[PRE-DEPARTURE] Choosing the Airline to Take

Travelling used to be very expensive, but with all the promotion fares and budget airlines, travelling is actually more affordable than it used to. If you are planning your trip to Seoul, and are spoilt for choices, check out this post.

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Here are some of the airlines you can take if you are going to Seoul from Singapore: - 

• Singapore Airlines
• Asiana Airlines
• Korean Air
• Scoot (non-direct, transit in Taipei)
• AirAsia (non-direct, transit in KL)
• Cathay Pacific (non-direct, transit in Hong Kong)

Personally, I've taken Singapore Airlines and Asiana Airlines for a couple of times. The 3 direct flights (SQ, Asiana and Korean Air) are my perferred airlines when travelling to Seoul. I will explain why in a bit. Most people choose budget flights because they think that the fares of major carriers are expensive. This is only true to a certain extent. In recent years, there are many promotions for major carriers and sometimes, they are even cheaper, or even better, same price as budget flights. You get to enjoy in-flight entertainment, 20 to 30kgs check-in baggage and best thing? No transit. Direct flight 6 hours to Seoul. So you should always monitor the prices for all the airlines for awhile before you book your flight!

Singapore Airlines

Price: Approx SGD650 to SGD1,200 (Economy)

Flight timings are pretty good. I usually take the morning flight and will reach Seoul by late afternoon. The flight back is around 4pm so you still have ample time to do some last minute shopping. SQ offers better timings but at a steeper price. I like travelling with SQ because hahaha I'm a Singaporean and travelling on your country's airlines always make one feel more comfortable. If you are a Krisflyer member, you get to accumulate miles too. SQ has also recently increase their baggage allowance so if you are travelling on Economy, you get to check in up to 30kg worth of baggage. No more worrying about paying for excess baggage. Trust me, you really don't want to pay for excess baggage because they are so not worth the money!

Sign up for SQ's mailing list and they will e-mail you once they have promotions. Fastest fingers first! Their promo fares sell out pretty fast. Promo fares are usually SGD600-800 All-In. Very very worth it for SQ's standards. 

Asiana Airlines

Price: Approx SGD600 to SGD1200 (Economy)

If you prefer midnight flights, then Asiana timings will be perfect for you. You will reach Seoul in the morning and will have the entire day without "wasting time" on the flight. You can have a good night sleep on the plane and when you are up, you've arrived in Seoul! I took Asiana twice and I have not paid more than $800 for my tickets. The only point to note about Asiana is that, their flights are very prone to delays. Of the two times I took Asiana, both flights got delayed. Also, Asiana is really strict about excess baggage. I've paid SGD150 for my excess baggage before. I usually book my flight through Zuji.com. Do check the price of the fares on Asiana's website. Sometimes, Zuji maybe slightly more expensive. 

These are the only two airlines that I've taken to Seoul. Some of the prices of the other airlines are

• Korean Air: Similar to Asiana and SQ
• Scoot: Approx SGD600-700 (add-on for check-in baggage and in-flight food)
• AirAsia: Approx 400-900 (add-on for baggage)
• Cathay Pacific: SGD600 to SGD800 with 23kg check-in baggage

As you can see, budget flights aren't neccessary cheap. You just need to top up a small amount and you get to travel in comfort (not saying budget flights are not comfortable), and get more baggage space.