For a 2 hour flight? I'll go see my brother in SF for that kind of money!
For a 2 hour flight? I'll go see my brother in SF for that kind of money!
Oh! My mistake, I guess... but Fan Fares = Dragon Air, and generally short local flights with Cathay = Dragon Air, so I assumed that's what you meant... sorry. Just like bashing them too much.
I must be using Skyscanner incorrectly. I've always found it to be more expensive than going direct through the airlines' websites.
You get the cheapest flights by not selecting "direct" normally - flights with at least one stop are usually cheaper. If you just want to fly direct, the amount of choice is pretty small most of the time. The airline from here (Cathay or Dragonair) plus the airline from the other end! with a few exceptions.
It also has a really good app for iphone - so you can while time away on the MTR checking out cheap holiday destinations!
I guess I've just been lucky with Dragonair as I've always had very positive experiences with them. The only thing that put me off was on a flight to Hanoi with them. The seats on that particular plane were designed for very short passengers! I couldn't rest my head against the back of my seat as it finished at my shoulder height - and I couldn't slide down my seat to manage it as there was no legroom. I'm only 5"9 so hardly a giant!! Thank God it was a short flight! Other flights with them have been on "normal planes" i.e. not designed for midgets.
You must have been on one of the smaller/older models that Dragonair runs. The guys in my family are pretty tall, so we always try to find airlines that have bigger seats. If you're interested Smart Travel Asia has a mega seat comparison chart that we use to pick longer haul flights. You'll find it at http://www.smarttravelasia.com/economy.htm
By the way, Groupon does some getaway deals. Mostly they're for China/Taiwan, but sometimes you get good deals for places further afield like Japan or Vietnam. It's a little hit-or-miss but you can always try your luck.
The other option is to use Expedia. If you book flights with hotels you get a great package discount. It's a little convoluted to go through the booking process, but you get to pick your price point and timing. I've gotten some pretty good deals there (i.e. HK-Phuket flight + 2 nights accomodation at a 5 star hotel for HK$2500).