Emirates Flight Prices

[Jumbo1968]

I have asked Emirates on several occasions but I have never had a satisfactory answer why there is a difference between the flight price when booking flights from Bangkok to Newcastle in the U.K. I take my partner and I have too book Bangkok to Newcastle occasionally.

On average it’s over £200 more too book a flight from Bangkok to Newcastle than Newcastle to Bangkok, the taxes etc are the same only the fare is more, it’s the same flight numbers etc.

BA operate a similar flight, change Heathrow, the same price both ways but I prefer to fly Emirates.

 

[metisdead]

Moving to the travel forum. 

[Gulfsailor]

The actual cost of a flight has only a very small influence on the fare of a ticket. Airlines want to maximize profit, and they use very afvanced AI algorithms to get to the best fares - not for the customer, but for themselves.

That means it's even possible different people pay different fares on the same flight and same time booked via the same channel. 

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/airline-pricing-secrets/index.html

 

 

[wgdanson]

Just done a comparison, Skyscanner Bkk to Newcastle on 1st Dec, 15 days.  Emirates £1260, BA £1547. Reverse the trip Emirates £534, BA £768. Fuel, landing fees, staff costs exactly the same. Bkk to LHR same dates....Emirates £903, BA £1422. Reverse it Emirates £517, BA £631. It just does not make sense.

[Jumbo1968]

1 minute ago, wgdanson said:

Just done a comparison, Skyscanner Bkk to Newcastle on 1st Dec, 15 days.  Emirates £1260, BA £1547. Reverse the trip Emirates £534, BA £768. Fuel, landing fees, staff costs exactly the same. Bkk to LHR same dates....Emirates £903, BA £1422. Reverse it Emirates £517, BA £631. It just does not make sense.

I have emailed Emirates about the difference on several occasions but they never reply. I have tried the ‘live online chat’ but got nowhere there either, they just say there prices are ‘live’ online prices and can change, followed on by saying they are competitive.

[samsensam]

BA operate a similar flight, change Heathrow, the same price both ways but I prefer to fly Emirates.

 

the thais have the perfect solution for you; up to you.

 

flight prices are not fixed, there are many factors affecting the price for a flight at any given time therefore you are not comparing like for like. plan ahead and keep an eye on the market and you are very likely to get a good deal. though you are limiting your options with your brand loyalty.

[wgdanson]

6 minutes ago, samsensam said:

BA operate a similar flight, change Heathrow, the same price both ways but I prefer to fly Emirates.

 

the thais have the perfect solution for you; up to you.

 

flight prices are not fixed, there are many factors affecting the price for a flight at any given time therefore you are not comparing like for like. plan ahead and keep an eye on the market and you are very likely to get a good deal. though you are limiting your options with your brand loyalty.

OK to say keep your eye on the market, but then you book at what you think is a great price......and it drops further. Best advice....once you have booked NEVER look at any fare comparison sites again!

[KhunBENQ]

Emirates and Qatar are both excessively "asymmetric".

A mate in Hamburg is a big fan of Emirates and every year finds an off season price of less then 600 Euro (~23000 Baht) to Bangkok (sometimes close to 500 Euro).

When I look the reverse direction I hardly find anything less than 38000 Baht (> 1000 Euro).

Qatar even worse.

I guess you will not get a satisfactory answer from them.

Competition is all than can move them.

 

[terryofcrete]

5 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Emirates and Qatar are both excessively "asymmetric".

A mate in Hamburg is a big fan of Emirates and every year finds an off season price of less then 600 Euro (~23000 Baht) to Bangkok (sometimes close to 500 Euro).

When I look the reverse direction I hardly find anything less than 38000 Baht (> 1000 Euro).

Qatar even worse.

I guess you will not get a satisfactory answer from them.

Competition is all than can move them.

 

I come over 4/5 times a year from Dublin. I just keep checking between Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar , but my dates are not set in stone. I always get here and back for under €550 . it my max guide... €495 was my best this year 

[Jumbo1968]

4 minutes ago, terryofcrete said:

I come over 4/5 times a year from Dublin. I just keep checking between Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar , but my dates are not set in stone. I always get here and back for under €550 . it my max guide... €495 was my best this year 

Yes but the question is why airlines charge more when booking a flight from Bangkok, do a comparison on Skyscanner the same dates Bangkok to Dublin.

[wgdanson]

4 minutes ago, Jumbo1968 said:

Yes but the question is why airlines charge more when booking a flight from Bangkok, do a comparison on Skyscanner the same dates Bangkok to Dublin.

See my post No 4

[richard_smith237]

I have found similar issues...  Also the flights this year are almost double the cost of the same flights last year !!

 

After much searching around (Emirates) I found it cheaper to purchase two one way tickets into LHR and out of BHX than to purchase a return. 

 

Return BKK-BHX-BKK was 105,000 baht (for two)

Return BKK-LHR-BKK was 98,000 baht (for two)

 

One way: BKK-LHR was 44,700 baht (for two)

One way: BHX-BKK was £799 / 34,000 baht (for two)

 

It was between 19,300 baht and 26,300 baht cheaper to purchase separate one way tickets...  I can't see any reason for this other than simple profiteering (which is their business model I guess) - but I feel that many passengers will be tricked never looking at the one way options assuming they are more expensive (as traditionally they always were).

[briley]

Don't every try to understand airfares - it'll just give you a headache.

 

Last year

business Manchester to Bangkok one way £3500

Return £2,500 business to Bangkok and then add £200 for the return by economy plus £75 refund when I cancelled the return sector.

 

Nothing new.

 

In 1999 Return Dubai to Manchester cheaper than the single.

In the 1970's Jo'berg to New York with a stopover in London cheaper than Jo'berg to London.

 

[lkv]

To answer the OP's question.

 

The reason why a Bangkok to Europe return flight is more expensive than Europe (same place) to Bangkok return, in my opinion, is because the pricing is adjusted according to local variables.

 

A Thai person travelling for holidays to Europe is generally expected to be in a financial position to afford a premium.

 

Same reason why a luxury bag made in China at the factory next door and sold in the luxury mall in Beijing costs more than the same bag in New York, imported all the way from China.

Edited November 15, 2018 by lkv

[fruitman]

I also don't understand why a ticket for 4 weeks holiday is a few hundred cheaper than the same ticket valid for 8 months...

[KneeDeep]

There was a time when it was cheaper to buy flights out of Thailand. Especially one way and long validity tickets, as they were relatively expensive out of Europe.

Those days are long gone because flight prices out of Europe have dropped considerably.

So the change is actually the lowering of prices from Europe and the stronger baht in comparison.

 

 

[Jumbo1968]

1 minute ago, KneeDeep said:

There was a time when it was cheaper to buy flights out of Thailand. Especially one way and long validity tickets, as they were relatively expensive out of Europe.

Those days are long gone because flight prices out of Europe have dropped considerably.

So the change is actually the lowering of prices from Europe and the stronger baht in comparison.

 

 

I can’t accept that, BA/KLM and other airlines ticket prices are considerably less than Emirates from BKK.

Yet Emirates is cheaper more or less by the same margin than BA/KLM flights from Newcastle ?

[KneeDeep]

15 minutes ago, Jumbo1968 said:

I can’t accept that, BA/KLM and other airlines ticket prices are considerably less than Emirates from BKK.

Yet Emirates is cheaper more or less by the same margin than BA/KLM flights from Newcastle ?

 

Competition, my friend.

 

If their pricing algorithm isn't working, you might see a sale.

If it is, pay the price or choose another airline.

The fact that you prefer to fly Emirates should tell you all you need to know. 

You'll need to be more flexible or you have to pay the price that they set.