My travel plans for 2020 has become uncertain, no thanks to the current health pandemic which has deeply affected global aviation.
This has caused many people to postpone or cancel their travel plans. Many airlines have either suspended or reduced frequencies on numerous flight routes due to reduced demand.
Many countries have also put up travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine for foreign visitors to curb the spread of covid-19 within the country.
Singapore currently requires locals returning from certain countries abroad to undergo 14 days mandatory quarantine. The list of countries is subject to change as the situation is evolving on a daily basis.
With this in mind, I have decided to cancel my March school holiday plans for this week. In the beginning, I was supposed to travel on American Airlines from Los Angeles to Shanghai. This was the second leg of my flight ticket purchased last year.
American Airlines has since suspended the route. I received an email and a phone call on the changes to my itinerary, as well as my options. I opted for a full refund for half the ticket cost since I had travelled on the first leg last year. And I had no intention to travel from the United States to China for now. The customer service representative processed my request on the phone and directed me to complete the procedure on its website with ease. The refund process was thankfully quick and straightforward.
Next, I had wanted to visit the Maldives. Flight ticket cost is surprisingly affordable even for this week travel on full service carriers such as Singapore Airlines. However, in light of the evolving situation and my work commitments, I have decided to just not travel for this week.
On a positive note, with minimal travel planned thus far, I have managed to save much more than previous years.
In my previous post, Emirates was supposed to launch a new fifth freedom Singapore to Penang flight in April. That flight was now postponed to launch on 1st May, a Singapore public holiday instead. This actually works great for me as I can definitely take the return flight.
With the launch date change, the ticket cost also increased. Fortunately, I contacted Emirates as soon as I was informed via email. Though I was given the option to rebook on other airlines on the same route, I chose to rebook to the new inaugural date, fortunately at no extra charge.
In June, I have confirmed tickets on Cathay Pacific business class from Singapore to China, and Singapore Airlines economy class from China to South Africa, which I purchased last year at a great discount. Given the situation now, I had no plans to travel to China so I was hoping to either change the ticket to originate from Singapore instead or to postpone my Africa travel to December. For now, I'm still keen to visit Africa, though I have yet to book any other travel plans while in Africa.
In July, the Jetstar inaugural flight date from Singapore to Colombo still remains as it is and I'm still looking forward to that !
In October, I have also booked a one way ticket on Singapore Airlines (SQ) from Bangkok to Singapore and then on the SQ inaugural flight to Brussels on its A350 aircraft. This 2-sector ticket actually costs less than the direct Singapore to Brussels flight. Yup, that's how airline ticket pricing works!
Aeroflot, other than launching flight to Singapore in October, will also introduce a new flight to Osaka, Japan in June. I'm currently contemplating purchasing a one-way ticket from Helsinki, Finland to Osaka, Japan. It is during the June school holiday period and I definitely will be able to make it for the flight. The only thing stopping me from getting the ticket is the Singapore travel restrictions. I have only about a day between getting back to Singapore from Osaka and then leaving for China on the Cathay Pacific flight. I will likely wait for another month before deciding on this Aeroflot flight.
Finally, just a couple of days ago, I chanced upon a mistake business class fare on full service carriers from Budapest to Hawaii (Kauai Island) in the range ~S$800. This is priced cheaper than to the United States mainland. I quickly booked it for travel in December, since I know from experience that this fare will disappear shortly after. Hopefully, my ticket will be honored.
With this ticket, I will get to visit Europe and Hawaii. I have been to Honolulu in Hawaii previously so I booked my flights to Kauai Island instead. For the flights, I will have the opportunity to try out Air France A380 business class (a new airline for me), KLM A330 business class with their complimentary little delft house souvenir, Delta 757 business class, Westjet business class (a new airline for me) and Club Europe (nothing to get excited about since its basically economy seating with a blocked middle seat).
Within the 10 days before my return to Europe, I hope to visit other Hawaiian islands by taking Hawaiian Airlines B717 and Southwest aircrafts.
I may also finally try out the Alaska milkrun flights using my Alaska Airline voucher.
In mainland USA, I'm also keen to visit cities such as Miami (again), Orlando Universal Studios, Houston and Atlanta.
If I'm visiting Canada, I would like to travel on the 4D3N trans-Canada train between Vancouver and Toronto.
Of course, I'm also inclined to visit some countries in Latin America: Chile (again), Argentina, Peru and Ushaia.
