Crazy Flight Prices

[ourmanflint]

This is the cheapest flight I can get for 31/12 which is usually pretty cheap, last year we got Thai air both ways for less!

who would do this? Madness 

And yes that really is a 4 flight journey!

Edited November 1, 2022 by ourmanflint

[Tuvoc]

I'm planning on flying again in January, so I'd better start thinking about firming up some dates and making a booking. I think high fares are here to stay, at least for a few years anyway.

[KhaoYai]

18 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

I think high fares are here to stay, at least for a few years anyway.

I hope its months not years - if not, my business plans for next year will have to be shelved.  There's no way I can make things attractive to customers when it costs them £1500 just to get to Thailand.

 

Despite claims of busy airports, this must be hurting the Thai tourist industry.  Let's wait until the next set of tourism figures are released. Several sources are claiming that demand is still high - given the current cost of living crisis in much of Europe, I really can't see European demand being/remaining high much longer.

 

I've mentioned this before but a British couple with 2 kids (over full price age) would be looking at a bill for flights alone this Christmas/New Year of over £6000.  For many, that's out of the question - they'll just find alternative destinations.

Edited November 3, 2022 by KhaoYai

[Tuvoc]

On 11/1/2022 at 10:10 PM, ourmanflint said:

And yes that really is a 4 flight journey!

Yes, still no direct flights from Auckland to Bangkok. Thai airways stopped and has not re-started.

[richard_smith237]

Jumping on the thread late... 

 

Looking at flights..... they’ve become even more expensive... 

 

I’m looking at family spend of >120,000 baht for 3 of us to travel to the UK...  (and there’s two trips planed this year already).

 

Emirates usually at about 60,000 baht and up to 90,000 baht last year...  are now way up there at more than 120,000 baht for 3 seats... and Emirates stills seem the most competive...

 

 

 

ROP (Thai) Airmiles are utterly useless... I’ve got 300,000 of the things and just can’t spend em on flights (tried to book for Summer - no reward seats... tried to book for Dec ’23.. .no reward seats - for whole of Dec in all travel classes !!!).... TG are running a racket somehow...  or only freeing up a couple of seats per flight which go instantly (staff connections).

 

 

hence.... this thread bump to see if there are any deals going around that people have become aware of... BKK-UK in the Summer.... and at Christmas... 

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by richard_smith237

[Dan747]

 Prices to the USA are high also, just got through paying $851 from BKK to Narita (JAL-NRT) and $1250 on Singapore Airlines from NRT to Los Angeles-One way, where I used to pay $1300 round trip from Orlando to BKK. I do not see the prices going down!! Good Luck to all and "Happy Travels."

[GinBoy2]

So we all appreciate airfares have increased for a myriad of reasons.

 

But as an airline employee I have these words of caution.

 

Use the comparison websites to figure out your best deal.

 

But, ultimately book directly with the airline. The Expedia's Travelocity's may save you a couple of bucks but that's about it.

 

The problem is when things go wrong.

 

I cannot tell you how many times I've dealt with irate customers, when a flight gets cancelled, or something is wrong with their ticket and I tell them there is nothing I can do, they need to contact the third party who booked the ticket.

 

These third parties almost never have a phone contact number, and good luck getting them to answer an email when you are at the airport trying to deal with an issue and your flight is supposed to be leaving in 50 minutes

[Tuvoc]

Yes, I have bought directly from Airlines for a while now. It was particularly important during Covid.

 

Having said that, on internal flights on Thai Vietjet I was buying from the airline website, but then found quite by accident an agent who did the same ticket for far less last time. Not so much at stake of course with an internal flight, money wise.

[richard_smith237]

12 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

So we all appreciate airfares have increased for a myriad of reasons.

 

But as an airline employee I have these words of caution.

 

Use the comparison websites to figure out your best deal.

 

But, ultimately book directly with the airline. The Expedia's Travelocity's may save you a couple of bucks but that's about it.

 

The problem is when things go wrong.

