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Flight Review: Iceland Express – New York – Reykjavik – London

Written by James Clark on October 10, 2011 · 3 Comments

[Ed Force One - Iceland Express with Iron Maiden livery at Keflavik Airport]

Cheap flights to Iceland and flying with a rock star pilot

Iceland have two airlines that operate internationally from Keflavík (near Reykjavik): the full service airline Icelandair, and low cost airline Iceland Express. I booked with Iceland express purely on price. While Icelandair have a frequent Flyer program, it’s not part of an alliance so it is useless for those not from Iceland.

Iceland Express fly to destinations in Europe and North America, so it is possible to include Iceland as a Transatlantic stopover. If you book in advance this may be the cheapest flight between New York and London, and you get the bonus of visiting Iceland while you’re at it. Flight segments can be booked on the same ticket, connecting in Keflavík or, as I did, take a few days off in between flights.

Iceland Express

Iceland Express is based in Reykjavik but it is owned by Astraeus Airlines from Britain, thus your flight may say “operated by Astraeus”. As it is a budget airline there is no inflight entertainment or free meals. The flight times are short enough so these services aren’t missed.

Celebrity Pilot

This year Iceland Express have Bruce Dickinson as a pilot. Bruce who? I hear some of you ask. Bruce Dickinson also happens to be the lead singer for Iron Maiden. Don’t let that put you off though, as he is a licensed commercial airline pilot with years of experience, as well as being the Marketing Director for Astraeus.

Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden
[Bruce Dickinson circa 1983 (from An Evolutionary Study Of Bruce Dickinson’s Hair).]

My flight from New York to London was on Ed Force One, which is an Astraeus owned jet with Iron Maiden livery. When I saw I was going to be flying on this jet I was so excited. I thought it might have been the bands private jet, and I had visions of a jacuzzi, lounge chairs and whatever else goes on in private jets of rock stars. Sadly it was the usual 3×3 seat configuation and no backstage rider menu.

From Reykjavik to London Mr Dickinson was a passenger on the flight, commuting back home to England after flying the overnight flight from New York. If you didn’t know who he was you wouldn’t pick him for a rock star. With his trimmed hair and smart Iceland Express suit, he really does look like a pilot.

To see Bruce in uniform check out this travel Q&A with Bruce Dickinson by Lonely Planet’s Robert Reid.

Another Stopover Option

[Visit the Blue Lagoon]

If you have booked two connecting flights and there is a few hours in between flights it is possible to visit the famous Blue Lagoon, as it is only 20 minutes from the airport. There are special buses that run from the airport to the Blue Lagoon, so if you have time it sure beats sitting around in the terminal (with no wifi).

Flight Details

Flight: Iceland Express 5W 514 Date: 25 Aug 2011 From: Newark(EWR) To: Reykjavik (KEF)
Flight: Iceland Express 5W 511 Date: 30 Aug 2011 From: Reykjavik (KEF) To: London (LGW)

Categories: Flight Review - Tags: airlines, blue lagoon, england, iceland, iceland express, london, new york, new york city, pop culture, reykjavik, uk

Flight Review: go! Mokulele – Honolulu to Kahului

Written by James Clark on June 21, 2011 · 3 Comments

Booking my Hawaiian inter-island flight from Oahu to Maui, I discovered there isn’t alot of choice. Two airlines were offering the route from Honolulu to Kahului – Hawaiian Airlines and go! Mokulele. I booked the latter purely on price.

go!Mokulele - Honolulu
[go! Mokulele - Honolulu]

Branding – Who am I flying with?
So, go! and Mokulele Airlines were once two separate airlines that were merged to form go! Mokulele. On my ticket it said the flight was operated by Mesa Airlines, which operates flights on behalf of go! Mokulele. In addition to that, there is also Mokulele Express, operated on behalf of go! Mokulele by Mokulele Airlines. Confused yet?

