LOG ON OFTEN

Bookmark the budget sites www.tigerairways.com and www.jetstarasia.com.

Jetstar Asia's senior vice-president (marketing) Debbie Woon says that new seats and fares are uploaded on its site over the weekend. 'Logging on some time after Sunday midnight or Monday morning results in the occasional success for a clever customer,' she hints.

'When a customer logs onto our website, our system automatically loads the cheapest fare available for him to select. As seats sell, the cheaper categories will be filled first, followed by the next price band, and so on.'

AVOID PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

During long weekends and other busy periods such as Chinese New Year and public holidays, fares increase between 30 and 50 per cent. This is because budget airlines operate on the 'tiered pricing model', based on demand and supply.

For instance, a Tiger Airways flight to Padang, Indonesia, features a first-tier fare of $19.98. Once this allotment of tickets is snapped up, the price of the tickets moves to the next, more expensive tier, and so on.

PLAN WAY AHEAD

Flights are offered online up to six months in advance. But the closer to the departure date, the more expensive it becomes.

If you are travelling to Bangkok on July 21, for instance, the cheapest return fare to Bangkok on Tiger Airways is about $194 (excluding taxes).

If you booked when the fares were first released, up to six months before take-off, you will have nabbed a return fare of $114.

FIRST MOVER ADVANTAGE

Traditional lull periods are August and September, where special fares are put on to spur impulse travel. Also look out for other year-round promotions.

Special fares may also apply to destinations that an airline is trying to promote. For example, Jetstar Asia offered one-way flights to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap at $8 in May and June.

TRAVEL LIGHT

For passengers laden with golf bags, crates of fruit, or furniture, bear in mind you will have to pay extra. Tiger Airways charges $20 per piece for golf bags, surf boards, prams and other bulky items. Baggage allowance is one bag per passenger, capped at 15kg. Anything heavier is charged at $7.50 per kg.

Jetstar Asia's baggage allowance is 20kg. Excess luggage varies from country to country, ranging from $5 per kg for Bangkok, Phuket and Phnom Penh, to $12 per kg for Yangon.

TOT UP THE TAXES

If you are travelling on Tiger Airways, you pay less in passenger charges. As the airline operates out of the no-frills Budget Terminal, each traveller pays a passenger service charge (PSC) of $7 and passenger security service charge (PSSC) of $6 each.

At Changi Terminals 1 and 2, the PSC is $15 and the PSSC $6.

However, overall taxes vary according to the airport you are headed to. For example, Singapore's Changi Airport charges fuel, insurance and airport tax {Correction: see CXmnemonic} and Hong Kong levies charges for fuel, insurance, airport and network, security and departure tax.

Also, depending on what your airline charges for security and fuel taxes, the total will vary. Budget airlines do not necessarily charge less in taxes.

For example, Jetstar Asia, which flies out of Changi Terminal 1, charges a total of $106 in taxes for its Hong Kong flights. Cathay Pacific, which operates out of the same terminal, charges $92.

But for most destinations, the budget airlines tax you less. For example, a Singapore Airlines flight to Bangkok sets you back $103 in taxes, compared to $92.25 on Tiger Airways.

A Qantas ticket to Darwin would have a tax component of $325, compared to Tiger Airways' $298. Jetstar Asia passengers on its flight to Bangalore pay $175 in taxes, compared to $236 on Singapore Airlines.