Buying a Flight Online.

[KarlS]

9 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

 

I dont agree, I have always purchased online from the airline direct and found it to be cheaper (with BA anyway), thats my experience.

 

If booking at an agent, I have heard good things about TV Air in Bangkok (no, its nothing to do with ThaiVisa)

Have just checked that site and the cheapest one-way ticket to LHR is 17500Baht and involves a long layover in Doha

[steve187]

56 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Can't help that, I just get a blank screen

 

working for me right this second, maybe a different browser or you have a ad blocker

[steve187]

57 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Flying to Glasgow UK with BA. 

what are your dates and do you want a return gla/bkk/gla or a single gla/bkk

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, steve187 said:

working for me right this second, maybe a different browser or you have a ad blocker

Well done, my ad blocker killed it.

Must have changed something since last week ........ thanks.

[Mattd]

[BritManToo]

39 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

 

I dont agree, I have always purchased online from the airline direct and found it to be cheaper (with BA anyway), thats my experience.

 

If booking at an agent, I have heard good things about TV Air in Bangkok (no, its nothing to do with ThaiVisa)

I'm with you on this one, flight I just booked (Can Tho to Kuala Lumpur) 

Cheapest booking company sold the flight to me for 925bht, Air Asia would have charged 595bht.

 

[JamJar]

1 hour ago, trd said:

1 hour ago, KarlS said:

Avoid agents. Check prices with Skyscanner and then book directly, online, with the airline. Doing this may cost a little more but there are hidden reasons behind 'cheap' deals which many have discovered to their cost.

As someone who has been doing for years what you are advising against, I would be interested to know what you mean exactly. All of the agents which appear on Skyscanner and Kayak are reputable vetted agents. I've used a few of them and I've never had any problems. They clearly state all of the conditions attached to the ticket you are purchasing.

 

Rubbish and rubbish again.

[JamJar]

49 minutes ago, trd said:

Yes it is now since Ryanair (and others) had to comply with the new legislation regarding hidden charges, particularly the way in which the purchasing process misleads you into thinking you are paying a particular price but then the extras get added on when you get to the end of the process. It's just not correct to disparage travel agents who are linked up to Kayak and Skyscanner. Any wrongdoing on their part would quickly lose them a lot of business if they were dropped from the app.

 

 

Sorry, but yours is just wishful thinking as opposed to reality.

[JamJar]

Apart from the problem with bad agents trying to charge you an arm and a leg for anything approaching customer service, they is also the issue of opening times.

 

If you are flying outside the opening times of the agent and you have an issue, you might have a problem.

This happened to me recently. Bought a last minute ticket via an agent, as it was no longer showing on the airline's website. 

Suffered a delay on the way and missed the flight. No problem, I'll just rebook on to the next flight...

Couldn't, as the representative at the airport couldn't take control of the booking, so couldn't do anything and the agent didn't open again until 9am the next day.

Turned out ok in the end, but was added stress.

 

So the statement that the cheapest is the best is simply thoughtless and ridiculous.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, shy coconut said:

I fly Emirates to and from Glasgow, they are considerably cheaper than BA and 

most other airlines, barring the multi stop global adventures.

 

I booked direct with the airline online.

 

It may be relevent to state that my flights are Glasgow to BKK rather than

originating in Thailand.

If you check skyscanner you will find that BA are about 10.000 Bt cheaper than Emirates.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, steve187 said:

what are your dates and do you want a return gla/bkk/gla or a single gla/bkk

PM on it's way.

[trd]

 
I dont agree, I have always purchased online from the airline direct and found it to be cheaper (with BA anyway), thats my experience.
 
If booking at an agent, I have heard good things about TV Air in Bangkok (no, its nothing to do with ThaiVisa)

Okay I just took a look. BA return from Phuket to Aberdeen

Price from British Airways site: 35,305 Baht

Exact same flight through Skyscanner identified Expedia with the cheapest deal at 33, 365 Baht.

[trd]

Same route Phuket To Aberdeen with KLM

KLM website: 29,860 Baht

Skyscanner, best deal Tripair: 29,621 Baht

[rskdev]

I always use this online service, never had a problem with them. Where always the cheapest also.

 

https://www.vayama.com/

[soistalker]

When I was checking tickets from BKK back to the states, the airlines that I flew on was bot in any of those search engine quote sites. And it turned out to be hundreds of dollars cheaper.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, rskdev said:

I always use this online service, never had a problem with them. Where always the cheapest also.

 

https://www.vayama.com/

Anyone tried trip.com/ only 24.000 plus Bangkok- Glasgow on KLM.

[Peter Denis]

When I need to book a flight I first browse 1 or more 'flight search' engines like Skyscanner or Matrix-ITA, and have them present the options in the order of cheapest first.

The cheapest flight is most often not my final choice, because you also need to consider factors like trustworthiness of the carrier, no more than 1 stop, total flight-time, convenience of departure/arrival time, luggage allowance, etc.

When I made my choice, I then go directly to the airline's website to make the actual booking.

Be aware that the closer to the actual departure date, the ticket-price tends to increase and lowest economy-options will often not be available anymore.  So best to search/book approx 1 month beforehand.

