lumpur: $18

Penang: $28

Jakarta: $38

Phuket: $38

Bangkok: $58

Bali: $58

Hanoi: $68

Hong Kong: $68

Taipei: $88

Beijing: $98

Melbourne: $108

These are very attractive one way nett fares, seat only. Book when available, plan  later. 

Booking fees (as of May 7 2012)

Unfortunately, booking fees incurred when making payment online using credit/debit cards are not advertised, and uninformed travelers usually aren’t unaware until they reach the last page of the booking process.

AirAsia

From Singapore - $5 per passenger per sector

Select the ENETS option for a FREE transaction, only for bookings made at least two days in advance

From Malaysia - RM5

From Thailand - THB50

Jetstar Asia

From Singapore - $9 per passenger per sector

Select the 7-11 or SAM payment option for a FREE transaction, must pay within 48 hours of booking, flights must also be at least two weeks in advance

From everywhere else - NO FEE

Tiger Airways

From Singapore - $8 per passenger per sector

From Malaysia - MYR20

From Thailand - THB200

From Hong Kong - HKD50

Scoot

From Singapore - $8 per passenger per sector

From Australia - FREE

From Thailand – THB200

One way or return?

I would think 95% of travelers prefer to book a return trip for the fear of not securing a flight home. But there is nothing to worry about really, unless the fare you’re about to book is an advertised deal.

These days, because of exchange rates and demand supply issues, airlines do not price their flights based on a single price point, and fares differ according to originating countries. For example, a return Jetstar flight between Singapore and Hong Kong may cost $128 and $158 respectively, if made in a single booking originating from Singapore. However, if you were to book the flights separately, the Hong Kong to Singapore sector may cost just HKD750, with no booking fee. Hence, you get the same flights for a lot less.

Booking fees can add a significant amount to the overall ticket price, so check to see if there are savings to be had from separate bookings.

Also, when booking flash ‘grab-and-go’ deals, you often find yourself looking for a pair ‘good dates’, ie suitable period with promotional fares both ways. But more often than not, they are only available for one sector, so do you continue searching or give up, or say ‘bluff people one!’? My advice is, just book (the promo flight), yes one way is OK.

For popular destinations like Hong Kong or Bangkok with up to 40 flights a day, chances are more promos will be on the way and you’ll definitely find something nice to complete the journey. So don’t book that 6am flight just because it is on promo, because after factoring in taxi fare and the effort to wake up at 4am, that $30 savings may be pointless after all.