Asian Airlines Promise Deep Discounts On October Bookings

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It’s the season for airline discounts. Depending on where you want to travel and how far ahead you are able to plan, you can score some serious savings this month. This is especially true if you are planning on traveling in India and Southeast Asia. Several major airlines, including always-cheap AirAsia, are lowering their fares to get fliers to buy tickets for 2016 dates. 

Yes, there are some noteworthy deals out there, and yes, there are catches to each and every one of them. The biggest catch: you will have to plan way ahead to score the lowest prices.

AirAsia’s weeklong promotion

AirAsia is kicking off a massive sales event. The low-cost carrier will be selling as many as three million tickets to 20 different countries over the coming week. Even by AirAsia standards, the prices are impressively low.  People in Malaysia can score the biggest discounts. Domestic one-way flights between some cities in the Southeast Asian nation will be less than RM100 (that’s under $25). Regional flights to Goa and South Korea are in the RM200-300 range for a one-way ticket (roughly $50-$70). Taxes are included in the fares.

Unless you are living in Malaysia, this might not seem like a great deal, but it could give travelers a chance to add a leg or two to their East Asian vacation while still staying within budget.

Unfortunately, taking advantage of these fares means planning ahead… way ahead. Tickets must be purchased this week (Oct. 19-25), but the travel dates are not until 2016: you’ll have to fly next year between March and the end of October.

Flying from India

Travelers who are planning to pass through Mumbai can add low-cost legs to their trip. They might not even have to fly on a budget airline to get the best deals. Singapore Airlines is offering $300 fares between Changi and Mumbai. Malaysian Airlines, meanwhile, has flights from Mumbai to Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Bangkok and other Southeast Asian destinations for one-way prices that start at less than $300.

Gender-based discounts

You might also be able to get a cheap upgrade to business class if you fly Air India between now and the end of the year. There is a huge catch though: you can’t be male. In an effort to fill its business class cabins while giving itself some positive PR at the same time, India’s national carrier is offering a 25 percent discount to female fliers who want to travel in business class Unfortunately for international fliers, this promotion is only offered on domestic flights.

With Diwali, Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year coming up, prices are bound to rise, so this may well be the last hurrah for deal-seekers who are looking for cheap travel options in East and South Asia.  

AIRLINES & AIRPORTS | JOSH LEW, www.travelpulse.com 

Travelore Tips: Pay $160 For A Month Of Flights On AirAsia

AirAsia launches its new all-you-can-jet option, the AirAsia ASEAN Pass, this month—but is it worth your while? Read on to find out.

How does a month of flying around Southeast Asia for under $200 sound?

That's the question we asked last year, when it was first announced that AirAsia would introduce some sort of pass for unlimited flights. Well, that pass—the AirAsia ASEAN Pass, named for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations—is official and available for purchase, beginning today.

The ASEAN Pass's original promise of travel to ten countries has been kept, and passengers may elect to fly to airports in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Burma, Laos, and Brunei. The greatest variety of destinations is of course offered from AirAsia's base in Kuala Lumpur, although Bangkok also has a bunch. Popular leisure destinations in the passes include Bali, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Langkawi, and Puerto Princesa. With just those it'd be very tempting to turn an ASEAN Pass into a "best exotic beaches of Southeast Asia" pass, but culture and business travelers will find plenty destinations of interest as well.

There are, in fact, two versions of the ASEAN Pass:

ASEAN Pass 10 credits

· Costs $160 USD

· 10 credits for use on flights

· 30 days validity from the start of travel

ASEAN Pass+ 20 credits

· Costs $290 USD

· 20 credits for use on flights

· 60 days validity from the start of travel

Built in (and explained in the official FAQ) are many points of flexibility. For instance, the pass can be handed over to another traveler and the bearer's name can be changed so long as the travel hasn't yet begun. Families can also get in on the fun as the Pass is valid for travelers aged 12 and up. The biggest restriction is that flights need to be booked two weeks ahead and each route may only be used once, so last-minute weekend hops can't happen. The best way for non-residents of Southeast Asia to make use of a pass is to plan for a full three to four weeks of travel, flying in to Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur on a major international airline and beginning the AirAsia Pass from there. Potential ideas for a dot-to-dot itinerary around the region could be visiting friends, hitting some legendary dive sites or surf breaks, scouting for a vacation home, seeking out regional food specialties, or simply adding more stamps to the passport.

The pass was due to debut on January 15, but the tragedy of AirAsia Indonesia flight 8501 on December 28, 2014 placed AirAsia in the world spotlight, and not for the positive reason they had planned. We personally expected AirAsia to drop the idea of the ASEAN Pass, but now that the airline can absolutely use the extra business, the plan proceeds with only a month-and-a-half delay. Overall, the program bears less a resemblance to the original, unlimited "All-You-Can-Jet" Pass from JetBlue and more to the airline's AYCJ successors, called the "GoPacks," though there's no doubt the ASEAN Pass is inspired by both.

