Air Asia to Yangon, cheap fares

[rak sa_ngop]

It may not be be best time of the year to visit Myanmar because of the rains, but I have just picked up a return Bangkok-Yangon ticket with Air Asia for 2570 baht, for middle September 2013.

Now the problem of finding reasonably priced accommodation.

[SeaVisionBurma]

Excellent price, well done.

Thanks for letting us know (actually I looked as well and saw those fares, but will be away in Indonesia for work so had to pass.

What sort of hotel are you looking for? Price range, location?

As I tell most folks now, if you're happy with a price of $60 a night and up for a fair/reasonable room - then you'll be okay.

If you're looking to go cheaper, be prepared for an even more drastic reduction in comforts and amenities - if you want higher quality digs, then be prepared to go up over $100 a night.

And never make a price comparison between Bangkok and Yangon for accommodation - else there will be tears!!

cheers

SVB

[SeaVisionBurma]

Current sale landing page referred to above can be found here: Air Asia September Sale

[DagonKhan]

These guys are shaking things up apparently:- http://gmairlines.com/

I see they're advertising Yangon > BKK for US$40++.

Using their online booking tool I put a date in of 11th September from BKK to Yangon and return date of 18th September and it came up with US$107 including taxes. THB 3,363 according to todays XE.com exchange rate.

So yours is still cheaper rak.

[rak sa_ngop]

These guys are shaking things up apparently:- http://gmairlines.com/

I see they're advertising Yangon > BKK for US$40++.

Using their online booking tool I put a date in of 11th September from BKK to Yangon and return date of 18th September and it came up with US$107 including taxes. THB 3,363 according to todays XE.com exchange rate.

So yours is still cheaper rak.

For my ticket price of 2570 baht I deselected the 1000 baht charge for checked luggage. Outbound 19th Sept

[rak sa_ngop]

 

Excellent price, well done.

Thanks for letting us know (actually I looked as well and saw those fares, but will be away in Indonesia for work so had to pass.

What sort of hotel are you looking for? Price range, location?

As I tell most folks now, if you're happy with a price of $60 a night and up for a fair/reasonable room - then you'll be okay.

If you're looking to go cheaper, be prepared for an even more drastic reduction in comforts and amenities - if you want higher quality digs, then be prepared to go up over $100 a night.

And never make a price comparison between Bangkok and Yangon for accommodation - else there will be tears!!

cheers

SVB

 

I have now booked The Thamada hotel. I stayed there 3 years ago for 25 USD a nignt. Now the price is 60 USD.

It used to have a really good Singaporean run coffee shop attached and the included breakfast was excellent (no stone cold fried eggs).

I hope the coffee shop is still there!

[householder]

I used GMA for a while when I could get $87 return all in. Now I alternate between Air Asia/GM and whoever is cheapest.

Yup Cafe 365 is still there, still open 24/7.

[DagonKhan]

I used GMA for a while when I could get $87 return all in. Now I alternate between Air Asia/GM and whoever is cheapest.

Tell us about GMA householder, how would you rate them?

I might try them out one day.

[householder]

First, it seems that when you add on checked luggage, AirAsia works out marginally cheaper. GMA also gets in to YGN a fair bit later than the AirAsia flights (around 21:55).

Seats are old and not so comfortable. But it's a one hour flight, so I really don't care. Service is fine. Pilots are sometimes Burmese, sometimes Western. It's always departed and arrived on time and a smooth flight each way.

They serve food and it seems reasonably priced. But again, it's a one hour flight.

Departure is from Gate 5 at YGN, which is downstairs. You take a bus to the plane. Likewise coming back. But at BKK it's a gate to and from. They mentioned a shuttle bus on the trip back in to YGN but for where I live a downtown trip is inconvenient, so I have no need for it and didn't get more details.

My first flight with them was about a week after they started operations. Couldn't get the site's seat booking selector to work properly, so I just turned up and was given a seat at the back. The flight was pretty well empty, so I asked if I could move up (I like to clear the airport as quickly as I possibly can) and there were no problems. More recent flights have got more full so it's not been possible since. But since I do my visa runs alone I don't really care where I sit and just have to move a bit faster when off the plane if sat further back. At BKK I arrived with 45 minutes before the gate closed, and ended up in the 9th row.

Flight prices seem to vary depending on when you're booking and the dates you're looking at.

It is what it is: a dam_n cheap flight to/from BKK if you hit the lowest fares, that seems to have put downward pressure on AirAsia's prices on the same route. That can only be a good thing and from using both I'll just go with whoever's cheapest at the time. Depends on which airport - BKK or DMK - and arrival/departure times suit best. Where I am in BKK it's more or less equidistant between the airports by taxi (at least according to Google).

Edited August 10, 2013 by householder

[bangkokstick]

Why are hotels so expensive there ? No large choice yet ?

[householder]

Huge demand, minimal supply. Oh and homestays are prevented because of some nonsense about foreigner habits being unsuited to staying in Burmese households. if you believe that...