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Southern Thailand direct to Penang by air?

Sampan

traveller
Posts: 100

Hi folks,

Does anyone know if there is a direct flight from somewhere in southern Thailand (Phuket, Hat yai) to Penang? I've checked Airasia and they do have a flight listed but it's not possible to book and i can't find it in their timetable either.

Any help is much appreciated

Happy trails..

#1 Posted: 3/4/2011 - 12:13
SBE

mahout
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If it says "this flight is probably fully booked, please try another date" and when you do try other dates, the same message comes up, it usually means they've scrapped the route. If it isn't in their timetable then the route has almost certainly been withdrawn.

They never formally announce route closures on their website, just make a very loud noise when they open new ones!

#2 Posted: 3/4/2011 - 12:38
Sampan

traveller
Posts: 100

Thanks much SBE, I suppose its scrapped then.

However, i just found Firefly (not the most convincing name for an airline?) that seems to have daily flights out of Phuket, cheap fares too. Does anyone have any experience with them, good or bad?

#3 Posted: 3/4/2011 - 12:59
CrankyCarrot

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If you go by minivan from Hat Yai, it will cost about $10-$15 US and take around 3-4 hours.

#4 Posted: 3/4/2011 - 13:13

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CrankyCarrot

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If you go by minivan from Hat Yai, it will cost about $10-$15 US and take around 3-4 hours.

#5 Posted: 3/4/2011 - 13:13

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SBE

mahout
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I think the problem is going to be getting from Phuket to Had Yai right now rather than crossing the border Cranky! If the road south is indeed impracticable due to flood damage, there's going to be a high demand for flights to both Had Yai and Penang.

Haven't tried Firefly but I expect it's perfectly fine.

#6 Posted: 3/4/2011 - 17:33
idreamofdur-
ian

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I flew FireFly for the first time last weekend. The plane was much smaller than AirAsia, but it was a perfectly comfortable flight and they even gave free refreshments - cake and juice.

#7 Posted: 3/4/2011 - 19:49

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ian

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I flew FireFly for the first time last weekend. The plane was much smaller than AirAsia, but it was a perfectly comfortable flight and they even gave free refreshments - cake and juice.

#8 Posted: 3/4/2011 - 19:49

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CrankyCarrot

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@SBE - Oh right. I knew that :]~

Don't know Firefly, but I once flew in fear of fire, on 1-2-Go from Bangkok to Phuket.

Thought we were going to crash about fifty times. Airline has a bad rep. Sure is cheap though!

#9 Posted: 4/4/2011 - 12:50

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mahout
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You're cleverer than I am Cranky! I've tried several times but never managed to actually book any flights on the1-2-Go (now called Orient Thai I think) website. It's still one of the crappiest most user-unfriendly airline websites ever...used to be in Thai only too if I remember right.

The difference between it and Air Asia's website probably largely explains why Air Asia grew like mad and 1-2-go didn't! (Air Asia, Nok Air and 1-2-Go all started up at roughly the same time a few years back)

Actually I did check to see if 1-2- Go and Nok Air had Phuket -Had Yai flights yesterday. Nok Air doesn't. 1-2-Go say they do but when you try to book they say no flight available .... so I didn't recommend Sampan to try them too! Firefly sounds like a better bet to me.

#10 Posted: 4/4/2011 - 16:52