I know this isnt the correct forum, but I dont know where else on this sit I could place it. Anyhow, here is my situation (not necessarily frequent flier mile related)

I booked the Malaysian Airlines access asia pass but am on the waitlist for the first leg (ive been on it for 3 months and am losing hope). I know intra asia flights (indochina and what not) are very cost friendly, but I need to find a cheap flight out of washington or new york (or anywhere in between) to singapore, or some other place in southeast asia. Where could i find these fares. It seems most sites, like travelocity, Orbitz, and others feature very little on travel to asia, especially with regards to deals. I was wondering where I could find such information... thanks.

U.S. to Asia is one market where a good travel agent pays off. My agent usually comes up with something much beter than the fares that show up on the Internet, but be sure to specify mileage eligible flights. Of the Interrnet sites, I prefer www.itasoftware.com .

UAL has had some NYC/BKK flights for around $715, is this your idea of cheap? Also AA let some inventory go cheap last July for fall travel.

I see that you are from maryland... the UA $715 to BKK applies from IAD as well.

where do you all find these fares? via travel agents? websites?

travelocity, orbitz, expedia, etc.

Everytime I look though I can only find fares to like Europe and the Carribean or places like that....

Try these to start:

http://dps1.travelocity.com/dreamMap...last_pgd_page=

http://beta.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/

http://www.asiaairfare.com/

Good luck.

(Sorry..hit the wrong button & sent this duplicate!)

I'm going to move this over to TravelBuzz. As the original poster indicated, this isn't about a Mileage Run, or about miles and points, so TravelBuzz seems the next logical destination. Please continue to follow this there.

Thanks,

Dave, a.k.a. dmfriedman
Moderator, Mileage Run

I made a trip two years ago using a Malaysia Airlines AccessAsia pass. I was waitlisted for a couple of legs of the trip for a few weeks, but after three months, I think I'd be considering alternatives too.

It was a great way to travel - they really look after you at MAS, and there's a lot to be said for booking everything on the same carrier. At the same time, I tend to agree that it's not always the most price-effective way to reach a bunch of different destinations when there are low cost carriers operating in Asia. Air Asia, in particular, offers spectacularly low fares, using Kuala Lumpur as a hub, and you can make bookings in advance through their web-site.

As far as finding cheap flights to Asia goes, you might want to look at SkyAuction.com. I think good deals come up there every now and again, although often they end up being close to market prices. Good luck!

Intra-Asia flights are only "cost friendly" on domestic routes in Malaysia and Thailand and mostly boring regional routes. Try flying to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, or Myanmar and see what kind of deals you will get from Singapore or KL. Right now, I am staring at a $500 return fare from Hong Kong to Hanoi, which is only 550 miles as the crow flies. Fortunately, other LCCs are being launched and open skies will force fares to fall on what are currently oligopolistic routes.

An unsolicited advice to the OP: You'd get better responses if you have a more descriptive title rather than simply "Asia".

Air Asia has multiple hubs actually (KL, JB, Bangkok) and it already connects 4 SE-Asian capitals (Bangkok-KL-Singapore-Jakarta). Beginning next month, it'll also fly to Macau (with onward sea transport to HK). That is all in addition to a heavy domestic route presence in both Thailand and Malaysia. The routes are pretty mainstream but what sets them apart are the fares - they start at about $25 each way which is pretty unbelievable for a route like BKK-Macau. One could feasibly stitch together a low fare itinerary that encompasses the original six ASEAN countries (with the exception of The Phillippines) without using an air pass.

I can't wait for Air Asia to penetrate the Indo-China market.

yeah i seem to have a problem with titling my threads. Any advice?