What sort of $ saving would you need to book a LCC?

[JohnK]

I have been thinking about a return flight BKK-SIN for travel in early January and returning late March.

Normally I would book CX business class either direct or via HKG but at the moment the direct flight is priced at AUD650+ and means I will lose another day out of my already short holiday.

So I started to look for alternatives. Air Asia, Jetstar, Tiger, TG, CX economy, SQ and MH. I will have luggage and golf clubs with me and I quickly ruled out Jetstar and Tiger but got quite excited when I looked at Air Asia front page airfares.

I started looking at SQ and the airfare is ~THB15,000, CX is ~THB11,900, MH is ~THB13,500, TG is ~THB9,665. The CX schedule does not suit as mentioned and the other 3 have decent schedules as I am looking for a late flight out of SIN considering I will be arriving on QF PER-SIN at ~17:20.

So I have started researching Air Asia and I got a little surprise. There are no special airfares on the lunch time flight out of BKK or the last flight out of SIN. OK no problem so I look at the return airfare for my dates and it is ~THB5,360. So far so good.

Boy did I get a shock when I started to add up all the extras for each sector. Golf clubs are THB500, 15kg checked luggage is THB200, selecting a premium seat is THB250, a hot dog is THB60. I have no idea what a drink will cost but you get the idea. The total airfare was eventually ~THB7,380 for a simple return flight BKK-SIN. Yes we do have it easy in Australia.

I don't believe the ~AUD80 saving justifies travelling on Air Asia over Thai Airways. So the next question is does one book now or wait for specials? The way the AUD is going again perhaps it is best to lock in airfares now.

 

[medhead]

Well it is not the same as for international but I booked a Tiger domestic flight to save about $120 over QF and DJ.

 

[ric_melb]

Well think I would definitely choose the TG flight. THB9665 is currently about AUD345.
So you have exchange rate and fare changes to take into account.
If you are sure of travelling when you propose I'd be thinking of locking in the exchange rate around current levels. But it is anyone's guess unfortunately.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

I'd go with TG but Im Star Gold so it's a no brainer.

You will most likely be on an A330 with no PTV but you will get well fed and full bar service. Thai still offer full meals in Y on this run with appetiser, unlike SQ now who have cut back a little on the meal (no appetiser and cheap dessert).

D

 

[JohnK]

Well think I would definitely choose the TG flight. THB9665 is currently about AUD345.
So you have exchange rate and fare changes to take into account.
If you are sure of travelling when you propose I'd be thinking of locking in the exchange rate around current levels. But it is anyone's guess unfortunately.

I made a mistake on the TG airfare. It is actually THB9,965 which makes it around AUD355.

I am certain about the dates and was just waiting for the Qantas Amex card to tick over to the new month (to get 55 days interest free) before booking.

The AUD fought back today but how long that is likely to last is anyone's guess.

 

[JohnK]

I'd go with TG but Im Star Gold so it's a no brainer.

I will have lounge access in BKK and SIN anyway as a QF Platinum.

You will most likely be on an A330 with no PTV but you will get well fed and full bar service. Thai still offer full meals in Y on this run with appetiser, unlike SQ now who have cut back a little on the meal (no appetiser and cheap dessert).

No problem about IFE for that length of flight. I have only ever had one return flight on TG BKK-SIN and it is exactly as you describe. Food, regular top-ups on drink and enough luggage allowance to handle golf clubs, luggage and carry-on.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I think it varies greatly from person to person. There are some people who would book a LCC flight if the fare was $1.00 cheaper vs those pax who actually think first before booking by taking into account the value of inclusions they'd receive on a full service airline.

Things I would factor into the equation are:

a) Dep/arr times at destination & whether I would still be able to catch an airport shuttle - no point in flying a LCC if you have to catch a cab instead

b) if hiring a car, by taking a LCC flight would it mean you arrive earlier than planned & then have to pay for an extra days car rental

c) particularly with a family, realistically what would it cost to buy drinks & snacks & IFE on a LCC vs opting for a flight on a full service airline where you would get a meal or even a drink if on a City Flyer flight

d) I would be mindlful of last LCC flight of the night in case of cancellation - locals are always a good source of info on an airline's track record for doing this. I would avoid scheduling anything important earlier the next day in case of flight cancellation

e) Any potential loss of SC or FF points they would have got ordinarily on their usual full service airline

 

[harvyk]

a) Dep/arr times at destination & whether I would still be able to catch an airport shuttle - no point in flying a LCC if you have to catch a cab instead

You can say that again, I am amazed at the number of people who will spend $20 on an airfare whilst laughing at those on full service airlines who spent $100 on their airfare, to then have to spend $150 on taxi's to get themselves out to secondary airports at strange times.

