codywhipp1

Perth is known as the most isolated city in the world, right? But it's also closer (relatively) to other pretty isolated locations that are downright inaccessible to some (especially from the US). Has anyone taken vacations from Perth to cool places in Southeast Africa (Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar), or other places in the Indian Ocean or Southeast Asia (Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore). What are the airline costs for such trips and do they run regular sales on these fares? Also, is it possible to use miles on certain airlines to book awards. Wanted to hear of others' experiences...

Dorothy

Search is your friend. http://britishexpats.com/forum/searc...archid=1158023

bcworld

Vary considerably. It's a lot more expensive and difficult to get to Madagascar than Bali, Singapore or Phuket. Yes there are sale fares, particularly on the low cost airlines like Air Asia.

Yes.

Amazulu

There are direct flights from Perth to Mauritius. Other African Islands would probably be via Johannesburg, maybe even via Dubai.
Budget airlines:
Tiger Airways fly Perth-Singapore - I have got a return for $250
Jetstar fly to Singapore and Bali
Virgin fly to Bali and, I think, Phuket
Air Asia fly to Kuala Lumpur and Bali
From KL and Singapore, there are many budget options for flights all over Asia - even to some remote locations, and even to Europe ($700 return to London on Air Asia). Fares can be very low.
All the airlines have ongoing sales. You can also sometims get low fares on full service airlines - Malaysian have had good fares recently.

Perth is far from isolated

codywhipp1

That's what i thought. Thanks for providing that.

Weebie

he direct flight from Perth to Port Louis would still cost the same as flying to Port Louis from New York or London.

the troubadour

I've tried a few times to get that flight at a reasonable price (stopover Port Louis)to RSA but to no avail.

Can do Mauritius all included return but wouldn't call it cheap.

Weebie

Its still like at least $1400 and it's only a 7 hour flight. Even that New Auckland direct and especialy the Johannesburg direct can be criminal

bcworld

Perth to Auckland return business class for $500...just use US Airways miles!

Amazulu

I checked some dates in August and PER-MRU is $1450. From New Yorl it's $2450, so not quite the same. It's not a place that's high on my list to visit - there are many better and cheaper options in Asia. I do get your point though, when there is no competition, fares are high. Could Perth support competition on this route? Posibly not as it's a niche market.

The SAA PER-JNB flight is a joke. QF and SAA used to compete on this route and both flew to PER and SYD. Now SAA fly to PER only and QF fly to SYD. The PER flight is always full and SAA charge what they like - again, no competition. Saying that, Virgin flew to JNB until recently and couldn't make money on the route. Stopping in SIN on the way to JNB is more fun anyway.

codywhipp1

I just threw some of those places (Mauritius, Maldives, Madagascar, Seychelles, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore) out there as examples. What are some of the best places you have traveled from Perth and why did you like them and were they affordable?

Also, how cheap do the intra Australia fares get? Say from Perth to Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane? Is there anyone to fly besides Qantas?

Someone mentioned using US Airways miles...are there any other ways to use American Airlines, Delta Airlines, or United/Continental miles and if so, how and on what airlines?

Sorry for all the strange questions, but there's a lot running through my head as we get ready to go to a new place.

bcworld

You know you could find all these answers by plugging in some city pairs to your favourite travel search site. American are Qantas partners so you could use AA miles on Qantas domestic flights...probably a waste of their value though.

Amazulu

Domestic Airlines apart from Qantas:
Jetstar (owned by Qantas) fly from Perth to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Gold Coast? maybe more. They often have good fares, $300-400 return to Sydney
Virgin fly from Perth to loads of places, they have just introduced brand new A330s on the Perth route. They sometimes have low fares
Tiger fly from Perth to Melbourne and Adelaide. They are the cheapest, but are very budget and do not have a good rep. for service
There are also airlines like Skywest and Skippers that fly to smaller locations. Fares can be very expensive

codywhipp1

Cool...I'll do that, just need a bit of guidance and possibly some good ideas of where to go and how to get there on the cheap.

bcworld

http://adioso.com/au/perth-to-domestic-under-aud200