Posts Tagged ‘emirates’

Hong Kong to Bangkok: Route Analysis

Saturday, February 2nd, 2013

Hong Kong to Bangkok is an important flight route with many fifth freedom options. There are about 130 non-stop services flying each week on this particular Asian route, with the 1,050 mile flight taking around 3 hours.

The following airlines currently serve the route between Hong Kong airport (HKG) and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport (BKK):

Cathay Pacific – The Hong Kong based airline and Oneworld carrier flies 6x daily between HKG and BKK using a mix of Boeing 777s, Airbus A330s and Boeing 747s.hong kong airport

Thai Airways – The Thai national carrier (Star Alliance) flies 5x daily using its new Airbus A380 and Boeing 747s.

Hong Kong Airlines  – Flies 3x daily with Airbus A330s. Prices tend to be lower than Cathay and Thai.

Hong Kong-Bangkok Fifth Freedom Flights: In addition to Thai and Hong Kong based airlines, there are many other international carriers that have rights to serve the route. These should be considered as they often undercut the national carriers and can offer cheap premium class airfares on wide-body aircraft.

Emirates – The Gulf airline has competitive pricing in all classes for its daily flight between Hong Kong and Bangkok using an Airbus A380. For a business class return ex-HKG expect to pay around £375/US$590 – this often undercuts economy fares from Cathay and Thai. Or experience first class on Emirates A380 for £675/US$1,060 return.

Ethiopian Airlines – The Star Alliance carrier flies 5x weekly using a Boeing 767 aircraft. Offers some of the cheapest economy airfares on the route with returns often around the £190/$295 level.

Royal Jordanian – The Jordan-based Oneworld airline flies 4-x-weekly between Hong Kong and Bangkok using an Airbus A330.

Sri Lankan – Sri Lanka’s national carrier flies non-stop 3x weekly using either Airbus A330s or A340s. Business class returns start at a bargain £225/US$350.

Kenya Airways – The Skyteam carrier flies 3x weekly using a Boeing 777 and offers competitive economy and business fares.

Pakistan International Airlines – PIA flies 2x weekly using an older series Airbus A310.

Air Asia – The budget airline flies twice daily between Hong Kong (HKG) and Bangkok’s old international airport, Don Mueang (DMK). Note, Air Asia uses a narrow body Airbus A320.

Tags: bangkok, cathay pacific, emirates, hong kong
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Long-haul Business Class Sale Fares from UK under £2,000

Thursday, January 17th, 2013

It’s mid-January and the depths of winter in the northern hemisphere with sub-zero temperatures, snow and ice and regular travel chaos. It’s at this time of year when most airlines offer fare sales to tempt people to seek warmer shores.

Let’s take a quick review of what is available long-haul in business class from London for under £2,000 return. Why £2,000? It provides a rough benchmark level of reasonable value for business class. Obviously the value quotient varies depending on airline and aircraft, the length of flight and whether a stopover needs to be made.

1. British Airways is running an ex-UK “The World is on Sale” which is bookable until 22 January 13. Prices have been lower in previous years and there are only a few standout fares.

Club World flight returns under the £2k mark are Orlando and Tampa (£1,701), Antigua (£1,894), Bermuda (£1,898), Bridgetown (£1,598), Cancun (£1,594), Grenada (£1,594), Kingston (£998), Port of Spain (£1,799), Punta Cana (£1,893), San Juan (£1,599), St Kitts (£1,897), St Lucia (1,598) and Tobago (£1,895). These are all leisure flights operating from London Gatwick – the standout fare is £998 to Kingston, Jamaica – note availability is showing for Sep-Nov 2013 with a £1,098 fare open for Apr-Jun 2013.

Other sub-£2k fares elsewhere are Abu Dhabi (£1,699), Bahrain (£1,799), Doha (£1,799), Dubai (£1,699), Jeddah (£1,499), Muscat (£1,699), Riyadh (£1,499), Almaty (£1,726), Bengaluru (£1,858), Chennai (£1,759), Hyderabad (£1,659), Mumbai (£1,799), New Delhi (£1,889). For the Far-East there is Bangkok (£1,999) and the relatively new Seoul route (£1,818). Note that in Nov 2012 BA had an introductory Club World offer of £777  return to Seoul!

2. Virgin Atlantic has similar fares to BA on any overlapping routes. These can also be booked by 22 January.

3. Etihad has a Pearl Business Class sale fare to Hong Kong for £1,979, ex London Heathrow – bookable before 18 February 13. Flights are via Abu Dhabi.