Baggage Fee Blues
If there is one thing that annoys me about flying on airlines from the US is paying the baggage fee at the airport. I know most airlines are charging for bags now, but it is more convenient to put it in the booking process and pay it all at once, rather than at the airport. Mokulele offer this option, so I paid my $10 bag fee when I booked. The trouble was that when I got to Honolulu airport the booking system wasn’t working properly, so the check in attendant couldn’t verify that I had paid the fee online. I then had to pay $10 on the spot so I could board. I was assured that I could simply get my money back by calling the customer service number. I assured them that this will be anything but simple, going on previous experiences with airline call centres.

I have emailed the help line a few times now, but I have not heard back yet. The time I have wasted on chasing this baggage fee has cost me more than $10 in work time, but I am chasing this on principle. It is so sloppy and I don’t want them to get away with it.

[edit - I received my refund on 11 July 2011]
Flight Time
The flight was easy enough. At 22 minutes at was possibly the shortest commercial flight I’ve ever taken. The seat belt signs are barely turned off before they are turned on again for the descent. There is not alot to review – it’s a flying bus.

as for my baggage fee refund, I’m still waiting for that. I’ll keep you posted.

Categories: Flight Review - Tags: airlines, go mokulele, hawaii, honolulu, kahului, maui, oahu, usa

Flight Review: MASwings – Miri to Mulu

Written by James Clark on December 9, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Gunung Mulu National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. While it is not far from the city of Miri, there are no roads from Miri and the boat there is costly and slow. So the easiest way there is to fly.

MASwings

MASwings is a subsidiary of Malaysian Airlines and operates regional flights in Malaysian Borneo. As they serve smaller airports they use Turboprop aircraft.

[MASwings ATR 72-500 at Mulu Airport]

The Flight

A newspaper and a free drink is offered on this service. Milo. Now there is a drink I haven’t had for years.

[Free drink and newspaper]

The flight from Miri to Mulu is just 30 minutes. You hardly get time to crack open the Borneo Post before the descent begins. Not that you want to read the paper. Look out the window and check out the wild land of Borneo. When you look out the window you can see why flying is the best option to Mulu. Down below is prime jungle and a winding river that makes for a 12 hour journey from Miri if you went by boat.

[Flying over jungle]

Tickets
My schedule was changing often so I didn’t buy a ticket until a few days before the flight, but I still managed to get reasonable priced tickets. If you book in advance there are flights available for around 30 MYR ($10USD).

Categories: Flight Review - Tags: malaysia, malaysia airlines, maswings, miri, mulu

Flight Review: Firefly – Singapore to Subang

Written by James Clark on April 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Firefly is a regional airline based in Subang, Malaysia. Before coming to Malaysia I had not heard of Firefly, but they are actually owned by Malaysia Airlines, which anyone who has been to an airport has heard of. Firefly operate to destinations in Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra), Thailand and Singapore.

Firefly Destinations

I took a flight with Firefly from Singapore to Subang, near Kuala Lumpur.

Firefly operate out of the low cost terminal in Singapore. While the airfares are cheap, they are not considered as a low cost airline. They offer free onboard snacks, assigned seating and 20kg free checked-in baggage allowance. Firefly are a point to point airline, so like a low cost airline there is no connecting flights service.

The Firefly fleet is made up of ATR 72 twin-turboprop aircraft.

Being a regional aircraft and operating out of the smaller budget terminal in Singapore meant that check-in and boarding was very quick. Flying time from Singapore to Subang is about one hour.

Subang was the Kuala Lumpur Airport before the current KUL airport was built. It is now only used by regional airlines. There is no bus service from Subang, but it is close enough to KL to make getting the taxi an economical option. There is a taxi voucher desk at the airport where you prepay your destination.

If you are planning a trip to Southeast Asia, it’s worth having a look at the Firefly destinations for travel inspiration.

Note: This trip was sponsored in part by Firefly.

Related: Firefly offer Holidays To Kuala Lumpur.

Categories: Flight Review - Tags: airlines, firefly, kuala lumpur, malaysia, singapore, subang

Flight Review: AirAsia – Padang to Jakarta

Written by James Clark on April 13, 2009 · 1 Comment

I had originally intended to get the bus from Padang to Jakarta, until I discovered that the cost of flying was only a few dollars more than the bus. Seeing that the bus was also going to cost me 30 hours, flying was an easy choice.

