South Korea flights - advice?

[mumof2sydney]

Hi all,

Taking the kids skiing in south korea in January ( 2 adults, 2 kids under 12). Routing is SYD-ICN-KUL-SYD. Depart around Jan 5

Having difficulty in not paying anything but full price for the syd- ICN leg. Cheapest quoted one way - $845 pp on Asiana. (hard to swallow when can fly return bne to vancouver for that today!)

Anybody have any tips on getting syd-icn cheaper?? - but without spending 20+ hrs getting there?? Would love an asiana or korean air direct flight

Happy to do return legs on air asia flights- costing about $400 pp all up depending on the day..

Thanks in advance.

 

[docjames]

Why air asia on the return ok but not on the way there?

Garuda offer a $1250 return fare (9hr in DPS outbound, 6hr inbound) - although i'm sure you could break that and have 2-3 days in DPS on the way to/from.

The $845 sounds like a decent fare for that routing on a full service carrier.

Air China would do ~$1000 return with layover 1-5 hrs in PEK.

Have a play on matrix.itasoftware.com and you can trial various routings.

 

[mumof2sydney]

Hi docjames,

Thanks for reply. With garuda/ air china on return fare- cant go to Kuala Lumpur on way back.

Can do with air asia both directions- problem is huge layover at KLIA2 needed.

hoping for advice about any likely sale fares/ways to get asiana cheaper if there are any?

 

[docjames]

You issue combines with heavy leisure travel period (Aus school holidays) plus need for specific dates and routings. I personally wouldn't be holding out too long for a sale that covers those dates - just book your preference on what is available assuming it's at your preferred price point. You may struggle matching one-way fares on "full service" carriers to your LCC option, and find it an expensive way to purchase, rather than purchasing return airfares.

One option would be to turn the outbound "long connection" into a stopover by adding 1-2 days outbound - this may / may not be an option for you.

MH will sell you the full itinerary for $1645 but of course that is more than you're suggestion you've found already.

If you bought a $1000 return fare to ICN from SYD, how much is a "side trip" return to KL (from ICN) using a LCC? That may be an option too.

ICN-KUL-ICN pricing at ~$400 via PVG but again, you're trading time and $$ for convenience.