Cheap flight from Jakarta with Air Asia [Archive] - Living In Indonesia Expat Forum

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stt_cibubur

03-02-09, 13:07

atlantis

03-02-09, 13:42

hi all,

I am planning to go to UK sometime in June and I saw in www.airasia.com (http://www.airasia.com) website that they are now fly to London using Airasia X with business class seat availabe for only RM1999 and RM1000 for economy. Has anyone ever try this flight yet, any imput will be appreciated. Thank you

From what I heard, the flight operated by Air Asia X are from KL to London, not from Jakarta. But they have a flight JKT-KL so you may be lucky for the connection. I often fly with Air Asia throughout South East Asia and find that they are OK. Anyway this is a low cost company so you'd better not have high expectation. Just be aware that the price that are generally quoted do not include taxes and are without checked in lugggage. Pieces of luggage of less than 20kg are not so expensive... However if you do have more than that, it starts to be quite expensive. On top of that, you should check their modification and cancellation policy. You may find out that here again, it does not offer flexibility. But once again, with the price paid, one should not expect a lot.

Black Adder

03-02-09, 13:52

Garuda is running a special for destinations around Asia right now, Singapore Air wants 5002 USD for 2 business class tickets to Nagoya Japan and back. Garuda wants 2634USD for the same tickets and same flight except SG flys Jkt to SG to Nagoya where as GA flys JKT to Denpasar to Nagoya. Both flights are direct and both flights arrive within 30 minutes of each other.

sambas_a

03-02-09, 15:18

Comment on Air Asia:

1. dont expect much service, it is very bare bone airline
2. they are often late, and expect no compensation when that happens
3. make sure your layover in KL at least 4 hour min before your connecting flight. if you are late for connection flight, even if fault of air asia, they wont let you in. The reason is that it is point to point airlines, with no ground service. Moreover, your lugagge cant be checked thru to your final city, so you have to collect your luggage in KL then check in them again for the next flight. A lot of passanger are late for the connecting flight and must pay exorbitant new ticket (if your ticket is non changeable)

Well, it is cheap but buyer beware. I flew them once and FYI the flight from KL was diverted to Bandung from Jkt and finally landed in JKT!! Confused?? So was I when the plane landed, since the pilot change his announcement several times.

BTW the tix to London is not that cheap unless you book months ahead..

stt_cibubur

03-02-09, 16:53

I know most of it. I know they only fly KL-London, I often fly to phuket and bali with airasia, but its only 1.5 hours flight. but in this case, I would like to know the detail about air asia X eg:
* Do they have fully entertaintment like SQ does, TV on every seat or is it TV in the middle of cabin?
*DO they give you dinner on plane, if not do they have foods available anytime we hungry as the flight will take at least 14 hours.

* I look at SQ website, flight from Jkt-Manhester is $3999 for 3 peoples. maybe I should take this one, do u think?

Davita

03-02-09, 19:39

Stt_cibubur
I know that you are a frequent traveller so this information you probably already know...but just in case.

Search www.expedia.com or www.travelocity.com for your flight..you can modify the search to your own criteria such as cost/timing/stops etc. Then with this information you can check if the airline has any special deal by calling directly.

My opinion is to stay with the name brand airlines on International Flights . Most of those budget airlines operate under charter rules which are not the same as IATA.

Travel weary David

stt_cibubur

03-02-09, 20:00

b33j915

03-02-09, 23:00

Davita..yes you're right, I only take the budget airlines for short trip only. Normally for long trip to Europe, I always use KLM, Emirates or SQ. Thinking about saving some money, but probably is not good choice with budget airlines. I'll stick with SQ I guess.

I would suggest the above as well, though I have only traveled the SEA-EUR perhaps 4x's in the past 5yrs, I do return to the US once every 90days or thereabouts, and if you include all the small jaunts to Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Korea, Brunei, Borneo, Singapore etc, I'm probably averaging about 20 RT's annually.

I would suggest that you stick with the more "commercially known lines" for any trip beyond 3hrs as your comfortability is the key issue. For me, I dread heading to airports and flying the Low Cost Carriers. Honestly, the seats are way to uncomfortable, there is absolutely no leg room whatsoever, but the maintenance is good so I use them (Air Asia).

I saw someone mentioned Garuda, my good friend and neighbor in Seattle works for Boeing as a trouble shooter (Air Craft Safety and Control Mechanic), I'd like to relate a story he shared with me a couple days ago regarding his trip here to Jakarta 8mths ago (aftermarket engine sales). After learning the condition that the planes fly in here:eek::eek:...I don't think anyone of you would be flying Garuda again.:eek::eek:

marcus

04-02-09, 09:26

Comment on Air Asia:

1. .................................................. ...........................................
2. they are often late, and expect no compensation when that happens
3................................................. ..............................................
..