There are plenty of flights between Padang and Jakarta so the tickets are reasonably priced even a few days before flying.

Jakarta air lift - Padang Airport

What I like about AirAsia is that seating is assigned, so there is no mad rush for seats like on Ryanair and easyJest.

When you book online you can pay to pick a seat. You can also pick your own seat at check-in without having to pay. I was fortunate enough to get window seat behind the exit row. This is possibly the best seat of the lot as there is no seat in front of you.

The best seat in the house - behind the emergency row

If you are going to be flying to Jakarta, get a window seat so you can see the Thousand Islands chain. This evocatively titled island group is closer to 100 islands than 1000, but it looks great from above no matter how many there are.

Thousand Islands - more than just a salad dressing

Categories: Flight Review - Tags: air asia, indonesia, jakarta, java, padang, sumatra

Flight Review: AirAsia X – Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur

Written by James Clark on March 14, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Flight: AirAsiaX D7 2723
Date: 13 March 2009
From: Melbourne (MEL)
To: Kuala Lumpur LCCT (KUL)

AirAsia X is the long haul brand of Malaysian low cost airline AirAsia. They fly from Kuala Lumpur to the Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne. They also fly to London Stansted, making it the first low cost airline to fly the whole length of the kangaroo route.

I was curious to fly this relatively short sector to see if I could handle flying a whole day to London on a low cost airline. Would the low fares on offer (up to half the price of a full service airline) offset the lack of frills you would usually get on a regular Australia to UK flight.

[MEL - KUL Air Show]

The first thing I noticed when entering the plane was the size of the seats. The seats are noticably slimmer. The cabin of the Airbus A330 is arranged in 3-3-3 format. Qantas, for example, use a 2-4-2 seat configuration on their A330 aircraft. AirAsiaX have a nine seat row compared to an eight seat row. That means each seat had to give up 1/8th of width to accommodate the extra seat. I noticed that lost 1/8th when I sat in the seat.

[AirAsia X seat backs]

As a low cost airline the pricing is a la carte style, so you buy a cheap seat and pay for any extras you fancy. You can pre-order extras when you are booking your ticket or purchase items onboard.

[AirAsia X Water]

Food and beverages are available for sale (there is no free water), as well as blanket and pillow packs and a video entertainment pass. The pass gives you access to the inflight entertainment, consisting of movies, tv shows, music and games.

[AirAsia X Food Prices]

As I was flying to see how cheap I could get the ticket, I ordered none of the optional extras. I bought my ticket when flights to Melbourne first went on sale at headline grabbing prices. The only optional extra I purchased was checked luggage. This was my return ticket breakdown:

Flight
Ticket 78.00 AUD
Surcharges, fees and taxes 320.00 AUD

Sub total 398.00 AUD

Services and Fees
Supersize regular (up to 15kg) 14.00 AUD

Total Amount 412.00 AUD

My total ticket was 412 AUD for two 7.5 hour flights. Normally flights from Melbourne to KL would run at about 1000 AUD, so this was a bargain price.

The flight was overnight and I usually can’t sleep on planes, so it was pretty boring without movies. Other than that the flight was fine. The main thing is I’m now in Southeast Asia with an extra $500 dollars in my pocket from the savings on the flight. This is what I will remember long after I have forgotten the details of the flight.

So would I fly from Melbourne to London with AirAsia X? It depends mainly on the price and on how badly I wanted to go to the UK/Europe. If I was to save $1000 on a ticket then I would probably do it. Long haul flights are generally mind numbingly tedious anyway and I can’t sleep in economy seats (not that I’ve ever flown up the front) but I would buy the entertainment access as it would be too hard without the distractions of watching movies.

If it was only a couple of hundred dollars difference between AirAsia X and a full service airline then I would take the latter.

