Air Astana Delhi-Almaty 12k return for immediate travel

March 2024 update: flew Fly Arystan DEL-ALA

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People of Delhi looking for a quick getaway- here's a perfect deal for you.

Air Astana has return ticket to Almaty, Kazakhstan  for under 12k. May not get cheaper than this.
Below is spotted for Jan 2nd departure and Jan 11th return- you will get about a week in Almaty. Similar fare are available for other date combinations as well.

Kazakhstan offers 72 hours visa free entry to Indians. It is a nice, less frequented central asian country worth a quick visit. Do book your tickets before it is too late.

Deal Tip off by Amar Singh Solanki of Lily Holidays. You can contact him for well organized holiday packages and guided tours.

Air India website glitch- no meals even in first class

As I was browsing through Air India's website, I was trying to compare fare types. But the details on what's included in a fare type were not updated.

For economy supervalue, website was showing a '-' against all features- Meals, change fee and so on- either implying they are included or they are not- again not clear.

Then I checked business class and first class- same thing- no update against any rows. Essentially Air India website is not assuring you of means even for a 2.3 lakh INR first class ticket. Obviously this is a glitch they need to fix in their website. Hopefully they do it soon.

The fare comparison popup is also not updated. Air India recently introduced a new website- understandably whoever did it has done half baked job.

Plane Spotting Simplified: 10 ways to identify Aircraft type

You are at an airport watching planes. You see a particular aircraft and think it is A330 while your friend insists it is A350. How to differentiate between a wide body and narrow body jet? How to tell if it is a 737 or A320?  How to identify an aircraft type by looking at it? If you are an aviation enthusiast or plane watcher, below are several ways by which you can identify an aircraft type.

Passenger planes in which we fly can be broadly categorized into 3 categories:

• Turbo props: Small aircrafts with external propellers- ATR-42, Bombardier Q400 etc, usually less than 100 seats
• Narrow Body Jets: Single Aisle aircrafts with jet Engines, typically around 150-220 seats (A320, A321, B737, Embraer 72 etc)
• Wide Body Jets: Bigger jets with two aisles- longer, bigger aircrafts with 300+ seats (A330, A350, B777 etc), a few have double decks- like A380 and B747

Turbo Props are easy to differentiate due to their small size, external propellers. It takes some observation skills to differentiate between a narrow body and wide body jet.

Check 01: Look for writing below the nose

Most aircrafts have their type written in the front portion, below the nose. This is the easiest and sure shot way to know aircraft type.

Check 02: Length of the aircraft, space between windows and number of doors

At times Aircraft type may not be written or it may not be visible. Next best way is to observe the length of the aircraft. A narrow body aircrafts are shorter with lesser doors/space between windows.

Above: A Boeing 777-300 ER Wide body- compare number of windows, space between windows and door positions with picture below:
Below: Jet Star A320 narrow body- notice the tiny size of overwing emergency exit doors

Check 03: Number of decks
If an aircraft has two decks (two rows of windows) throughout the length of the plane then it is definitely an A380. A380 is the only full length double Decker plane today. If it has double Decker but only for a short part in the front, then it is Boeing 747.

Check 04: Number of wheels
Take a close look at rear wheels. Narrow body planes usually have only two rows of wheels. Wide body planes have 3 or 4 rows of wheels.

Check 05: Engine cowling
B787 and 737 Max have a designer shape cut on the engine cowling. With 737 Max not in service, only dreamliner has the unique cut on the tailing edge of engine cover- this is also another easy way to locate aircraft type.

Check 06: Flight number or tail number
If you know the flight number (displayed on the gate inside terminal) on which the aircraft is operating or an aircraft's tail number (often written somewhere near the rear of an aircraft), various websites like Seatguru.com, Flightstats.com etc can reveal the aircraft type.

