Cheapest way to jump in and out of Australia??

[raff]

I consider myself pretty experienced at travelling on the DSP although I must admit that finding this forum has made my year. I've been heading overseas since I first qualified for the DSP back in the early 90s. I spent my time in South East Asia and India and have seen a good whack of pretty much every country in the region apart from the Phillipines and Indo.

Now that there is a half decent chance that I will be reduced to a 6 week escape at a time I need to get a little more creative with the way I travel in and out of the country. With the rise of Air Asia things have become much cheaper than when i first started travelling so I am hoping that with the combined wisdom and accumulated miles travelled amongst those in this forum we might be able to work out some ways to save a few bucks travelling back and forth.

So folks, for example if I was in Thailand and wanted to jump in and out of Australia for the least amount of dosh what would be the best way to go about it??? I do seem to remember that there were cheap flights in and out of darwin from Indo back in the day, is this still the case?? Luckily as long as I have my meds I can handle overland and oversea travel so getting myself closer to Darwin so the fare isn't too drastic isn't out of the bounds of possibility.

Also, has anyone given any thought to all of us getting our spending dollar together somehow and possibly aiming for a deal with Air Asia etc??? I can't say that I am positive but I bet if there was 20 to 40 of us using their services regularly I reckon we could bargain for some extra benefits if not a special pricing structure...

[Banjo]

We have a couple of travel advice headings down the bottom of the home page if you want to check them out.

[Banjo]

There you go, I've moved it to the travel section.
To your last suggestion, I did think of it and even pondered the logistics of chartering a flight, but we're an elusive and contrary lot, the savings would have to be spectacular to get a decent group together and then get them to agree on departure points, destinations and travel dates.

[latindancer]

Scoot Air flights to Singapore from Gold Coast are only just over $200, but the idiots were 6 hours late on Monday, so I missed my connecting flight in Singapore....which I had paid for. They fly out of other cities.

[Banjo]

This is a problem with budget airlines but the big guys get it wrong sometimes as well.
Virgin dumped me a Sydney too late for my Emirates flight to BKK last year but put me up in a nearby hotel with food vouchers.
They promised to fix my connecting flights but Emirates knew nothing about it the next day... just thought I was a no show, but got got me on that days flight.
Still waiting to hear form Virgin about the Air Asia flight I missed in BKK.

[Denis-NFA]

I have been doing direct flights Darwin Manila with Jetstar - 4 and 1/2 hours.

CebuPacific Airlines have announced they will be commencing flights to Darwin from 1/7/2013.

Presumably it is all to cater for Northern Australian mining operations but the Philippine Govt are trying to ramp up tourism to the Philippines so they may have some airline subsidy on the go.

The other thing I have noticed is that flights from Manila and Cebu to most Asian mainland countries are pretty bloody cheap.

[Banjo]

Back in the day I made many a trip to Manila from Sydney, wasn't cheap and requiring several water bags.

I have a mate there now who lives in Cebu/the Vasayas and he often boats and buses his way to Singapore and gets a cheap flight to Australia there.
I once thought about doing that from Darwin to Thailand, train, bus, ferry and even mapped it out but decided it would probably kill me before I got there.

[zorro1]

thai airways $350 - perth all year round

every 6 weeks = PLATINUM card

you wont have to buy food or drinks for nearly 3 days

lounge-flight- buy food hotel- back to lounge (early) flight-home

;D

[bundyrum]

i use to do the day trip bali to darwin...a/asia..2.40 pm arrive..jetstar out..7.30 pm..a/asia has stopped that flight..and this trip is why they cancelled me..jetstar still fly in at around 10..pm or so..and 3am..great not...oh well.told them I had to get back for medical treatment...but they seemed to make it a residency benifit now,,,disability and quality of life don.t count..Cebu does a 12.30 am flight...Jakarta to Manilla..there bout 5.30..am.last time I did it it was $129...return..but u goota get specials..have yer email set up for all newsletters..cheers.

[howdo]

I am willing to change states to get cheap flights to the destinations I want to go to. After all, didn't they say there is no limit to the new six week fly in fly out rules.

[anotherdsp]

to howdo, yeah thats what i was thinking,fly out of perth on air asia,book well in advance it prob not to bad,frequent flyers card,same day turn around to bali,prob 100$ return??

[Banjo]

You have to consider all factors when costing, it's cheaper for me to live in Adelaide than Darwin or Perth so this offsets the cost of flying.
I also have family in Adelaide so that's another factor.
If I'm going to use the 6 week portability I doubt my health would be up to 7 or 8 flights a year even if my wallet was so I have to cover my living costs during body and wallet recovery times.

I made a point for rowdy's HRC complaint that even the old the portability rules effectively impoverished us. I was reasonably financially secure ten years ago, now I have SFA.
People like Latindancer who are trying to bring their partners to Australia are struggling even more, because it's bloody hard to do without money.

[howdo]

Jun 24, 2012 7:25:20 GMT 7 anotherdsp said:

to howdo, yeah thats what i was thinking,fly out of perth on air asia,book well in advance it prob not to bad,frequent flyers card,same day turn around to bali,prob 100$ return??

Mate I've just had a look at Jet star out of Darwin to Bali return, leaving either end of July or end of August for 3 months and it's under $200 return.

[howdo]

The problem with Darwin seems to be the cost of accommodation if you have to stay overnight. Not seen anything under $100, may pay to fly through the night or sleep at the airport.

[Banjo]

I was a regular sleeper at airports, particularly BKK, then found the Silver Gold Garden hotel.
Free pick up and drop off with brekky $24 a night.