4. Gulf heavyweight Emirates is offering a number of sub £2k fares from London Gatwick including in Africa: Addis Ababa (£1,924), Dar Es Salaam (£1,970), Entebbe (£1,944), Harare (£1,971), Jo’burg (£1,980), Khartoum (£1,913), Lagos (£1,952), Luanda (£1,960) and Nairobi (£1,965). Flights to Asia are Ahmedabad (£1,799), Bangkok (£1,943), Beijing (£1,987), Bengaluru (£1,805), Chennai (£1,794), Cochin (£1,794), Delhi (£1,838), Dhaka (£1,823), Guangzhou (£1,987), Ho Chi Minh Cith (£1,939), Hong Kong (£1,988), Hyderabad (£1,815), Islamabad (£1,825), Jakarta (£1,950), Karachi (£1,943), Kolkata (£1,794), Kuala Lumpur (£1,963), Lahore (£1,825), Manila (£1,950), Mumbai (£1,802), Osaka (£1,997), Peshawar (£1,825), Phuket (£1,943), Seoul (£1,995), Shanghai (£1,987),  Singapore (£1,968), Trivandrum (£1,800) and Tokyo (£1,996). Flights are via Dubai, note business class seats can vary over Emirates’ regional fleet. Book by 28 February 13.

5. Star Alliance’s Lufthansa has the folowing business class offers with flights via Frankfurt or Munich: Abuja (£1,949), Addis Ababa (£1,469), Asmara (£1,879), Lagos (£1,949), Almaty (£1,829), Astana (£1,829), Baku (£1,259), Singapore (£1,969),  Beijing/Nanjing/Shanghai (£1,909), Bengaluru (£1,899), Chennai (£1,879), New Delhi (£1,549), Mumbai (£1,529), Pune (£1,729), Abu Dhabi (£1,839), Amman (£1,389), Bahrain (£1,689), Dammam (£1,579),  Doha (£1,879), Dubai (£1,739), Jeddah (£1,879), Khartoum (£1,729), Kuwait (£1,779), Muscat (£1,679), Riyadh (£1,879) and Tehran (£1,489).

lufthansa a340

6. Finnair usually has some sharp deals to Asia. Its business class sale ends today (17 January 13) and you can find Delhi (£1,399), Chongqing (£1,529), Hanoi (£1,575) and Bangkok (£1,599). A change of aircraft in Helsinki is required.

7. EVA Air is offering a London-Bangkok in business class for £1,804, book by 31 January 13.

8. Qatar Airways has the following business class fares, bookable by 14 February 13: Mumbai (£1,735), Bangkok (£1,880), Kuala Lumpur (£1,900), Singapore (£1,905) and Beijing/Hong Kong (£1,930).

The above published fares are bookable at each airline’s website.

Using an online agent you may find some cheaper fares on more exotic and obscure airlines but do watch transit times. For example, cheaper London-Hong Kong business class fares can be found from Royal Brunei Airlines (around £1,630) and Aeroflot (£1,750). Note Royal Brunei is a dry airline and the flight has a fuel stop in Dubai and then an almost 24 hour wait in Brunei; the Aeroflot flight has a 14 hour wait outbound in Moscow.

Tags: british airways, emirates, london, lufthansa
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Sydney to Auckland: Route Analysis

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Auckland (AKL) is New Zealand’s major international air hub and well connected to Sydney Kingsford Smith international airport (SYD) in Australia.

There are about 100 non-stop services flying each week on this particular trans-Tasman route, with the 1,340 mile flight taking around 3 hours. In terms of time zones, Auckland is 2 hours ahead of Sydney.

The following airlines currently serve the route:

Qantas - Australia’s main airline and Oneworld carrier flies 5-x-daily between SYD and AKL using Boeing 737-800s. Watch for “Red E-Deal” offers which normally start at AUD 500 return – this will earn Qantas Frequent Flyers 40 status credits. Business class is priced from around AUD 2,600.

Jetstar - Qantas “low-cost” subsidiary flies daily using an Airbus A320.  Base return fares can be found for under AUD 300. Jetstar charges AUD 28 each leg for checked bags on this route. Flights are also listed on the Qantas website.

jetstar

Virgin Australia – Flies daily between the 2 cities using a Boeing 737-800. Prices are reasonably similar to Qantas with 23kg checked luggage included on “Saver” fares. Also codeshares flights with Air New Zealand.

Air New Zealand – The Star Alliance airline flies 5-x-daily using Boeing 767-300s (2 flights) and Airbus A320s (3 flights). Air NZ’s cheapest economy fare includes only carry-on bags (7kg) plus a hot drink – priced from about NZD 360 (AUD 290) return ex-Auckland. You can choose to pay extra for checked luggage, meals, movies and lounge access. Business class is normally priced from around NZD 2,200 return.

Sydney-Auckland Fifth Freedom Flights: In addition to Australia and NZ based carriers there are other international airlines which have rights to serve the route. These can offer good opportunities for cheaper premium class airfares on wide-body aircraft.

LAN - Oneworld member LAN runs a daily flight between the cities (part of its service to Santiago) using a long-haul Airbus A340. The flight is code-shared with Qantas. LAN’s business fares can be competitive from around AUD 750 return. However, buy the fare ex-New Zealand and you will pay from only AUD 600 – excellent value and QFF members will pick up a handy 160 Status credits.

Emirates - The Gulf heavyweight flies daily using an Airbus A380 which originates from Dubai. Business class fares (upper-deck seating) are priced from AUD 1,600 return or about 40% cheaper if buying ex-NZ. A first class return ex-NZ costs NZD 2,500 return.

emirates airbus a380

China Airlines – The Taiwan based airline flies 4-x-weekly between Sydney and Auckland using an Airbus A330-300. Business class returns cost NZD 1,400 ex-NZ and AUD 1,100 ex-Australia. First class fares are also available.