Check 07: Airline website
You can refer airline's website to check their fleet- many airlines limit to just a few aircraft types- this way you can eliminate several types and focus on only those that the airline operates

Check 08: Number of Engines

Most aircrafts these days come with only two engines- one on each side. However a select group of aircrafts have 4 engines, two on each side. A380, A340, B747 are few such aircraft types to have four engines.

If you see an engine on the tail instead of wings it could be DC9 (hard to find in India, few exist in USA), If there are two on wings, one on centre of tail it could be DC10.

Check 09: Marking on the ground

Most airports will have ground marking to indicate where should the front wheels of an aircraft rest depending on aircraft type- this is to make it easy for aero bridge to extend or other operational reasons. If you can see these markings, then you can be sure of aircraft type depending on where the wheels are resting.

Check 10: If nothing else works, just ask the gate crew- they will be happy to clarify!

Once you are inside an aircraft, safety manual in the seat pocket is the sure shot way to know aircraft type. But above tips are for identifying an aircraft type from a distance.

AirAsia adds 3x daily Chennai-Delhi flight

AirAsia India is adding new flights from Chennai. At one point of time AirAsia was only serving Chennai and Bengaluru. Then Hyderabad, Kolkata was added. Then Mumbai and now recently Delhi. That too with 3 times a day frequency.

AirAsia ad says tickets are priced from INR 1540 onwards but a check on the website shows an average price of INR 3500+, which is at par with market price offered by other airlines. May be during a sale we can hope to get a cheaper ticket.  Still as long as Air Asia can offer cheaper than competition ticket prices they can easily fill up the 3 flights. As of now for most of the dates Air Asia flights appear to be the cheapest- a few rupees less than Indigo

Where next? May be Air Asia can try connecting Chennai to Pune/Kochi/Ahmedabad in next expansion. Bhubaneswar, Port Blair could be other options. Let us wait and see.

VietJetAir misleading ads and cheap ticket to Vietnam

Vietjetair advertises an INR 2100 one way ticket between Delhi and Vietnam's Saigon. This post explains the truth behind this advertisement.

VietJet Air, popularly known as Bikini airline, has planned India operations and are offering flights between Delhi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

They are advertising INR 2100 one way flight which reminded me of Indian airlines advertising Re 1 base fare and then adding 2000-3000 INR in taxes and fuel surcharges. Below is the reality of VietJetAir's pricing.

Points to note:

• Promo fares would have been a few dollars cheaper- sold out now.
• Seat selection costs 3.7 to 11 USD +tax per flight per passenger (depending on which part of the plane)
• Meals about 6-11 USD per meal + tax
• Baggage some 20-30 USD one way+tax
• Priority check-in 6-7 USD extra+tax
• Convenience fee: 10.26 USD

So your cheapest ticket to Saigon will cost min 200 USD (only 10 $ convenience fee is added, no meals, no bag etc) and can cost up to  280 $ if these services are included. So that is 3 to 5 times the round trip base fare advertised (INR 2100 or USD 29).

Adding all these you are looking at 331 USD for a return ticket to Bali from Delhi (23.5k) or 3 times the base fare.

INR 15000 return ticket to Vietnam is not very cheap but not that bad either. AirAsia tickets often cost in this range, a little less if you are lucky.

Other points to note:

• VietJetAir is not selling tickets beyond April 2020- Not sure why.
• VietJetAir flies 4 times a week to SGN and 3 times a week to Hanoi from Delhi
• VietJetAir flies to lots of destinations around Asia but doesn't seem to be selling one stop tickets to these destinations, except a few like Bali. Not sure why.
• Don't expect cabin crew to wear bikini all the time. It is only a publicity stunt done a few times to garner cheap publicity. Cabin crew's normal uniform is similar to all other airlines.
• Indigo flies to Saigon from Kolkata

Are you planning to visit Vietnam on VietJetAir? It might be a good idea to enter via Hanoi and return via Saigon (or vice-versa) to optimize your plans. Else you have to come back to where you entered.

