Srilankan 25% off travel fest

Srilankan is running a 25% off travel fest. But I am unable to find mouth watering deals

Only decent deal I could find was Chennai-Tokyo Narita one stop 33k return, which is just a few k cheaper than Chennai-Tokyp non stop flight on ANA. Last year I had seen this route being sold at 31k at its cheapest, 33k is close to that.

Sale is open for booking from now.
Travel date is 15th September till 15th July 2020- You've an year to plan. Several exclusion periods apply- Like Dec/Jan, April etc. More details here

But various destinations I was tracking weren't cheap. Chennai-Beijing PEK which I flew last year for 20k, shows at 50k, Gan Island where I flew for 10k costs 17k return. Melbourne seems reasonable at around 44k. Dubai, Muscat at around 15-17k is ok but not tempting enough to chose over similarly priced non stop flights.

However feel free to try for origin and destination you have in mind for multiple dates till July 2020. If you spot anything super cheap, let me know.

Related: Srilankan long haul economy review * 

BLR-Addis Ababa direct flight on Ethiopian with insane price tag [Updated]

Ethiopian airline has announced direct flight between Bengaluru to Addis Ababa from late October. After Delhi and Mumbai, BLR is 3rd Indian destination on Ethiopian's network.

While Ethiopian now certainly offers a quicker way to explore Africa from Bengaluru, they seem to have got the pricing too wrong. A round trip between Bengaluru and Addis Ababa, Ethiopian airline's hub costs 68-70k INR.

For 70K INR, I can go to any part of Europe, some part of USA and Japan/Australia or many other far off destinations. So why would I prefer to go to Africa? Even if I prefer to go to Africa, one stop flight via other airlines are almost half the price of Direct flight by Ethiopian. I am left to wonder why Ethiopian is pricing its ticket so high. I understand Ethiopian is the only non-stop flight between the two cities- some business travelers who value time might be OK coughing up 70k. But as a leisure traveler would you spend so much for a flight ticket to Ethiopia?

I somehow feel Ethiopian got over ambitious with its pricing. Will be curious to see if they will sustain this price over next few months or drop it further. I have a strong feeling that they are very likely to find it difficult to fill the plane at 70k return ticket. A launch fare of 25-30k INR return would have been very tempting to potential tourists. Normal fare of 40-50k is probably acceptable on a higher side. 70k is bit too discouraging-anyone not very particular will postpone their plans.

Icing on the cake is one stop flights via ADD to other African destinations is cheaper than flying to ADD. As you see below, flight to Nairobi via Addis Ababa is roughly 10k INR cheaper one way, around 20k cheaper for return ticket. Essentially what Ethiopian is saying is "Don't come to see Ethiopia, fly somewhere else with us via Ethiopia to save more money"

We need to note that ANA has priced Chennai-Tokyo return ticket at around 35-37k INR- twice the flying distance compared to BLR-Ethiopia at half the price.

I feel we should wait and watch till Ethiopian drops price to a more rationale level. What do you think? Are you excited about direct flight to Ethiopia from BLR at this price? If not what price is comfortable for you?

25th August Update
Ethiopian seems to have dropped the prices by about 20% from its peak- Now it is possible to book BLR-ADD return ticket for about 55k INR, 14-15k less compared to the earlier 68-70k INR fares. I think it proves my assessment that launch fares were too ambitious and didn't find too many takers, forcing airline to drop it a bit.

Story of Malaysian airport reducing lost baggage count by 90%

I read this interesting piece in a Malaysia newspaper few months ago. The news says baggage handlers were able to improve their efficiency and accuracy after being sensitivised on what happens when a customer doesn't get their bag.

It was a good read. I am unable to find online link though.

AirAsia Kolkata Yangon fare dropped to Match Indigo-12k return

Indigo is about to begin Kolkata to Yangon (Rangoon, capital of Myanmar) direct flights. from August 2nd week. Return fare is reasonably priced at around INR 11500-12000 for this flight.

Interestingly, I noticed that Air Asia has dropped its price to match Indigo for this particular sector. Air Asia offers a one stop flight via DMK so it is more time consuming and less convenient than Indigo's direct flight. Hence it is important for them to lure passengers with lower fares. Flight to Yangon from other Indian cities or flights to other destinations from Kolkata are almost 2x expensive for same dates.

I had visited Yangon couple of years ago. Do check my posts here

1. Planning your visit to Myanmar- things to know

2. Myanmar trip on low budget 

3. Finding veg food in Yangon n Bago, Myanmar

ANA Chennai-Japan Return from 37000 INR

ANA Japan's website has started accepting bookings for their Chennai-Tokyo Narita flight scheduled to begin from October 2019.

