Crazy Flight Prices

[KhaoYai]

Guys,

 

A lot of you are missing the point or maybe I haven't been clear?

 

I'm fully aware that my (inflexible) dates and possibly booking so late are contributory factors but I've done this before and NEVER have I had to pay anything like £1677.

 

Those of you quoting cheaper prices - try ACTUALLY booking them. I spent a day trying to find cheaper prices - there were none available unless I was prepared to live with total durations of up to 53 hours.

 

I've had almost 21 years experience in finding cheap flights - the best I could obtain was the same flight for £1610 but the agents had very poor reviews on Trustpilot and were difficult to contact.  Believe me, I know what I'm doing.

 

My hope is that this situation is temporary and things will settle down next year - if not, Thailand can kiss goodbye to what's left of its tourism business. People may be prepared to pay crazy prices this year but not regularly.

Edited July 8, 2022 by KhaoYai

[KhaoYai]

17 minutes ago, Doctor Tom said:

I couldn't , a constant rule for me is never transit through an Indian airport.  Indeed, never ever fly with an Indian  Sub Continent airline, whatever the price . 

Have to say that I flew through India once on one of those flights that Etihad combine with Jet Airways - I also said never again.

[KhaoYai]

13 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Fl

Fights are around $500 in September and beyond.

Travel now during world peak time and you pay.

$500 - I hope you mean £'s?

 

Find me a flight in September that has a reasonable total duration from Manchester for £500 and I'll take an extra holiday and book it.

[KhaoYai]

5 hours ago, arithai12 said:

You don't give departure airport in UK, you don't give dates of travel, you don't mention if that fare allows rebooking / cancellation... what do you want people to say?

I don't want people to say anything - I'm simply pointing out that prices are crazy at the moment.

 

I don't care about rebooking or cancellation as I won't be doing that - if the airline cancel or makwe changes, they have to foot the bill - rules for flights booken in either the EU or UK.

 

I just wanted the cheapest price - with checked bags.

Edited July 8, 2022 by KhaoYai

[cjinchiangrai]

8 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

Yes crazy prices.  Of course the price of fuel is a big component.  I paid a huge amount for a BKK to AKL return in June. The worst part is, for most airlines less flights on smaller planes means that they are chock-full. And to add to that, masks are no longer compulsory on many flights. I travelled a few times during Covid, and a plane where everyone had had a PCR test within 72 hrs of boarding, and everyone wearing masks, well it was actually quite a safe environment. Not any more, now it is very risky place to be.

 

I also have a Qatar LON-BKK return, of which the final leg is due to be flown later this month. Fee-free changes, great I thought. Sure there is no fee but there is the fare difference - it will cost me about £250 to change the return to a different day. When I do a new search the is no fare difference, but when I bought the ticket several months ago the fares were cheap. So they charge you the difference between the current fare and what you paid. I'm simply gong to get a full refund on that return leg (also part of their promise, done that before) and buy the best deal when I'm ready. Even now, Qatar are way more expensive than direct flights with Thai and EVA. Ridiculous, Qatar used to have very good prices - not any more.

What smaller planes? They don't exist, nor do the crews.

 

How do you refund the return flight? Not on any ticket I ever had. Use it or lose it.

 

[KhaoYai]

2 minutes ago, cjinchiangrai said:

What smaller planes? They don't exist, nor do the crews.

 

Agreed - my last flight was the usual 787 Dreamliner. I doubt the airlines have spare smaller planes hanging around.

Edited July 8, 2022 by KhaoYai

[KhaoYai]

7 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

Grrr....  Qatar rip-off then. I'm about to contact them again my flight is 19th July and I want to move it into August.

No, he obviously paid more for a ticket that allowed changes without cost.

[KhaoYai]

7 hours ago, Gaccha said:

If you are buying it via an agent then they'll know.

They don't actually - only the airlines know that.  Airlines release flights to agents in blocs at a certain price. When those tickets are all sold, they release the next bloc - prices are according to how sales are going.

 

So, when an agent says 'only 5 seats available' its usually 'only 5 seats available at this price' - they just rarely say that.  That's why one week a flight will appear to be sold out, then the next week its available again.

[Chongalulu]

8 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Middle Eastern airlines are making a killing at the moment.

 

The war in Ukraine means that long haul have to avoid the usual air space. So flights are longer and more expensive. Then you also have the increased fuel costs etc etc.

The airlines in the Middle East are the shortest route now.

As someone recently pointed out ,other than to northern Scandinavia countries like Finland and Norway airlines routes to Europe from BKK do not cross Russia/Ukraine anyway,so that can’t be the reason. The fundamental reason behind increased fares now is good old supply and demand.

[KhaoYai]

2 minutes ago, nchuckle said:

The fundamental reason behind increased fares now is good old supply and demand.

That's what an agent told me - many people haven't travelled for over 2 years and are prepared to pay these crazy prices.