Incidentally, the cover photo of my latest book is of VietJetAir. Buy your copy here

Read my Vietnam posts:

Vietnam trip in low budget * Halong Bay cruise * Vietnam Tourist scam alerts * Vietnam train journey experience  * Managing Veg food in Vietnam * 10 places to explore in Ho Chi Minh city within walking distance * Firing M16 Assault Rifle * Vietnam vs Thailand * Vietnam tourist visa for Indians * 

Srilankan Cheap ticket to GAN Island Maldives

Srilankan has some cheap tickets to GAN island, Maldives. INR 12500 return tickets from BLR and Kochi for travel in Feb 2020.

Available from other Indian cities also, but for a few thousand rupees more.

Gan island is a lesser known destination in Maldives right on the equator line. I had visited last year.

Gan island is a calm, serene island without lots of tourists and not too many things to see/do. Ideal for a calm relaxed holiday away from the madness.

Read my posts on Gan Island
1) Is it worth visiting Gan island?
2) Things to do in Gan island
3) Public transport in Gan Island
4) Koattey Magu Scenic reserve Gan island
5) India-Maldives complete guide

Makemytrip Zero cancellation fee increased to INR 749- Worth it?

For India domestic flights, flight cancellation fees are often more than flight ticket cost. Cancellation normally costs around INR 3000. Often low fare promo tickets are non refundable. Most domestic flights cost less than INR 3000 and a few cost a bit more around 5000-6000 one way. Paying massive cancellation fee doesn't really make sense in most cases.

Makemytrip had introduced a concept of Zero cancellation fee. In this scheme customers pay an extra amount upfront and if they need to cancel later, they get entire booking amount bank minus the zero cancellation fee.

When this Zero Cancellation fee scheme was introduced by MMT it was priced at just INR 99. Today zero cancellation fee has increased to INR 700-750 one way depending on sector, airline. Is it worth paying extra like this on MakeMyTrip's zero cancellation fee?

Points to consider:

• Zero cancellation fee is like an insurance premium- if you manage to fly as per plan you lose this extra money 100%. That is INR 750 paid to MMT over and above ticket fare
• If you have to cancel your tickets, you now save around INR 2250 compared to traditional cancellation fee of INR 3000 (as you've paid 750 INR for zero cancellation
• Zero cancellation is available for direct flights only- not for one stop flights
• Zero cancellation need to be availed within 24 hours of departure. Last minute cancellations and no shows are not covered.
• Partial cancellation not allowed. Entire PNR need to be cancelled.
• Date change scenario not covered. You've to cancel and make fresh booking
• Force majeure events not covered. 
• Remember you would have also paid MMT convenience fee over and above zero cancellation fee. Some airline websites (like Air India) do not charge convenience fee while some airlines like Air Asia and Vistara charge a much lesser fee if paid via net-banking as against credit card. Some OTAs like Easemytrip also do not charge convenience fee. Thus essentially you might be paying over 1000 Rs extra per person one way to MMT for convenience fee+ Zero cancellation.
• Remember that even without zero cancellation, even on non-refundable tickets, airlines are required to return airport fee and tax component to passengers who do not fly. This amount is usually in a few hundred rupees per ticket. You will get this amount back irrespective of airline rules and schemes (need to apply though)

So does it make sense to pay extra for MMT Zero cancellation?

The decision should be based on following factor:

1. Ticket Price: You are paying 750+250 convenience fee- INR 1000 extra. If the ticket price is very less- like INR 1500-2000 one way, I would rather take my chances and avoid paying another 1000 more. If ticket price is very high-like INR 5000, it might make sense to pay for zero cancellation

2. Your likely-hood of having to cancel the flights. If you see a very high risk of having to cancel, you can either book now by paying cancellation fee or wait for some more time before booking

3. Book now vs Book later: Ticket prices increase a bit as travel date comes closer. But not always the increase is exponential. If you feel the possible increase is minimal, you can decide to wait for a few days till everything gets confirmed, book without zero cancellation even if ticket costs a bit more, than book a cheaper ticket+ zero cancellation fee.

