Cheaper Airfare

Kakak will be going back to Indonesia in August (for a month) to celebrate Hari Raya with her family. She's been with us for 2 years already and we've just renewed her contract. Every time I think about her long leave, I'd be wondering how I'm going to survive a whole month without her. I know, I know, I'm terribly pampered. :p Too dependent on her already. Anyway, I'm sure we'll be fine. Definitely more work to do than usual but it's just for a month. Sure can survive one. :D

She told me the nearest airport to her kampung is Semarang but AA doesn't fly there. Based on my "research", there's no direct flight from KL to Semarang. She'll have to transit Jakarta. I finally decided on Garuda Indonesia. It's better to get the ticket from one airline, just in case of delays. When buying from different airlines, if the first flight is delayed, causing her to miss the second (or connecting) flight, the ticket is considered burnt and she'd have to buy a new one. And there's the risk of the tickets being sold out.

Garuda has a special fare for Indonesian passport holders. I've checked with a tour agency, for the same flight, the price was very much higher (more than double). With the special fare, it's also cheaper than buying from 2 separate airlines. Purchasing the ticket is hassle free. I don't have to go to their office to make payment or to collect the air ticket. I made the booking via telephone and given 3 weeks to make payment (bank-in or transfer funds online to their Citibank account). After payment's been made, just fax to them the payment slip and they'd e-mail to me the e-ticket. So simple.

By the way, this is NOT a paid post. Just want to share this with you. So if you plan to buy flight tickets for your Indonesian helper, do check out Garuda Indonesia for comparison purpose.