Nyc to djakarta
May 23rd, 2021, 01:15 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 23,378
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nyc to djakarta
I would like to visit my cousin who is posted there. I also would llke to celebrate a (too big) birthday and also let my (even older) partner experience a real first class travel experience.
Years ago SingaporeAirlines was my pinnacle but after almost two hours on their useless web site and a talk with a nice but not too savvy agent on the phone, from Manila, I am not sure the Silver Kris or whatever the name is, it still up to my memories of traveling on the arm when working as a travel journalist.
To make this clear, I wanted to book two first cass tix for November, only to be told they were al booked. Can this be true? What other options can I have to give my partner the trip of a lifetime...he is older and has only been to Japan in Asia. I have been saving up for this trip for years and the cost is built into my budget. I want the whole deal.
Qatar Air? I want to make him so happy...pj's...cabins..etc..does Qatar serve alcohol ( this is for me not him!!
Please help me give him the trip of his lifetime although I Jakarta is not at the top of the list of dream destinations (yes I have spent time there in the 70s!) but I thought we could scoot to UBUD or anywhere else suggested...and go home from there...I love my cousin and do not want to miss seeing him in Jakarta..if he agrees..I just wrote him with my plan!!
Anywhere else less touristy than UBUD but with a/c for the newbie????? Nice swimming in cLear water in November?
REMEMBER I am l'm old enough t have a signed copy of the black MOON Handbook to Indonesia which led me into a ton of fun and bit of trouble.
Any and all comments, welcome !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As always
Look for me also on Spain!!!! I so miss all the travel chatter!!!!!!!
Years ago SingaporeAirlines was my pinnacle but after almost two hours on their useless web site and a talk with a nice but not too savvy agent on the phone, from Manila, I am not sure the Silver Kris or whatever the name is, it still up to my memories of traveling on the arm when working as a travel journalist.
To make this clear, I wanted to book two first cass tix for November, only to be told they were al booked. Can this be true? What other options can I have to give my partner the trip of a lifetime...he is older and has only been to Japan in Asia. I have been saving up for this trip for years and the cost is built into my budget. I want the whole deal.
Qatar Air? I want to make him so happy...pj's...cabins..etc..does Qatar serve alcohol ( this is for me not him!!
Please help me give him the trip of his lifetime although I Jakarta is not at the top of the list of dream destinations (yes I have spent time there in the 70s!) but I thought we could scoot to UBUD or anywhere else suggested...and go home from there...I love my cousin and do not want to miss seeing him in Jakarta..if he agrees..I just wrote him with my plan!!
Anywhere else less touristy than UBUD but with a/c for the newbie????? Nice swimming in cLear water in November?
REMEMBER I am l'm old enough t have a signed copy of the black MOON Handbook to Indonesia which led me into a ton of fun and bit of trouble.
Any and all comments, welcome !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As always
Look for me also on Spain!!!! I so miss all the travel chatter!!!!!!!
May 23rd, 2021, 02:36 PM
#4
Singapore and Qatar are just about the top of the class. Qatar's suites are on most flyer's bucket lists (and yes - they serve alcohol)
Do realize that any schedules now for November are pretty much just place holders -- everything (schedules, service, equipment, fares, etc) will likely change multiple times between now and then
Do realize that any schedules now for November are pretty much just place holders -- everything (schedules, service, equipment, fares, etc) will likely change multiple times between now and then
May 23rd, 2021, 03:50 PM
#5
Part of the problem, if you can call it that, is that nobody serves Jakarta with true first class. You can get most of the way in first class on several airlines - Emirates, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, ANA., Korean... but in all cases the final sector, e.g. Hong Kong to Jakarta or Dubai to Jakarta, will be in business class.
In the case of Singapore Airlines, they've cancelled first class service across the system for the rest of the year and into 2022. Singapore Airlines Pulls First & Suites Availability | One Mile at a Time
Now that doesn't mean you're faced with any hardship. Most long-haul business class these days, particularly on the Middle Eastern and Asian carriers, comes pretty close to the first class experience.
In the case of Singapore Airlines, they've cancelled first class service across the system for the rest of the year and into 2022. Singapore Airlines Pulls First & Suites Availability | One Mile at a Time
Now that doesn't mean you're faced with any hardship. Most long-haul business class these days, particularly on the Middle Eastern and Asian carriers, comes pretty close to the first class experience.
May 24th, 2021, 03:48 AM
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 23,378
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ha..Would have been nice if the agent had told me that they were pulled, not full. I then asked her about next fall and she told me try next May or June....
