2 hours ago, AnotherFarang8 said:

Russia’s Aeroflot will soon become the only affordable airline, with fixed fuel prices in Russia. Many Europeans used to fly it transiting through Moscow to South East Asia. Too bad they cannot now due to sanctions. TAT’s tourist guesstimates are again up in the air.

the only european country aeroflot is doing is turkey, with some 5 airports.

 

Would have to get turkish visa (I think $30 in the airport) and catch some other airline to rest of europe. 

Not practical, even if cheaper. Turkish Airlines are now one of the cheapest from bangkok to europe, but I have yet to fly with them

9 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

what happened to all the old employees? I hear these stories often but I don't understand how people can decided to simple go home and not work as if that's ever been an option at any point in human history.

Same thing happened to the hotel/ restaurant/transport /  tourist businesses in EU .During Covid, staff were laid off , they had government help ( unlike Thailand and some countries who got nothing).  After Covid restrictions ended, those staff didn’t come back !!! Just like that. In the meantime they found jobs that had easier hours, less travel to and fro., free weekends to spend with their families. Even tho they were generally earning less, they went for the easier way of life.  In the 70s to 2018 I worked 7 days a week, no one counted hours. I was happy earning a good salary and had long winters in Thailand or elsewhere. Todays youths/ younger families, don’t want that. They’d rather earn less, closer to home, and spend the weekends with family or friends. Same goes for flight staff. It is a hard job, certainly lots of perks, but hard, especially as you get older. The whole western world is looking for staff !!!

Direct flights seem more expensive.  Those with long transit  times still cheap. They will all go up  after the July due to kids  school holidays

4 hours ago, 10baht said:

They are taking to the US air, flights to SEA are not up buy 50%

Indeed.

Shouldn't surprise anyone that this article lacks any such comparative background research per their promoted pablum......and the innocents that soak it up.

Just on my way back to Issan from Koh Chang and that island hasn’t seen many of the 11 million tourists 

Not surprising.

All the money lost will have to be recouped one way or another and that means higher air fares.  With the airline crisis occurring right now, it's hard to find flight crews and equipment.  

With pent up demand the cork has blown off the champagne.  Like the initial explosion, it won't last.  

8 hours ago, Doctor Tom said:

I will not be booking air travel out of Thailand for at least the next 2 years.   Its just good luck and planning that I live in a tropical location anyway and have no real need or desire to spend the money , or endure the hassle of aircraft and airports. Just crack another beer and stay by my pool and watch the mayhem that is air travel at the moment, from as long a distance as possible. 

That's wise, Thailand will be under lock down within a couple of months, and some people here will be under travel restrictions from their home countries even sooner. BA.4 and BA.5 a going like wildfire.

 

A series of off-topic, diversionary posts focusing on the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been removed.

 

Shortage of flights means airlines can charge more. Simples!!!

As more flights become available and competition becomes stronger we can expect prices to mellow.

It will however ,take several months, if not a couple of years before prices come close to their former levels.

I have looked at many options even taking a cheap flight out the UK to a European nation then connect to a major airline bypassing UK rates its very difficult and also expensive plus with some of these low class fare you are only getting very basic economy class tickets without hand luggage. and everything adds up even i have noticed expensive basic economy class tickets without hand luggage also you have long waits with connecting flights .. 

 

You have two options wait  for prices to go down in August or the money you are going to spend on the flight now  is going to balance its self with the money you will spend waiting in the UK on daily living cost .. 

 

 

Next problem I'm noticing is very expensive hotel rates .. 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, LetsExploreBangkok said:

I have looked at many options even taking a cheap flight out the UK to a European nation then connect to a major airline bypassing UK rates its very difficult and also expensive plus with some of these low class fare you are only getting very basic economy class tickets without hand luggage. and everything adds up even i have noticed expensive basic economy class tickets without hand luggage also you have long waits with connecting flights .. 

 

You have two options wait  for prices to go down in August or the money you are going to spend on the flight now  is going to balance its self with the money you will spend waiting in the UK on daily living cost .. 

 

 

Next problem I'm noticing is very expensive hotel rates .. 

 

 

 

Exactly I just booked One way LGW - HKT PHuket for 1300 pounds on 21st of July. There was the option of getting a flight on 9th of august with Scoot + Thai Smile for 600 pounds roughly on 9th of august. 2 weeks accommodation in the UK would be minimum 300-600 pounds, and Im already renting a condo in Phuket. Better just to get the flight sooner and get out of the UK

20 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

Isn't that a good thing, to apply the true cost to our carbon footprint?

some executives pocket more like

2 minutes ago, hydraides said:

Exactly I just booked One way LGW - HKT PHuket for 1300 pounds on 21st of July. There was the option of getting a flight on 9th of august with Scoot + Thai Smile for 600 pounds roughly on 9th of august. 2 weeks accommodation in the UK would be minimum 300-600 pounds, and Im already renting a condo in Phuket. Better just to get the flight sooner and get out of the UK

 I was able to get a one way business class ticket for £1200 for the 5th July one way but waiting on some money to clear so i lost the ticket.. 

 

Anyway it was a dry flight with no alcohol .. but it was the best deal i found at the time .. 

3 hours ago, LetsExploreBangkok said:

I have looked at many options even taking a cheap flight out the UK to a European nation then connect to a major airline bypassing UK rates its very difficult and also expensive plus with some of these low class fare you are only getting very basic economy class tickets without hand luggage. and everything adds up even i have noticed expensive basic economy class tickets without hand luggage also you have long waits with connecting flights .. 