View the FAQ and step-by-step use of the ASEAN pass on AirAsia's dedicated website. As of right now, there is no end date to the ASEAN pass promotion for either sale or travel, thought this will likely change once the airline sees action on it.

This piece originally appeared on Jaunted.com.

QZ8501 : Latest on the missing Air Asia flight

A glimpse of hope remains for Air Asia's missing aircraft after some experts were talking about a possible water landing.

This is an update on eTN's initial report on the missing AirAsia Indonesia plane with 162 people on board that has gone missing on its way from Surabaya to Singapore. This happened after the pilot of this flight requested to deviate from its flight path due to weather. eTN mentioned local media reports about wreckages of this plane found. It turns out these reports are wrong and were based on rumors.

There were 155 passengers on board, with 138 adults, 16 children and 1 infant. Also on board were 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew.

Nationalities of passengers and crew onboard are:
1 Singapore
1 Malaysia
3 South Korean
157 Indonesia

Search and rescue operations have been suspended for the night; they will resume tomorrow.

However search ships are not returning to ports but are continuing with limited operation during the night.

More than 12 hours after the plane went missing, there has been no confirmation search teams have found a crash site, with Malaysia's Minister of Transport Seri Liow Tiong Lai dismissing in a press conference on Sunday evening reports the plane had been located.

Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement on Sunday evening the plane was last tracked around the island of Belitung, at the coordinates 03°22’15" South and 109°41’28" East.

Flight QZ8501's pilot had reportedly requested permission to increase altitude from 32,000 feet to 34,000 feet because of cloudy weather in the area. Weather maps showed storms across the region.

The plane had seven crew members and 155 passengers, including 16 children and one infant, according to AirAsia's Facebook statement. The majority of those on board were Indonesian, but there were three South Koreans and one each from Singapore, United Kingdom, France and Malaysia. There were 23 no-shows, according to the flight manifest.

The captain in command had 20,537 flying hours in total and 6,100 flying hours with the airline and the first officer had 2,275 flying hours, according to AirAsia. The aircraft last underwent maintenance on Nov. 16.

Djoko Murjatmodjo, Indonesia's acting director general of transportation, told reporters no distress signal had been sent. The plane is believed to have gone missing somewhere over the Java Sea between Tanjung Pandan on Belitung island and Pontianak, on Indonesia's part of Kalimantan island, he said.

AirAsia Indonesia is an affiliate of budget carrier AirAsia, which is based in Malaysia. AirAsia has been considered one of the safest options in the region, with reportedly no fatal accidents involving their planes.

Indonesia's overall air safety record is poor due to various incidents, with many of the country's carriers banned in the European Union.

AirAsia operates a relatively young fleet of aircraft, almost all of which are some variation of the A320 model that disappeared. It is one of the youngest and fastest growing airlines in the Southeast Asia market, with plans to expand into India.

The Airbus A320 is one of the most popular single-aisle jetliners in the world, and is in wide use in the U.S. Like its main rival, the Boeing 737, the A320 has had fatal accidents before, but none involving the loss of all passengers.

The A320 has a similar flight-deck design and aircraft systems as the larger Airbus A330. An Air France Airbus A330 crashed while flying in the vicinity of thunderstorms on June 1, 2009, northeast of Brazil, killing 228. That crash was blamed on faulty instruments and pilot error.

While there have been accidents since the A320 entered operation in 1996, it is widely regarded as one of the safest aircraft in the sky. A recent Boeing study found 0.14 fatalities per million departures for the A320 family.

A Dual national British citizen on board missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 is Chi-Man Choi, the BBC reported.

It is thought he is with his two-year-old daughter on the plane, which was flying from Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people on board when it went missing in the early hours of Sunday.

The UK Foreign Office earlier confirmed a British national was on the flight and their family had been informed.

"Our thoughts are with the passengers' families," the UK Foreign Service Office said.

UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond tweeted: "My thoughts are with the family and friends of all those on board Air Asia flight QZ8501."

A spokesman for the British Embassy in Jakarta said it was working with local authorities to establish further details.

The US Secretary of State John Kerry tweeted: "Our hearts and hopes are with the passengers and families of AirAsia QZ8501."

12 Travelore Tips For Finding The Best Airfares

No question about it, airfares on some routes are higher than they were four or five years ago, although Airfarewatchdog airfare searchers frequently find hundreds of fares crisscrossing the country for $250 or less round-trip. And even though fares seem higher, let's not forget that, adjusted for inflation, most fares are actually lower than they were 10 or 20 years ago. That said, here is my best advice for making your airfare dollars go further.

1. There's no "magic" day or lead time to buy the best airfare.

A lot of airfare experts think they're clairvoyant, so they know where airfares are headed or how far in advance you should start looking for a fare. The latest myth is to buy exactly 54 days in advance. Others say buy on Tuesday at 3 p.m. or Wednesday at midnight or when the moon is full (just kidding). But airlines are unpredictable, and anyone who claims he or she knows that airfares will be lower or higher in the coming months or the coming days should trade in their crystal ball. No one can accurately predict where airfares are heading, any more than we can predict the stock market. Think about it: if they really knew, they'd put every other airfare search operation out of business, and that hasn't happened. Don't believe me? Here's what an airline revenue manager has to say about this.