 

I cannot tell you how many times I've dealt with irate customers, when a flight gets cancelled, or something is wrong with their ticket and I tell them there is nothing I can do, they need to contact the third party who booked the ticket.

 

These third parties almost never have a phone contact number, and good luck getting them to answer an email when you are at the airport trying to deal with an issue and your flight is supposed to be leaving in 50 minutes

Indeed.....   I use the comparison sites a lot when shopping around its often quite comical to see some of the lower fairs that’d see us making 3 stopovers from the UK to BKK...  And, as you mentioned, the lines of communication are often difficult enough, but become compromised when dealing with a third party. I (nearly)always book directly from the Airline Website..... 

 

The last time I didn’t a flight was cancelled, it took me 5 months to get my deposit back from which the travel agent wanted to subtract their costs - I had to get ABTA involved. 

 

 

 

Recently - Both Emirates and Turkish delayed flights (€600 owed) Emirates was a lot easier to deal with than Turkish who rejected the compensation claim but ultimately paid out after I used an arbitrator  (https://www.aviationadr.org.uk).

 

 

 

 

Reports state that air-fares are only going to increase throughout 2023 hence my reasoning to purchase for the Summer and Winter UK lists sooner rather than later...  I’m just quite shocked at the increases....  In the next 12 months I’m going to be blowing an estimated 300k baht on family air-travel.

 

I can’t find anything I consider of reasonable value, obviously I’ll have to change my idea of reasonable from 25,000 baht (Emirates return) to 45,000 baht Emirates Return !!! (just under US$4000 feels like a lot for a single trip). 

 

 

 

 

 

[KhaoYai]

18 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Jumping on the thread late... 

 

Looking at flights..... they’ve become even more expensive... 

 

I’m looking at family spend of >120,000 baht for 3 of us to travel to the UK...  (and there’s two trips planed this year already).

 

Emirates usually at about 60,000 baht and up to 90,000 baht last year...  are now way up there at more than 120,000 baht for 3 seats... and Emirates stills seem the most competive...

 

 

 

ROP (Thai) Airmiles are utterly useless... I’ve got 300,000 of the things and just can’t spend em on flights (tried to book for Summer - no reward seats... tried to book for Dec ’23.. .no reward seats - for whole of Dec in all travel classes !!!).... TG are running a racket somehow...  or only freeing up a couple of seats per flight which go instantly (staff connections).

 

 

hence.... this thread bump to see if there are any deals going around that people have become aware of... BKK-UK in the Summer.... and at Christmas... 

 

I'm actually finding the opposite Richard - prices starting to come down. Not a lot though and it clearly depends on demand.  I'm booked in April at just under a grand  - Easter + UK school holiday time so its usually a premuim price time.  However, I still check prices regularly and 2 weeks after I booked the price had gone up to £1200.

 

I checked out some prices in October and they were around £700.

 

Although I'm usually against booking early, in the current climate it seems that its the way to go.  What is needed is for a 'newcomer' to enter the market and stir it up.

 

A neighbour of mine is a regular flyer and has come across what I guess you could call 'preferential pricing zones'.  He looked at 2 business class tickets to the USA which came back at £4500 each!  In disbelief he tried the same destination from Dublin and got 2 tickets at £3500 for the pair!!!

 

Once in the states he had some other flights to book and was getting a huge difference depending on how he searched.  With his UK registered Laptop the prices were much higher than they were when searching using his USA mobile phone.

 

I used to work in the motor trade and I know that car manufacturers used to class the UK as a 'preferred market' - they could extract higher prices from UK customers so when there were shortages or strikes etc. the UK market was re-supplied first.  Looks like the airlines are employing the same tactic.

 

Also not sure that all the regular UK/BKK flyers have re-instated all their daily flights yet.  I believe some are still down to 1 per day. 

 

Just noticed your comments on air miles.  I used mine to get my easter flight down to £600.  I'm on Qatar now - after 20 years I've given up on Etihad, their prices at the moment make others look cheap.