 

Fuel prices will affect airlines too but I have a sneaking suspicion that middle eastern airlines don't pay the same for the fuel as others - when they fill up at home ????.

[Chongalulu]

15 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

No, he obviously paid more for a ticket that allowed changes without cost.

Yes,I think the comparison was between Emirates and Qatar. My daughter recently returned to U.K. from 2 weeks holiday with Qatar whose price was £200 cheaper than Emirates 

[internationalism]

it's possible to travel now from continental europe for around 45k bht so 1050gbp.

But flexibility is essential. There might be only very few flights in a month and with only few seats. 

I would think some passengers postponing their fares because if illness (covid wave), expected airport havoc etc.

Possibly eurochannel to paris, brussels or connecting flight at frankfurt. For own convenience only hand luggage if fare on different tickets.

connecting in india is doable

Edited July 8, 2022 by internationalism

[david555]

It is like the airlines say " you are in need to fly ....?

So be prepared to be in need to pay ! "

 

On the contrary i booked a one way KLM flight  BKK > Amsterdam > Antwerp Belgium ( Thalys speedtrain included...,  for 14498 Thb , tax & card fee and chosen seat 1308thb included...) Economy standard ticket 

This booked 7 March for a 1 September flight ....early booking seems to pay of if you can do..., now some data for this the  price tripled 

Edited July 8, 2022 by david555

[RichardColeman]

4 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

My flights are also from Manchester - Heathrow is usually a little cheaper but rarely enough to tempt me to make that trek + pay for the additional travel and twice as much for parking.

you know the trains run manchester to heathrow with about 2 changes, right.

 

For me the holiday starts when I leave the house, train, bus walk and all

 

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

you know the trains run manchester to heathrow with about 2 changes, right.

 

For me the holiday starts when I leave the house, train, bus walk and all

 

I'm nowhere near Manchester but its my nearest airport for reasonably priced flights - my local airport? Forget it.

 

There are also no buses where I live - car and airport parking in the best for me. If you'd like to walk 3 miles up a steep hill with 2 suitcases, your welcome.

 

I'm not here to get into an argument, I know what I'm doing and I know how to find the best flight prices.  I am simply pointing out that flight prices are crazy this year - hopefully things will get back to normal next year.

[internationalism]

prices are getting to normal in september, from some 23k baht.

Even now, with 45k baht, it is comparable to the very high season pre-covid.

that is for continental europe.

I would also think that there would be more airlines and flights each months and prices will fall below pre-covid levels. That's from october, when winter schedule is introduced.

Airlines need time to adjust to demand, get back landing slots or apply for new ones. That's not instant.

 

[KhaoYai]

4 hours ago, internationalism said:

it's possible to travel now from continental europe for around 45k bht so 1050gbp.

But flexibility is essential. There might be only very few flights in a month and with only few seats. 

I would think some passengers postponing their fares because if illness (covid wave), expected airport havoc etc.

Possibly eurochannel to paris, brussels or connecting flight at frankfurt. For own convenience only hand luggage if fare on different tickets.

connecting in india is doable

As I've said repeatedly - I spent a day looking at every option and I can't be flexible.

 

No sign of my flights a couple of weeks ago suffering from passengers postponing - both ways, all 4 flights were rammed.

 

Hand luggage?  2 weeks in Thailand on hand luggage?

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, internationalism said:

prices are getting to normal in september, from some 23k baht.

Are you talking about Thailand-Europe-Thailand - in which case that was something else I noticed. Usually flight prices from Thailand are more expensive than from Europe - this year the reverse seems to be true, probably because the European ones are so expensive.

[KhunBENQ]

A niece is coming to visit the family after many years 

Berlin - Doha - Bangkok return eco (Qatar Airways).

1700 Euro!

About double the price before COVID.

 

Summer school holiday season. Chaotic situation at the airports.

Edited July 9, 2022 by KhunBENQ

[Andycoops]

Send your congratulations to the deranged Putin.

[sandyf]

22 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

Lesson learned with Qatar.

I got the lesson many years ago.

I got offloaded at Doha on my way to Manchester and rerouted via Paris along with about 20 others. We were told at Doha we would go by BA to Manchester, on arrival at T2 in Paris no Qatar staff so we made our way to BA in T1. BA knew nothing and after a phone call to Qatar it turned out we were flying with BMI from T2, by the time we got back to T2 the flight had been delayed 2 hours due to "late passengers".

When we did get on the aircraft I was looking out the window and saw a luggage trolley with my suitcase on the top. I mentioned it to the cabin crew but she just shrugged and walked away.

We landed at Manchester around midnight, about 6 hours late with no baggage,  with the number of people involved I was another hour or so for the missing baggage report. 

What was quite disgusting, Qatar had split up a couple at Doha with the girl remaining on the original flight. First time to the UK and she had been waiting at the airport all that time for her boyfriend to turn up.