Categories: Flight Review - Tags: air asia, airlines, australia, kuala lumpur, malaysia, melbourne

Flight Review: Ryanair – Nador to Marseille

Written by James Clark on December 4, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Flight: Ryanair FR6012
Date: 25 Nov 2008
From: Nador (NDR), Morocoo
To: Marseille(MRS), France

When I’m in Europe I always look at the Ryanair map and see if there are any airports near where I’m going to be. It’s a fun map to play with because they have so many destination airports.

[Ryanair Destinations 2008]

I had not heard of Nador before booking this flight. I figured that it looked close enough to Fes, which is where I was ending my Moroccan trip. Nador is near the border of the Spanish Enclave of Melilla.

Ryanair fly from Nador to Marseille, which I had not been to, so it was a logical choice.

Free Seat*
I booked this ticket during one of Ryanair’s many free seat sales*. There is always that conditional asterisk. Free plus taxes and charges. This is the breakdown of the fare, in Moroccan Dirham:

****0.00 MAD Total Fare
***99.00 MAD Taxes, Fees and Charges
**114.00 MAD Passenger Fee: BAG
***57.00 MAD Passenger Fee: Airport Check in
***57.00 MAD Passenger Fee: Debit Card Fee
**327.00 MAD Total Paid (about €29/$42USD at time of booking)

Very cheap, asterisk or not, for a 2 hour flight.

Nador Airport

Nador airport is about 20 kms from Nador and there is no bus, so you can only get there by taxi.

Smoking is something of a national hobby in Morocco. I like how they have a smokers box for those that need it.

[Smokers Box - Nador Airport]

[Aeroport Nador Al Aroui]

Paying for Cheap Flights

Ryanair have introduced in cabin advertising as a way of making more revenue. The overhead bins now offer advertising space.

[In-Cabin Advertising]

How else to offer cheap flights? Sell water for more than you buy fuel.

[Ryanair Drinks]

Before the flight there is an annoying jingle that is played over and over as they spruik duty free goods and lotto tickets. This annoying jingle is now a single: Mr Superfly

[Mr Superfly]

Out The Window

[Spanish Enclave Melilla]

[Sierra Nevada mountain range - Andalucia]

[Over Barcelona]

[Frioul Islands - Where the character in The Count of Monte Cristo was imprisoned]

Marseille Airport

Marseille Provence Airport has a terminal for budget airlines, MP2. There is a bus that runs from the airport to central Marseille, for €8.50 (as at Nov 2008).

[MP2 Airport Marseille destinations]

Categories: Flight Review - Tags: airlines, france, marseille, morocco, nador, ryanair

Flight Review: easyJet – Gatwick to Gibraltar

Written by James Clark on November 14, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Flight: easyJet EZY8901
Date: 13 Nov 2008
From: London Gatwick (LGW)
Date: Gibraltar (GIB)

In October 2007 easyJet bought fellow UK carrier GB Airways. Most of the flights operated by GB Airways have since been integrated into the easyjet network. The acquisition meant that easyJet now has rights to fly to Gibraltar.

I am travelling to Morocco and I want to arrive via ferry, so I thought this was a good opportunity to fly to the legendary airport at Gibraltar.

Out of the 5 London airports, I probably like Gatwick the least because it is so expensive to get to. My flight ticket cost me £37 and the train to Gatwick costs £10.

The flight left at 7.30 and checking in with easyJet at Gatwick is relatively painless. They have so many flights out of Gatwick that they have a general check in line and you can check in earlier if you get there before 2 hours.

[Over the South of England]

As this flight was over 2 hours long they showed a movie (Hancock) on the shared screens. It was free providing you brought your own headsets, otherwise you would have had to have bought a pair.

[Airshow]

Gibraltar is a UK Overseas Territory at the bottom of Spain, and on a clear day you can see Africa. It is a tiny little peninsula of land not big enough for a runway, so it extends out over the water.

Map of Gibraltar

If you are flying to Gibraltar you will get a great view of the famous Rock if you are sitting on the left hand side of the plane.

[Rock of Gibraltar Landing View]

The runway cuts across a road which is shut down when flight activity is taking place. When you leave the airport the frontier to Spain is next door to the right, so you can walk to the town of La Linea across the border.

