Aviation

Bangkok Airways A319 Economy Class Flight Review (Singapore to Koh Samui)

June 9, 2016 by Bino 2 Comments

Although a mere 90 minute flight, Koh Samui can prove to be a tricky place to get to from Singapore. Fares are often high and with only 2 airlines just servicing this route, the schedule may sometimes not be optimal for a short jaunt there.

I took Bangkok Airways during a recent trip to Koh Samui due to its schedule which is conducive for those looking for a weekend trip to the resort island. I opted for an evening flight on Friday. This meant that I could leave the office after work at 6 and check-in for my flight with time to spare. Similarly, they have an afternoon flight on Sundays which gets me back to Singapore by early evening to prepare for the next working week.

Bangkok Airways is also an airline that has always captured my attention. It positions itself as “Asia’s Boutique Airline” and is known for clever extras such as free lounge food even for its Economy Class passengers. I have transited in quite a number of domestic airports in Thailand and recall feeling envious every time I saw the ubiquitous buffet spread reserved for Bangkok Airways while sitting there at the opposite side of the boarding area.

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My Qatar Airways Business Class Experience on the 787 Dreamliner

May 19, 2016 by Bino 8 Comments

Last month, I flew with Qatar Airways on a trip that took me to Europe from Singapore. My main destinations for this journey were the Baltic States and Ukraine but since there’s no decent connection to these places from Asia, I headed to a couple of Scandinavian cities first. Those who have been reading this blog throughout the years would know that I have been flying with Qatar Airways almost annually for the past 5 years as they have great connections to several European gateways coupled with an admirable product at a reasonable price point. This time, I had the opportunity to experience the Business Class service on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and this review will cover this aircraft. I had previously been on the Dreamliner when I flew from Singapore to Doha in 2014. The new A350 now services this route so my Dreamliner experience this time coincided with the second leg of my flight – from Doha to Oslo.

QR’s Dreamliner is a two-class setup with Business Class and Economy Class. There are 22 seats in the Business Class section with the first twenty seats separated from the last two by a bar where passengers can find free-flowing champagne during the flight. The seats follow a reverse herringbone layout which means aisle access for all seats which are on a 1-2-1 configuration.

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My Singapore Airlines Business Class Experience (Singapore to Manila)

November 22, 2014 by Bino Leave a Comment

The thing I like best about flying with Singapore Airlines is that regardless of where I’m departing from, I get the feeling that I’m already in Singapore – with the efficiency, safety and cleanliness that comes with it – the moment I step foot on the plane. As I had plenty of things to bring back with me during one of my Singapore to Manila sojourns, I decided to book myself a Business Class ticket. I booked this online using miles with the 15% online booking discount. Total damage was 17,000 miles or around S$100 (~US$80) which was not too bad compared to a one-way economy flight on miles which went for 10,625 miles.

The queue for Singapore Airlines flights at Changi Airport is generally not that busy even for Economy flights. Business class and First class passengers get their own check-in counters in Terminal 2 where my flight departed from. My check-in procedure was pretty quick. I actually exceeded my 40kg baggage allotment but the check-in staff was kind enough not to charge me for the extra weight. I was handed my boarding pass and was politely reminded that I could access the Silverkris Lounge once I go past immigration.

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My Qatar Airways Experience, Part 2 (Doha to Tbilisi)

September 16, 2012 by Bino 6 Comments

I have received quite a number of queries from my Tbilisi post on how I managed to get there so this update is definitely way overdue. This trip was taken some months back on Qatar Airways. I transited in Doha for about 8 hours before boarding my 3 hour or so flight to Tbilisi, Georgia.

The terminal was basically the same one I transited in when I flew to Iran (also with QR) just a few months prior to this trip. The terminal was in the midst of upgrading and those of us with connecting flights were given color-coded boarding passes for easy identification.

Here is the rundown:

Pre-flight:

after 8 hours of waiting, I was relieved to see this

I did not have to check-in as this was a connecting flight. As previously stated, I had an 8-hour transit time which was mostly spent dozing off in Doha’s Airport. Given the relatively small-sized terminal, it was a consolation they had a sleeping area for passengers to use free-of-charge. Spaces were limited however. Silver and gold tiered Privilege Club members have lounges which can be used free-of-charge.

