jpatokal

The plan: two weeks, four flights, four different low-cost carriers. Why? Part cheap weekend gateway, part cost-cutting measures bestowed from above. So far my Asian LCC jaunts have been almost exclusively on Air Asia (the sole exception being a scary flight on Orient Thai), so I figured it was time to collect the rest of the fast-growing set. At time of writing, the following LCCs ply these routes:

SIN-BKK: Air Asia (FD), JetStar Asia (3K), Tiger (TR), ValuAir (VF)
BKK-CNX: Air Asia (FD), Nok (DD), Orient Thai (OX)
KUL-KCH: Air Asia (AK)

The ones on my agenda are bolded. To top it off, you can also fly SIN-CNX direct on TR, a route which a friend of mine will be trying next weekend and I hope to add in her experiences as well.

Edited: Added in a later VF flight to round out the collection, and also a Malaysia Air Asia (AK) flight for lack of a better place to stick it.

jpatokal

Tiger TR116 BKK-SIN A320 S$59+taxes

For the first flight I chose Tiger because they offer reasonably priced one-ways and the best schedules with 4 flights per day in each direction.

I get to Changi an hour before departure, 15 minutes before the flight closes. There are two desks open, only one of which has a customer, so I pick the other one who is clearly only some chewing gum (fortunately banned in SIN) and a couple of "like ohmygawds" short of a Valley Girl. She spends several minutes pondering over the impenetrable mysteries of my passport, performing complex mental arithmetic and consulting her long-suffering colleague before informing me that that it will expire in "around 7 or 8 months". I assure her that this is more than sufficient, but I have already applied for a new one anyway (that very morning, as it happens) and she eventually manages to check me in. To her credit, I was flying one-way which probably sets off an alarm bell or two, and my three bags of cabin luggage pass without comment.

A sequence number of "27" scrawled on the back of my boarding pass confirms my suspicion that there won't be much in the way of load, but the ticket still warns to get to the gate 30 minutes before departure or risk being left off the plane (!). So I dutifully head down -- it's not like I have a lounge to sip cocktails in -- and watch people trickle in nonchalantly for the next 30 minutes, right until boarding starts. The other pax consist of shopping-bag laden Thai ladies on their way back, one family with kids, some Thai businessmen, a few scruffy Western backpacker types... I seem to be the only one with a gold tag hanging off their luggage.

The plane is on time and it's a spanking-new Airbus A320, in much better shape than, say, the 1980s-vintage TG A300 I've ended up on so often. Pitch is expectedly atrocious but with load factor hovering at less than 20% I get a full three seats to myself, as does everybody else. The safety demo includes the rather Singaporean touch of intoning that removal of life jackets from seats outside an emergency is a criminal offence.

Soon enough we're airborne and the next announcement tells us, rather alarmingly, that "the girls will come flying down the aisle" soon with duty-free goods and snacks. A menu is passed out, and I'm sure all regular SQ F flyers out there will be green with jealousy to hear that offerings include the nectar of the gods known as Billygoat Hill Wine in a Can, on sale for S$4 for 250mL. (Next time I'll get one as a souvenir.) I fork out S$10 for a Foccica(sp) Bread with Chix and Mozzellera(sp) Cheese Sandwich and a Cream of Chicken Soup, and soon remember why it's usually not a good idea to order food with multiple misspellings. For my S$7 I get a flat slab of something that tastes vaguely like deep-fried pizza dough with generic cheese and something vaguely chickeny inside, not a single vegetable in sight, and my S$3 soup is prepared by pouring hot water onto a dehydrated mix and tastes like it too. With no receipt I can't even charge it to the company, and you can't bring your own food on the plane either or you'll be sued for defamation, caned and thrown out in midair (I presume).

Surprisingly quickly we're descending and after a reasonably smooth landing Tiger Airways is "delighted" to welcome us to Bangkok 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

Verdict: If you want to get from point A to point B and don't mind tightening your belt for two hours, Tiger is a good way to go. Especially on days when nobody else is flying.

Fliar

Thanks for writing this up. May I ask, why was your flight on Orient Thai scary?

jpatokal

The planes are antique, they're always late, and while waiting for takeoff the power went off half a dozen times until some guy with a toolbox banged around in the belly of the Jumbo for a while and made things work. See this report for a bit more detail. There was also a good thread with an ex-OX pilot chiming in, which of course I can't find, but Google finds another comforting thread entitled Orient Thai Plane Nearly Hit Tokyo Tower which I didn't even know about.

