Today’s Photo – Songkran festival, Pattaya, Thailand
A truck load of “ghosts” revelling in Pattaya, during the Songkran Festival, 2010
Full Service v’s Low Cost Airlines – a 40Plus Travelers Perspective
Over the last few years the proliferation of Low Cost Airlines around the world has massively decreased the costs of international and long distance travel. These airlines have opened up travel to many who could never have afforded it, as well as increased the amount many of the rest of us are able to fly. Another major achievement of low cost airlines that we don’t always think about , has been to force down the price of Full Service Airlines! I think some of the worlds stodgy old, national carriers where bloated and unresponsive to customers, which is often the case in a monopoly or duopoly situation.
So along came the Low Cost Carriers, and these airlines started offering fares for $150 dollars, that the old airlines were charging $1200 for. And as a result, a good portion of their “customers” moved to the new carriers.
Now, finally, Some full services airlines, national carriers or not, have woken up and are sometimes offering some great pricing, working on the strategy of the new airlines – fill the seats!
This is a long introduction (or boring modern history lesson!), to get to the subject I want to discuss -
Are Full Service Airlines Deals now Better the Low Cost Carriers?
My case study for this article, is my recent flight (holiday) from Perth, Western Australia, to Bali, Indonesia. This route is one that is services by at least 4 low costs carriers, and only one major Full service Airline, being Indonesia’s national carrier – Garuda International.
So comparing the Garuda best price v the low cost airline best price
Garuda – $ 386.00 AUD return v’s Air Asia – $220.00 AUD return
But then, when you add the services that are included with full service -
20 kg luggage each way - $50.00
1 meal each way, 1 bottle of water each way - $40.00
Seat allocation – $20.00
Comfort kit – $11.00.
Theses extras then make the comparison, as follows -
Garuda – $ 386.00 AUD return v’s Air Asia – $341.00 AUD return.
If you then add the cost of a beer or wine with your meal ( not available on Air Asia, even at a cost), and in-flight entertainment service, and added those on at an extra $25.00, comparisons become -
Garuda – $ 386.00 AUD return v’s Air Asia – $366.00 AUD return.
So, then you need to decide if the full service Garuda flight is worth an extra $20.00? (if you consume any extra alcohol on full service, or if you are likely to buy more food than just the one meal on the Low cost airline, this changes the equation again).
In my opinion, the full service flight is worth the few extra dollars, for a couple of reasons.
- The seats are bigger, and the leg room is greater.
- The quality of passenger is better!
- Seat-back entertainment system help pass the time
Now, I am not saying Full Service will always be a cheaper option, usually it is not. I do recommend doing the math, and allowing for all the add-ons and if the difference is not much, it might be a good idea to opt for the Full Service option.
I would be interested in any other comparisons, any of you out there may have done. Quick $ comparison would be great. send them in!
Today’s Photo – Jonkers St, Chinatown, Malacca, Malaysia
Jonker’s St, Malaca, Malaysia. Getting ready for chinese new year
A New Partnership with Agoda
Although I haven’t added any reference to it on this site yet, I have recently entered into a affiliate partnership with Agoda.com.
This came about as I have been searching for a good value 1 bedroom villa in Seminyak, Bali, for a quick trip to the island in early December. As I travel continually in South East Asia, I have spent many hours searching for good hotel deals in most of the South east Asian capitals, including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bali, Bangkok, Phuket, and many other start points for my various travel itineraries. Over the last few years I have noticed that the old hotel booking sites I have previously used, have not been getting the best deals. And I have noticed that Agoda continually do.
So I found a good villa – Astana Kunti – and a comparison of rates varies from over $400 per night, to Agoda’s rate of $138.00. And I have noticed this happens over and over.
I expect that Agoda’a success is a result of the company being based in the region, coupled with being a part of Priceline, one of the big players in the industry.
Anyway, this may seem like an add for Agoda, but its not really. I do, however, believe they are the best in the South East Asian market at the moment. And that is why I decided to join their affiliate program! So follow my affiliate ink if you are interested in looking for South east Asian hotel deals. You will get the best deal, and I will get a couple of bucks!
Unfortunately for me, this means a lot of work, changing all my referral links on my websites. But anyway, that is my problem.
