Flatlander MDW

If all goes to plan I will be travelling with my wife to DPS this spring. I have two options for getting there and since I have exactly zero experience flying to Asia I really have no idea what would be the better option. I’m flying coach/cheap so no upgrades, clubs, or amenities of any kind. I know this is (at it’s heart) a “what’s your time and money worth” question and therefore YMMV but I would like to get others thoughts since I have no expertise at all to draw on.

Option 1 – Easier
ORD – ICN , ICN – DPS all via Korean Air with just a 90 minute layover in ICN.
Advantages: good schedule, easy

Disadvantages: more expensive, and as far as I can tell I would get 0 usable FF miles for this trip. I don’t know of any US-based carrier that would give me any mileage credit for it and I’m guessing 10K or so KAL SkyPass miles would likely rot if I opened an account. Am I thinking of this correctly?

Option 2 – More difficult

ORD – NAR, NAR – CGK (NH), CGK- DPS (GA)
Advantages: $300 (per ticket cheaper), 787 out of Narita and I think I would be able to get full UA miles on the ORD-NAR, and NAR-CGK portions of the flight, even though I will likely be booked in K.

Disadvantages: Time/connections. Ends up taking about 8 hours longer on the way out and a nasty 12 hours longer on the way back. Most of that time in both directions is spend overnighting in CGK. Flights arrive in the evening and connections are at 5 or 6 the next morning. What this sounds like to me is sitting around the airport all night. Yuck. I’m not sure what it’s like at CGK but I envision trying to get comfortable in an uncomfortable seat while watching the floor buffer guy move past all the closed stores and restaurants. Any experience overnight in CGK? Is it that bad? Also, I know nothing about GA as an airline. OK? Avoid?

I guess I also have a 2A or 2B choice. I can either fly UA metal or NH metal out of ORD. The UA flight leaves a little later so the connection in Narita is shorter but I’m assuming my in-flight experience on NH would be better so maybe just take NH?

Anyway, any opinions/experiences welcome and thanks.

SoroSuub1

Is time important for you? How long are you going? Taking time off work?

Forget the miles if you're a casual traveller, especially since the amount earned on this one flight is insignificant compared to the price differential/service differential. Just choose the one that best matches your needs vs. price.

Flatlander MDW

Our total time including travel is around 10 days (7 or so on the ground) so it's definitely not a quick weekend. Part of what I don't know is would the experience in Y be better with either Korean or ANA or does it even matter.

If the experiences are the same then It comes down to: "do I want $600 and 10k UA miles or do I want 18 additional hours of vacation"?

JumboJet

Shorter trip would be better. The connections aren't worth the $600/10K to me.

FLLDL

Personally I would go with the shorter routing as well. 90 min connection in ICN is no problem - easy low stress connection. Really efficient way to get to/from DPS.

An 8 hr or 12 hr overnight connection in CGK as part of an already long coach journey would be miserable and not at all worth the $600 to me. Rough way to start or finish a vacation.

As you mention, it is really just a balance of how much the $600 is worth to you personally vs how much your time is worth. Some people dont mind the inconvenience and $600 can go a really long way in DPS.

willcoop

I think you need to just decide your monetary values for you and travel partner's time. As part of the calculation, your tolerance for long layovers should be considered.

If you are spending 7+ days in Bali it sounds like you are going for a more relaxing vacation so you might not want the whole long overnight layovers thing.

in2it54

Have you looked at crossing the other ocean ?
QR goes direct into DPS from Doha. Overall flight times should be within a couple of hours of each other.
Without looking at pricing, MH will probably provide a cheaper option to DPS out of DXB, but that means fiddling around in the Middle East.

Good luck.

sering

There is also Philippine Airlines, which I took last month from Bali. Not luxury but cheaper and goes through Manila.

MSPeconomist

You can check (google) the sleeping in airports website.

Instead of total hours, look at departure and arrival times for outbound and return journeys. Will the schedule require that you pay for another hotel night in Bali? Any issues in getting to/from airport cheaply, easily, and safely at a strange hour? Etc.

rizayosia

Garuda is nice and has improved significantly in recent years, but it's only a short flight anyway. The problem is CGK, which is terrible for such long transits. My suggestion is to choose the faster route.

Flatlander MDW

Brings up a good point. KAL flight lands in DPS at 1:30am which is probably going to mean an extra night (or half a night really) at a hotel near the airport and then having our "real" hotel pick us up in the morning (going to Ubud). If we suck it up in CGK we land at 8:30 but probably not feeling like we are on vacation yet.

Also I did check going the other direction but QR was about $150 more per ticket and had a 9 hour layover in DOH. The MH option had tighter connections but was through both LHR and KUL.

sering

It's not a problem to arrive very late at night. Inform your hotel that you will be arriving at such and such a time..ask them to send a car for you (probably about 30 dollars). I actually enjoy arriving late at night as there is no traffic!

Wake up the next morning in a nice atmosphere...

And yes, certainly avoid Jakarta CGK at all costs...

jiejie

I was going to say the same: pick the route that avoids CGK.

hobo13

NH 787 seats in Y are awful. Just did nrt Cgk. Only saving grace was that flight was empty so could grab a row of awful seats and lay down!

mikew99

You have gotten a lot of sensible advice here; the only reason for me to reply is to offer a different opinion: As a slave to miles and points, I would absolutely not take the Korean Air flight if I didn't earn any RDM or EQM. It's a long flight, and the fact that I wouldn't earn any usable miles would make it feel much, much longer for me.

My approach would be to take the longer route and use the savings to make the trip more comfortable. You can use part of it to purchase E+ seating on UA.

As much as I enjoy Jakarta itelf (I am off on a trip there for Christmas/New Year's), CGK as an airport is pretty miserable, IMHO. But there is a Sheraton near the airport that will provide a decent place to rest your head with the money you save with this longer routing. Also, you won't need to necessarily take the first flight out to DPS the following morning; you can have a nice breakfast and schedule your flight to DPS and transit to Ubud so that you arrive just before hotel check-in time.

I understand that this goes contrary to what others are saying, but it's what I would do in your situation, so I just wanted to offer it as a viable option for you to consider.