Fliar

jpatokal

Laaaaaaaadies and gentlemen, live from the post office of BKK's domestic terminal, it's... jpatokal!

I'd checked earlier in the morning and there seemed to be a fair bit of availability, so I showed up at Don Muang and tried to inveigle my way in on the 16:05 flight, instead of the 19:25 I'd booked. I give the guy my itinerary and ask if I can change to earlier flight? "No problem!" and he types away, first happily, then increasing concerned. You have reservation, yes? Yes, I do, on the 19:25, can I change? Tappity-tap, quick discussion with lady next to him and supervisor, sucking of teeth, "cannot, all full". OK, how about if I take Business Class? Same pattern repeats, lady next to him says a chirpy "Dai!" in Thai, lady behind disagrees. Sorry, cannot, all full. Uh-oh. Standby how? Repeat, even longer discussion this time, sorry, cannot standby either, in fact with my ticket class I supposedly can't change at all except a day in advance, although Nok Air's site disagrees.

Oh well. I'm still not sure if there actually were seats or whether the lady in the back was exercising her authority for the sheer joy of exercising her authority... so here I sit at the post office's solitary Internet machine, slaughtering minutes at the rate of 100 baht for 90 min. Another two hours until my flight, and the fact that air con seems to have broken down in the terminal ain't helping...

jpatokal

Nok DD8326 BKK-CNX B737 B1450+taxes

Eventually 6 PM rolled around and I checked in for the flight I was supposed to take all along. I headed past security into the domestic boarding area, only to realize that there isn't a single flight info screen anywhere, just tons of TVs blaring Blade 2, and I didn't know what gate I'm supposed to go to! However, given that there's just one wing this wasn't a terribly big problem, and when my flight showed up on one of the gate monitors I spotted it before the announcement welcoming passengers on this "Nok Air fright" to board was made.

Thai's influence in the airline, down to the boarding passes and shared ID check counters, was evident and even the plane, a bog-standard B737, flew in Thai colors not very long ago. The uniforms are distinctly different though: all staff are wearing screaming yellow shirts with blue jeans! The plane was packed to capacity, even in business class ("Nok Plus"), but thanks to assigned seat numbers and a professional crew things went smoothly, except for a 15-minute wait for takeoff as BKK was, as usual, congested in the evening. Announcements were made in Thai and English, although (also typically) the supposedly English ones were garbled to the point of incomprehensibility. The drink and snack cart rolled around -- no menus though, which made ordering a little difficult, and I didn't even try -- and soon enough it was time to land. There was a bit of a storm brewing and the descent was a little bumpy, but nothing too bad... the only minor headache was the taxi stand, as I got my coupon in the arrivals hall and was pointed in exactly the wrong direction, but CNX isn't exactly LHR and it didn't take too long to reorient my way into the cab.

Verdict: Aside from the inflexibility issues griped about earlier, and the language issues that mothership TG also struggles with, Nok seems to do a pretty good job and I'll be happy to fly them again.

And oh yes, a lodging recommendation: Baan Orapin (http://www.baanorapin.com/). 1000 baht/night gets you & yours a room in a beautiful wooden Thai-style house, with all mod cons (air con, hot water, good bed, etc) and within easy walking distance of the Ping River and the Night Market.

jpatokal

Air Asia FD3233 CNX-BKK B1200+taxes

After an adventurous weekend in northern Thailand involving, among other things, an epileptic trekking guide and Thai whiskey tonics it was time to head back bright and early on the first flight of the day from CNX, which happened to be on my old friend Air Asia. The airport was just a 10-min hop away on Chiang Mai's new metered taxi service -- the city currently has thirteen (13) of these fine vehicles, so book in advance like I did! -- and check-in was effortless.

I've flown Air Asia quite a bit and today's flight was one of those where everything went like clockwork. Arrival on time, boarding on time, plane around 95% of capacity but still orderly (and there's always a seat for a single traveler). The plane was, as always, a B737, this time one of the newer ones (AAK) with easily cleaned leather seats and the standard paint job. The menu, an exercise in minimalism, offered me the choice between a boring chicken sandwich and a boring tuna sandwich; I chose chicken, washed it down with a pack of apple juice and happily paid 80 baht (around S$3) for the privilege. The plane landed in Bangkok 5 minutes ahead of schedule -- this is normal, AK/FD schedule things like this to improve their on-time records! -- we rolled up to a tube and I was in and out of BKK in less than 10 minutes.