The return ticket between Chennai and Tokyo is currently being sold for 57000 JPY which translates to INR 37000 approx. Actual could vary a bit depending on date, currency conversion n other factors.

This is a great price for a non stop flight.. Essentially ANA has almost matched what Srilankan was offering Chennai NRT via Colombo.

However notice the red text- Subject to Government Approval- seems like there're some paperwork still pending. Might be safer to give some 15 days buffer and plan from mid-November than planning from October last week.

ANA Official website: https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/international/?type=ie

You can also book one stop flight to other destinations on ANA network, but pay attention to possible change of airports (HND vs NRT) and need for transit visa for Indians in Japan.

If you are planning, read my complete Japan travel guide here

Destination Alert- Guam Islands, USA

If you're looking for some new destinations to explore, check out Guam.

Guam islands is a small island (some 30x40kms), just 3.5 hours from Tokyo, Japan. But Guam is part of United States of America. Guam is US's farthest territory in the pacific ocean and hence closest for anyone in Asia to visit.

Visiting Guam gives you a feel of vising the mainland United States, as the town is 100% american. You can buy all original american goods for a fraction of what it costs in Asia.

Visiting Guam:
Both American and Japanese airlines offer connectivity to Guam from their hubs in USA and Japan respectively. A return ticket from India (like BOM or DEL) to Guam via Tokyo would cost around 70k INR. If you're go ing to Japan, extending your trip to visit Guam could cost about 25-30k more.

You can also plan a trip to Guam from Manila (Philippines)- around 22k, 4 hours flight, or from Seuol, South Korea (5 hours, 24k INR) etc. Of course you can fly to Guam from any airport- Bali, Singapore, Hongkong etc- one or the other airline flying to Guam will offer a one stop flight via their hubs.

You will still need US Visa to fly into Guam. Would have been good for Guam's tourism if the rules are a bit relaxed for tourists planning a visit to Guam alone.

Unfortunately vising Guam from USA mainland is an expensive affair- you've to take a long flight with a stopover in Honolulu costing a few thousand dollars round trip. Lot easier to visit from Asia.

History: Guam was mostly US Territory all along, except a short duration during world war 2 when Japan occupied the island. Few years ago Guam was in the news as North Korea said it had missiles that could reach Guam.

Guam airport code is GUM. Go prepared for a hot tropical climate.

Similar: Dili, East Timor * St Denis, Reunion Island * 

KLM BLR-Amsterdam Direct flight 40k INR return

KLM Royal Dutch is launching direct flight between Bengaluru and Amsterdam from November 2019.

Round trip tickets are priced from INR 39700 onwards.
The flight seem to be planned 3x a week- Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (on all other days one stop via Paris or Abu Dabhi or other stopovers)
Equipment: 787-9 (Dreamliner)

This is not the cheapest fare I have seen to Amsterdam from Bengaluru- during Qatar Airways sale you might be able to get return ticket to Paris and Amsterdam for about 31-35 if you're lucky. But that is not very often, so you're probably better off with KLM Direct flight if you have a need to travel. 40k is reasonable fare to Europe.

Plus, BLR people can now access 100s of destinations on KLM's network with one stop. Far away destinations that needed 2 stops earlier- can now be accessed one stop

KLM is world's oldest operational airline - 100 years and counting. KLM has merged with Air France and offers a wide network of flights from Europe to the world. Though their flights to India has been limited- only to Mumbai, Delhi, BLR and few other cities. Hopefully Air France KLM will add more flights to India. With their local partner Jet Airways shutting down, Air France shutting Joon there's room for more flights to India.

Related: KLM Lost n found video * 

Air Asia Cheap tickets from Kochi-November 2019

Air Asia has some cheap tickets from Cochin to various destinations for travel during November 2019.

Australia return for 22k, Bali, Manila, Vietnam etc for 14-15k return. Screenshots below, try your luck for more dates and destinations.

Same destinations are expensive by 2-3k if you're flying from Chennai, BLR or other nearby cities- but might still be worth (instead of spending on Chennai-Kochi flight ticket)- so you can check.

Malindo Delhi-Bali, Delhi-Sydney cheap tickets!

Malindo Air has Delhi-Bali return ticket for 18k for March 2020.

One way ticket to Sydney, Australia is available for 14k

More such destinations are available for relatively lower fares for March 2020- You can check and book now.

Note that above is super saver fare- no checked baggage is included in this fare- but meals and cabin baggage is included. You will get entertainment and some comfort kit like blankets as well.