Note: In case my departure date is not 100% sure e.g. I might have to postpone to 1-2-3 days later, I normally make use of a travel agency.  When you booked yourself on the website , you have to pay a sometimes hefty fine for changing your ticket.  But travel agents seem to have more options and you can sometimes change at no cost at all a couple of days before departure, which is quite useful if your departure date needs to be flexible till last minute.

[Fairynuff]

I find Skyscanner pretty inaccurate at times. I’d also suggest checking the reviews of the booking agents before going ahead. BA, the worlds least favourite airline would be my last choice for more reasons than I care to mention.

Generally I use Skyscanner for an overview and then go the the agent that I book all my long haul flights. For anything else it’s pretty much always online from the airlines, but that’s mostly local low cost airlines 

[quandow]

I use EVA Air once or twice a year to fly to the states. If I book online three months in advance, there isn't anyone else can beat those prices.

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, possum1931 said:

Anyone tried trip.com/ only 24.000 plus Bangkok- Glasgow on KLM.

Depending on exact dates you find BKK - GLA return for less than 24000 directly at KLM (23675 Baht).

Hard to beat this.

To find cheapest dates the "whole month" search of skyscanner is useful.

A lot of variation depending on exact dates (day of week, advance booking).

 

Can't comment on trip.com.

[KhunBENQ]

BTW what skyscanner would not show.

Maybe not beating the cheapest but worth considering.

Flights to one of three London airports are countless.

Emirates e.g. does a total of 11 flights daily(!) from Dubai to a London airport.

(6 flights daily Bangkok to Dubai)

Qatar similar.

Prices are often under 23000.

To Glasgow you would have to book on a low cost carrier (separate booking).

[StevieAus]

21 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Air Asia website and phone app hasn't been working all week. Good luck with your booking.

Probably because they have been advertising a raft of discounted fares starting from I think September I keep getting stuff on the phone and iPad

[abrahamzvi]

Most certainly buying a flight online is always cheaper than buying it in person at an airline office.

[RJRS1301]

Just remember to take out insurance with the purchase, as an Australian online booking service went arse up here a few months ago leaving many stranded with insurance and very little hope a refund either from any airline involved or the credit card companies.

 

 

[steve73]

Budget airlines are nearly always cheaper to book direct on their websites (if they even come up on the commercial agents websites).

For regular airlines, you can often get flights via on-line agents much cheaper than booking with the airline (website) directly.

 

The last flight I took back to the UK was with Qatar, via Doha.  The cheapest deal I could do with them for the period I wanted to fly (a few day's flexibility to suit a funeral) was around 38,000 THB, with a pretty steep loading to use my UK debit card.

I found an equally suitable flight via momondo.com at a much lower price, priced in GBP and directly billed to my UK debit card.  Overall I saved over 175 GBP. 

Same conditions; inflexible dates, non-refundable, and same luggage capacity, although slightly different dates that were even more expensive via the Qatar website. 

Definitely worth making the effort to check around, especially if booking during the last week or two before you fly.    

[shy coconut]

21 hours ago, possum1931 said:

If you check skyscanner you will find that BA are about 10.000 Bt cheaper than Emirates.

Perhaps BA have a lower 'leaving Bangkok surcharge" than Emirates, as I've looked at several

dates flying from Glasgow and Emirates is far cheaper each time.

 

On a side note, when I booked my latest trip I noticed that in the breakdown, the return 

flight was a fair bit higher than the outward trip, I assumed that was due to me coming

back during the Easter holidays.

[NoshowJones]

33 minutes ago, shy coconut said:

Perhaps BA have a lower 'leaving Bangkok surcharge" than Emirates, as I've looked at several

dates flying from Glasgow and Emirates is far cheaper each time.

 

On a side note, when I booked my latest trip I noticed that in the breakdown, the return 

flight was a fair bit higher than the outward trip, I assumed that was due to me coming

back during the Easter holidays.

 

33 minutes ago, shy coconut said:

Perhaps BA have a lower 'leaving Bangkok surcharge" than Emirates, as I've looked at several

dates flying from Glasgow and Emirates is far cheaper each time.

 

On a side note, when I booked my latest trip I noticed that in the breakdown, the return 

flight was a fair bit higher than the outward trip, I assumed that was due to me coming

back during the Easter holidays.

I'm referring to from Bangkok to Glasgow, Emirates has always been more expensive. If it was cheaper than BA, I would be using it on my annual trips to Glasgow. Could it be that you are referring to from Glasgow to Bangkok? 

[balo]

Try to avoid using agents, they will charge you with extra fees. Always book online directily with the airline.   

 

But of course you need to check for the best price first, using online tools like Momondo. 

 

 

 

[steve187]

2 hours ago, shy coconut said:

Perhaps BA have a lower 'leaving Bangkok surcharge" than Emirates, as I've looked at several

dates flying from Glasgow and Emirates is far cheaper each time.

 

On a side note, when I booked my latest trip I noticed that in the breakdown, the return 

flight was a fair bit higher than the outward trip, I assumed that was due to me coming

back during the Easter holidays.

always higher for flights from the UK due to air passenger duty.

[KarlS]

5 minutes ago, steve187 said:

always higher for flights from the UK due to air passenger duty.

Yes -- It can be cheaper to fly to a European hub for a long haul flight.

 

NB The outrageous PAD is due to rise - Again!