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If your starting point and your final destination is in Europe, every trip can be an adventure. Usually our budget dictates what mode of transportation we use, but we will agree that there are other parameters which guide us when we talk about our vacation.
We believe that most of us have similar experiences with bus, car, and train travel. When it comes to air travel – yes, not so many people use charter flights for summer vacations. Anyhow, when we take everything into consideration we become aware that certain destinations are simply not affordable, unless we travel by an airplane.
If you plan to go to China or if someone else, such as a travel agent, makes arrangements on your behalf, be prepared for a 29-hour flight to Yunnan province and its administrative capital Kunming, in our case. Consider that the starting point in that case is in Europe, in Belgrade (Serbia).
When you talk about a travel agency, and if you travel with an organized group, the prices for regular flights are useless to you. Charter flight fees are defined by contracts between tour operators and charter airlines. Because of that the prices are fixed, the airplane seats are sold in advance, and passengers/tourists have to purchase vacation packages, which include charter airline tickets, offered by travel agents or their subagents.
If you decide to travel solo, on your own terms, the situation with ticket prices for regular airline travel is quite different. Although frequent fliers already know that, the prices change very often. The fees are dictated by the number of available seats on regular air routes and statutory/public holidays, but they also depend on departure times – the beginning or end of the week, and if you fly in the morning, during the day, or late in the evening.
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We always recommend that you start searching for your airplane tickets (regardless of your destination) at least a month and a half before the scheduled departure date. That way you can watch for the price fluctuation and purchase the tickets when you think that they are the most affordable.
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Considering that we passengers do not know exactly which airlines have mutual codeshare agreements, we suggest that you browse and search for different options for your destination online, by utilizing specialized search engines. That way you will be able to see all listed prices from the lowest to the highest, planned routes, duration of flights, and possible connections/transfers or stopovers. Some search engines specialized for airline tickets and reservations will offer their ‘price alert’ option, which means that any price change on a particular route will be emailed to you! That’s cool, isn’t it!?
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Code sharing is a business arrangement where two or more airlines share the same route. One airline operates the flight, provides an aircraft, cabin crew, and services during the flight, while the other company or companies are allowed to sell seats for that particular flight under their own code.
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Pay attention to the information about flight duration before you choose an airline or purchase tickets. A trip to China is not something you take for granted. The price difference of only 661 Serbian dinars (RSD), about 5 euros (EUR), can cost you almost six hours of additional travel time.
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All roads, from many different directions to Beijing, lead through its airport (the international airport code is PEK). Always tend to go forward!
If you fly from Belgrade (BEG) to Kunming (KMG), expect that you will spend almost 28 hours traveling, including two transfers. A flight to Moscow (SVO) lasts 2 h and 45 min and the transfer time at the airport is 7 h and 25 min. The flight from Moscow to Beijing is estimated at 7 h and 40 min, where you wait 6 h and 10 min before you board again. You arrive in Kunming from Beijing in 3 h and 50 min. The total of 27 hours and 50 minutes.
Remember those 5 euros because there is always an alternative route. From Belgrade (BEG) to Amsterdam (AMS) you fly 2 h and 35 min and the transfer time is 18 h and 15 min. A flight from Amsterdam to Beijing lasts 9 h and 15 min, the wait time in Beijing is 2 h and 5 min, and the flight to Kunming is estimated at 3 h and 45 min. The total of 35 hours and 55 minutes.
In our case, the ticket price to Kunming via Moscow was 80.500 RSD (653 EUR), while the flight through Amsterdam was 79.839 RSD (648 EUR).
Because we have visited Yunnan province twice, we have used both of the aforementioned routes. The flight via Amsterdam and the 18-hour transfer time at Schiphol Airport will give you an opportunity to stay at one of the hotels or hostels in the vicinity and to go sightseeing. Rest assured that a good night’s sleep will be beneficial to you. Think about it… a trip with an additional destination to visit!
In any case, the stay in China is more important than the flights and transfers. At the end, let us mention that all the information regarding the fees and flights were provided two months ahead of time, in January for March of the current year – 2017.
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author: Nenad Butaš
photo: Marko Rupena
text.en: Dragan Dobožanović
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