Thanks to Narayanan Hariharan of Passingports for the tip off.

Chennai-Bali direct flight by Air India is expected soon.

Related: Malindo vs Air Asia * Bali topview from Malindo window seat * 

Ethiopian Mumbai-Nairobi return for 24k

Mumbai people, if you are thinking of visiting Africa, here's a chance.


Above: Contextual image: Ethiopian Coffee tasting at Times Travel Fair in Mumbai, Feb 2019

Ethiopian airline has cheap tickets to Nairobi, Kenya- INR 24000 return for October this year. Flying owards to Kenya is lot cheaper than booking return ticket to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Only Mumbai-Nairobi is cheap. Delhi-Nairobi costs a lot more. Note that Kenya Airways has direct flight between Mumbai and Nairobi but that would usually cost you around INR 33000+

24000 return is not super cheap, but flights to Africa aren't very cheap in general- so if you have to go this is a reasonable fare. Ethiopian is a full service airline so meals, baggage etc are included.

I had seen a 22000 INR return ticket to Egypt (Alexandria) from Chennai on FlyDubai but that fare is not available these days.

You can also try other destinations on Ethiopian network but these are the ones I found cheapest. I saw some ads on facebook showing super low fares, but these were not true.

Chennai-Tokyo NRT direct ANA flight booking opens next week

ANA or All Nippon Airways of Japan had announced direct flight between Chennai and Japan's Tokyo Narita Airport. After long time Chennai is getting some new international flights.

ANA was expected to launch daily service earlier but as of now is committing to only 3 flights per week. Flights will commence from October 27 and bookings will begin next week, from July 24.

At present cheapest option to fly to Narita is offered by either Srilankan (via Colombo) or Air Asia (via KUL)- it is possible to do a round trip at a lower price tag of INR 24000 to 38000 if planned well. [Check this post]. At this moment we don't know ANA's pricing- not expecting ANA to undercut Srilankan. At present ANA website sells Chennai to Tokyo ticket for around INR 60000 return, with one stop in Delhi or Mumbai with DEL-MAA/BOM-MAA operated by Vistara. The non stop flight needs to be cheaper than this- under 45000 INR will be super tempting. But at times non stop flights are also priced premium, to tap into business travelers who value time. Let us see.

Right now Vistara has neglected Chennai- doesn't fly to anywhere other than DEL and BOM from MAA. Let us see if ANA's entry encourages Vistara to connect more cities to Chennai...

Chennai-Tokyo will take around 10-11 hours of non stop flying.

All Japan travel planning info you may need:
1) Japan Tourist Visa for Indians

2) Useful Japan travel itineraries.

3) Japan trip on low budget- 77k all inclusive

4) 12 Experiences very unique to Japan

5) Japan Capsule Hotel experience 

6) One night at Hiroshima

7) Japan Bullet train experience 

8) All you need to know about JR Pass

9) Himeji Castle

10) Osaka from Umeda sky building

11) Bamboo forest, Kyoto

12) Kyoto city from Kyoto tower

Let me know when you book your ticket based on my alerts.

Air India flights from Mysuru to Hyderabad, Goa and Kochi

Mysuru airport has an on and off relationship with airlines. Airlines launch flight from Mysuru, but after sometime stop the flight, most understandably because of low bookings.

Above: Mysuru Palace illuminated

Kingfisher, Spicejet, Jet Airways had all started flights from Mysuru but later stopped.

So far, TruJet was the only airline operating an evening flight between Chennai and Mysuru. Mysuru airport was otherwise left idle.

There's a good news now though. Air India has announced direct flights from Mysuru to Kochi, Goa and Hyderabad, apart from a flight to Bengaluru. These new flights have been announced keeping in mind potential air travel during the 2019 Mysuru Dasara. If you're trying to book for Jan 2020 or beyond you won't be able to book most of these flights, hinting that they might be suspended if demand is not sustained beyond tourist season.

As of now pricing is reasonable and bookings can be done on air india website.

Air India Alliance Air Mysuru to Hyderabad flight timing and fare

Air India Alliance Air Mysuru to Kochi flight timing and fare

Air India Alliance Air Mysuru to Bengaluru flight timing and fare

Air India Alliance Air Mysuru to Goa flight timing and fare

Mysuru is cultural capital of Karnataka and also provides easy access to Ooty, Wayanad, Madikeri and other nearby tourist spots.

Are we getting automated boarding gates soon?

I spotted this machine at Bhubaneswar's Biju Patnaik International Airport this month.

I had spotted this machine at Imphal Airport last month.

