Jetstar $168 NON-STOP to Osaka

Jetstar flies DIRECT to Osaka from 1 Nov!

Finally a cheap non-stop flight to Japan - $168 one-way all in now on sale!!

Long-haul flights are on A330 so not to worry, its not the usual squeezy A320 used on regional flights.

Awesome schedule:

SIN 2230 - 0600 KIX

KIX 1030 - 1620 SIN

1 Nov - 17 Dec on Thurs, Fri, Sat

18 Dec onwards Mon, Thurs, Fri Sat

With the new service, they have up to 4 flights a day to Osaka, the two others via Taipei and Manila, so make sure you select the right 'Direct flight'.

According to their sale page, fares to Tokyo, Fukuoka and Sapporo are also available on a single through fare via Osaka (domestic flights on Jetstar Japan)!

At just $261 one way, Sapporo suddenly seems alot closer! Then again, with so many new budget flights flying to Hokkaido, I'm sure there's always another promo to be had.

Hooray no more expensive SIA charter flights! Also, SIA is the only other airline operating direct flights between Singapore to Osaka.

Scoot to Taipei $88 nett!!

Update 11 Jul: New round of promo fares to all destinations - $49 to Bangkok and $99 to Sydney, Gold Coast, Tianjin and Taipei. For travel dates, visit http://bit.ly/NSOOvi

Scoot to Taipei $88 ONE-WAY ALL-IN

Book now decide later!

Travel between Sept and March 2013

Schedule:
Sept 18 to Oct 27 - 3 flights weekly, Tue, Sat and Sun
Oct 28 onwards - Daily


SIN 0105 - TPE 0540
TPE 1540 - SIN 2010

Scoot launching Taipei on Monday

update 8 July : Scoot says its promo launch fares to Taipei will be  for travel till March 2013. I think we can assume its from October till March, including the December holidays.

Scoot has announced on their FB page that they're launching promo fares to Taipei on Monday 9 July.

But what about Tokyo? Perhaps it's a marketing tactic to separate the two launches to gain maximum publicity.

Stayed tuned for launch details on Monday. Start planning your trip now.

Nom Nom

They've recently their booking page to include more ancillary products such as pre-booking of meals, iPad rental and insurance.

By showing huge pictures of hot dishes, you can be sure those meals will be pre-booked like hot cakes.

At $16 for a hot dish, a drink and fruit cup, it's only $1 cheaper than purchasing onboard. If you find the hot dishes familiar, that's because Jetstar Asia also serves them. The hot meals are from the same supplier.

More information on inflight F&B here http://www.flyscoot.com/index.php/en/in-flight/food-beverage.html .

You can also view the entire very colourful PDF menu here http://www.flyscoot.com/images/Ref_PDFs/ancillaries/scoot_menu_resized.pdf .

Get ready for Taipei and Tokyo

Scoot should be launching ticket sales for its Taipei and Tokyo route either this week or next. If you need to plan, it's advisable to start now.

What we already know:

• The new route will start in October
• It's a daily service
• It will fly to Tokyo via Taipei, which means the entire journey will take at least 9 hrs - 4 hrs 35 min to TPE, followed by a 1 hr 15 min layover, then another 3 hr 10 min to NRT 

What we're anxious to know:

• The flight schedule
• Launch fares

A direct flight from Singapore to Tokyo takes between 7 hrs and 7 hrs 15 min.

Economy seats

Like Jetstar's Taipei - Osaka service, all connecting passengers will have to disembark and go through security screening again at Taipei airport.

Soya chicken rice 

But will you subject yourself to such inconvenience for a SG$300 nett return fare to Tokyo? To leisure travellers, I think the answer is a resounding yes.

So, are you ready to grab those dirt cheap launch fares?

Economy stretch seats

My guess is SG$68 to Taipei and SG$88 to Tokyo, one-way, all-in. 

12 inches - Bigger the Better?

New Economy screens

Do you see what I see?

Yes those are humongous IFE screens, 12.1 inches to be exact, with new control handsets beneath. 

Emirates have installed these on the Economy seats of their new B777s and new A380s from next year.

The current screens are just 10.9 inches, 0.3 more than other airlines'. 

Current Economy screens

Not only will IFE screens get bigger across all three classes, they will also feature HD resolution, with content increasing from 1200 to 1300 choices. A new interface system developed by Panasonic and Emirates will also make navigation easier.

New Business Class screens

New Business Class screens will increase to 20 inches, and First Class seats will feature 27-inch screens.

Emirates' ICE system is still the world's best inflight entertainment system, but the same cannot be said for its onboard service, which is often hit-or-miss, or at times simply unacceptable. 

Do note that the economy class layout on their B777-300ERs is 3-4-3 or 10 in a row, can be quite a squeeze if the flight is full. Other airlines using the same aircraft typically install only 9 seats or 3-3-3 per row.

Emirates B773ER's 3-4-3 layout 

While some continuously upgrade their IFE hardware, others like Cathay Pacific recently said it has plans to remove IFE systems to save one or two tonnes of weight per plane. Instead, it would install power sockets at every seat so passengers could plug in their tablets. 

Cathay Pacific's new Economy seats with 9-inch (only) screens

For LCCs like Scoot, this concept is a no-brainer. But for premium carriers such as Cathay, it seems odd that they are even considering scrimping on passenger experience and comfort, given the state of competition and yes, high fuel prices.

Emirates president Tim Rice once said airlines that don't offer IFE "are fools". 

Oh one disadvantage I foresee from the big screens is that, the flickering "light" from your neighbouring screens could be a nuisance if you're trying to sleep on an overnight flight. Then again there's always the complimentary eye-shade.

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.