Yikes. I just checked and there are flights in August flying to China from Mumbai with a layover in Japan. Most of the expats returning home after their contracts ended have been routed through multiple cities.
Airlines are taking bookings without any visibility when government will allow flights to be operational. When date of flight approach, airlines hand out a coupon saying you can travel on the said ticket anytime during the next 1 year (of course if price at that moment is higher you have to pay the difference, if price is lower you won't receive a refund). Few activists approached court and court advised airlines to extend coupon validity from 1 year to 2 years.
In Feb, I booked a crazy connecting flight flying through India-Sri Lanka-Malaysia-Hong Kong-China. Whenever flights are operational either I have to take this back breaking journey or say goodbye to USD 250 ticket. (most likely the latter)
In other related anti-Mustachian news, several expats here have decided to charter their own plane to fly themselves and their families back to the states next month, as they have been unable to find commercial flights. The word on the street is that tickets will cost somewhere between $2K-$10k per person. It’s nice when you have money.
Perhaps ticket cost is paid by their employer.
Several employers have an exorbitant support package for expats in China.
My employer provides following perks for expats in China (unfortunately I am a local hire with no benefits):
1. Rent is covered by employer. One can choose a house with bedrooms equal to number of family members plus one. My expat supervisor lives on an island. Employer pays rent USD ~55k per year.
2. Company car with a driver (USD ~40k per year)
3. Child education paid for in an international school (USD ~35k per year per child)
4. International health insurance (USD ~3k per year per family member)
5. One return ticket per year for entire family (most expats avail this benefit to return home during festive season)
6. 30 paid leaves per year additional to China statutory requirement
Kudos to you if you are an expat in China.
If house rent, commute, child education and health insurance is paid for, one can easily save 90+% of salary and give FIRE a solid boost.