I have flown with Air Asia about 8 times already , with only one problem (they changed the flight schedule from before lunch time to after lunch time , without proper advice). Except this , the quality has been ok with delays of about 10 to 25 minutes and one delay of about 45 minutes .

marcus

04-02-09, 09:41

Stt_cibubur
.................................................. .............................................
My opinion is to stay with the name brand airlines on International Flights . Most of those budget airlines operate under charter rules which are not the same as IATA.
......................
IATA (International Air Transport Association) is not a safety regulator . And I don't think it is relevant in deciding which airliner to fly .

marcus

04-02-09, 10:05

.................................................. ................................................
For me, I dread heading to airports and flying the Low Cost Carriers. Honestly, the seats are way to uncomfortable, there is absolutely no leg room whatsoever, but the maintenance is good so I use them (Air Asia).
.................................................. ..................................................
:
I have flown about 10 "name brand airlines" and also Air Asia and Lion Air ( "budget airlines") and , sure there is a difference in amenities like food , video and music ; but I did not see any relevant difference in distance between seats , leg room .
In relation to safety , it is relevant to add that most of the aviation accidents are due to human errors (pilots , maintenance) , and most of them occur in takeoffs and landings flight phases ( with bad weather and short airport runway also being important factors ).

stt_cibubur

04-02-09, 10:20

I used Valuair/Jetstar ( managed by Qantas) to go to Singapore and Airasia for KL, BKK, Phuket, Bali. China Airline or Cathay for HK and China. for around Java, I use Garuda.
I know that Garuda planes are very very old, but for here its still quite new..lol.

Same with the cars, as long as it still got engine and wheel to move, they still use it and run it... am I being sacarstic?

Ungentlemanly Conduct

04-02-09, 10:51

Qatar Airways have some good offers to London sometimes; check their website or go to their office on 3rd floor at Grand Indonesia mall. I always fly with them; the food and wine is excellent (they are one of only 5 5-star airlines in the world according to Business Traveller, with SQ, Malaysia, Cathay Pacific and someone else), they are never late, they fly from Jakarta every day and you only have to stop in Doha for 40 minutes. They often upgrade me from business to first for free, and my allowance is 65 kilos as I am a frequent flyer. Also every 3 trips I get a free economy one. Flying with them is a pleasure.

Davita

04-02-09, 10:58

stt_cibubur

04-02-09, 11:30

Garuda, and indeed all Indonesian domestic airlines, have a very bad reputation for safety, whether it be caused by pilots, maintenance or administration. That is why they are banned from flying in EU.
They have attempted improvements in all those areas and, after a recent inspection, it looks as if the ban will be lifted soon.

Now maybe we should take an Indonesian ferry!!!!!

Aviation David

and then what happen..the boat sank..coz too many passengers..before boarding,better put your diving outfit and oxygen tank on....lol.

should we take the underground train ( there isn't any!):rolleyes:
should we take normal train?..yeah..sit on top of it and get zapped by 10 megawatt electric cable.:confused:.

b33j915

04-02-09, 23:43

I have flown about 10 "name brand airlines" and also Air Asia and Lion Air ( "budget airlines") and , sure there is a difference in amenities like food , video and music ; but I did not see any relevant difference in distance between seats , leg room .
In relation to safety , it is relevant to add that most of the aviation accidents are due to human errors (pilots , maintenance) , and most of them occur in takeoffs and landings flight phases ( with bad weather and short airport runway also being important factors ).

There are "Low Budget Carriers" and "Bare Bone No Frill Carriers"...in my opinion, Low Budget Carriers offer the "Shuttle Type Service"...used only for short jaunts...San Fran to LA or Portland OR to Seattle WA. American Airlines and Delta as well as United...offered incredible services along these lines and these planes definitely offered more legroom than the Asian Carriers.

In terms of "Bare Bones No Frill Carriers", I was refering to Air Asia and Firefly for SE Asia...service is good and reliable. I have yet to fly Garuda, but as I stated in my previous post, my friend told me of how mileage is determined and ascertained.

Apparently regulations will allow a plane to fly with one engine. Many smaller carriers will take advantange of this. I was told how when a plane flies, there is a meter to determine mileage and this is calculated by the propeller spinning in the jet reservoir. In order for planes not to incur heavy fines for extended usage without proper overhaul, they find peculiar (and most often very dangerous) methods of keeping the props from spinning. In this instance he told me how this was done by a local airline using "Bungee Cords"...literally hundreds of them...well they succeeded in keeping the prop from rotating, but this dramatically affects how the drag is displaced as air flowing through even a dead engine was design to assist in the "lift to drag ratio"...

Clearly in this instance, the airline solved the issue of logging continuous miles on an engine long overdue for servicing...but they inadvertently created a potential disaster with their efforts...nevertheless, after warning the airlines of impending problems that may arise due to the "Bungee Cord Scenario". To his dismay another tech from Boeing was here several months later and found this precise same thing on at least 2 other jets owned by the same airlines.

