Flying to Central Asia via China Southern.. other airline suggestions

[justin23]

I've booked myself a 30 day trip in Central Asia from Ashgabat in Turklmenistan to Biskek in Kyrgyzstan (apparently fake places according to some friends). Seems the easiest option is to fly China Southern from Sydney to Guangzhou, Urumqi then Ashgabat and return Bishkek-Urumqi-Guangzhou-Sydney.

I've looked for some other options and they seem expensive and also the long way around....
Any ideas of other airlines, or even comments on China Southern. I've seen mixed reports on them, but given I'll be roughing it for a month, I can probably handle an average airline.

If anyone has been to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, I'd love to hear your thoughts as well (especially on visas).

 

[serfty]

This thread may give some ideas on getting the and back:

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ons/china-eastern-out-of-melbourne-35045.html

 

[justin23]

Thanks, I've found a few threads regarding Chinese airlines. The real issue is the next most affordable flights end up costing a lot more, require several airline changes and have bad connection times, so it looks like a china southern Y+ fare is the only option even if y+ is borderline!