[Gibraltar Airport and The Rock]

Categories: Flight Review - Tags: airlines, airport, british overseas territory, easyjet, england, gibraltar, london, uk

Flight Review: Tiger Airways – Singapore to Melbourne

Written by James Clark on April 8, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Flight: Tiger Airways TR 702 Date: 27 Feb 2008
Flight: Tiger Airways TT 7567 Date: 28 Feb 2008

Tiger Airways is a low cost airline based in Singapore, with its primary hub at Singapore Changi Airport. Tiger Airways began operations in 2004 and has since set up Tiger Airways Australia in Melbourne and plan to launch Incheon Tiger Airways based in Seoul in 2009.

[Tiger Airways at Singapore Airport]

Tiger Airways fly from Singapore to Melbourne via Darwin. The flight is with Tiger Airways and Tiger Airways Australia on separate aircraft. Unlike other low cost airlines Tiger facilitate the booking of these separate flight segments in the one booking.

Go to Flight Combo on the Tiger Airways website and you can book two segments in one go. It is important to note that this is two separate flights so your bags are not checked through to the final destination.

Another good feature of the Tiger Airways booking procedure is that you can pick your seat when you book your flight. Oh how I loath the mad scramble for a seat that occurs on low cost airline flights with unallocated seats.

Singapore to Darwin
The entire Tiger Airways fleet consists of Airbus A320 aircraft, thus Tiger only fly within a five-hour radius around Singapore. The flight time from Singapore to Darwin is approximately 4 hours 20 minutes.

As Tiger Airways is a bare minimum no frills airline the onus is on you to keep yourself entertained. There is no TV entertainment and no complimentary meal and drink service.

[Tiger Airways Uniform]

Darwin Airport
In Darwin you must claim your bags and clear Australian customs. Then you must check in again for the Tiger Airways Australia flight from Darwin to Melbourne. Darwin Airport is small enough to make this a simple transfer and there is about 2 hours between the Singapore arrival and the Melbourne departure.

With a population of just over 110,000 people Darwin is a small capital city, even by Australian standards. When you look at a map though of Australia and Southeast Asia Darwin is well situated to be a major hub of air traffic between Australia and Asia. Jetstar have floated this idea recently with a plan to make Darwin a springboard into Asia, and I will revisit this idea in another post.

[Time to spare at a laptop bench - Darwin Airport]

Darwin to Melbourne
The second leg of this flight is with Tiger Airways Australia. Flight time from Darwin to Melbourne is just over 4 hours, leaving Darwin at 2.20am and arriving at Melbourne Tullamarine at 8am. I always forget what a big and empty continent Australia is. Asia seems so far away and exotic to us Aussies. Exotic certainly, but Darwin is much closer to many Asian cities than most other Australian capitals.

Like the flight from Singapore this is a no frills service. Drinks and snacks are available to purchase. Here is a price sample (in Australian Dollars):

Muffins $3
Pot Noodles $4
Coke(250ml) $2.5
Coffee $3
Beer (VB/Hahn) $6

At the moment Tiger Airways Australia only operate in and out of their Melbourne base. They are scouting around for new Australian hubs which should be known sometime in 2008.

[Tiger Airways - Proudly Calling Melbourne Home]

Categories: Flight Review - Tags: airlines, australia, darwin, melbourne, singapore, tiger airways

Flight Review: Bangkok Airways – Samui to Singapore

Written by James Clark on March 28, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Flight: Bangkok Airways PG 961
Date: 24 Feb 2008

Bangkok Airways is a Thai airline based at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok. Bangkok Airways operates flights in Thailand as well as to destinations in Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam.

[Bangkok Airways at Koh Samui]

My flight was from Samui, Thailand to Singapore for a flight of just under two hours.

Bangkok Airways is not a low cost airline as they serve food, and they are not a full service airline as there is no inflight entertainment. They call themselves a boutique airline, which is probably a good way to split the difference.

Seating is assigned and Bangkok Airways serve meals on all flights.

[Bangkok Airways Inflight Meal]