4. Your risk appetite: If you are keen to save on zero cancellation and have some comfort dealing with schedule changes and cancellations then avoid paying more. If airline changes schedule they are responsible to re-assign another flight for you at no extra cost. 

Ultimately it is a decision of losing 1000 Rs for sure vs possibly losing up to INR 3000 one way.

What has been your experience? Have you availed MMT's Zero cancellation scheme? Do share your thoughts.

Related: Ten tips to deal with high cancellation charges * Indigo cancellation concerns * Jet Airways cancellation now costs up to 9200 INR * Air Asia refund changed to two step process *  MMT Doubleblack membership *

AirAsia cheap tickets to Australia- 20-24k return!

Air Asia is offering cheap tickets to Australia from various Indian cities. Onward tickets are available for around 10k, return around 12k- if you can get the dates right, you can have Australia return tickets for around 20-24k depending on origin and destination cities.

Screenshots below: Kochi to Perth for just INR 9300 one way. Perth from other Indian cities available from similar fares. Return costs a few k more, taking round trip expense to 20-24k, which is still a great deal for Australia.

Chennai n Blr to Perth, Australia

Points to note:
Australia is recently in news due to massive wild fires and smoke- it is possible the fire has done lots of destruction and restoration will take time. Possibly lots of tourists would have cancelled their tickets, forcing airlines to offer some discount. I believe things will be back to normal within months and it should be safe to visit in Feb-April 2020 (during which above rates are available)-but do your research and make a decision. But be prepared some tourist attractions might still be closed or not at their best to view. [Details]

No meals, no checked bag is included in above price. A 20kg checked bag for the round trip would probably cost around 7-10k INR more. Meals approx 20 MYR each onboard.

Perth is closest to Asia and cheapest city to fly into. But Melbourne, Sydney and Gold Coast are more popular cities.

Australia tourist visa costs close to 10k and may take about 2-3 weeks to process.

Related: Managing Australia in under 2000 INR per day * 1 week itinerary for Gold Coast * Australia on budget * 

Chennai - Kenya- Air India return 26k

Visiting Africa is usually cheaper from Mumbai, as many African airlines fly to Mumbai. It is easy to get around 20-25k return ticket to various African destinations from Mumbai. From rest of India it is usually a bit expensive as there're not too many direct flight options.

However, our friend Vijayaraj as spotted a cheap deal to Nairobi, Kenya from Chennai on Air India. You can get return ticket to Kenya for around 26k INR from Chennai for various dates in early 2020. If Kenya has been on your radar, this is a good opportunity. This Chennai-Nairobi one stop via Mumbai pricing is actually cheaper than what Air India charges for non stop Mumbai-Nairobi flight. Air India operates a dreamliner between Mumbai and Nairobi.

So what are you waiting for? Plan your African safari now!

Kenya visa is easy. You can also fly to other African destinations from Kenya on Kenya Airways

5 airlines in deep distress- will they survive?

Lots of Airlines have shut shop in 2019. WOW Air, Jet Airways, ThomasCook Airline, Primera Air, Germania,  Zoomair India to name a few.

However, the sad story doesn't seem to end. While you are preparing for Christmas and new year, employees of multiple airlines in different parts of the world are worried about their future while the airline bosses are desperately scrambling to save their airline. At least four more airlines around the world are in deep distress and struggling to survive. This post is a quick roundup and hoping they survive

1. Hong Kong Airways
Hong Kong Airways is unable to pay salary to its staff, has suspended all long haul flights and is risking losing its license if it can't revive itself in a week's time. Airline is scrambling to infuse cash and survive. [Bloomberg news]

2. South African Airways
Sam Chui reports South African Airways is edging towards collapse having having made profit only once and surviving on thin thread of support for decades.

