Crazy Flight Prices

[KhaoYai]

12 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

I think the days of low air fares are gone. With the cost of fuel, worldwide inflation etc, I think we just have to get used to it. And airlines need to make a decent profit to remain viable.

According to the experts, fuel prices are only a small proportion of the recent increases. Airlines cashing in on increased demand due to people being able to travel once again is generally given as the main reason.

 

They did of course go through a very tough time during the pandemic but many of us did too.

 

I doubt we'll see £450 flights again but I think they'll return to competetive pricing before long. If the empty seats on the Qatar flights are anything to go by, the rush seems to be over.

[internationalism]

50 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Part way through the booking process on the Qatar website you are offered the option to choose your seat.  All the sold seats are greyed out.

selecting seat is optional, starts from some 600b. For exit row some 1500b.

There is no way to know how many fares are sold.

Some airlines will give info about the last 5 seats at that particular fare, but again there is no way to know if there would be more seats at higher rate. There well might be, from passengers changing their bookings.

 

as to your comment about difference in fares bought from bkk in comparison to those bought from the UK - it's not a huge difference (if at all). What I wanted to point out that fares from continental europe might be lower, than from the UK

 

[Iamfalang]

I am in Iceland and plan on going to Pattaya!!!!   10,000 USD one way... No problem, you only live once!!!

 

Pattaya has what you want............................."crazy flight prices" is some incoherent rambling.

 

Are you alive?  Have money?   Then Pattaya or bust!!!!  

[Bruno123]

1 hour ago, KhaoYai said:

According to the experts, fuel prices are only a small proportion of the recent increases. Airlines cashing in on increased demand due to people being able to travel once again is generally given as the main reason.

 

They did of course go through a very tough time during the pandemic but many of us did too.

 

I doubt we'll see £450 flights again but I think they'll return to competetive pricing before long. If the empty seats on the Qatar flights are anything to go by, the rush seems to be over.

There are already sub £450 flights available, they just don't fit your pattern of booking.

If you book in advance, you can obtain flights from London or Manchester for sub £350. BHX sub £400. Though you are looking at from next April onwards for those prices.

[spidermike007]

One has to really shop around these days. There are bargains. I found BKK-LAX round trip last month for $844. 

[metisdead]

Some offensive posts and the inflammatory posts have been removed:

 

9. You will not post disruptive or inflammatory messages. You will respect other members and post in a civil manner. Personal attacks, insults or hate speech posted on the forum or sent by private message are not allowed.

[steven100]

please just be civil and don't fight with each other.  Don't be a Mr Tony because he got punched in the face on Walking street. 

[Bruno123]

On 8/28/2022 at 4:10 PM, KhaoYai said:

Well I'm going to take a little gamble - I'm going to leave it a bit longer. Not as big a gamble as I normally take and usually win through. I have a court date and must be there otherwise I would leave it longer.

 

My gamble is that people will be put off by the current prices - the airlines may have been lucky with high demand recently but that's bound to fade before too long.  Allowing for fuel price increases I'd guess that if it wasn't for Covid, Christmas prices should be around £900. 

 

The airlines adjust prices according to how sales are going.  I'm hoping they're still bouyed by the recent high demand and think that will continue.  Christmas is a time when families take their holidays because everyone is off at the same time. I can't imagine too many familes with say 2 kids over 12 will be prepared to lay out £6000 ish just for their flights.

 

Nobody really knows what demand will be by Christmass but I'm prepared to wait a little while longer.

 

A couple of samples from today's prices (MAN 15 Dec - BKK 2Jan):

 

With acceptable durations and including luggage:

 

Qatar £1481

Etihad £1411

 

With longer durtations:

 

Swiss £1242 (18h 55min outbound/25h 45min inbound)

 

Not so long ago, those prices were someone's telephone number!

 

www.travelsupermarket.com

You are almost certainly going to pay for your assertion that two airlines are worse than one. Perhaps on a split booking, but not on one PNR. Then there is no difference. Perhaps only in your mind.

I used Qatar and they stiffed me. They didn't make the connection and have pointedly refused to pay compensation. Many people are simply refusing to use them because of their poor customer service. I would have gone for the THAI/Lufthansa combo in a heartbeat, at less than 16 hours each way for £1208. Travelling upstairs on the Lufthansa A380 was very comfortable with excellent service.

I'm learning to stop trying to convince people of the error of their ways. Better to allow them to learn for themselves.

