It all began on Friday (18 September) with an ad on the television - Jetstar have a sale. Fly to Japan from $349 and fly back for free! Ooh, that sounds good, thinks I. No, no, no, no, no - you can't afford it, forget about it.
Saturday, I remembered that ad, no, no, no, no, no, don't go there. Don't even look online. Ha! Famous last words.....I did look online, selected some dates, yes, $349 from here to Tokyo, and yes, $0 for the return. But - there's always a but, isn't there? The $349 does not include checked baggage or meals. And you don't get to choose your seat. Hmm. So, automatically the checked baggage comes up at 20kg for each leg at $35 a pop. Now, if you're like me, you'll be smart and know you don't need the same amount of luggage weight setting off on your trip as coming home. After all, most people end up with more stuff coming back than when they set out. Souvenirs and all that.
So, I altered the checked baggage weight from 20kg to 15kg - a saving of $5.00. Meals? At $24 that's a fair whack on money. And you don't need to eat in the middle of the night on a plane when your flight leaves at 15 minutes after midnight, you'd normally be asleep at that time, not filling your stomach. So no meals there. A saving of $24.00. The return flight was another matter. Departing at 12.15PM, you will need food, so it makes sense to book your meals. I chose the chicken something or other - found out it's two meals.
Anyway, getting back to things, what with charges for baggage, meals, seat selection and - get this - a $25 fee for credit card (gee they know how to get at you) it came to over $400. I was already to hit the "Confirm" button, but held back. No, no, no, no, no, I told myself, walk away. Do not pass go, go directly to gaol (Monopoly). So I walked away. Shut down the site and walked away.
Came back later for a second shot now didn't I? This time I did pass go, this time I went directly to gaol! Have booked myself a two week trip to Japan. I would have preferred 11 nights, but the flight out was $100 dearer, so I thought better to have an extra three days in Japan, and spend that $100 on three extra nights. (I will be staying in hostels). I'm very glad I decided to do this (I almost wasn't going to you know), but something held me back. Luckily for me, when looking at the flight on the 9th June, I found it wasn't a direct flight. It was Melbourne to Cairns, Cairns to Tokyo, flying time of around 14 hours. That flight leaves Melbourne at 6.10AM and arrives in Tokyo at 18.45PM.
So, went for the 14 day option, direct flights both ways, flying time just under 10 hours. Will be flying out on Monday 6th June and departing from Tokyo on Monday 20th June. If flights go to schedule, I will arrive in Tokyo at 9.05AM and arrive back in Melbourne at 11.10PM.
Adding fees for checked baggage, meal, seat selection (I always have an aisle seat) and the $25 credit card fee, it came to the grand sum of $478. Not exactly the $349 advertised but a bargain nonetheless. Now all I have to do is start saving like mad.
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