 

You have two options wait  for prices to go down in August or the money you are going to spend on the flight now  is going to balance its self with the money you will spend waiting in the UK on daily living cost .. 

 

 

Next problem I'm noticing is very expensive hotel rates .. 

 

 

 

flew here to France from Swampy last week  economy euros 667 ... 57 kilo luggage allowance  before c19 i paid 550 euro Look and you will find 

1 minute ago, Harveyboy said:

flew here to France from Swampy last week  economy euros 667 ... 57 kilo luggage allowance  before c19 i paid 550 euro Look and you will find 

Yup that's true indeed each lag was going to cost roughly £600 each way but it was like a 40 hour flight with long stopovers .. 

 

its the reason i went business class  so have access to the lounges to kill time and sleep because airports are not cheap nowadays with food and drink.? 

On 6/29/2022 at 3:20 AM, webfact said:

Only a few months ago it was possible to book a return ticket from Bangkok to London Gatwick for THB19,000 return with Scoot, the Singapore-owned budget airline.

 

Now if you wish to book a return ticket with Scoot for travel in July the fare quoted online is THB31,400.

Pure gouging.

21 hours ago, hioctane said:

Flights have gone crazy from where I live in the US. Prepandemic I was paying $600-800 (granted that was through China). Other airlines were $800-1000 then. Since Thailand started reopening, I was paying $800-1000. Now flights are $1000-1200! ????

There has been over 2 intervening years, and the price of oil and related fuels has gone up from about $50 to double that. The rise you see in flight costs doesn't seem so bad. 

It seems it will be another dud year for tourism.

Travellers have to put up with higher cost of living back home also.

War, crashing markets, another faux-demic in the works..etc Etc.                Stick a fork in it.

 

 

29 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Pure gouging.

That's what it is .. Cashing in on school holidays .. its a joke even I'm looking at flights for August one way £500 ish mark now ... 

22 hours ago, Mattd said:

Roll forward to May 2022 and I started looking again, Emirates Biz class was now 130k +, I did end up booking a biz class return with Oman for 99,505 THB which was by far the best price available at that time. I would normally fly in to to MAN and out of LHR, that option isn't available this time with Oman, as they are not flying in to MAN right now, so it means a night in a hotel close to LHR and a 160 mile drive the following day, such is life!

My last trip to the UK was late July 2019 where I paid 58k return biz class with Oman (BKK-MAN-LHR-BKK via MCT), so yes, a lot has changed.

How did you find Oman compared to say emirates? did they have layflat?

I was looking this morning at quite a few reputable airlines

 

50k + for economy return to LHR and back

150k + for business to LHR and back

Suckers...

5 hours ago, Harveyboy said:

flew here to France from Swampy last week  economy euros 667 ... 57 kilo luggage allowance  before c19 i paid 550 euro Look and you will find 

Yes but be careful who you book with if in a desperate search . Meaning that there are some bad agents out there who will show attractive priced tickets but when the time to fly gets close you will get an email to say the flight price has changed etc . That is when the harm begins . Always better to book direct with the airline although it will be a bit more expensive . Sorry to say that some of these foreign agencies with agents calling themselves name such as Jimmy or David are to be avoided at all costs .  Finally the current expensive flights are cause by 1 / Fuel costs 2 / Reduced flights because of lack of check in staff and baggage handlers 3 / High season and school holidays .

If a one way ticket from Bangkok to Phuket is cheaper than a taxi ride from Phuket airport to a destination within the island, then there must be something definitely wrong. 

I just booked with Aegean Airlines / Saudia Airlines Business Class £1200 the wife got 6 weeks off plus it's her birthday .. And i haven't seen her in over 2 years due to covid i leave on the 18th July ... I'm so pleased right now actually I'm buzzing with the outcome .. 

1 hour ago, zzaa09 said:

Suckers...

Explain please or are you just calling those that travel such a name...

25 minutes ago, LetsExploreBangkok said:

I just booked with Aegean Airlines / Saudia Airlines Business Class £1200 the wife got 6 weeks off plus it's her birthday .. And i haven't seen her in over 2 years due to covid i leave on the 18th July ... I'm so pleased right now actually I'm buzzing with the outcome .. 

Never saw the sense of paying Biz Class on a dry carrier like Saudia........ (nor do I ever want to see Riyahd or Dammam airports ever again), but have a good trip. 

23 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Never saw the sense of paying Biz Class on a dry carrier like Saudia........ (nor do I ever want to see Riyahd or Dammam airports ever again), but have a good trip. 

I fully understand what you mean ... i'm just passing through Riyadh for a couple of hours .. Plus I'm not much of a big drinker but its the best offer i can find when you have other airlines charging £4000 upwards nowadays but i will get some nice sleep on the flight because i have my own pod with a seat that turns into a bed .. also i get 24 hours in Athens ..  and a shower while waiting for my connecting flight in Riyadh.. 

Recently booked direct return flights for BKK-LHR for Sept with Eva. Under 30K.

Quite happy with that as I think not far off from pre-covid price?

On 6/29/2022 at 10:06 AM, Will B Good said:

Just booked Qatar BKK/LGW return.....33,500 baht...so did quite well by the looks of it.

when for