 

[treetops]

5 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Part way through the booking process on the Qatar website you are offered the option to choose your seat.  All the sold seats are greyed out.

Lite and Classic fares, which will likely be the first to be sold, do not offer seat selection unless you pay or hold FF premium status.  As you don't know how many bookings haven't made a seat reservation you can't accurately guesstimate at the load.

 

There are sites like Expertflyer who will tell you how many seats are available in each fare bucket eg Y9 H9 B9 K9 L9 all the way to W? and these allow you at best to make an educated guess.

[treetops]

5 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

You're quoting prices from BKK not to BKK,

They're not much better starting at this end.  I've been looking for a few weeks in the UK in November or early December but not finding anything like the "usual" prices in Economy or Business Class.

[KhaoYai]

9 hours ago, treetops said:

Lite and Classic fares, which will likely be the first to be sold, do not offer seat selection unless you pay or hold FF premium status.  As you don't know how many bookings haven't made a seat reservation you can't accurately guesstimate at the load.

I hadn't thought of it that way but are you sure the airline doesn't allocate seats so the ones that are greyed out are the ones that haven't chosen?  From memory, most of the greyed out seats were not in particularly good positions - not ones I'd choose anyway.

 

I did think that its strange that they were sticking to the high prices if the flights were not selling but its still quite some time until Christmas..  In any case, I can't wait and will book on Monday.

 

I would take issue with you slightly though - on the subject of 'Lite' fares - there will be very few people who are able to travel long haul on that basis.

[KhaoYai]

11 hours ago, Bruno123 said:

You are almost certainly going to pay for your assertion that two airlines are worse than one.

Not with you - that isn't in the post you quoted.

[KhaoYai]

13 hours ago, Bruno123 said:

There are already sub £450 flights available, they just don't fit your pattern of booking.

If you book in advance, you can obtain flights from London or Manchester for sub £350. BHX sub £400. Though you are looking at from next April onwards for those prices.

Then its no really relevant is it? Very few people will be looking to book so far in advance - especially with the current cost of living crisis.

 

Can I just add - everytime someone qoutes flight prices, there's always someone who comes along claiming they can find cheaper ones.

 

This isn't a competition - the prices I'm quoting are, I'd suggest, entirely relevant to the majority of travellers - especially to members here who, if they don't already live in Thailand, tend to be regular travellers.  Most people I know tend to book at the 2 to 3 month marker - unless they only put in 1 visit per year.

 

Show me one - sub £450 flight with reasonable timings, that is actually bookable, between now and December.  Remember, you actually have to start the booking process before you find out the true cost.  Quite often I click on the 'View Deal' tab on Travel Supermarket and the prices changes by 100's of pounds.

[it is what it is]

21 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Then its no really relevant is it? Very few people will be looking to book so far in advance - especially with the current cost of living crisis.

 

Can I just add - everytime someone qoutes flight prices, there's always someone who comes along claiming they can find cheaper ones.

 

This isn't a competition - the prices I'm quoting are, I'd suggest, entirely relevant to the majority of travellers - especially to members here who, if they don't already live in Thailand, tend to be regular travellers.  Most people I know tend to book at the 2 to 3 month marker - unless they only put in 1 visit per year.

 

Show me one - sub £450 flight with reasonable timings, that is actually bookable, between now and December.  Remember, you actually have to start the booking process before you find out the true cost.  Quite often I click on the 'View Deal' tab on Travel Supermarket and the prices changes by 100's of pounds.

i guess the moral of the story is get organised, plan in advance, do your research. it's not rocket science.

 

if you can't then accept you are at the mercy of demand and supply.

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, it is what it is said:

i guess the moral of the story is get organised, plan in advance, do your research. it's not rocket science.

 

if you can't then accept you are at the mercy of demand and supply.

Complete twoddle. I usually fly to Thailand 6 to 8 times per year (not at these prices)  - not a once a year holiday that I can plan in advance.  There are many members here that have wives/families in Thailand but work abroad or offshore.  Try getting your boss to give you a rota more than a few months ahead.  I used to be in a position where I could choose when I flew - that is not the case now.  Also, the date of my next trip has to fit with a date given by the Thai court - not dates I choose myself

 

The fact is that 99% of flight prices are up by a long way at the moment.  I just entered random dates in October, loosely based on my flight pattern in October 2019 (Tues 11 to Sunday 23 October) with 1 carry on and 1 checked bag:

 

Saudia: £824 approx 19 hour durations (no carry on bag, 2 checked bags)

Emirates: £1108

Qatar: £1393

Etihad (who I flew with for £440 in 2019): £1625

 

Similar dates for November (8 Nov to 20 Nov) with 1 carry on and 1 checked bag):

 

Qatar: £1074 (£1033 with 25h outbound)

Emirates £1015: with long out and inbounds

KLM: £1128 (£1109 with 29h inbound)

Etihad: £1804

 

I'm sure if I wanted to search all dates I'd find cheaper but there is no denying that flight prices in general are a long way up on what they were.  Tuesdays and Sundays by the way, have traditionally been the cheapest days.

