As you know I enjoy to fly luxuriously without paying a lot for it. So this time I flew Business from Dubai to Taipei and it cost less than the Economy ticket!
Yes 4 flights in Business Class for $737 on 3 different airlines! Which was cheaper than an economy ticket 😀 Read on for a full breakdown and how to book the deal.
Just to show how cheap this deal is:
Direct Economy Dubai – Taipei return would have costed me around $1,103
Direct Business Class Dubai – Taipei return would have costed me around $3,281.
The cool thing was that I could visit Taipei and Kuala Lumpur in one trip. Before I explain how I did it, some pictures 😉
The more you save the more exciting the trip is and you can celebrate that in the complementary lounges off course 😀
So how do you book it so cheap?
To book 4 flights in Business Class for just $737 I bought 3 tickets on 3 different airlines:
Let’s see if you still remember the airport codes 😉
- DXB-CMB Emirates Economy
- CMB-KUL Malaysia Airlines Business Class
- KUL-TPE Air Asia Flat Beds
- TPE-KUL Air Asia Flat Beds
- KUL-DXB Emirates Business Class A380 (I have flown until here, the rest of the flights is for later this year)
- DXB-KUL Emirates Business Class A380
- KUL-CMB Malaysia Airlines Business Class
- CMB-KUL Malaysia Airlines Business Class
- CMB-DXB Emirates Economy
So you flew Emirates on a Malaysia airline ticket?
The whole trick here is that you can fly Emirates Business class for cheap because you buy the ticket from Malaysia Airlines. Emirates and Malaysia Airlines are partners that’s why they operate flights for each other on some routes.
It’s a double win: flying Emirates for cheap and experiencing the a380 which has an on board lounge!
Remember that my goal here is not to get somewhere as fast as possible, just to fly luxuriously on a budget and try the Business Class product on different airlines. If you want to fly to a specific destination at a specific date then this game is not for you 🙂
Some of my tickets have some legs remaining. These legs cost around $350, so I have another trip in Business Class with Emirates from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur and Business Class from Kuala Lumpur to Colombo on Malaysia Airlines for just $350.
How can I learn to book cheap flights like that?
Before we start some important notes:
- I strongly recommend reading these articles: Travel hacking demystified part 1, then part 2 and part 3
- My initial goal was not to visit Taipei, I just combined different deals, the deals decided my destination.
- There is only 1 rule: never call the airline if you see deals like this! They might not even know there is a route that prices so cheap and you just pointed that out to them. They will probably shut down the deal and cancel your ticket.
- Be aware that when you use different tickets on different airlines and you miss flights you might be stranded. Airlines only need to take you to the destination on that specific ticket, it’s not their responsibility to rebook flights with another airline on another ticket.
Step 1 Booking Malaysia Airlines Business Class
Price: $700 (add some $ for booking fees)
Price for this trip: $350 Note that I only did the first 2 flights of my ticket, I will fly the 2 other legs later this year.
Book: malaysiaairlines.com multi city tool
It’s best to use google flights multi city to find convenient dates. First it looks as if you will only fly Malaysia Airlines but once you click through you will see that 2 out of the 4 flights will be operated by Emirates.
Now be very careful: there are 2 or 3 Emirates flights you can choose from, make sure to open each one of them and select one on the a380. Why? Because it’s, in my opinion, the best airplane (2 levels) and the best business class product and you have an onboard lounge! (It’s like a bar but all the drinks are free)
When you have selected all your fights you can see the total price.
Step 2 Booking Air Asia X Flat Beds
Route: TPE – KUL, KUL – TPE
Price: $387
Book: http://www.airasia.com
As I visited Kuala Lumpur before I did not want to spend 4 days there so I followed forums and waited until I saw I deal departing from KUL.
Suddenly Air Asia did a sale on their Flat Beds and the promotion was valid on return flights from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei.
Seems like you can still book very similar prices on http://www.airasia.com
Step 3 Booking your positioning flight
Route: DXB-CMB, CMB-DXB
Price: $0 used dnata points
Book: https://www.dnatatravel.com and check office locations
The cheap Malaysia Airlines ticket starts in Colombo, Sri Lanka. So somehow you need to get there. I used dnata points which I collected with Emirates NBD dnata World credit Card to book a return trip to position to Colombo and to return to Dubai in the end.
As you can see it’s a big puzzle, you need to find deals within certain date ranges. These deals don’t cost a lot of money but quite some research time and is mostly done by people on FlyerTalk Forums 🙂 So all credits to FlyerTalk for discovering these fares.
So start reading these forums and contribute as well if you see any deals.
Some interesting things happened on the way
Visa issues almost ended my trip in Sri Lanka.
Emirates checkin counter: my routine, smile and ask for an exit row seat so I can start my economy positioning flight to Colombo with some extra legroom. The plan was to only take carry on but Emirates has become very strict, the total weight is over the limit and I have to check in one bag. But then I realize that I will have to go through immigration in Sri Lanka to pick up my bag and carry it on the next flight. I did not apply for a visa assuming I would only have carry on. Google is my friend but It’s not clear if I will even get a transit visa on arrival … which could mean they send me back to Dubai right away 😮
After touch down in Colombo I go to a few different airline and transfer desks. I explain the situation, different tickets different airlines, no visa. At this point people start asking questions why I did not book 1 ticket with Kuala Lumpur as final destination. This is the risk of this hobby, if you have different tickets and miss flights or can’t check your luggage all they way your cheap trip can turn into a nightmare. Long story short after going back and forward a few times I get a free transit visa, yesss 🙂 It’s quite funny, going through immigration, picking up your bag, walking outside the airport (so I was officially in Sri Lanka for 5 minutes) then walking to the departure hall and go through security and immigration again.
Sir, your passport is not valid for 6 months 😮
Relieved that I have my bag and no visa issues, I walk to the Malaysia Airline check in. Finally my Business Class adventure will start. No need to check in bags here as you can take more carry on weight in Business Class. But I see the lady behind the counter pointing at my passport and discussing something with her colleague. “Sir your passport is not valid for 6 months anymore, you cannot fly.” Eeuuh what, slightly in shock, did I really miss something?! I ask if I can see my passport, knowing I only renewed a few years a go. The expiry month is indeed within 6 months but then I kindly point to the Year. Her hand moves to her mouth to hide a giggle. “I am so sorry sir, sorry! I didn’t check the year, enjoy your flight!”. Haha what’s hapening today!? Well this is it, after all the preparations, it’s time to fly in style on a budget!
The first time somebody checked my passport for 5 minutes.
The flight from Colombo to Kuala Lumpur is pretty smooth and after chilling in the Air Asia Lounge (which is so cool! more in another post) it’s time to try the flat beds of Air Asia to Taipei. It’s almost time to discover the capital of Taiwan but first I have to go through immigration. The officer checks my passport, pretty normal. But he is getting a magnifying glass and some extra light to get a closer look, for over 5 minutes … Well that’s the first time. I guess so many stamps on one day might be a reason for them to do an extra check. But luckily after scanning my fingers, not sure how many times I did that today, I hear “Have a nice stay in Taipei sir.”
That was still an amazing adventure you had for all the struggles/challenges you experienced indeed you surpass all of it. You inspired me to travel in the future and try to experiment with business flights in a cheap way. Thank you and keep on traveling looking forward to your new travel post.