I have realized recently that not everyone is aware of the extensive development of budget airlines around the region in the last few years.

 

Especially if you want to make side-trips on the back of a trip to Southeast Asia, they can be a very economical way of doing so.  However, bookings can often only be made online, so your travel agent may not tell you about them as an option.

 

They usually don't offer frills such as free food and drinks and their baggage allowances can be tighter (check the airline, it varies), but the ticket prices often start at US$25 (plus taxes!).

 

When they started, they weren't always that reliable.  However, the best ones are now probably as good as the big airlines – e.g., AirAsia (now one of the biggest) boasts an on-time arrival performance (defined as getting to the arrival gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time) for January 2006 of 94%, which compares well with a premier airline such as Cathay Pacific, which currently boats 93.7%.

 

A fairly comprehensive lists of Asia's budget airlines can be found at: http://www.attitudetravel.com/lowcostairlines/asia/

 

Here is some basic information on where to look for those operating to/from Singapore:

(Note: new destinations are being added regularly).