Travelling the world in luxury for less a week at a time
My China Airlines review will reveal exactly what it’s like to fly economy class from Sydney to Taipei on flight CI52. It’s worth noting that despite the name, China Airlines does not actually originate from mainland China, but rather from the little island of Taiwan. I wasn’t expecting much from my China Airlines economy flight given the tiny amount I paid for my ticket, but I was pleasantly surprised at every turn and you just might be as well …
When we needed to book a Koh Samui to Phuket flight we had zero choice in carriers. Bangkok Airways was the one and only airline flying the short USM – HKT route direct. The flight was short and sweet, but on the pricey side for Asia. I guess you can do that when you own the airport and have a monopoly on the route. Read my full Bangkok Airways review for all the details…
I’m all about travelling in luxury for less and while I love a fancy flight at the pointy end of the plane, more often than not I will opt for a cheapie and spend my hard-earned on luxury experiences on the ground instead. Many Aussies give Jetstar a bad rap, but as it’s one of only a few budget airlines flying from Australia, I find myself booking Jetstar international flights often. The Jetstar flight to Hawaii is one of Jetstar’s longest routes. JQ3 from Sydney to Honolulu (SYD to HNL) is 10(ish) hours each way. The only other airlines that operate direct Sydney to Honolulu flights are Hawaiian Airlines and Qantas, but you can generally expect to pay double the cost of the Jetstar flight to Honolulu. Low Cost Carriers (LCC’s) are a no-brainer for short haul, everyone can put up with a little discomfort for an hour of so, but are the savings worth it for a longer trip? Read on to find out what it’s really like to fly Jetstar to Honolulu …
I realised as I started writing this Vietnam Airlines review that it’s been a while since I have flown a full service airline. In fact, the last time was a fabulous flight in first class on an Emirates A380, so I was as pleased as punch when I got a great deal on Vietnam Airlines economy class tickets from Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Up until recently the Vietnam Airlines B787 Dreamliner didn’t have much competition on the Sydney to HCMC route (VN772), but just after our trip Jetstar started flying direct from Sydney to Saigon at a much lower price point. So is it worth paying a few extra dollars for Vietnam Airlines 787 economy class? Read all the details of my Vietnam Airlines review to make up your own mind …
*** Updated November 2019 ***
I’m all about luxury for less and one of the ways I save money to splurge on the finer things in life is to use all my tricks to book bargain flights. I’ve taken four flights on Vietjet Air, all of which were under three hours. Given the short distance, we were not overly concerned about comfort and cost was the driving factor. We considered multiple budget Vietnam airlines and chose Vietjet Air every time. Our Vietjet domestic flights were mostly trouble free and you won’t believe how cheap they were! Read on for all the details …
As I am typing this I am sitting at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat airport onboard Vietnam Airlines flight VN773 bound for Sydney. I don’t often write my posts on the go, but I really wanted to capture how I felt ‘in the moment’ before my memory became jaded. Why? Because I’m more that just a little bit pleased with myself that I took a chance and registered for an Optiontown empty seat option all those months ago. I have to admit I was skeptical that it would actually come off, but here I am stretched out across 3 seats in my ‘economy class flat bed’ with a grin a mile wide on my face. The Hubs is doing the same in the row in front and we can hardly believe that we have six seats all to ourselves! If you want to enjoy your next flight with a little more room for a fraction of the cost, read on for all the details …
Airlines have been getting a bad rap lately. Unless you have been living under a rock, you will have heard all about United’s woes. First we had teenage girls denied boarding in what I have dubbed ‘leggingsgate’ and the latest scandal where a paying customer was forcible removed from an overbooked flight drew worldwide condemnation. Low Cost Carriers (LCC’s) get a bad rap at the best of times and Jetstar has had it’s own fair share of PR mishaps, like when they refused an arthritic child the use of a pillow on the way home from Bali. Or when they denied this family boarding in Hamilton Island. Or when they ejected two families returning to Adelaide for refusing to take their assigned seats. Slamming Jetstar is almost a national sport in Australia. Some genius even set up a website dedicated to gathering whinges from aggrieved passengers. So are Jetstar really that bad? In my experience, no. I’ve flown them countless times and while I have certainly experienced a few niggles, the bottom line is that the cost keeps drawing me back. On our Tasmanian road trip we took advantage of one of Jetstar’s free return flight specials and we lived to tell the tale. If you have never flown Jetstar and are wondering what to expect, read on for all the details …
I love luxury travel but I begrudge paying top dollar for it. This blog is dedicated to experiencing the champagne lifestyle on a beer budget and using your frequent flier points wisely is one of the best money saving hacks there is. That’s exactly what we did for our recent trip to New Zealand. We blew a heap of points to fly across the Tasman on Emirates A380 Business Class for nix. Was it worth it? Read on for all the details …