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| Setting sun illuminating the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE |
Step 1: Spread your Maps
It pays to know all the possible route to your destination and know all the possible airlines flying to that place you've been wildly dreaming of.
In my travels across Southeast Asia I have learned Manila ranks low in terms of connectivity to other regional destinations because the Philippines has stronger cultural ties to the US, Europe and the Middle-east than towards her own neighbours. The travel preferences of Filipinos tends heavily towards those destinations, thus quite naturally our local airlines will cater to that demand. So while we have direct budget flights to Guam, Dubai and Doha, with the rumour mill running whispers Honolulu as another possible budget flight destination, sadly we do not have direct budget flights to Yangon, Vientiane, Chiang Mai and Delhi, cities that are easily accessible in other ASEAN capitals like Singapore, KL and Bangkok.
Add to that, my problem which is I live in Iloilo, a city in the central island of Panay, which requires me to make a domestic connexion to Manila before flying-out of the country. That is added cost which we have to suffer for living far from the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila.
The whole point of step one is to explore your possible routes.
Step 2: Explore your Flight Options Thru the Web
These days, searching for a flight is no longer rocket science reserved to your experienced travel agent. It is as easy as opening your laptop, and going to websites. Begin by logging on to third-party websites such as:
Momondo (http://www.momondo.com) or
SkyScanner (http://www.skyscanner.com) or even
Google!
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| Screencap of Google Search results showing flight from Iloilo City, Philippines to Sochi, Russia, one of my dream destinations! |
These third-party websites will show you the possible flights and connexions you will make to get to your dream destination, they will even show the length of your lay-over and rate each options according to price and overall experience.
It is important to remember though that you will not find in these websites the bargain airfare prices you've been looking. What you need from Step 2 is only information like name of airline, flight times, and connexions/lay-overs to be made.
Sometimes too these websites will not show you all the possible airline options. Why? Because these third-party websites work pretty much as commercials for airlines. Full-service airlines, capitalises on these websites, and in return they show flight options showing these airlines. Budget airlines on the other hand could not afford this marketing strategy, so you will see fewer flight options from these budget airlines.
Step 3: Explore Even More Flight Options
So how do you expand your list of airline options? Make use of your long lay-overs at airports! In my first solo trip abroad to Myanmar, I had to be stuck at Kuala Lumpur overnight. What do you do while in the airport? Instead of uselessly updating your social media outlet, ranting to your friends how miserable you are being stuck for 12-hrs or more in an airport, walk around instead. Take note of the departures and arrival screens and watch out for those airlines you haven't heard of before. That long lay-over in KL actually helped me plan out my next trip, it gave me the idea that AirAsia had twice daily trips to Vientiane, Lao PDR. I also found out that AirAsia flies directly to Kalibo (Boracay), and that there is such an airline as LionAir and MalindoAir!
Another time I had a 6-hr. lay-over in Changi Airport, and just by looking at their departure and arrival screens, I got acquainted with IndiGo Air and Spice Jet, both are Indian budget airlines that have daily flights to and from Singapore.
Another way to expand your airline options is by word of mouth. On my way out of Yangon, I met an American at the smoking lounge, he came straight out from his month long meditation retreat and he was raring to have a stick or two of cigarettes, which I had a pack of! During our conversation over a few puffs of cigarette, I got acquainted with NokAir, another budget airline headquartered in Bangkok.
So lay-overs aren't really such bad luck, a smart traveller can turn it into an opportunity to learn and gather information!
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| Check-in Counters at Terminal 3 of Singapore's Changi Airport |
The second SEA hub is Bangkok in Thailand with two international airports, Suvarnabhumi (BKK) and Don Mueang (DMK). Bangkok is home to ThaiAirways the country's flag carrier. Apart from that, Bangkok hosts AirAsia Thailand, the local brand of AirAsia. Then there is Bangkok Airways, the self-styled boutique airline of Asia. Thailand's most popular budget airline NokAir, also lists Bangkok as its main hub. Finally, there is LionAir Thailand, the local operations of the Indonesia based LionAir Group.
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| KLIA's Aerobridge, reportedly the only aerobridge in the world. |
The third SEA hub is Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL). KLIA is home to Malaysian Airlines, the country's flag carrier. But in the last decade, KLIA has become very popular to tourists because of AirAsia, which is by far Southeast Asia's leading budget airline. It has the most extensive regional network and operates locally in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia under the brands AirAsiaTH, AirAsiaPH and AirAsiaID.
On top of these three, coming from the Philippines, a fourth hub exists, which is even closer although technically no longer part of SEA. That is Hong Kong SAR's Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). This is home to the globally known full service airline CathayPacific and its subsidiary DragonAir. It also hosts HongKong Airlines which the island's budget airline.
Step 4: Visit Airlines' Home Websites
Once you have a good list of airlines to watch out for, visiting their own home website is next. Bookmark them in your browsers for quick access. There are a few things you could do with these home websites, (a) note if they have upcoming seat sales, (b) check their route map for more travel options, (c) sign-up for their frequent flier club and newsletter and, (d) check their own pricing for the tickets you need.
Even when there is no seat sale, it pays to know the average price of flights because this will be your baseline data on whether a seat on "sale" is really worth the dive. 1-peso sales have become rarer and rarer these days because budget-airlines have already achieved their desired outcome - that is to create demand. So instead of waiting for these piso seat-sales, which may never come, travellers must compromise, buying tickets on a year-round fare sale basis. You cannot make this decision if firstly, you do not know what the regular price of these tickets are.
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| Airlines' home website bookmarked in my browser for easy access. |
Booking Tip: Bookmark those airline websites in your browser so it is easy for you to check their website from time to time.
Step 5: Enrol in Airlines' Frequent Flier Programmes
Frequent-flier programmes are the staple of every airline these days. The basic model is, the more you fly with them, the more they will reward you with free or cheap flights! But, before you begin imagining free flights, keep in mind that, unless you fly at least twice in a month, every month, getting that free flight may not be very easy. But, in my case, this is not the primary reason why I enrol in these programmes.
Here's what I'm really after, when airlines' offer seat sales, they offer it 24-hours earlier to their frequent fliers! Sometimes they also give out members-only exclusive offers like lower prices all year round or fares that can be bought part-frequent-flier-points and part-cash. Perks can also come in the form of free baggage-allowance, seat upgrades etc. So yes, you may not exactly fly for FREE with these programmes, but you will benefit from the perks they offer.
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| Various Frequent-flier Clubs of some common Airlines. |
Signing up for membership will also enlist you in their newsletter mailing list. These newsletters, though most of the time end up as spam in your mailbox, gives you information like new routes they have, upcoming seat sales, contests you might want to join which give out free tickets as prizes and many other which you might find helpful in your travels.
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