These are all my great travel ideas for the latter part of 2020!
This has caused many people to postpone or cancel their travel plans. Many airlines have either suspended or reduced frequencies on numerous flight routes due to reduced demand.
Many countries have also put up travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine for foreign visitors to curb the spread of covid-19 within the country.
Singapore currently requires locals returning from certain countries abroad to undergo 14 days mandatory quarantine. The list of countries is subject to change as the situation is evolving on a daily basis.
With this in mind, I have decided to cancel my March school holiday plans for this week. In the beginning, I was supposed to travel on American Airlines from Los Angeles to Shanghai. This was the second leg of my flight ticket purchased last year.
American Airlines has since suspended the route. I received an email and a phone call on the changes to my itinerary, as well as my options. I opted for a full refund for half the ticket cost since I had travelled on the first leg last year. And I had no intention to travel from the United States to China for now. The customer service representative processed my request on the phone and directed me to complete the procedure on its website with ease. The refund process was thankfully quick and straightforward.
Next, I had wanted to visit the Maldives. Flight ticket cost is surprisingly affordable even for this week travel on full service carriers such as Singapore Airlines. However, in light of the evolving situation and my work commitments, I have decided to just not travel for this week.
On a positive note, with minimal travel planned thus far, I have managed to save much more than previous years.
In my previous post, Emirates was supposed to launch a new fifth freedom Singapore to Penang flight in April. That flight was now postponed to launch on 1st May, a Singapore public holiday instead. This actually works great for me as I can definitely take the return flight.
With the launch date change, the ticket cost also increased. Fortunately, I contacted Emirates as soon as I was informed via email. Though I was given the option to rebook on other airlines on the same route, I chose to rebook to the new inaugural date, fortunately at no extra charge.
In June, I have confirmed tickets on Cathay Pacific business class from Singapore to China, and Singapore Airlines economy class from China to South Africa, which I purchased last year at a great discount. Given the situation now, I had no plans to travel to China so I was hoping to either change the ticket to originate from Singapore instead or to postpone my Africa travel to December. For now, I'm still keen to visit Africa, though I have yet to book any other travel plans while in Africa.
In July, the Jetstar inaugural flight date from Singapore to Colombo still remains as it is and I'm still looking forward to that !
In October, I have also booked a one way ticket on Singapore Airlines (SQ) from Bangkok to Singapore and then on the SQ inaugural flight to Brussels on its A350 aircraft. This 2-sector ticket actually costs less than the direct Singapore to Brussels flight. Yup, that's how airline ticket pricing works!
Aeroflot, other than launching flight to Singapore in October, will also introduce a new flight to Osaka, Japan in June. I'm currently contemplating purchasing a one-way ticket from Helsinki, Finland to Osaka, Japan. It is during the June school holiday period and I definitely will be able to make it for the flight. The only thing stopping me from getting the ticket is the Singapore travel restrictions. I have only about a day between getting back to Singapore from Osaka and then leaving for China on the Cathay Pacific flight. I will likely wait for another month before deciding on this Aeroflot flight.
Finally, just a couple of days ago, I chanced upon a mistake business class fare on full service carriers from Budapest to Hawaii (Kauai Island) in the range ~S$800. This is priced cheaper than to the United States mainland. I quickly booked it for travel in December, since I know from experience that this fare will disappear shortly after. Hopefully, my ticket will be honored.
With this ticket, I will get to visit Europe and Hawaii. I have been to Honolulu in Hawaii previously so I booked my flights to Kauai Island instead. For the flights, I will have the opportunity to try out Air France A380 business class (a new airline for me), KLM A330 business class with their complimentary little delft house souvenir, Delta 757 business class, Westjet business class (a new airline for me) and Club Europe (nothing to get excited about since its basically economy seating with a blocked middle seat).
Within the 10 days before my return to Europe, I hope to visit other Hawaiian islands by taking Hawaiian Airlines B717 and Southwest aircrafts.
I may also finally try out the Alaska milkrun flights using my Alaska Airline voucher.
In mainland USA, I'm also keen to visit cities such as Miami (again), Orlando Universal Studios, Houston and Atlanta.
If I'm visiting Canada, I would like to travel on the 4D3N trans-Canada train between Vancouver and Toronto.
Of course, I'm also inclined to visit some countries in Latin America: Chile (again), Argentina, Peru and Ushaia.
These are all my great travel ideas for the latter part of 2020!