3. Atlas Global suspends flights till December 21
Atlas Global, Turkey's second largest airline has suspended its flights till December 21. They haven't declared bankruptcy and are hoping to recover. Let us see.

4. Norwegian
Scandinavian Carrier Norwegian has suspended several long haul flights. Airline is facing huge debts and is desperately looking to cut costs and survive. They are operating few long haul flights to USA from Oslo and doesn't look like they are in immediate danger, but you never know.

5. Alitalia set to get govt lifeline
Italy's Alitalia is getting govt funding while hunt is on for the investors. Govt is pumping in almost half a billion dollar into the airline, although termed as a loan [news]

Of course we have Air India as well, with ever mounting debts and repeatedly counting on Govt bailout, looking to be sold out in 2020. But Air India will mostly change ownership, not closure. so I am not counting as suspect #6

Aware of any other major airline facing survival issues? Do comment.

Let us see what 2020 has in store for aviation Industry.

Mumbai Switzerland cheap return ticket-24k!

Kenya Airways has Mumbai to Switzerland return ticket for 24k. Mumbai to Geneva one stop via Kenya on Kenya Airways.

Fly out on 3rd Feb, return on 18th Feb. Might be available for various other date combination also.
In Feb and March Europe will have fair bit of snow- but it should be manageable particularly in South Europe. Winter will be ending and spring will be about to begin.

If Switzerland has been your dream destination, now is the time to plan. Check on Skyscanner.

However, these fares are spotted on 3rd party websites and NOT on Kenya Airways official site. Most are international sites often with chargeable support. Only Easemytrip is Indian site

Related Switzerland posts
Nissen Peak near Geneva

City of Bern

Swiss Country Side Pictures

Top of Europe

View of Geneva Lake

Sunrise at Geneva Lake

Information tip off my Amar Singh Solanki of Lily Holidays.

My article in Millionaire Asia on most luxurious airlines

My article about top 5 luxurious airlines have been published in latest edition of Millionaire Asia Magazine. The magazine is subscription only (website: www.millionaireasia.com) . If you have subscription to websites like Magzter that aggregate magazines, you can read there too. Copy of my article is shown below for quick reference.

Do grab a copy and read it if you can.

Vistara's insane pricing to Port Blair

I accidentally spotted something on Air Vistara's website. Vistara has resumed Chennai-Port Blair flights they had suspended earlier this year. While non stop flight is reasonably priced, the next option almost made me fall off the chair. Vistara has priced Chennai- Port Blair ticket Economy ticket at a massive INR 58000 that too for a 2 stop option, one way!

For that kind of money, you can go all the way till Atlanta, USA on Qatar Airways and come back!

Of course we don't have a compulsion to pay 58k to go to Andaman- we can opt other airlines, but this shows some insights into airline ticket pricing. Vistara's ticketing algorithm has unnecessarily complicated the two stop route to an insanely expensive level which doesn't make sense. Probably there was no manual review. No one with any sense would book this option, but I am wondering what makes Vistara think it is ok to price it like this.

Vistara has given a standard template reply on twitter stating pricing is dynamic and is high because of two stops! Airline pricing is an amazing world. If you don't pay attention or don't have a sense of fair pricing, you can get looted.

Dear Mr. Hande, Fares are dynamic in nature and fluctuates basis demand and seat availability. Also, the fares you are referring to are for 2 stop flights which are higher. Thanks, Harshita.

— Vistara (@airvistara) December 2, 2019

ANA free flights within Japan offer

ANA is running a free flights within Japan offer if you book an international trip from your country to Japan. Along with already cheap fares to Japan, this is icing on the cake- Don't miss it.

For example, you can travel all the way till Nagasaki and back for INR 21260. Never before this was possible. You can try for other destinations within Japan as well. With food and bag involved, this is a killer deal. Non refundable though.

