Best time to book flights for September-October 2015

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Hintermann

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Location
Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, UK
# of dives
500 - 999
I am gong from the UK to Bali in September 2015 for a diving trip there and afterwards in Wakatobi. I have looked at the options for various airlines and ruled out KLM (flight times inconvenient), Garuda (hassle of Gatwick & Jakarta involved), Thai Airways via Bangkok (Return flight from Bali leaves too early for Wakatobi charter flight to connect). This leaves Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines; both are convenient in every way - 30kg economy luggage allowance, convenient flight times and airside transit hotel for overnight rest at their base airports. At present Malaysia Airlines is coming out at a total all-inclusive fare of £884 and Singapore Airlines around £1056.

My question is, should I go ahead and book on Malaysia Airlines right now or is there a chance of one or both airlines dropping their fares after Christmas / New Year?
 
We've been to Bali twice on Singapore air and found them excellent. We've also been in the same predicament. One year we let the offer prices go and missed our opportunity. The next year we booked when the offers came on and worried about the accommodation later. I still think there could be some reasonable prices to come yet it's still early. In fact we are thinking about Bali And Komodo in September and haven't booked flights yet. Have you had a look at Emirates? We went to the Philippines with them last year. They were Ok and have a generous luggage allowance.


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Thanks Smudger. As you are also from the UK, we have a few common factors in travel plans. In fact, I have brought back KLM into reckoning into my own flight plans to Bali next September and having used them in June this year for the same destination, there are a few points to discuss.

First of all, I used Emirates once to go to Manila and regretted it; since then I have never used the airline for any Far eastern destination despite good connections from the UK. The reason is that the transit through Dubai always comes at an awkward time and it is so busy and tiring getting through the long security queues there that I was exhausted by the time I arrived in Manila. Since then I used Malaysia Airlines twice to get to Phuket and Sipadan respectively and it went well. MA also have a 30Kg checked baggage allowance and their fares are certainly competitive to Emirates. But the best part is the transit; what I did was to take the overnight flight (MH 1) out of Heathrow to KL, but booking the luggage through to the destination. The flight arrived in KL the following evening, whereupon I stayed on the airside with hand luggage and spent overnight in the Transit Hotel getting over jet lag. Thus, I was fresh and ready to catch the short flight to the destination the following morning. On the return journey I took the afternoon flight to KL and connected to the overnight London flight the same evening (MH 3). This plan worked very well.

The same thing can be done with Singapore Airlines except that until earlier this year they allowed only 20kg check-in for economy; now it is 30Kg and so they can compete with MA but SA tend to be more expensive. As things stand, they are some £150 more expensive for my trip but that might change.

KLM have certain advantages too despite a slightly more awkward flightplan. First off, they allow an additional 15 kilos for scuba gear (you have to pre-register this at the time of ticket purchase) over the normal 23 kilos for economy passengers; this is useful if you think that even 30Kg is not sufficient for personal luggage + scuba gear. Second, depending on where you live in the UK, you can get to Amsterdam from a more regional airport than the Heathrow. There is a daily direct KLM flight from Amsterdam to Denpasar, Bali (bypasses Jakarta but stops for I hour Transit in Singapore. You get off with hand luggage but simply turn around in the Transit area and get back to the same plane and same seat; no sweat) and you can book luggage direct from your UK airport (I used Bristol) to Bali. The only slight drawback is that the flight lands in Denpasar at 19:15 hours; Rather than take the long drive to Tulamben or Padangbai after a tiring long flight, one can spend the night at the cheap and cheerful Bali Ra Hotel next to the airport and take the transport the following morning.

I am not sure what your plan is next September but in Bali itself be sure to spend a few days in Padang Bai, an ideal base to be diving in both Candidasa and Nusa Penida to see Ocean Sunfish among other things. That is what I plan to do. If you have more time, go to Tulamben as well (Padangbai Dive resorts take you there). For Komodo, a liveaboard would be great and I used Mermaid 1 last June; Mermaids Liveaboards have the big advantage over all other Komodo bound liveaboards in that they depart from Benoa harbour in Bali, thus avoiding the hassle of an additional local flight. It was arguably the best of my 18 liveaboard trips to date.
 
Hi Hintermann. I agree with a lot of what you say. I was not overly impressed with Emirates to Manila the planes were a bit dirty and the in flight entertainment on 3 of the 4 legs was abysmal. Also the lay over times in Dubai can be far too long, 7 or 8 hours are the norm, however there are a few flights with reasonable lay over times, if you can get on one of them it's not too bad. The big plus for us was that you can fly from Newcastle. I will keep an eye on KLM for the same reason, we just came back from a short trip to Madrid using KLM and they were very good but we haven't flown Long Haul with them. I wonder if you can do a stop over in Singapore with KLM. I had seen that Singapore air had increased there luggage allowance which is welcome as it used to be very expensive if you wanted more than the standard.

Last trip we stayed in the Watergarden in Candidasa near Padang Bai and we were lucky enough to see, all be it briefly, Mola Mola. I love Tulamben, I've told my wife to scatter my ashes in that bay when I go ( not for a while I hope). We've been looking at land based resorts in both Bali and Komodo, simply because of the cost of liveaboards but I might make some enquiries about the Mermaid. We are torn between Bali/Komodo or back to the Philippines. We went to Dumaguette and Puerto Galera last year and loved it, particularly Puerto Galera. We are looking at maybe PG again and maybe Anda. We'll have to make a decision soon though.


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I would strongly suggest one of the two Mermaids Liveaboards for Komodo. Mermaid I in particular is a spacious and well planned boat and the Dive Director, Hari the Finn, is very knowledgeable and selects dive sites so that the guests get the absolute best of their money's worth. I did 27 dives on that 9-day cruise and every one of them was excellent. There were reefs, walls, muck and between them a lot of pelagics and small stuff.

From Newcastle you can easily get to Amsterdam on KLM; plan for a late afternoon or early evening flight so that you have a few hours in AMS in case of unexpected delays. Luggage gets booked through and you are on your way to Bali.

Yes, you can stop at Singapore - I know because the couple in my row did so and were replaced by two others for the Singapore to Bali leg. But you get your own seat back.

For me it is a choice between using Singapore Airlines or Malaysian Airlines and spending overnight in an Airside Transit Hotel or going on KLM and spending the first night at Bali Ra Hotel near the airport. I am leaning towards KLM because you can get-up more leisurely next morning and arrange the Tulamben or Padangbai pick-up at your convenience.

I used Liberty Dive Resort in Tulamben in June. Excellent 1-to-1 service with my own personal guide, thus allowing me to plan my itinerary. For Padangbai next September I have booked with Padang Bai Beach Resort. I know that they went through a bleak phase but the new manager Olivier seems very enthusiastic, efficient and helpful.
 
Just been having a look at them on The web. Might make an enquiry get some prices. It can't hurt. My dive buddy's sitting here nodding her head.


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Update: I just booked on Malaysia Airlines. Under £600 return from London to Bali and for another £80 total, I booked premium seats (extra leg room) on all 4 flights.

Significantly cheaper than KLM and Singapore Airlines, the only practical alternatives.
 
IN GENERAL-----2 to 3 months out........
 
IN GENERAL-----2 to 3 months out........
I have tried that before and while it may work, there is also the risk of all the cheaper seats going by then or even the flight being full. I kept looking at the fares once a week since I posted this thread and while the KLM fares that had dropped a bit just before Christmas got-up again, both Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines dropped after X-mas. MAS, already some £100 cheaper than its local rival, dropped even more and I grabbed the opportunity.
 
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