As for me, I probably won't fly a LCC again. That's because I know me, and I know that if I was to save a few $$$ by flying a LCC, that saving would very quickly be eaten up by the extra's such as checked luggage \ food \ drink \ entertainment on the plane, plus I'd hate the lack of lounge access .

So to answer the question, I may consider booking a LCC flight, if the full service options costed say $3000 return, whilst the LCC option was only $50 return, and the LCC option was not a massive increase in travel time, then I may consider it.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

You can say that again, I am amazed at the number of people who will spend $20 on an airfare whilst laughing at those on full service airlines who spent $100 on their airfare, to then have to spend $150 on taxi's to get themselves out to secondary airports at strange times.

Exactly & these are the prize idiots who are the first ones to say "you've got to be effing joking" when told they have to pay for drinks etc because they weren't smart enough to do their homework first.

A friend of mine who was a JQ CSM said there was a pax flyng DRW/DPS who was well lubricated before he boarded the flight whereby he got stuck into his duty free alcohol as well. During the flight a child with sore ears was crying in the row in front of him so how did he handle that? Whacked the seat in front of him & yelled at the poor kid to "shut the eff up". :evil:

If that wasn't enough his piece de resistance was urinating in the aisle of the aircraft in full view of families and young children. What's more I don't think he was reprimanded at all, in fact he was apparently the first one through customs on arrival at DPS!

For a lot of people it's not so much having anything against the LCC itself, it's more a case of avoiding the type of passengers who fly on them!

 

[JohnK]

Thinking about it again I don't know at which point I would choose a LCC over a full service carrier.

Obviously some of the things to look out for have been mentioned above although for me an important one would be the actual LCC. How well do you know and trust the LCC? (eg if it was Aegean Airlines I would have not hesitation booking them if they were cheaper).

In my case once all costs have been added up there is only ~$80 difference for a return flight. Not quite enough to consider booking a LCC.

So at what point would one choose a LCC carrier? As mentioned some people would jump on a LCC as long as it was cheaper but for the rest of that needs to be evaluated on a case by case basis.

Another example is TPE-BKK if not after FF miles/points. Air Asia can come out to around ~$150 one-way all inclusive where as the cheapest full service carrier would be ~$300 one-way. In that situation I think I would book the LCC even though they only have 1 flight a day.

 

[dajop]

No simple answer to the question.

Some of things I consider:

Length of flight - anything more than 4 hours and its starts looking unattractive. Food/beverage, legroom and IFE become more important past this threshold. For flights of 1 hour and less I don't even factor food/beverage into the equation as I really don't need something to eat or drink if the flight is that short. Also the longer the flight, the more expensive it is going to be if you find yourself needing to buy another ticket for whatever reason.

Opportunistic travel - I've done quite a few trips opportunistically using LCC's I simply would not have done had I had to pay for a full service carrier. Some examples Singapore - Hong Kong return (for 25 hours in HKG) at around $100 AUD (+$10 for F&B). Full service usually upwards of $400 AUD, which I couldn't justify for 25 hrs. Similar scenarios with SIN- Phnom Penh / HCM City, and MEL-HBA, ROK & SYD.

Availablity of alternatives - on some routes there aren't always practical (timewise) non LCC alternatives. DRW & DPS come to mind with this one.

Plan B if something should go wrong. In last 18 mths I've done three trips to connect to or from award bookings on full service carriers - all of these connections on LCCs, KUL-SIN on Tiger, SIN-KUL on Air Asia and SIN-CGK on Jetstar. Doing so I saved around $500-600 vs non LCC alternatives. I allowed my self plenty of connection time and knew exactly what I had to if things went astray (eg. going to CGK, I knew that there were about 5 or 6 options on other carriers that I could call on, and most out of pocket would be $250). Self insurance if you like, if you save enough you can build up your own little "fund" to help you out if things go pear shaped.

Luggage - has to factored into equation, the standard cost plus an amount for the stress factor of trying to manage to a strict limit.

No simple answer, but after factoring in all of this I can still save $100 (to pay for the self insurance ) the LCC starts to look good.