 

 

 

 

[Bruno123]

12 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Not with you - that isn't in the post you quoted.

I have no idea as to what you reply is supposed to mean. None at all. Can you clarify?

[Bruno123]

11 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Then its no really relevant is it? Very few people will be looking to book so far in advance - especially with the current cost of living crisis.

 

Can I just add - everytime someone qoutes flight prices, there's always someone who comes along claiming they can find cheaper ones.

 

This isn't a competition - the prices I'm quoting are, I'd suggest, entirely relevant to the majority of travellers - especially to members here who, if they don't already live in Thailand, tend to be regular travellers.  Most people I know tend to book at the 2 to 3 month marker - unless they only put in 1 visit per year.

 

Show me one - sub £450 flight with reasonable timings, that is actually bookable, between now and December.  Remember, you actually have to start the booking process before you find out the true cost.  Quite often I click on the 'View Deal' tab on Travel Supermarket and the prices changes by 100's of pounds.

Nice strawman argument. You wrote that there are no sub-£450 fares and I showed clearly that there are. The fact that they don't fit your booking pattern is your problem.

 

Already in this thread, I linked to a very good choice for your December flight, at £1208 and you rejected it for your gamble. Good luck with that.

Of course it's a competition. It's your competition to find the cheapest flight for yourself. But your attitude(I've been doing this for 21 years etc) is impeding your progress.

You think you know it better, so you will act as if you are always right. For that you will surely pay. Might just be a few hundred pounds and it's your money. I tried to help and you were ungrateful as usual. Go back to take a look at where I showed you very good flights for £1208. You did not even thank me. Never mind.

Have a nice day.

 

 

[KhaoYai]

4 hours ago, Bruno123 said:

I have no idea as to what you reply is supposed to mean. None at all. Can you clarify?

I presume you were refering to codeshares etc? That was contained in an earlier post - not the post you quoted.

[Photoguy21]

Normally November to February are the highest priced airfares to Thailand

[KhaoYai]

4 hours ago, Bruno123 said:

I tried to help and you were ungrateful as usual. Go back to take a look at where I showed you very good flights for £1208. You did not even thank me. Never mind.

Have a nice day.

Your example did not fit my dates and times which, for reasons beyond my control are precise. I am already taking 2 days unpaid leave to enable my trip - the example you quoted would have meant me taking an additional day off at a cost of £200 - if indeed, I would be allowed to take it at all.  So that's £1408 - I can still get Qatar for £1418. It also involved different airlines which I won't do + an agent with poor reviews.

 

I work on a late shift which creates additional difficulties as it rules out evening flights - many ex Manchester flights are after lunch.

 

But overall, you just simply want to argue with the fact that flight prices have gone through the roof since July this year.

[KhaoYai]

3 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Normally November to February are the highest priced airfares to Thailand

I think most Asean Now menbers know that.  They have never been as high as they are currently.

[Photoguy21]

2 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

I think most Asean Now menbers know that.  They have never been as high as they are currently.

Agreed. They are gouging the customer to try and make up for what they lost over the virual cold.

[KhaoYai]

29 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Agreed. They are gouging the customer to try and make up for what they lost over the virual cold.

To an extent I can understand them trying to do that - they all lease planes, planes that were sat on the tarmac costing a fortune for 2 years.

 

However, we all suffered during the pandemic - I, for example, can't get back any of what I lost.

 

Most airlines have cut their flight programmes this year but still have to pay the leases on all their planes, working or not - maybe that's why they are keeping prices high. I really don't know but ultimately, it will be Thailand that loses from this.

 

As I said in an earlier post - December is a time when families travel but I can't see too many UK families choosing Thailand this year - not with a family of 4 facing a £6000 price tag for flights alone.

 

Thai Airways seem to be dealing with things differently for trips out of Thailand with promotion prices but not for flights from Europe.

