The best way to get MEL-USM next year

Status
Not open for further replies.

smit0847

Established Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Posts
4,041
I need to travel from MEL to Koh Samui for a wedding in March 2014 and considering the various options we have to get there. As I understand it USM airport is owned by Bangkok airways? so TG have very, very few flights into there (as opposed to HKT etc). We don't want to spend more than $1,500 pp but also do not want to fly overnight Y again ever. My options:

1. Buy a Y rev ticket there and back - prob around $900(?). We would try and get a daytime flight on the way back even if it meant overnighting in BKK. I've flown TG and SQ Y before and thought it was fine - will be VA WP and have *A SG.
2. J reward through LM's (around $1250 + taxes - much cheaper than US-DM). Bonus is it's J so we can fly overnight if necessary, downside is we're restricted to TG - very easy to get to BKK but very few options BKK-USM (sometimes only 1 flight per week I think because of the awkward connections). We would prob have to pay for a separate BKK-USM-BKK rev Y ticket in order to travel on our desired dates.
3. Using VA points for a J reward MEL-PER-HKT then make our own way HKT-USM (is this difficult?) - I think it's about 90K points pp with the current discount? I know PER-HKT is a truly horrible flight but we would at least be on the A330 J MEL-PER-MEL.
4. Using comp WP upgrades MEL-PER-MEL from a 2-4-1 Virgin CC Flexi fare then either use points for a Y or J fare PER-HKT-PER. The PER-HKT is a day flight so prob not a huge need for J. I know the overnight back in Y would be horrible (we may look to try and snag a cheap Y day rev ticket on another airline for the leg back). This would be the cheapest but most complicated option.

Suggestions?
 
Don't forget SQ (Silk?) also fly SIN-USM - another option?

PG only use turbo props on HKT-USM whereas BKK-USM they also have A319 jets (TG use only jets). Do VA still book with PG? I once booked BNE-USM via HKT (when the 777 flew to HKT damn that was nice)

Everyone is different but I just like to get as close to direct as possible when flying for a reason/event (as opposed to when my sole reason for flying is SCs/points then let the connections begin!)

PS. Enjoy - great place to get married....just have to find a wife :)
 
I need to travel from MEL to Koh Samui ...................We don't want to spend more than $1,500 pp but also do not want to fly overnight Y again ever. My options:

2. J reward through LM's (around $1250 + taxes - much cheaper than US-DM). Bonus is it's J so we can fly overnight if necessary, downside is we're restricted to TG - very easy to get to BKK but very few options BKK-USM (sometimes only 1 flight per week I think because of the awkward connections). We would prob have to pay for a separate BKK-USM-BKK rev Y ticket in order to travel on our desired dates.

Suggestions?

No overnight flights in Y rule some options I can think of, such as my upcoming trip: MEL-KUL on EK (QF codeshare) dep 02:40am, then KUL-HKT on MH, and HKT-USM on PG.

You could take the MH day time flight MH148 MEL-KUL, arriving approx 9pm, overnight in KL then connect to direct PG flight KUL-USM in the morning. There is also a direct firefly (MH regional affiliate) from KL to USM, that departs 1:35pm from the SZB airport, closer to KL city. On the way back would also require an overnight in KL if you want day time flights.

The Lifemiles price quoted seems a bit low for J

If you can get to HKG cheaply, PG operates direct HKG-USM service, but can be a bit pricey.
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top