2. So search often, over a long lead time, and pounce when there's a deal

Fares fluctuate throughout the day, and the number of seats offered at the lowest fares also changes frequently. Or someone might be holding the only seat at the lowest fare and not book it, so it goes back into inventory--and then it will be yours. So if you don't like the fare at 10 a.m., check at 2 p.m. or the next day or the next week and pounce when the fare is affordable. It's easy to leave open the browser page where you're searching for a fare and keep on hitting the refresh.

3. Airfare alerts by email

This is perhaps the easiest way to track airfares. Many travel web sites offer emailed airfare alerts, letting you know when fares go down, and they all have something to offer. Do a browser search for "airfare alerts" and you'll see what's available. They all work a bit differently so sign up for more than one. One thing to note: these sites use essentially the same airfare data provided by the airlines' computer systems or ITA Software (which is now owned by Google), so they won't include discounted promo code fares, and they don't include Southwest Airlines (airfarewatchdog's fare alerts do, however, include hand-picked fares on Southwest).

4. Sign up for the airlines' email feeds and frequent flyer programs

Speaking of promo codes, the airlines want to develop a relationship with you, so they'll send you special deals, such as 50 percent off promo codes or two-fers, if you sign up for their emails. Here are links to US domestic airline sign up pages and for international airlines. We signed up for Virgin America's frequent flyer program and because we hadn't flown them yet we keep on getting promo code discount offers to give them a try.

5. Use Twitter

Email is great, but some of the most amazing airfare deals last only a short time (even if they're valid for travel over a long period), or you open the email too late. Twitter is more immediate. Our advice? Follow @Airfarewatchdog where we tweet unusual airfare deals every day of the week and alert followers to promo codes and other airfare deals.

6. Be a flexible travel date flyer

If you don't care when you go as long as the fare is low, try a flexible date search. It's getting harder to search airfares based on flexible travel dates now that many sites (Orbitz, Hotwire, Travelocity and Expedia among them) have eliminated their flexible date calendars. But Kayak.com still has a good one (you must register as a user to see it under Flights/more options/flex month). Another good site is Adioso.com and Google has two sites worth exploring: Google Flight Explore and Google Flights.More about flexible travel date search. 

7. Search airline sites individually, but online travel agencies are still useful
Many airlines have "private" sales, reserving their very best fares for their own sites. These are different from promo code sales mentioned above. International airlines such as Aer Lingus, Iberia and Qantas regularly offer lower fares (i.e., $100-$400 less) on their own web sites compared to what you'll find on Kayak or Orbitz. And yet, you shouldn't ignore online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity, because these sites will tell you if it's cheaper flying out on one airline and back on another (United won't tell you it's cheaper to fly out on United and back on American).

8. Use Priceline for last minute trips

If you don't have a 7-, 14-, or 21-day advance purchase window to buy your fare, your best bet is the "name your own price" feature of Priceline.com. True, you won't know the exact flight times or airline you're flying until to pay for your trip, but you can save 50% or more.

9. Use consolidators, but beware of the restrictions

Consolidators specializing in premium cabins will have some great deals, and the airlines themselves will often heavily discount their premium cabins in the summer and just before Christmas, so check the specials on their web sites. Sites like Vayama.com, airfare.com and Asia.com also sometimes sell consolidator fares, but read this to understand how these fares work and what the extra restrictions might be.

10. Consider the extra fees before you buy

If Southwest has a fare of $198 round-trip and United has one for $148, and you are checking three bags, then Southwest actually has the lowest fare because Southwest charges nothing for the first two checked bags, whereas United would charge you an additional $165 each way for three. (See Airline fee chart). 

11. Combine two separate fares rather than buying one fare

If you're flying to a destination in Europe, you might save money by purchasing one fare from the US to, say, Dublin, and another from Dublin onward on Ryanair.com (just beware of Ryanair's onerous fees). Same holds true for some destinations in Asia (fly into Singapore and catch a low cost carrier such as Airasia.com from there) and to some smaller Caribbean destinations via San Juan or the Bahamas. Even domestically, two fares are often less than one, such as the recent scenario where Dallas to Honolulu was selling for $350 round-trip with tax, but Houston/Honolulu was $800. As you're no doubt aware, you can fly Houston-Dallas for a lot less than $450! Just be sure to give yourself plenty of time between connecting flights in case one flight is delayed.

12. Buy tickets on an airline that will refund the difference if a fare goes down

Let's say you've found the lowest fare, and then the day after purchase your non-refundable fare for the same itinerary goes down. If you ask for it you can get a refund for the difference. But some airlines will charge you a costly "administrative" fee of $200 or more, wiping out any savings. Others will give you the entire fare difference in the form of a travel voucher without extracting a fee. All airlines used to do this but no longer. The only ones left are JetBlue, Southwest, and Alaska.