I made a complaint to Qatar but no response, wrote again and then received a voucher for 250 USD in the post. Just the voucher in the envelope, no apology.

Will never use them again.

 

[Tuvoc]

16 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

What smaller planes? They don't exist, nor do the crews.

 

How do you refund the return flight? Not on any ticket I ever had. Use it or lose it.

 

Under the Qatar flexible booking policy which they introduced during Covid. Previously I had to get the return flight to LON refunded because Qatar got added to the UK redlist. You just choose the option under "Manage my booking". The refund allowed me to buy a direct flight with Thai Airways with some change to spare.

 

 

[Tuvoc]

17 hours ago, Tony125 said:

Does My Mask Protect Me if Nobody Else Is Wearing One?

https://www.nytimes.com/article/covid-masks-protection-stats.html

 

Yes, wearing a mask can help protect you from getting COVID-19, even if others aren’t wearing them

https://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/coronavirus-verify/masks-protect-wearer-covid-if-no-one-else-wears-one/536-ad323e29-a362-4952-9d2c-b072c40498be

"can help protect you".  It reduces the risk a little but does not eliminate it.

 

And it didn't work for me. I got Covid returning from Australia to Bangkok. Mask wearing was recommended but not compulsory. I was wearing my mask but the person next to me wasn't. She seemed well but during the flight when the lights were dimmed she had a couple of massive coughing bouts, and I thought, if that is Covid I'm screwed. And so it turned out. Sitting for 9-10 hrs next to someone who has Covid, your mask won't save you. (I can't be totally sure it was from her, but seems likely). Fortunately my symptoms were mild, I thought I just had a cold until I did a lateral flow test. 

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2022 by Tuvoc

[LALes]

23 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Masks are to stop YOU giving your germs to others.

If that were the case, the mask would only cover your mouth.  

[KhunBENQ]

The thread is about flight prices, thanks.

[Tuvoc]

Until oil prices drop again, we are stuck with higher prices. I do get the feeling that there is a bit of profiteering at the moment though,  so maybe they will ease a bit.

[Eff1n2ret]

18 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Guys,

 

A lot of you are missing the point or maybe I haven't been clear?

 

I'm fully aware that my (inflexible) dates and possibly booking so late are contributory factors but I've done this before and NEVER have I had to pay anything like £1677.

 

Those of you quoting cheaper prices - try ACTUALLY booking them. I spent a day trying to find cheaper prices - there were none available unless I was prepared to live with total durations of up to 53 hours.

 

I've had almost 21 years experience in finding cheap flights - the best I could obtain was the same flight for £1610 but the agents had very poor reviews on Trustpilot and were difficult to contact.  Believe me, I know what I'm doing.

 

My hope is that this situation is temporary and things will settle down next year - if not, Thailand can kiss goodbye to what's left of its tourism business. People may be prepared to pay crazy prices this year but not regularly.

You make me feel a whole lot better about the 89,000 Baht I paid in early May for 2 ("Flexible") return tickets BKK-LHR on Thai Airways leaving next Tuesday. Far more than I've ever paid before, and prices have always been higher for the same routes starting in BKK rather than LHR.

[internationalism]

3 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

A niece is coming to visit the family after many years 

Berlin - Doha - Bangkok return eco (Qatar Airways).

1700 Euro!

About double the price before COVID.

 

Summer school holiday season. Chaotic situation at the airports.

try frankfurt, munich - much larger airports, with many airlines. Trains to berlin just over 4h from some e60.

Even Zurich, prague, brussels are doable

[NanLaew]

On 7/8/2022 at 9:16 AM, sandyf said:

You need to keep things in perspective, the majority of the BA flight cancellations were short haul.

It is the holiday side of the business, as with other UK airlines, that has been oversold.

I had an Easyjet flight from Gatwick to Belfast cancelled end of May, went by train and ferry, 18 hours instead of an hour and a half.

What people do need to watch out for is flying with BA next month, good chance their baggage handlers will  be on strike.

Isn't their business perspective to sacrifice a chunk of the short-haul sector to sustain the long-haul sector?

 

What has more intrinsic value here, a BA A320 doing four or five flights a day between European airports or a Scoot 787 chock-full of backpackers headed non-stop for BKK?

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, Tuvoc said:

Until oil prices drop again, we are stuck with higher prices. I do get the feeling that there is a bit of profiteering at the moment though,  so maybe they will ease a bit.

The oil price has been dropping since the first week of June.

 

Airfares are already lower for September-October, aka the off-peak season.

 

There's no denying that collectively, the whole travel industry got caught on the back foot with the global easing of Covid-related travel restrictions so this isn't just restricted to the airlines. Makes one wonder if all these various business planners, department managers and the like, probably working from home, completely lost touch with reality?

 

The only thing I note is that the era of cheap one-way fares that prevailed for as much as eight years BEFORE Covid, is over for the time being. Right now, the airlines want your bums on their seats on BOTH legs of your vacation travel.