Of the possibilities, do you have any strong suggestions? Nice lounges for layovers? Comfort? I have Skyteam but that is not a major major issue although it would be nice. Not a huge fan of Korean biz, though.... Maybe break the trip for 1-2 nights....HK?
Thank you, as always!
Of the possibilities, do you have any strong suggestions? Nice lounges for layovers? Comfort? I have Skyteam but that is not a major major issue although it would be nice. Not a huge fan of Korean biz, though.... Maybe break the trip for 1-2 nights....HK?
Thank you, as always!
May 24th, 2021, 09:35 AM
#8
Obviously the details of routing and stopovers are going to have to be made in light of current entry restrictions (re Covid) at the time.
I tend to be aggressive on these things and don't want to propose flights of fancy just for the hell of it, but it does strike me that for the kinds of prices I'm seeing from NYC to Indonesia and back in as much international first class (as opposed to business class) as one can find, one could in fact buy a first-class round-the-world ticket from one of the alliances, and possibly even save some money in the process.
Without going into a long song and dance about these products, they're one-price tickets that allow up to 16 flights over the course of 12 months, provided that in the course of the year you cross both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the same direction (i.e. east to west or v.v.) but only once each. For example, a trip that starts in New York and goes to Hong Kong, then to Jakarta, then to, say, Singapore and then someplace in Europe before returning to New York via the Atlantic would qualify for such a ticket.
You could stop over, for as long as you like, anywhere en route, or you could change the itinerary - swap Bangkok for Singapore for example, or Tokyo for Hong Kong, for a modest fee. More interestingly, as long as you don't transit the "origin" city, you could break up the year into a couple of separate trips, thus making even more out of your investment.
Take this imaginary itinerary for example. Because RTW tickets carry different prices based on the country in which travel commences and ends, you'd start in Canada - say Montreal or Toronto, then fly to JFK and change planes to a long-haul flight featuring first class. By doing this you'd pay the Canadian cost for the RTW ticket rather than the US price, which in the case of the Oneworld alliance for a 3-continent (North America, Asia, Europe) first class ticket would make for a savings of almost US$3000.
So in this scenario you'd fly on your own dime to Toronto, start the RTW ticket there, then fly to Boston where you'd board a Cathay Pacific 777 in their amazing first class accommodation, to Hong Kong. You could lay over in Hong Kong for as long as you like, then fly (business class this time because FC isn't available) down to Indonesia.
When you're finished in Indonesia you'd fly to Singapore via Kuala Lumpur (because you'd need to stick with Oneworld alliance airlines, of which only Malaysian is a member in SE Asia.) You could stop over in either/both, then continue in "true" first class to London on British Airways. Again, you could stop over, or fly (in business class) to pretty much anywhere in Europe for a stopover, but then ultimately continue to New York.
Here's where the benefit of the 12-month 16-flight nature of the RTW ticket kicks in. You're back in North America but you still have 5 of the six available flight segments within North America at your disposal. So hang out at home for a couple of months, then use up the rest of the flights for a second big trip before the RTW ticket turns into a pumpkin at 12 months + 1 day. In this scenario I've thrown in a trip to Alaska next summer, but it could just as easily be to California or to the Caribbean, Mexico or Central America, all of which are parts of "North America" according to the airlines.
Map and web link:
Now, money. Using ITA, the round trip price in first class (plus two business class segments between Hong Kong and Jakarta) on Cathay Pacific comes in at US$19,840. (I know, yow.) By comparison, the first class RTW ticket allowing the route described above (or an infinity of others as long as they meet the basic rules) if bought in the USA is $14,296. However, if you're willing to shell out a hundred bucks or so on a one-way flight to Toronto, the Canadian price for the same ticket is US$11,412. That's 20% less than the US price, and 40% less than the "straight" round trip.
So, as usual for me, much more involved than you might have liked, but pretty serious money might be in play. It's worth the "thought experiment" in my mind.
For an even longer dissertation on these fares, here's a thread I posted a couple of years ago that's still reasonably accurate: Round-the-world and multi-continent airfares . A thermos of coffee and maybe some aspirin will help.
I tend to be aggressive on these things and don't want to propose flights of fancy just for the hell of it, but it does strike me that for the kinds of prices I'm seeing from NYC to Indonesia and back in as much international first class (as opposed to business class) as one can find, one could in fact buy a first-class round-the-world ticket from one of the alliances, and possibly even save some money in the process.
