Flying to Singapore in Sept - looking for cheap flight or code for airline....

meester

Sam_Bee wrote: »

Two things -

1) I wouldn't hope for much better in mid-july. However, no-one expected Malaysian to introduce specials from 05 August (it's normal for their fares to drop from 20 August). So if you can fit around that, do so. As from tomorrow, their prices will be about £100 more due to massive Fuel Surcharge increases.

2) Medans a difficult one. If you are happy for an additional change why not look at indirect to KL or Jakarta? Lion and Air Asia keep the KUL/CGK - MES fares low. Otherwise, don't expect anything better from the single change airlines (MH / SQ).

Yeah, in the past we have done LHR - AMM - BKK - KUL - MES with the stages from BKK on Air Asia.

The Air Asia service is better now, i.e kul-mes, there is alsoValuaair from SIN, but it's probably going to cost £100 or more return, plus the added inconvenince.

We'd do SQ on 4th July, unfortunately my son's school doesn't finish to 12th July, so we are looking at £930 on either MH or SQ for our dates.

Ouch.

aurora_borealis_2

I had to pay £880 for a direct flight in August. I looked and looked - called loads of agents too.

I have three flights a year to pay for - all in school holidays.

meester

Sam_Bee wrote: »

Two things -

1) I wouldn't hope for much better in mid-july. However, no-one expected Malaysian to introduce specials from 05 August (it's normal for their fares to drop from 20 August). So if you can fit around that, do so. As from tomorrow, their prices will be about £100 more due to massive Fuel Surcharge increases.

Do you have any details of the increase? Their surcharge is already high. Have they perhaps already increased it?

2) Medans a difficult one. If you are happy for an additional change why not look at indirect to KL or Jakarta? Lion and Air Asia keep the KUL/CGK - MES fares low. Otherwise, don't expect anything better from the single change airlines (MH / SQ).

CGK is not I think a useful routing because the flights there almost all stopover in SIN on the way, so you will get more choice/competition on LHR -SIN

Jetstar's Valuair SIN-MES fare is S$238 (S$107 fare, plus S$131 taxes), i.e. £90, arriving SIN from MES 22:25, and departing SIN for MES 19:05.

KUL - MES on Air Asia is 355 MYR, inclusive of 200MYR in taxes, i.e. just under £60

Finally, PEN - MES is only 228 MYR inclusive of 226MYR in taxes, under £40.

I guess TG LHR - BKK - PEN is then an option, especially if THAI will do a free stopover in BKK,which is never a bad thing.

Last time we went on I think 15th June, because that was the last date of SQ's promotional fare. Of course when it came to 15th June, it turned out that the promotion was extended, so it wasn't necessary to book that early.

This time with £930 the fare, I will just wait and check for a better fare, and if not, there's little reason not to leave it till the last minute.

Sam_Bee

meester wrote: »

Do you have any details of the increase? Their surcharge is already high. Have they perhaps already increased it?

Yes. The increase from tomorrow is £30 per sector LHR - KUL, and variably more for onwards flights, so you are looking at circa £100 extra per person from tomorrow.

Their last Fuel Surcharge increase was 8 days ago.

Far East carriers are going mental the last week. Thai will be introducing $240 per person for LHR - BKK return in a couple of days, so to Penang you are looking at about £160 extra. I guess they just ran out of hedged fuel.

No news re increase from Singapore Airlines so far.

I would really state to anyone booking a flight to the Far East in the next couple of weeks that every day you leave it, you are taking massive risks of your fares substantially increasing with little promise of them falling this year.

meester

Sam_Bee wrote: »

Yes. The increase from tomorrow is £30 per sector LHR - KUL, and variably more for onwards flights, so you are looking at circa £100 extra per person from tomorrow.

Their last Fuel Surcharge increase was 8 days ago.

Far East carriers are going mental the last week. Thai will be introducing $240 per person for LHR - BKK return in a couple of days, so to Penang you are looking at about £160 extra. I guess they just ran out of hedged fuel.