Today’ Photo – Australia Day Fireworks, Perth Water, Perth
Lotto Skyworks at Australia Day, Swan River Foreshore, January 26, 2010
Traveling costs for BALI – a guide for the 40+Traveler
Like my previous post on traveling cost in Nepal, this post is aimed at giving the prospective traveler an idea of the all-round cost associated with visiting and traveling around the countries that I have visited. As before, the assumption is that you would be traveling at the same level of comfort as I do, and, as such, is directed primarily at the 40 year +, long term traveler. This implies a moderate level of comfort but without they high daily budget of the 10 day tourist. So, on to Bali -
Costs for Bali
- Getting There - As with anywhere, giving a general idea on the cost to get to Bali depends completely on where you are coming from. As I am Australian, Bali is close, and very well serviced by discount airlines, so it is very cheap to visit. Return flights from Australia can be from as little as $250.00. And because the same network of Low Cost airlines service the other major centres in the region, flights from most major South East Asian cities are often even cheaper. I have seen Air Asia flights from Kuala Lumpur for $19. So by extension, Bali should be cheap to fly into from other destinations, as long as you are scouring the cheep airlines, and prepared to hop flights and airlines a bit. Long term travelers will usually be happy to take the slower, less direct flights, and save on expense!
Kuta Beach
- Getting Around - Once you arrive in Bali, transport certainly doesn’t get any more expensive! It is one of the cheapest places to get around, as always, depending on your mode of transport. Taxis, for example, cost around 50,000 IDR (around $6) from the airport to Kuta hotels. Once in Kuta, taxi around town (witch can often be very busy and frustratingly slow) will cost somewhere under the 50,000. A quick trip could be from 10,000 IDR ( $1.20 ish) An alternative to Taxis (cos they add up??really!) is a scooter. These cost around $5 a day, with a better rate often available if you want longer rentals. The advantage of the scooter is that you can get in and around traffic jams in the Kuta area easily, but also, you can explore the whole island from the back of a scooter!
- Accommodation – Kuta, Seminyak, Sanur and Nusa Dua, on the Southern Beaches, are where the bulk of the tourists visit, and these areas have the biggest range of hotels. Villa’s and Resorts at $500 a night are a plenty, but cheaper options are definitely available, often only a street or 2 back from the beach. I have always been able to find comfortable hotel accommodation, with own bathroom, air-con, bar fridge, TV and Pool, for around $40 per night in all of the above areas. Once you get out of these centres, to Ubud, the Northern and Eastern beaches and the inland parts of the island, even $25.00 rooms appear to be quite reasonable. Shop around n the net for Kuta, and on foot when you are visiting the other areas.
- Eating and Drinking – The Southern beaches are awash with bars and restaurants, so getting a feed is never a problem. Standard local/Asian/ simple western meals cost from 50,000 to 150,000 IDR ( $6 -$18), with 750ml beer bottles at about 30,000 each. Beer is around 1/2 that if you by from a supermarket, by the dozen (not a mini mart). Street food and local eats are available on the outskirts of the major areas, as well as in the capital, Denpasar. Also, away from the Southern Beaches, food becomes simpler, and cheaper, and the difference between tourist food and local eatery diminishes.
Ubud Hotel
- Attractions – Attractions can be more expensive, and many are charges in USD. Visit to the water-park at Waterbon is reasonable, and if you hunt around you can get Diving and Rafting adventures at reasonable prices. Like everything else, these are usually very negotiable, and I have found diving trips at 1/2 price when business is not good.
Bali is a wonderful place to visit, and very well suited to the long term traveler. The Balinese people are very welcoming, and, apart form the shopping areas, not completely focused on relieving you of your US$. A lot of visitors decide to stay, and there is a large Ex-pat Australian community. Living costs come down the closer you get to local living, such as self catering. I will post more later on Bali and specific destinations to visit as against this overview.
The next TRAVELING COSTS episode will be Vietnam, so stay “posted”
Today’s Photo – Sunset on Perth Water, Swan River, Perth
Sunset on Australia Day, January 26th ,2010. Fireworks in 15 mins!
40 Year old travelers to join our team
We need your help.
We want to keep our site fresh and relevant to travelers who are 40 years old and older, and to do that we are seeking contributors. We want a couple of guest writers who can get a post to us about once a week, who we can “travel with”. IE we want an ongoing series of posts where we can share your experiences as you travel, and you can run us through a summary of what you have been up to for the week. I am not really looking for philosophers, experts or travel advise, just some people who are living the dream, and want us to be a part of it. I would love to have a contributor who is currently traveling in, or about to take off for, Central and South America, one who is off to Africa, a Non European in Europe,and one or two in different parts of Asia.
Chris at an Indian Bank
Only qualifications are
1. you need to be 40 years old or older
2. you need to be currently long term traveling ( 3 months at least)
3. English needs to be your first language, and you need to be traveling outside your home country.
Any volunteers should send me an email via our contact page, and we can discuss. This is unpaid, and the only reward will be the warm, fuzzy feeling you get. It will however, be a record of your travel, published under your category and heading, and a link to your blog or website will be fine.
What have you got to lose?
Bruce