Without going into a long song and dance about these products, they're one-price tickets that allow up to 16 flights over the course of 12 months, provided that in the course of the year you cross both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the same direction (i.e. east to west or v.v.) but only once each. For example, a trip that starts in New York and goes to Hong Kong, then to Jakarta, then to, say, Singapore and then someplace in Europe before returning to New York via the Atlantic would qualify for such a ticket.
You could stop over, for as long as you like, anywhere en route, or you could change the itinerary - swap Bangkok for Singapore for example, or Tokyo for Hong Kong, for a modest fee. More interestingly, as long as you don't transit the "origin" city, you could break up the year into a couple of separate trips, thus making even more out of your investment.
Take this imaginary itinerary for example. Because RTW tickets carry different prices based on the country in which travel commences and ends, you'd start in Canada - say Montreal or Toronto, then fly to JFK and change planes to a long-haul flight featuring first class. By doing this you'd pay the Canadian cost for the RTW ticket rather than the US price, which in the case of the Oneworld alliance for a 3-continent (North America, Asia, Europe) first class ticket would make for a savings of almost US$3000.
So in this scenario you'd fly on your own dime to Toronto, start the RTW ticket there, then fly to Boston where you'd board a Cathay Pacific 777 in their amazing first class accommodation, to Hong Kong. You could lay over in Hong Kong for as long as you like, then fly (business class this time because FC isn't available) down to Indonesia.
When you're finished in Indonesia you'd fly to Singapore via Kuala Lumpur (because you'd need to stick with Oneworld alliance airlines, of which only Malaysian is a member in SE Asia.) You could stop over in either/both, then continue in "true" first class to London on British Airways. Again, you could stop over, or fly (in business class) to pretty much anywhere in Europe for a stopover, but then ultimately continue to New York.
Here's where the benefit of the 12-month 16-flight nature of the RTW ticket kicks in. You're back in North America but you still have 5 of the six available flight segments within North America at your disposal. So hang out at home for a couple of months, then use up the rest of the flights for a second big trip before the RTW ticket turns into a pumpkin at 12 months + 1 day. In this scenario I've thrown in a trip to Alaska next summer, but it could just as easily be to California or to the Caribbean, Mexico or Central America, all of which are parts of "North America" according to the airlines.
Map and web link:
Now, money. Using ITA, the round trip price in first class (plus two business class segments between Hong Kong and Jakarta) on Cathay Pacific comes in at US$19,840. (I know, yow.) By comparison, the first class RTW ticket allowing the route described above (or an infinity of others as long as they meet the basic rules) if bought in the USA is $14,296. However, if you're willing to shell out a hundred bucks or so on a one-way flight to Toronto, the Canadian price for the same ticket is US$11,412. That's 20% less than the US price, and 40% less than the "straight" round trip.
So, as usual for me, much more involved than you might have liked, but pretty serious money might be in play. It's worth the "thought experiment" in my mind.
For an even longer dissertation on these fares, here's a thread I posted a couple of years ago that's still reasonably accurate: Round-the-world and multi-continent airfares . A thermos of coffee and maybe some aspirin will help.
Last edited by Gardyloo; May 24th, 2021 at 09:42 AM.
May 24th, 2021, 11:14 AM
#9
You can start looking 11 months in advance. This fall for next fall, You could wait until next May or June but you don't have to. In any case it may or may not be to your advantage to wait to buy.
Good info, Gardyloo. When I saw you mention 'Atantic and Pacifi' and JFK-HKG, I went straight to gcmap to verify that the flight would cross the Arctic but not the Pacific The initial heading of 355° (N) from BOS would be going slightly west and thus cross all of the meridians between BOS and HKG. But then, HKG->SIN would also go west and cross a bit of the Pacific, and then SIN-BOS/JFK would be west. Just having fun with maps.
Good info, Gardyloo. When I saw you mention 'Atantic and Pacifi' and JFK-HKG, I went straight to gcmap to verify that the flight would cross the Arctic but not the Pacific The initial heading of 355° (N) from BOS would be going slightly west and thus cross all of the meridians between BOS and HKG. But then, HKG->SIN would also go west and cross a bit of the Pacific, and then SIN-BOS/JFK would be west. Just having fun with maps.
May 24th, 2021, 01:31 PM
#10
it's all moot for now, isn't it? Can't even get into Canada, much less Indonesia.
If you can ever get into Bali, the snorkeling off the "Pink Beach" in Komodo NP was still pretty nice when I was there in 2017. And Flores is worth a visit.