No news re increase from Singapore Airlines so far.

I would really state to anyone booking a flight to the Far East in the next couple of weeks that every day you leave it, you are taking massive risks of your fares substantially increasing with little promise of them falling this year.

Hmm, it doesn't look good, if prices are rising on competing airlines, there's little incentive for SQ not to increase surcharges, but £930 to me is premium economy, not 14 hours in cattle class on a flight I've paid half the price for in the past.....

Though:
LHR - KUL has taxes of:

GB United Kingdom: Air Passengers Duty GBP 40.00 each UB United Kingdom: Passenger Service Charge GBP 19.70 each MY Malaysia: Passenger Service Charge GBP 7.90 each YQ Surcharge GBP 177.20 each I take it 'surcharge' is the fuel surcharge.
A 747-400 takes 416 pax, and at 80% load factor, they are charging £59,000 per return flight, i.e. £30,000 each way.

Jet fuel costs $0.73 plus $0.60 per $25 in price barrel, per gallon.

So if the surcharge is relative to $25 pb oil, then that is an increase from $1.33/gallon to $3.95. I.e. $2.62/gallon. A 747-400 burns 3378 gallons per hour of fuel. If it takes 13 hours to get to KUL, that is 43,914 gallons. So the extra cost comes to $115,055 EACH way. Which suggests the fuel surcharge should be doubled, to £117,000 on a return flight, in other words a £350 surcharge. I'm not sure if any airlines are currently paying over $100/barrel, due to hedging, but things don't look like they will get any better.

I can't help thinking that they will have to cancel flights, at these prices a holiday to BKK or similar is not as appealing as it used to be!

divadee

we are flying to singapore in august via sinapore airlines. we hunted and hunted for cheap flights, if we have gone in may it would of cost us £1550 it actually cost us £2450 for 3 people in august.

I asked why at various agents and it is because of the olympics apparently. A few countries are having there training bases in singapore so the price has gone up apparently

Sam_Bee

meester wrote: »

I can't help thinking that they will have to cancel flights, at these prices a holiday to BKK or similar is not as appealing as it used to be!

I will trust your oil calculations!

Malaysian already have cancelled flights this summer. They introduced Gatwick - K.L flights from June - September, then cancelled them a few days before they were due to start. There is also talk of BA cancelling their Bangkok - Sydney flights soon.
Also divadee, you've had some strange answers - Olympics? Quite simply May is low season, and August is high season. The actual 'prices' are the same as they always have been for high season, but tax is a lot higher (whilst demand is stable). Don't forget that over 70% of people flying Singapore Airlines (from the UK) fly onto OZ/NZ so you have a lot of people flying back to see family & friends over the holidays - it's not just the people travelling to Asia.

meester

Hmm, I have checked MAS to KUL again, and the surcharge is still £177.20.

Sam_Bee

Quoted verbatim from airline, so it will be happening soon unless they have had 2nd thoughts:
Fares to all destinations, will increase by £30 in each direction per passenger. For example:
Deadline June 16th:
LHR LHR
+ £30 KUL +£30
KUL LGK
+ £30 KUL +£30
LHR LHR
Total increase in both scenarios = £60 per passenger
The following increase will apply (per passenger) to all other destinations:
UK to China + Total surcharge of £5 each way
UK to Korea + Total surcharge of £8 each way
UK to Australia/New Zealand + Total surcharge of £15 each way
UK to South East Asia + Total surcharge of £24 each way
UK to Hong Kong + Total surcharge of £4 each way
UK to India/Pakistan/Bangladesh + Total surcharge of £30 each way
UK to MLE + Total surcharge of £18 each way

meester

Sam_Bee wrote: »

Quoted verbatim from airline, so it will be happening soon unless they have had 2nd thoughts:
Fares to all destinations, will increase by £30 in each direction per passenger. For example:
Deadline June 16th:

I think my post originally was 16th June? Perhaps they had done it already???