Verdict: Flew 'em before, will fly 'em again. "No frills, no hassles," as a fellow passenger quite succinctly summed it up.

aisleorwindow

Thanks for posting jpatokal!
I am flying AirAsia in May BKK-CNX-BKK-SIN and am very pleased to read pleasant experiences. Considering that itinerary cost me $77 including all taxes and fees, I really shouldn't expect luxury .
Is it true that because of the non-assigned seating that people get in line 45 minutes before boarding? I am traveling with my gf, so would like to get seats together if possible.

jpatokal

AK/FD are usually either a) fine, or b) horrible. The SIN-BKK sector, I'm afraid to say, has a particularly bad rep: one friend's flight was delayed by over 10 hours (!), although they did notify in advance the day before by SMS ("your flight is now scheduled to depart at 4:30 AM!"), while another had 3 hours of delay with no advance warning. Flights from FD's home base BKK should be slightly more reliable though.

In 10+ flights I've seen that happen exactly once (BKK-KUL), and on that particular occasion the queue formed before the plane arrived at the gate (!) so we just rolled our eyes and stayed seated. When it eventually did arrive, nearly an hour late, we got seats together easily. So I wouldn't worry about it too much.

glorialf

I've booked Baan Orapin for two weeks next January. I'd love to hear more details.

And oh yes, a lodging recommendation: Baan Orapin (http://www.baanorapin.com/). 1000 baht/night gets you & yours a room in a beautiful wooden Thai-style house, with all mod cons (air con, hot water, good bed, etc) and within easy walking distance of the Ping River and the Night Market.[/QUOTE]

jpatokal

Umm, not all that much more I can say... it's a renovated old Thai house, so small that the rooms don't have numbers or names, and the pictures on the website give a pretty good idea. Classical teak furniture, old-school four-poster beds with mosquito nets, the cheapest minibar I've ever seen (beer 25B!), bathroom amenities on the basic side but sufficient, wake-up call at 6:15 AM courtesy of a cicada on steroids. It's not 5-star luxury, and two weeks seems like a pretty long time to stay there -- or anywhere in Chiang Mai, it's just not that big! But it's a refreshing break from normal hotels and resorts. Note that it's a little tough to find if you don't know where it is, so try to pick a taxi driver who knows where to go...

jpatokal

JetStar Asia 3K514 BKK-SIN B1700+taxes

After a couple of changes of plan I finally booked myself on JetStar at rather short notice, and indeed the price climbed by B400 during the two days I vacillated. This particular flight is, in fact, quite new as 3K used to fly to Pattaya, switching to BKK instead only in March. One of two services daily, 8 PM's not a bad time for a flight, but the problem in Bangkok is the traffic gridlock that tends to set in after 5 PM; I overcompensated and was at the airport shortly after 6, stuck in loungeless limbo.

Check-in was smooth and I was glad to get seat 1D -- at least until I remembered that the flip side to legroom is that you have to stow everything overhead. Yes, JetStar does seat numbers and even gives you an actual boarding card, albeit a "TAGS"-branded one instead of their own. A guy in glasses went around tagging everybody's hand luggage with screaming orange "Acceptable Cabin Baggage" strips; he blinked a little at my combo of rollaboard, backpack & bag but chose not to make an issue. In the end the only negative was that my little diary, where I'd copied the booking number, was left at the desk, but the JetStar staff at the gate arranged to have it brought in and all was peachy again.

Boarding was on time and orderly, the squeaky-clean leather-seated A320 was filled up by rows to perhaps 80% capacity but I had the front row all to myself. Stewards and stewardesses -- excuse me, "Customer Service Coordinators" (that's what the tags said!) -- strutted around the cabin in natty black uniforms with orange trim, which are downright stylish at least by LCC standards. And instead of the usual LCC emptiness, each seat pocket was stuffed with a copy of Inside Golf and there were a bunch of Carma mags also lying around, not that either is really my cup of tea though. The usual Bangkok evening runway traffic jam slowed down things a little -- along the way I managed to spot newcomer Thai Sky Airlines' L-1011 sitting on the tarmac -- but within 15 minutes we bounced into the sky.