These machines were just placed near the gate, not yet connected or operational. But I believe the intention is to use them soon- that's why they are procured and placed.

What are these?
This is a machine that can scan your boarding pass and if found valid, open the gate. Such machines are in extensive use in USA and Europe-very minimal staff and most people pass through airport gates without human verification.

This report says Bengaluru Airport has introduced one such gate on a trial basis earlier this year. Hyderabad airport is also allowing soft copy boarding pass. Rest of the airports in India are yet to catch up- the still require an airline staff to scan the boarding pass and let passengers through.

Automation is the way forward. Having automated gates has multiple benefits
- Less manpower needed- airline can save cost. At present, at least 2 to 4 staff from airline + one security staff man each gate- this can be reduced to just one person, just to keep an eye and step in if needed.
- Faster boarding- less gate time required and airlines can have faster turn around
- Saves environment as printed boarding pass is no longer needed.

Spicejet Kolkata-Dhaka: My Shortest flight Experience

My first international trip was with Spicejet- Chennai- Colombo in 2011. Since then Spicejet has added several international destinations to its network- Dubai, Muscat, Hong Kong, Male and many more, but whenever I checked I didn't find their pricing cheap enough or tempting enough to book.

Recently as I planned a trip to North East & Kolkata I thought of making a short visit to Dhaka. Spicejet had a return ticket of Rs 7700 between Kolkata and Dhaka, which was cheapest at that time so I booked.

This post shares my flight experience.

Pre-flight
Spicejet made several attempts to make me buy Spicemax- costs another 1200 Rs + tax for CCU-DAC sector one way, gets me some extra leg room, a sandwich (officially called "meals", I call it piece of bread) and priority boarding. I declined to upgrade as I didn't see any value.

Kolkata-Dhaka
Kolkata Dhaka morning flight is operated by turboprop Q400 (Spicejet has two flights a day between CCU and DAC, evening one was on 737). Flight was at 7.20 AM. Spicejet sends default sms to all passengers to report at airport 3 hours before the flight. I reached at about 5 AM, more than 2 hours to spare. But row D, which was meant for Spicejet's international check-ins, was deserted inside Kolkata airport- there was no one. So I went to another row in which Spicejet Check-in was going on-after standing in line for 20 minutes my turn came- I was told to go back to Check-in Row D as this counter was only for domestic flights... (Kolkata airport has no separation of terminals)

I went back to Row D- now it was open and few people were ahead of me. If they are opening the counter only 2 hours before departure, why ask passengers to come 3 hours prior?

There was only 1 lady processing check-ins. No spicemax counter, no second person. There were about 7 to 10 people ahead of me in the line, but it took about 30-40 minutes to process them.
- Some people had not got their check-in bags scanned so were sent back and they would cut the queue and squeeze in
- Some would have more bags or overweight bags and would argue with staff and resist payment
- Some would take minutes to lift their bags and put on the scale- no help was around when needed

There was one person sitting behind the counter named "Wheelchair assistance"- he was probably checking visa details- I skipped him because I didn't know he is checking visa and when I realized there were 7 people behind me, so I didn't want to leave the queue and join at the end.

Around 6 AM a second staff arrived to man the second check-in counter. By about 6.15 I had my boarding pass finally. More than an hour wasted unnecessarily.

Security and immigration cleared under 10 minutes as there was no crowd at 6 AM

The onward flight on Q400 lasted just 25 minutes. Crew would serve piece of bread ("meals") before take off as they wouldn't have enough time to serve once airborne). This is my shortest flight ever. Even Chennai-Bengaluru is bit longer at 40-45 minutes.

Flight was on time.

Return flight
Dhaka Kolkata evening flight was on a 737-800. I was hoping it will reach even quicker-but it took 37 minutes- about 12 minutes longer than the turboprop Q400. My guess is this was out of some compulsion/operational reasons and not due to speed of aircraft.

 Looks like the aircraft was used by a German carrier earlier...

Spicejet tries to speed up boarding by allowing people in groups- like row 20-30 first, 10-20 next etc- but this exercise is futile as everyone get mixed up in the bus downstairs and when the bus reaches aircraft, those who got into bus last get to board the bus first- so row 1 to 10 will be actually boarding first, blocking path for Row 20-30 people, exactly opposite effect of what Spicejet hoped to achieve.

Noticed that spicejet also operates Guwahati-Dhaka flight. Also it seems Spicejet has discontinued "meals" on Spicemax domestic flight. Noticed Spice Biz being promoted in the SpiceRoute magazine, though they plan to replace the biz class with economy seats soon.

Notice that meals and drink are only on international flights now for Spicemax customers.

