Originally Posted by
JohnnyRockets
Kinda sucks that your best option is a flying sardine can. (Still light-years ahead of Ryanair)
For the 500+cash, it is a hit or miss thing too. You have to login and pick flights you want to redeem. On the checkout page or very near the end, there will be a slider bar where you can decrease the points and compensate with cash. Then compare that with the cash fare, sometimes it can be almost half price. The miss is that sometimes it is cheaper to pay the cash fare. Having sales or promos should increase your hit chance.
Full disclosure, it been over a year so things might change but this concept should still work.
Five and a half Hours are on AirAia X which is an A330.
Tip, pay for a seat in the quiet zone chances are you will get a row to yourself.
I never take the chance and use optiontown which just about always gets me a row for about AUD 40
The next flight is about 3 hours on which I book a hot seat and with a bit of tinkering with seat choices normally can get a row again.
As you say they are light years ahead of the likes of Ryanair and to be honest I dont mind them or KLIA2 once you get used too it which I am