Today's "tantalizing hot meal choices" were nasi lemak and, um, nasi lemak, this being a Malay concoction of rice in coconut milk and goodies on the side. For S$8 I tried my luck and was positively surprised: with omelette, sambal veggies, fishcake, cucumber, chicken wing and the obligatory dab of chilli, all heated up and served on a real banana leaf (in a box), this was distinctly superior to the $1 hawker centre takeaway kind, and would probably have cost at least S$2-3 in Singapore -- although I had to shed a tear over the lack of any ikan bilis (crispy anchovies), usually regarded as indispensable, and a plastic spoon is really not my implement of choice for tackling chicken wings. On the plus side, unlike Tiger they managed to print up a neat receipt for me!

The flight landed around 5 minutes late, immigration was painless as always (not many Access Card Holders on LCCs, I see...), but I was quite surprised to run into a massive queue at the taxi stand -- I've never seen one in SIN before! But as it was close to midnight and I was heading way out west I figured it'd be a lot faster, and only a bit more expensive, to take the fixed-fare S$35 limo and I did. Indeed, the driver tells me that such queues are quite common around midnight at T1 as there's a burst of arrivals (a phenomenon mirrored at BKK, I might add), but T2 is usually less packed; taking the Skytrain over there might thus also be an option.

Verdict: Overall, I'd hit it. The smoothest LCC experience so far and certainly the best food.

onedog

Thanks for the trip reports on these emerging LCCs.^

Not much information on these new carriers here on FT and so its hard to research on wether to use them or not for us US based flyers who are planning overseas holidays.

jpatokal

Valuair VF301 BKK-SIN A320 S$131 incl. taxes

And finally it was time to complete my collection and try out Valuair, a bit of a strange duck in many respects. Started by a bunch of disgruntled ex-SQ folks as the first of Singapore's LCCs, they appear serious about the "value" bit and, instead of just cutting costs to the bone like everybody else, actually offer a free hot meal, free newspaper, assigned seating, generous seat pitch (36"?), audio channels and even movies on long flights, etc. Alas, their pricing is also a cut above the competition -- in particular, their one-way fares are quite high -- and SQ has done their level best to squish them with promos on all the sectors they fly. With all this it's no surprise that they're generally judged the least likely to survive the upcoming inevitable LCC bloodbath... but some luck/skill with landing rights, notably being the sole Sing LCC to fly to Jakarta, Perth, and now Chinese destinations Xiamen and Chengdu means that they have a few licenses to print money and shouldn't be counted out yet.

But today's flight was a short hop on the heavily competed SIN-BKK sector, the one-way fare was as usual steep but so was everybody else's, providing the perfect excuse to try out VF. It was midday at midweek, but load appeared quite good (80-90%), much of it apparently consisting of a mainland Chinese tour group, all loudly dressed middle-aged Chinese women (total ''obatarian'', for any Japanese-speakers in the audience). I was assigned an aisle seat without asking and there turned out to be nobody else in my row after the sole other occupants decamped elsewhere. The plane was spanking new, if in a white-gray-lurid green decor that just yells "cheap", but clean and airy. The seat pitch really was amazing for an LCC, I can actually see myself sitting in this plane for a trip to Oz or China! Interestingly all flight announcements were in English and Chinese (not Thai), which matched the composition of both customers and staff -- precious few Thais or other races in sight, just a few token ang moh like myself. Valuair has also taken the rather unusual step of turning its air crew into advertising billboards, as staff all sported polo shirts touting Somerset, a Singaporean service apartment chain.

The flight pushed off on time, although (this being BKK) it sat on the tarmac for a while waiting for its slot before taking off. But soon enough with a scarcely perceptible "boink" the sprightly A320 bounced to the skies and up across central Bangkok before disappearing into the clouds. Meal service started promptly and consisted of tasteless fried instant noodles with frozen veggie mix and chicken chunks plus an orangey-mangoey synthetic jelly, hardly gourmet fare but still better than Tiger's S$8 sandwich. Water is free, everything else from the "V-Lounge" menu costs S$2-4. (You can even buy a blanket for S$4!)

Uniquely among Asia's LCCs (as far as I know) Valuair also runs a basic FFP entitled Valupoints. The rules are simple enough: each VF flight (one way) nets you 2-5 points, and you can get a free return ticket for 40 (BKK) to 100 (PER) points if you rack up enough points within one year. If you do the math, this means you get one free return trip for every 10 return trips you fly. Interestingly the FFP overhead is outsourced to the passenger: redemption is done by physically bringing your boarding cards over to a VF ticket office.

Verdict: Definitely the best of the bunch, but needless to say that free lunch will show up in your ticket price.