Points to note: 
Self transfer- need you to collect bags, change airport in Tokyo to catch connecting flight.
Taxes and fees applies on the said 'free domestic flight'. Still I think it will be cheaper than bullet train ticket.

Offer valid till another day (December 3 only)- so hurry. More details here

Refer this post for complete Japan Guide.

Delhi to Toronto/Vancouver Canada cheap ticket 52-55k return May 2020!

Flying to Toronto, Canada is often a bit expensive at around 70-75k due to relatively less options (particularly 1 stop) from India. Last minute fares could touch even 1 lakh rupees one way.

However if you are looking at visiting Canada or Toronto, there seem to be some deals for May 2020 for around 52-55k. Departure 6th May, Return 19th May. (Might be available for other date combinations as well, do check)

 Some more options on Skyscanner

Return tickets under 53k available to Vancouver British Colombia as well.

Note: This fare seems exclusively on Makemytrip as Air India official website is showing much higher fare. MMT will add some convenience fee in final stage extra.

Fare under 60k return is a good deal if you are serious about visiting Canada. Canada Tourist visa costs about 9k, takes a month or two to process. You might get it for long term (till your passport expiry) if lucky. Start planning.

May is perfect time to visit Canada. I had visited Vancouver in May this year- a fair bit of snow might still be there on the hills while it will be spring in most cities.

Some of my Canada posts published so far:
1) Bowen Islands- Nice day trip from Vancouver
2) Grouse Grind difficult hiking experience, Vancouver

Kalaburagi Airport Karnataka begins operation-all you need to know

Karnataka got a new airport today, at Kalaburgi in northern Karnataka. This post is a quick round up of all the information available w.r.t Kalaburgi airport

Where is Kalaburagi?
Kalaburgi (ಕನ್ನಡ: ಕಲಬುರಗಿ ) is also known as Gulbarga airport is in the northern tip of Karnataka between Bidar and Bijapura. Kalaburagi airport is some 13 kms from Gulbarga town, just 200 kms from Telangana Capital Hyderabad and some 550 kms from State capital Bengaluru.

Why Kalaburagi airport is important?
Because of long distance from state capital Bengaluru, people of Gulbarga and nearby districts have to spend a long time on bus/train journey to reach Bengaluru or any other metro. Flight connectivity at reasonable price will give a big boost to travelers in the region.

Karnataka doesn't have many active airports. Except Bengaluru, (BLR) next most active airport in Mangaluru (IXE). There are a few more airports- Mysuru, Hubli, Belagavi, Vijayanagara (near Hampi) etc but these have barely a few flights per day- not even half a dozen. Compared to this neighboring states like TN (Madhurai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Salem, Tuticorin etc), Kerala have more airports and more flights. Kalaburagi becomes another airport on the list having scheduled flights under UDAN scheme, hopefully it grows further.

So who is flying to Kalaburagi?
Right now only Star Air has announced three times a week flight between Kalaburagi and Bengaluru. Ticket prices start at around INR 3000, which is reasonable, considering an AC bus between two cities easily costs INR 800-1500 depending on day of the week and type of bus. For just twice the price, saving of 8-9 hours of journey time is very good option for most.

Also Star Air is not selling one stop ticket to other destinations on its network- such as Delhi Hindon from Kalaburagi yet.

No word yet from other airlines like Indigo or Spicejet or Alliance air about any flight to Kalaburagi. Most OTAs such as Skyscanner don't even recognize Kalaburagi airport code. We have to wait and see how successful this route will be.

What is there to see near Kalaburagi?
If you fly to Kalaburagi, keeping Gulbarga as a base you can visit Vijapur Gol Bumbaz (160 kms), Bidar (130 kms), Mantralaya (200 kms), Solhapur (140 kms) etc.

We wish lots of success to Star Air and Kalaburagi airport. More about the airport on Wikipedia here