Kolkata Dhaka is half the distance of Kolkata-Imphal I had flown last month. Still because it is an international segment, pricing is 2-3x more than what a Kolkata-Imphal flight would cost.

Was good to fly Spicejet after long time. Even domestically, it has been about 2 years since I last flew spicejet. 

Chennai-Can Tho (Vietnam) 15k INR return on Air Asia!

Vietnam on your mind? You can fly cheap to a lesser known destination, Can Tho in Vietnam for cheap on Air Asia this October.

Earlier this year, Air Asia has started flying to Can Tho, a city in Vietnam 175 kms south of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city). Cheap return ticket to Can Tho is available for INR 15k from Chennai and few other Indian cities.

A smarter option will be to fly into Can Tho, then go north to Saigon, then visit Hanoi and return from Hanoi. This way you don't have to travel back to Can Tho. Return ticket from Hanoi to Chennai is priced same as Can Tho to Chennai.

Note that Air Asia is having an IT systems outage right now, so you can't book. But this is expected to be resolved any moment.

Read these posts for your Vietnam trip
1. Vietnam Visa for Indians
2. 10 things to know before planning Vietnam trip
3. Vietnam on Low budget
4. Vietnam tourist scams
5. Vietnam vs Thailand
6. Water Puppet Show, Hanoi
7. Halong Bay Cruise
8. Firing an M16 Assault Rifle.

Cheap ticket to Japan-23 to 38k return

Super cheap tickets are available to Japan on Air Asia and Srilankan for travel in October and November 2019. Check this and plan your dream trip to Japan now

On Air Asia, you can book a Chennai to Tokyo Narita round trip for as low as INR 23000 return.
Option 1: Depart on 22nd October and return on 6th or 7th November- about 2 weeks trip for 24000 INR (Actual fare is bit less once you login to big account- I've not done so to show fares on adjacent dates)

Option 2:  Or depart early October and return by October 21st from Tokyo Narita- two to three weeks trip- about 26k INR

 Chennai-Japan Option 3: Or Fly to Osaka on October 19th, return on 6th or 7th November- for 25k.

Or Option 4 book two one way tickets-Fly to Narita as shown in Option 1 for 12k and return from Osaka as shown in Option 3 for 12 k- 24k round trip.

Points to note on Air Asia flight:

• Above are regular fares- you will pay a few hundred less once you login using your AirAsia big account.
• Chennai-Kuala Lumpur will be 4 hours, KUL to NRT or KIX is about 8 hours. (Read my Air Asia ultra long haul flight experience)
• Air Asia fare shown above doesn't include meals and baggage, which will be extra.
• Checked baggage from India to Japan return will cost about 7500-8000 Rs for a 20kg bag. Few thousand more if you need to carry 25 or 30kg or more.
• For about 4 to 6 meals you would need during this long flight between India and Japan- it will be around INR 2500-4000 per person depending on your choice of menu. So that is about 10000-11000 Rs extra minimum for meals and bag. 24k+11k= 35k. 

If you can manage without checked bag, then Air Asia deal is very good.

Book Chennai-Tokyo return on Srilankan for 38k INR
If you need meals and baggage allowance, you might as well book on full service airline Srilankan. For various dates in October, November, Chennai to Tokyo Narita return ticket is available for 38k approx. Srilankan fare includes meals, baggage, in-flight entertainment, comfort kit etc.

So you might want to consider this as well. On Srilankan it will be about 1 hour to Colombo and then a long 10 hour flight to Tokyo Narita. Read my long haul flight experience with Srilankan (Colombo-Beijing)

Srilankan doesn't fly to Osaka or Haneda. On Srilankan I had once seen a lowest fare of 32000 return for Chennai-Tokyo. But such low fares may not return often. 38k is not bad, particularly since travel is few months away only and you don't have to commit years in advance.

I had visited Japan on AirAsia for about 20k in 2016. But getting such low fares is difficult now due to various reasons. The 23-25k shown above is fairly reasonable low fare ticket I have seen in recent times. Go ahead and book.

All Japan travel planning info you may need:
1) Japan Tourist Visa for Indians

2) Useful Japan travel itineraries.

3) Japan trip on low budget- 77k all inclusive

4) 12 Experiences very unique to Japan

5) Japan Capsule Hotel experience 

6) One night at Hiroshima

7) Japan Bullet train experience 

8) All you need to know about JR Pass

9) Himeji Castle

10) Osaka from Umeda sky building

11) Bamboo forest, Kyoto

12) Kyoto city from Kyoto tower

Let me know when you book your ticket based on my alerts.