Getting There:
Cheap Asia Flights

So, you`ll be reading about the common issues around travel and the financial crisis as well.

Say, if the airlines/travel agencies go out of business, how can you protect yourself from losing money? Read on to find out!

Part 2: Where to buy tickets -- Should I buy my ticket online or at a travel agency?

Part 3: What to consider when looking for cheap Asia flights, and your options for finding cheap asia flights

Part 4: The credit card rule, and the issues regarding airlines/travel agencies going bankrupt

Part 5: Travel overland, or fly? What to do when you`ve bought a ticket!

First, let`s start with the big (and difficult) question...

How much is a cheap ticket?

How much you have to pay for your ticket depends highly on

• When you want to travel

  Travelling during the high/peak season is more expensive than the low season.

  Because that`s when everyone`s travelling... Most backpackers don`t want to travel when it`s pouring rain during their entire trip! They want the sun to shine on their face. And there`s usually more sun, and less rain during the high/peak season.

• Where you want to travel

• ...and when you buy the ticket

  Usually the tickets are cheaper when you buy them like, 6 months before the date you're planning on leaving.

  So, if you buy your ticket like 3 weeks before planned departure, you can`t really expect to pay rock-bottom price (in the high season)!

That`s because there are NO obvious answers to this question. But there are some standard prices:

Like a ticket to Bangkok usually starts from 700 USD dollars.

An example is traveling with Thai Airways from Sydney, Australia to Bangkok in the month of February (2010). It will cost you around 730 Australian dollars.

Or if you travel from London (Stansted) with the company AirAsia to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, the price can be as low as 250 dollars in June.

Check out price comparisons in one of the most popular online search engines: Kayak.com

Return to top

When should I book a ticket?

There`s only a certain number of cheap tickets, and when these are sold out, you`re usually stuck with the expensive ones.

Airlines start to sell cheap tickets early to lure potential customers. They have to do this because of the tough competition.

My mom runs a travel agency (called Villarey Travel) and has told me:

"Amanda, if you want to get the cheapest tickets, book them one year before if possible. If not one year, then book 6 months before."

She has successfully run her business for 10 years now, so I can`t say anything against this. She knows the deal.

Just to clear up a couple of things, in case you`re thinking that I have an ulterior motive:

I`m not mentioning my mom`s business to promote her. Her business runs well, with or without promotion. I honestly know little of the travel business. So, to get the real tips I interviewed my mom. And that`s why I`m mentioning her business.

On the other hand, there are exceptions to this rule nowadays (sorry mom).

The whole world is going through a financial crisis. And this of course, includes the travel business.

So, have you noticed that the ticket prices are waaaay unpredictable?

Because of the unstable oil prices, the flight taxes keep dropping, rising, dropping, rising and so on. I bought tickets to Kuala Lumpur for 1000 dollars, 3 months before departure… (1000 dollars is the cheapest ticket I`ve ever bought for Asia, in such a short time)

But who knows how long these prices will roller coast…

So, all in all, it`s better to be early when buying a ticket.

Next stop is...

• Should I buy my ticket online or at a travel agency?

| Next Page |

Return to Backpacking Tips Asia Homepage.