If you can ever get into Bali, the snorkeling off the "Pink Beach" in Komodo NP was still pretty nice when I was there in 2017. And Flores is worth a visit.
Last edited by mlgb; May 24th, 2021 at 01:39 PM.
May 26th, 2021, 02:59 AM
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 23,378
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Trtue..my re;latove put the kibbosh on the trip; topld me that the hopitals were in dire shape and it was not a good time to come....recommended trying f or next fall. Love the idea of the RTW fare savings.
I've been to Bali and Java a few times but so long ago I wonder if I will be disappointed by all the clutter and commotion now. Never been to Flores. Do the reptiles swim where you are snorkeling off Komodo? I
also loved Mt Bromo. Train from Jakarta was not so much fun when the toilets overflowed down the aisles!
I've been to Bali and Java a few times but so long ago I wonder if I will be disappointed by all the clutter and commotion now. Never been to Flores. Do the reptiles swim where you are snorkeling off Komodo? I
also loved Mt Bromo. Train from Jakarta was not so much fun when the toilets overflowed down the aisles!
May 27th, 2021, 06:46 AM
#12
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 34,858
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I"m a little confused as I thought you DID want to go next Fall. You said you wanted to go next November. The current COVID stats in Indonesia are better than either the US or many European countries, actually. They just had a later surge in SE Asia and W Pacific (surged towards April), but it is decreasing and is still better than here, actually. Of course, they may not have the medical resources and infrastructure/hospitals as many other countries, I understand that. But November is 6 months off.
According to WHO, these are the stats for the last week for Indonesia vs some others
Cases per 100K population:
Indonesia 13.9
US 50.6
India 115.7
France 84.9
Germany 43.4
Deaths per 100K pop:
Indonesia 0.4
US 1.2
India 2.0
France 1.3
Germany 1.3
According to WHO, these are the stats for the last week for Indonesia vs some others
Cases per 100K population:
Indonesia 13.9
US 50.6
India 115.7
France 84.9
Germany 43.4
Deaths per 100K pop:
Indonesia 0.4
US 1.2
India 2.0
France 1.3
Germany 1.3
May 28th, 2021, 04:06 AM
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 23,378
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My cousin whho lives there says the situation is awful and advised me to postpone for next year. Ii trust him because he is there on the ground in a govt position. He also has two small kids which might be driving his decision. He will be there for about three years. and was very clear that I should not come thisi fall.......so I might have other times that I can go, or I can go alone without partner. I adore Indonsia and have been a number of times....I cannot wait to return although I fear the changes I see will not be for the better from my own prospective. At least I will have an on-site guide/cousin! In any case many airlines (Sing) are not allowing Americans to go via Sing, so there it is...
Last edited by ekscrunchy; May 28th, 2021 at 04:10 AM.
May 28th, 2021, 07:27 PM
#14
I don't doubt your cousin's report. I wouldn't trust the statistics anyways. Plus they will vary by location. I remember early on no one believed the statistics there.
Re the Pink Beach, no the dragons don't swim there!
The town of Labuan Bajo had a lot of snorkel and scuba shops when I was there. We took one of the old wooden boats out to Komodo and stopped at Pink Beach on the way back. There is a nice new airport at LB, easy to reach from Bali by air although I think some people were coming by a tour from Lombok which was more diving focused.
There is a lot of interesting culture in Flores which differs from the other islands and I'm sorry we didn't get to see any of it, such as the "spider web rice fields" but it was a nature tour.
It isn't the easiest island to get around, even a seemingly short distance takes forever, winding roads where they exist. Some of the best coffee I've ever tasted.
Re the Pink Beach, no the dragons don't swim there!
The town of Labuan Bajo had a lot of snorkel and scuba shops when I was there. We took one of the old wooden boats out to Komodo and stopped at Pink Beach on the way back. There is a nice new airport at LB, easy to reach from Bali by air although I think some people were coming by a tour from Lombok which was more diving focused.
There is a lot of interesting culture in Flores which differs from the other islands and I'm sorry we didn't get to see any of it, such as the "spider web rice fields" but it was a nature tour.
It isn't the easiest island to get around, even a seemingly short distance takes forever, winding roads where they exist. Some of the best coffee I've ever tasted.
Last edited by mlgb; May 28th, 2021 at 07:37 PM.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Dionne Benjamin-Smith
United States
4
Jun 18th, 2002 07:46 AM
Ross
Canada
10
Aug 20th, 2001 05:21 PM
ET
United States
8
Aug 1st, 2000 09:43 AM