[Bangkok Barry]

On 10/1/2022 at 8:42 AM, Iamfalang said:

I am in Iceland and plan on going to Pattaya!!!!   10,000 USD one way... No problem, you only live once!!!

 

Pattaya has what you want............................."crazy flight prices" is some incoherent rambling.

 

Are you alive?  Have money?   Then Pattaya or bust!!!!  

Surely there are budget fares to the UK or other points in Europe, from where much lower fares are available than the $10,000 one way that you quote. That is just silly.

[CharlieH]

Flame posts and bickering exchange removed.

[KhaoYai]

So, not wanting to take the risk any longer, I booked with Qatar 10 days ago at a shade under £1500. Hey presto, in comes Air France @ £1316 with a 20 hour outbound or £1350 with a 15 hour outbound - both have 17 hour inbounds.

 

Still, I'm already up to Silver with Qatar so can use the lounges etc. This flight will take me to Gold - pretty impressive as this will only be my third flight with them since last December.  I'm pleased about that as my Etihad Gold runs out in December and there was no hope of me avoiding that, they are pricing themselves completely out of the market on my route at the moment - £1816!!

[KhaoYai]

On 10/1/2022 at 2:36 AM, internationalism said:

as to your comment about difference in fares bought from bkk in comparison to those bought from the UK - it's not a huge difference (if at all). What I wanted to point out that fares from continental europe might be lower, than from the UK

Late response due to a re-read of your comments.  I would disagree about fares from Bangkok.  I've followed them for a long time and they always baffled me as they were 20 to 30% more expensive.  However, we are in strange times at the moment and someone posted about Thai doing some promotions at the moment - as low as 28,000.

 

As regards flights from continental Europe - you are correct, they can be much lower.  Around a month ago I found a KLM flight from Paris @ £900 on my dates.  However, I then checked out flights to Paris from Manchester or Leeds Bradford and they were over £300.  Granted, I could get to CDG using a different method of transport but that would mean taking further time off - with the associated cost.  I went though various scenarios - Prague was another cheaper alternative but again, the cost of getting there on flights timed to make the Bangkok flight, made it simply not worth the saving.

[internationalism]

yes, pre-covid fares from bkk were higher than to bkk. Now they are equal or possibly lower. 

 

so by booking with delay  35 days from your earlier quotation 56k baht you have lost 150gbp by booking with that delay. 

On KLM flight you lost some 250gbp. They operate jointly with Air France. Within a month their price went up, as expected for your dates.

Possibly TG runs already their 3rd sale this year, but all airlines exclude xmass.

If I see a deal, priced much lower than competition, I grab it immediately. It is usually a limited bracket of discounted seats, which are sold fast, within days. 

Advantage with you is gold with qatar., impressive with just only 3 flights.

I flu with them just before summer, but not impressed. They don't have free shower in Doha, some spas offer it for $20 (in many middle east airports it's possible to find one).. My special meal vegan food were just chopper veggies, without any souse or spices. After taking off they forgot to unlock toilets.

 

What was the airline from Prague you mentioned?

[KhaoYai]

9 hours ago, internationalism said:

What was the airline from Prague you mentioned?

 

9 hours ago, internationalism said:

so by booking with delay  35 days from your earlier quotation 56k baht you have lost 150gbp by booking with that delay. 

Not exactly, I could have taken other flights or if I'd waited until yesterday, the Air France @ £1350

 

9 hours ago, internationalism said:

On KLM flight you lost some 250gbp. They operate jointly with Air France.

Nope, getting to Paris was over £300 + very tight timing at CDG, I probably wouldn't have taken the risk. So there would have been some saving but flying total cattle class and risky.

 

9 hours ago, internationalism said:

Advantage with you is gold with qatar., impressive with just only 3 flights.

Yes, I'm very surprised that even 2 flights took me to Silver. However, at the current high prices, they are giving the higher mileage rates + 35kg luggage which suits me as I have some things to take over for my house.

 

9 hours ago, internationalism said:

What was the airline from Prague you mentioned?

Can't remember, it could have been KLM. These prices seem to drop in and drop out, you have to keep looking and be ready to book.

 

I went against my usual policy and its cost me as you say but I'm still convinced that cheaper fares will be available nearer the time.  I very much doubt they're going to fill their planes at current prices.

[Tuvoc]

More observations about sky high airfare prices around the world:

 

Air fares: Travellers unhappy at skyrocketing prices (msn.com)