Still aren't convinced of going LCC on long hauls though.

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

I suppose everyone milage will vary with LCCs

I was able to fly BKK - TPE return earlier this month for $135 inc 15kg of luggage.

It's always good to do a comparison of LCC fares against a full service carrier. I mean, sometimes QF is not much more expensive than the alternatives once you factor in luggage fees and maybe a meal if it's a longish flight, or the lack of an entertainment system unless you pay for it to keep the kids from going wild.

I was able to travel SYD - DPS - KUL - KBR - BKK - TPE - BKK for the princely sum of ~ $750 by travelling on LCCs. Sometimes they're not the most comfortable, but they do let ya travel on a budget if you can plan a few months ahead, or score some cheap sale seats.

 

[docjames]

John, for you definately on those options the TG flight would seem the best option. As you know, the closer to your international travel, the weaker the AUD gets, so perhaps book soon (can you wait until mid september so my travel isnt affected ).

For me, the cost difference varies on too many factors (including but not limited to safety, lounge, FF, convenience of schedule, travelling party factors - alone or with mrsdoc, what i'm travelling for, ability to "recover" from "issues" etc etc etc) so the difference varies each time and is not even quantifiable as a % as that will vary too. I'll certainly look at all my options each time I travel, and weigh up where I'm prepared to compromise, be it price, carrier etc.

 

[dajop]

Oh and I forgot the 1.25 - 1.5c per point I factor in for points earnings fares when doing the comparison (as you can imagine this doesn't amount to much on a 185 mile sector like SIN-KUL but adds up to a fair bit on the 3750 mile distance from SIN-MEL, especially with any status bonus factored in).

 

[Alanslegal]

Boy did I get a shock when I started to add up all the extras for each sector. Golf clubs are THB500, 15kg checked luggage is THB200, selecting a premium seat is THB250, a hot dog is THB60. I have no idea what a drink will cost but you get the idea. The total airfare was eventually ~THB7,380 for a simple return flight BKK-SIN. Yes we do have it easy in Australia.

And that is the whole business focus of LCC's where they are aimed at very simple flyers who want to get from A to B 'without the frills' attached nor the cost added. So if this flight was for my needs, all I need is the checked bag and thus save 810BHT per sector. So if this was a cost only comparison, that would bring total cost down to 5760BHT return vs. 9965BHT on TG.

But price alone isn't enough to sway me to just purchase the best fare of the day, but a few important factors such as who is the carrier, arr/dep times, length of flight, and general frequent flyer benefits.

 

[JohnK]

Definitely some good points raised to take into consideration.

John, for you definately on those options the TG flight would seem the best option. As you know, the closer to your international travel, the weaker the AUD gets, so perhaps book soon (can you wait until mid september so my travel isnt affected ).

Don't worry too much James my next trip is not until early October but this planning is for the 2 trips after in January/March.

Best that I am prepared early (both hedging exchange rates and paying for flights up front as I am a bad saver) and then not have to worry about the costs and logistics closer to the trip.

 

[browski]

During the flight a child with sore ears was crying in the row in front of him so how did he handle that? Whacked the seat in front of him & yelled at the poor kid to "shut the eff up". :evil:

Seems perfectly reasonable to me. I'd rather be seated next to a drunk than a screaming child. And more importantly, when you are on the drink, the last thing you want is someone talking more loudly than yourself.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Seems perfectly reasonable to me. I'd rather be seated next to a drunk than a screaming child. And more importantly, when you are on the drink, the last thing you want is someone talking more loudly than yourself.

So I take it you don't have a problem with the other 'behaviour' displayed by this passenger even if you were in the firing line??? :shock: :shock:

 

[browski]

So I take it you don't have a problem with the other 'behaviour' displayed by this passenger even if you were in the firing line??? :shock: :shock:

Well if LCCs are now charging to use toilets, I guess that's a hazard we now must accept. My policy in these matters is always be ready to return fire.

 

[wandering_fred]

I accept the few cents a point on crediting to a FF program has been mentioned, but there is also the issue of just accruing enough of those points to maintain the elite status (with lounge access and IROPS assistance)

It gets very complicated when you are trying to consider what the additional expenses for OW Emerald are costing when compared to benefits.

My hat is off to those whose normal travel provides easy solutions to those problems.


If really have to wander more, if I do want keep access to those first class lounges :shock:

Fred