Exchange rates at time of writing:

1 USD = AUD 0.95 = NZD 1.20; 1 GBP = AUD 1.50 = NZD 1.90

Article last updated January 2013.

Tags: air new zealand, emirates, qantas, sydney
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How to Fly on the Airbus A380

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

The Airbus A380 aircraft has remained a popular attraction since its launch in 2007.  Its double-deck layout offers more space on board, especially in the premium cabins. Engine noise is surprisingly quiet. The following is a guide to which airlines have the A380, fleet sizes and configurations and where they currently fly.

Singapore Airlines
A380 launch customer
First flight: Oct 2007
A380s in service: 19 (order total is 24)
Engines: Rolls Royce Trent 900
Config: (1) 12 first suites-60 business-399 economy; (2) 12 first suites-86 business(all upper deck)-311 economy

Routes from Singapore (SIN):
Hong Kong (HKG), London (LHR), Melbourne (MEL), Paris (CDG), Sydney (SYD), Tokyo (NRT), Los Angeles (LAX), Frankfurt (FRA), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO) and Zurich (ZRH). First class suites on the SQ A380 offer a private, individual cabin. On config 1 there is a small economy cabin at the rear of the upper deck.

singapore airlines a380

Emirates
First flight: Aug 2008
A380s in service: 31 (order total is 90)
Engines: Engine Alliance GP7200
Config: 14 first suites-76 business-399 economy

Routes from Dubai (DXB):
London Heathrow (LHR), Sydney (SYD), Bangkok (BKK), Toronto (YYZ), Paris (CDG), Seoul (ICN), Jeddah (JED), Beijing (PEK), Manchester (MAN),  Hong Kong (HKG), New York (JFK), Shanghai (PVG), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Rome (FCO), Munich (MUC), Tokyo (NRT), Melbourne (MEL), Amsterdam (AMS), Moscow (DME) and Singapore (SIN) – plus the fifth freedom routes to Auckland (AKL) from SYD and MEL.

emirates airbus a380

Emirates has a special A380 Hub terminal at Dubai airport which opened in 2013. Emirates First Class on the A380 includes a private individual suite cabin and 2 onboard Shower Spas.

Qantas
First flight: Oct 2008
A380s in service: 12 (order total is 20)
Engines: Rolls Royce Trent 900
Config: 14 first-64 business-35 premium economy-371 economy

Routes from both Sydney (SYD) and Melbourne (MEL):
Singapore (SIN) and on to London Heathrow (LHR), Los Angeles (LAX). Plus Sydney-Hong Kong (HKG). On the Qantas A380 a small premium economy cabin is located at the back of the upper deck.

Air France
First flight: Nov 2009
A380s in service: 8 (order total is 12)
Engines: Engine Alliance GP7200
Config: 9 first-80 business-38 premium economy-389 economy

Routes from Paris (CDG):
New York (JFK), Johannesburg (JNB), Tokyo (NRT), Los Angeles (LAX), Singapore (SIN) and Washington DC (IAD). Air France has small premium economy and economy cabin at the rear of the upper deck.

Lufthansa
First flight: Jun 2010
A380s in service: 10 (order total is 17)
Engines: Rolls Royce Trent 900
Config: 8 first-98 business-420 economy

Routes from Frankfurt (FRA):
Beijing (PEK), Johannesburg (JNB), Tokyo (NRT), Singapore (SIN), San Francisco (SFO), Miami (MIA) and Houston (IAH). Lufthansa also operates the Boeing 747-800.

Korean Air
First flight: Jun 2011
A380s in service: 6 (order total is 10)
Engines: Engine Alliance GP7200
Config: 12 first-94 business (all upper deck)-301 economy

Routes from Seoul (ICN):
Frankfurt (FRA), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), Paris (CDG)

China Southern Airlines
First flight: Oct 2011
A380s in service: 4 (order total is 5)
Engines: Rolls Royce Trent 900
Config: 8 first-70 business-428 economy

Routes: Guangzhou (ICN)-Los Angeles (LAX); Beijing (PEK)-Paris (CDG).

Malaysia Airlines
First flight: Jul 2012
A380s in service: 4 (order total is 6)
Engines: Rolls Royce Trent 900
Config: 8 first-66 business-420 economy

Routes: Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London Heathrow (LHR) and Beijing (PEK).

Thai Airways
First flight: Oct 2012
A380s in service: 3 (order total is 6)
Engines: Rolls Royce Trent 900
Config: 12 first-60 business-435 economy

Planned Routes in 2013: Bangkok (BKK) to Frankfurt (FRA), Tokyo (NRT), Paris (CSG), Osaka (KIX) and Sydney (SYD).

In the coming 2 years the likes of British Airways, Etihad, Asiana, Qatar Airways and Virgin Atlantic are expected to take delivery of the A380.

Article last updated January 2013.

Tags: airbus a380, emirates, qantas, singapore airlines
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