Cheap last hour International Tickets?

[ethernet]

In Places like Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, is it possible to front up at the airport and ask is there a cheap ticket on the next flight going out? Short hop, like sgn to singapore LCC? etc.

I was in a plane 1/3 full if that (Tiger) and the Aircraft maintenance engineer said I could have got one real cheap at the airport counters. On another forum , a thread hinted that regular airlines ie Singapore, were going for the same price as a budget LCC ticket on a cheesy LCC airline.

(I am not happy with the LCC's now that USD $55 is tacked on to to the bait price)

Whats the truth, and if so how many hours beforehand to rock up - or is this not correct?

[JohnK]

Originally Posted by ethernet

Whats the truth, and if so how many hours beforehand to rock up - or is this not correct?

I don't know much about LCCs but I would expect trying to buy a last minute ticket on a full service carriers like Qantas, Singapore, Thai etc would be very expensive. If they sold cheap tickets at the last minute there would be hardly anyone buying tickets in advance.

[toowongman]

Originally Posted by JohnK

I don't know much about LCCs but I would expect trying to buy a last minute ticket on a full service carriers like Qantas, Singapore, Thai etc would be very expensive. If they sold cheap tickets at the last minute there would be hardly anyone buying tickets in advance.

+1 to that. I lost track of what day it was a few years ago (long story), woke up at one in the afternoon in Sydney. Had to be in Brisbane CBD by 6pm or else. VB full, QF $1102.50 (business only). Then again, supply vs. demand will determine what you pay.

[Evan]

If you trying to ask about specific routes, like SIN-KUL then yes you can get cheap tickets a couple of hours before... but only if the flights are rather empty, never SIN-HKG have ai seen cheap.

If you talking about real long haul, like SIN-MEL i have never seen cheap last minute deals however i have seen the cheap classes become available, so to say you wont pay any less that the normal cheapest advance booking but youmay just pay the same... but if a flight is full... well forget it !

I have booked QF & BA so last minute a few times that by the time i had got to the airport they had not completed thie ticketing. (SIN-<somewhere>-MEL). Even once handed my card over at the ticket counter at the end of the check-in to get my ticket but i had already purchased on-line so i knew the price was set.

E