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My Qatar Airways Experience, Part 1 (Singapore to Doha)

March 17, 2012 by Bino 14 Comments

As one of the few airlines with a 5-star rating (as awarded by Skytrax), Qatar Airways took a step further by incorporating the number of stars it has into its marketing slogan to really bring the point home. The world’s 5-star airline – is what it calls itself on TV, billboards and in major dailies. During some of my recent trips, I got to try out this 5-star quality which they’re so proud about.

I have flown with Qatar Airways several times during the past six months alone – mostly on the SIN <-> DOH route. While I normally go for low cost carriers, full-service airlines still reign supreme over the long-haul space. One’s really got to eat on a flight that’s over five hours long. Entertainment’s more or less mandatory as well, else the flight could be unbearably boring. So is precious baggage space. This is where all the creature comforts of a full-service airline come in.

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7 Things to Watch Out For When Buying a Budget Airline Plane Ticket

December 11, 2011 by Bino 13 Comments

Since I usually buy budget airline tickets several months in advance, It has been a while since I bought one to anywhere. Did a couple of bookings this past week which led to some startling if not, annoying discoveries which seem to foretell an inevitable trend in the LCC segment of the airline industry.

by 713 Avenue | CC by SA 2.0

Generally, I find the booking systems of most LCC’s to be quite annoying – this stems from their tendency to pre-select add-ons by default in a way that is not so obvious to unsuspecting passengers. Previously, the pre-selection was only confined to travel insurance. Lately, I discovered that not only more and more of these add-ons are pre-selected, but also that some airlines have made it more tedious for passengers to unselect the pre-selected add-ons (probably in hopes that passengers won’t want to exert the extra effort of unselecting and just pay the extra dollars). Smells like an unethical way to make a quick buck to me, but in a highly volatile industry I suppose every cent counts.

At the end of the day, budget airlines can still offer a lot of value especially during seat sales and I suppose that for the majority of the target market, these are hassles that one should just take note of. Thought I’d share some tips on unspoken rules with regards to LCC bookings and how to avoid getting charged unnecessarily in the booking process. These are in my opinion, 7 things people should watch out for when buying a budget airline plane ticket.

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Seat Sale Guide: How to Get the Best Airfare Deals

June 19, 2011 by Bino 10 Comments

Seat sales by the 5 largest low cost airlines in the region (AirAsia, Jetstar, Cebu Pacific, Tiger Airways and Scoot in no particular order) can prove to be great sources for bargains and are certainly worth looking out for. I can still recall some of the good deals I got which included:

Singapore – Manila (around 3.5 hours flight per way, roundtrip for USD 20)
Kuala Lumpur – Abu Dhabi (around 8 hours flight per way, roundtrip for USD 110)
Kuala Lumpur – Christchurch (10 hours flight per way, roundtrip for USD 170)
Kuala Lumpur – Vientiane (2.5 hours per way, roundtrip for USD 60)

It is during such instances that going for the budget carrier option becomes truly justified, with prices that won’t break the bank.

At the same time however, getting these deals can prove to be equally frustrating with websites crashing and sale fares disappearing quicker than you can say buy, leaving prospective passengers with a strong sense of urgency to get the booking done. I have had my share of frustrations. Though I have not learned to overcome the latter yet, from my experience, there are a couple of things that we, as bargain hunters can do to secure that good deal and make the entire booking process much easier. Read after the jump

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Flying Long Haul – On Budget

May 21, 2011 by Bino 6 Comments

budget airlines give a whole new meaning to the word economy

The idea of taking a flight of ten or more hours on a budget carrier remains alien to most people – despite the growth of specialized carriers such as Air Asia X and Jetstar which market themselves as long haul carriers minus the cost. Until recently, it was an alien concept to me as well. Even with full service carriers, I get fidgety after the first four hours of the flight. Any attempt to sleep beyond 40 minutes at a time becomes futile as the extremely limited incline and space attest to the sardine can nature of ~~economy~~ cattle class….

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