Go figure?...........:confused:

Therefore,

sambas_a

05-02-09, 10:43

b33j915

05-02-09, 10:47

BJ,

WTF??? Your story is absolutely scarry, coming from Boeing technician even more troubling to me. What airline is that because I will try not to fly it. Unless it's garuda, then sometimes I have to choose the best among the worst.

Well lets just say...That the "sometimes chosing the best amongst the worst"...will leave you making that decision a little more frequently then. I wouldn't want to offend any pilots for G----A Airlines!!!:(:(

Davita

05-02-09, 12:02

IATA (International Air Transport Association) is not a safety regulator . And I don't think it is relevant in deciding which airliner to fly .

IATA is not ANY sort of regulator.
It is an association of around 93% of contributing scheduled airlines and it requires compliance on a number of airlines procedures including cabin safety.

sst cibubur's question was regarding inflight entertainment/food/etc and IATA rules require standardization in these areas.

David

stt_cibubur

05-02-09, 12:36

Ah never mind..I'll make up my mind already..I'll take SQ..cos I know for sure they have full entertainments ( latest movies), games and foods all night long.
If I get cheap cheap ticket, probably will not have a tv, a blanket, a foods, and probably you have to pay for all of that if you want it... thats what I am worried about.

b33j915

05-02-09, 15:46

BJ,

WTF??? Your story is absolutely scarry, coming from Boeing technician even more troubling to me. What airline is that because I will try not to fly it. Unless it's garuda, then sometimes I have to choose the best among the worst.

Ah never mind..I'll make up my mind already..I'll take SQ..cos I know for sure they have full entertainments ( latest movies), games and foods all night long.
If I get cheap cheap ticket, probably will not have a tv, a blanket, a foods, and probably you have to pay for all of that if you want it... thats what I am worried about.

Seems to me that you are a seasoned traveler. Perhaps the use of a Travel Agent will best suit your needs and if you have one that is worth their weight in gold, then you eliminate the needs for queries such as this. I use a minimum of 3 agents (Seattle, Bangkok, Malaysia) and I get my monies worth...I fly often enough that I'm awarded frequent flyer miles on most airlines. Use Business Class for my long hauls (US to SEA or SEA to EUR) and I think the average cost is $3k (seems as though you got a good deal with SQ). Again, a good travel agent is aware of the online costs and often able to get discount fares as they are immediately aware of what percentage of seats are available and could bargain for you, though I'm sure you'll have no problems doing this for yourself...however, most airlines (the ones I know of) won't tell you if the plane if fully booked and in the case that it isn't...they actually sell these seats for "little or nothing". This information was given to me by a writer for Conde Nast (Travel Magazine) who often flies around the world anonymously, he says its possible to fly from the US to the UK for as little as roughly $200USD including taxes, if you know what you're doing. So I just leave it to the pros.

stt_cibubur

08-02-09, 22:50

I have krisflyer member and by doing this . I 'll get enough point to go somewhere else free. I got the price direct from SQ website. Normally I travel out of country every couple of months but recently only travel for exhibition,quick shopping trip, holiday or pulang kampung to UK.. Lol. Flew with Emirates very often but its stopped in every country.. Take too long!

b33j915

09-02-09, 23:49

stt_cibubur

10-02-09, 09:33

You are a true globe hopper...you do all this by yourself or your hubby and kid/s accompany you?

For Shopping trip to SG? only ME!!...Holiday? full tribe..Business trip? Its depend. My dream is to take a tour of Europe ( Paris, Milan, Barcelona, Amsterdam) and Tour to Las Vegas..lol.....been to most asian countries ( India, CHina, Hongkong, Korea, Malaysia, S'Pore, Thailand), Switzherland and Australia.

b33j915

10-02-09, 12:20

For Shopping trip to SG? only ME!!...Holiday? full tribe..Business trip? Its depend. My dream is to take a tour of Europe ( Paris, Milan, Barcelona, Amsterdam) and Tour to Las Vegas..lol.....been to most asian countries ( India, CHina, Hongkong, Korea, Malaysia, S'Pore, Thailand), Switzherland and Australia.

Vegas is over rated. If its just about the casinos & nightclubs, go for it, there are plenty. But if you're looking for sightseeing (besides Hoover Dam) then head west to LA then. Vegas is in the middle of a desert literally. Nothing much to see driving in other than dust, tumbleweeds and lizards. However if you arrive at night, taking in the neon lights as you enter the city is pretty spectacular. You'll feel like Dorothy overlooking the city of OZ:D

stt_cibubur

10-02-09, 13:09

I think I like it after seeing Las Vegas TV series ( All 5 Seasons)..lol:D. The problem now is the time, I dont have it!:mad:.