Crazy Stopovers + Discounts

[Bajar]

Hi all,

In the past I have been able to land a random stopover and it cost no more than the straight leg. For example adding in 24 hour stopovers in Singapore and Doha on the way to London cost less than a straight Sydney-Doha-London route on Qatar and in 2013 I landed a stopover in Rome flying London to Sydney via Dubai on Emirates. Another work colleague scored a $200 discount when they routed through Seychelles on a Syd - London trip on Emirates in 2014.

Now, I am due to fly to China into either Shanghai or Hangzhou in April and will have a few days leeway at the end of my trip. Just wondering if anyone knows of an airline I could book through and potentially experience a similar situation? Emirates and Qatar don't seem to be much help and the algorithim on China Eastern + Qantas seems to be interested in direct/shortest flights only.

Thanks in advance!
Ben

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Singapore airlines sometimes has Singapore stopover specials... they had one for $1 last year sometime, including a base entry level hotel, transfers and discount coupons. Outside of their specials I think the prices are still reasonable, and sometimes good value for all the inclusions.

other options might be on Garuda via Bali... but the stopover costs would be at your own expense.

airfares to china are the cheapest they've been. $267 return from sydney to beijing. maybe $100 more for shanghai. you're not going to have a whole lot of incentives when fares are that low.

 

[docjames]

I'd be looking at options via MNL if you're shopping on price.

 

[docjames]

Found this one using matrix.itasoftware.com

Itinerary details

Hainan 7646	Dep: 7:45 pm	Arr: 10:30 pm	2h 45m	Boeing 737	Economy (Y)
	Layover in XIY		42h 50m
Hainan 7993	Dep: 5:20 pm	Arr: 6:30 am	11h 10m	Airbus A330	Economy (E)
		Thu, Apr 20

[TD="class: IR6M2QD-A-c"] Itinerary

Hainan 7994	Dep: 8:25 am	Arr: 5:45 pm	11h 20m	Airbus A330	Economy (E)
	Layover in XIY		22h 40m
Hainan 7645	Dep: 4:25 pm	Arr: 6:40 pm	2h 15m	Boeing 737	Economy (Y)

[TD="colspan: 5"] Sydney (SYD) to Shanghai (PVG) — Thu, Apr 6
[/TD] [TD="class: IR6M2QD-k-c"]

[/TD][TD="colspan: 7"]Sydney (SYD) to Xi An (XIY) — Thu, Apr 6
[/TD] [TD="class: IR6M2QD-k-c"]

[/TD][TD="colspan: 7"]Xi An (XIY) to Shanghai (PVG) — Fri, Apr 7
[/TD]

[TABLE="class: IR6M2QD-k-k"][TR] [TD="colspan: 5"] Shanghai (PVG) to Sydney (SYD) — Mon, Apr 17
[/TD] [TD="class: IR6M2QD-k-c"]

[/TD][TD="colspan: 7"]Shanghai (PVG) to Xi An (XIY) — Mon, Apr 17
[/TD] [TD="class: IR6M2QD-k-c"]

[/TD][TD="colspan: 7"]Xi An (XIY) to Sydney (SYD) — Wed, Apr 19
[/TD]

[/TD][TD="class: IR6M2QD-A-e"]Mileage

• 12,504 total miles

CO2 Emissions

• 2,418 kg (estimated by ITA).

Airport Information

• Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD)
• Shanghai Pudong International (PVG)
• Xi'an Xianyang International (XIY)

[/TD][/TR][TR][TD="class: IR6M2QD-A-c"][TABLE="class: IR6M2QD-x-d"][TR][TD="class: IR6M2QD-x-b"]Cost per passenger (including taxes & fees)
[/TD][TD="class: IR6M2QD-x-a, align: right"]A$416.74
[/TD][/TR][TR="class: IR6M2QD-x-e"][TD="class: IR6M2QD-x-b"]Total cost for 1 passenger
[/TD][TD="class: IR6M2QD-x-a, align: right"]A$416.74
[/TD][/TR][/TABLE][/TD][/TR][/TABLE]