Cheap
Flights to Cambodia
With AirAsia
That's only $50 per leg, all taxes
included! If you're flying from Malaysia, that's only $100 round trip.
Not too
bad at all.
What is bad about AirAsia, though, is the flight schedule. They really
leave it up to us to plan the best routes and make the best of that low
fare.
For example, flying to Siem Reap from Jakarta is a big hassle. Why?
Because there is no direct flight, and the plane from Kuala Lumpur to
Siem Reap leaves at 7 in the morning with only one plane a day and four
flights per week.
The hassle factor comes in from the fact that there
isn't a plane arriving early enough from Jakarta to catch the Siem
Reap plane. Thus, the only solution is to fly in the day before and
spend the night in Kuala Lumpur.
Staying overnight at the airport
If AirAsia's LCCT airport was like Changi then I wouldn't mind the waiting so much. But LCCT is, well, LCCT. Facilities are sparse, seating areas limited, and there's not much to do.
LCCT does
live up to its
name, Low Cost Carrier Terminal. (I still can't believe they named the
terminal as such. Was the marketing department asleep when it was
chosen? But then again, I'm sure the low cost part of it contributes
much to my cheap flights to Cambodia.)
But LCCT has improved a lot recently. They now have the Food Garden, a
food court that is open 24 hours. Plus, there is now fast and
free
Wi-Fi at LCCT. Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi doesn't work at the
Food Garden, even
though the food court is only about 500 meters away from LCCT's main
building.
Even so, for many the Wi-Fi service is heaven sent. If you
don't have
anything to do for 5 hours, rest assured that you can find plenty of
stuff
on the internet.
Is it safe to stay overnight at LCCT?
There were lots of people
around the
airport during the wee hours of the night. Most of them are Malaysians,
who, like me, were waiting for
their next flight. While I know they hated to be there, I'm glad there
were plenty of people around. It made for a safer environment,
especially when it was so late at night.
So at that small terminal, the day never seems to end. Airport workers
keep working, restaurants keep serving, and the money changer keeps
changing.
Things about AirAsia
When it was time to check in for the Siem Reap flight in the morning, everything went smoothly. There was only a 15 minute delay and that is a great feat for AirAsia. But then, on the plane I was reminded of another AirAsia trait: the very cramped seats.
I know I did say that
it's a short flight from Malaysia to Cambodia, but that two hours on
the
plane was just torture. With an almost full plane, and with people on
each side, there wasn't much that a person can do, not even to stretch
the legs or the elbows.
Again, I reminded myself, "You chose AirAsia and you knew how it would
be". Oh yes, I knew, I had just forgotten about it. But I won't forget
again. AirAsia does offer cheap flights to Cambodia, but
with a price.
So to fellow travelers who get their cheap flights to Cambodia through
AirAsia, know
that the above inconveniences could happen to you.
If you happen to
board an empty plane, then that's great. If you happen to experience no
delays whatsoever, that's amazing. But just know that the chances of
those things happening are somewhat slim.
However, if you'd still like to fly with AirAsia, here are some tips
that
might be useful if you know you'll be camping overnight at LCCT. I know
they would have benefited me if I had followed my own advice.
Tips for making your LCCT transit more bearable:
- Bring a laptop, a Smartphone, or a PDA with Wi-Fi
capabilities, and make sure the battery will last as long as
your transit time. If that's not possible, consider getting an adapter
that will fit into a Malaysian electrical socket. That way you can use
the AC
adapter instead. What good is a Wi-Fi when you can't access it?
- If you need to spend the night at the airport and don't
feel comfortable enough to sleep while waiting, consider taking a long
nap in the afternoon. That way you'll be able to stay awake
the entire
night.
- Travel light. There's nothing worse than having to lug
several bags, a backpack, and a laptop, and then having to watch
over them for several hours.
- Travel with a friend, and bring some cards or other games
to pass the time. If you don't know your travel partner well, being
stuck together for five hours will instantly bond, or estrange, the
both
of you.
- Bring a jacket for the cold airport night. Even though you're travelling to the tropics, the airports are always cold.
So in short...
There really isn't something for nothing. The cheap flights to
Cambodia through AirAsia have a price of inconvenience. I suppose it's
up to each of us to decide whether the price of that inconvenience is
too high or not.
Enjoy hunting for cheap flights to Cambodia. Hopefully your journey to Siem Reap will be easier than mine. My only consolation to the whole arrangement was that on the return flight from Siem Reap to Jakarta, the schedule worked out nicely.
With only less than two hours in transit at LCCT, the time should fly by like nothing at all.
Where would you like to go now?
List of Flights to Cambodia - Either to Siem Reap or toPhnom PenhWant to know which airlines have flights to Cambodia? Here's a list of all flights to Cambodia, broken down by airlines and cities.
Go back to Finding Cheap Flights to Cambodia to find out how to get cheap flights for your trip
Go to Cambodia Travel info for other travel related information
Return from Cheap Flights to Cambodia With AirAsia to Holiday in Angkor Wat (homepage)