Edited March 10, 2023 by KhaoYai

[KhaoYai]

15 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

These third parties almost never have a phone contact number, and good luck getting them to answer an email when you are at the airport trying to deal with an issue and your flight is supposed to be leaving in 50 minutes

I agree with your overall message to an extent but as a regular traveller for over 20 years, I do use agents sometimes but I have a rule - if their prices are less than £30 less than the direct price - I go with the airline.

 

I also won't use an agent that doesn't have a phone number or is difficult to contact. Southall Travel and their sister company Travel Trolley often have good deals, have a UK phone number and are open 24/7.

Edited March 10, 2023 by KhaoYai

[Tuvoc]

I'm looking at prices NZ to BKK in May, and they seem fairly decent. Unfortunately Thai Airways have not resumed direct flights since the onset of Covid, so there is at least one stopover, sometimes two. No direct flights anymore.

[DrCosmix]

In the UK its bitterly cold. Its grim and unhappy people want out ASAP for short and long breaks and even taking the  plunge of  renting out their property and moving to to warmer climes. Airfares  to Thailand  are  going up unsurprisingly. 

[DrCosmix]

3 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

I agree with your overall message to an extent but as a regular traveller for over 20 years, I do use agents sometimes but I have a rule - if their prices are less than £30 less than the direct price - I go with the airline.

 

I also won't use an agent that doesn't have a phone number or is difficult to contact. Southall Travel and their sister company Travel Trolley often have good deals, have a UK phone number and are open 24/7.

Good point. I always prefer real high street agents. I aint gonna  sit in my living room staring at screen to save 30 quid then discover ive got no ink in my printer or ive got to fiddle around  with a digital  ticket.

[stubuzz]

 

20 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

But, ultimately book directly with the airline. The Expedia's Travelocity's may save you a couple of bucks but that's about it.

Agreed.

I booked a return ticket (June-August) in December 2022. Yesterday, i checked by booking and noticed the airline had canceled my return flight in August. I did not like the alternative that they offered and had to call to make changes. It would have a been a nightmare to make change with an third party agent.

[Mac Mickmanus]

1 hour ago, DrCosmix said:

Good point. I always prefer real high street agents. I aint gonna  sit in my living room staring at screen to save 30 quid then discover ive got no ink in my printer or ive got to fiddle around  with a digital  ticket.

They send you a Q.R code and you just show that when checking in , no need to print anything 

[asf6]

I was comparing prices of flights back to the UK yesterday using both price comparison sites and airlines' own sites. The airlines' own sites were marginally cheaper than the comparison sites. The flights on both were still more expensive than I expected, though. When I book, it will definitely be with the airlines own website. 

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, DrCosmix said:

In the UK its bitterly cold. Its grim and unhappy people want out ASAP for short and long breaks and even taking the  plunge of  renting out their property and moving to to warmer climes. Airfares  to Thailand  are  going up unsurprisingly. 

Nope, you're missing the bigger picture.  Prices went crazy last year when many covid restrictions were lifted.  Examples of actual prices that I paid for MAN - BKK:

 

June/July 2022 £459

August 2022 £1677

 

Yes, August is school holiday time in the UK so there's always an increase but I've never paid anything like that.

 

The overall trend seems to be that they are starting to come down if you book early enough but they are rising again as flights fill up.  That's the way it looks to me anyway.

 

[KhaoYai]

Has anybody ever got caught out when booking on a comparison site........like missing the 36hr flight duration or the fact that the price doesn't include any baggage? Anyone brave enough to admit that?

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, DrCosmix said:

Good point. I always prefer real high street agents. I aint gonna  sit in my living room staring at screen to save 30 quid then discover ive got no ink in my printer or ive got to fiddle around  with a digital  ticket.

Apart from the restricted time during Covid, I haven't printed a ticket for years, either from an agent or direct, there's no need to.

[Mac Mickmanus]

Just book a return flight London-BKK for 471 GBP leaving this weekend for a month , with Emirates airline

[asf6]

471 GBP for a return? That's very good. 

 

How long is the connection? 

[Mac Mickmanus]

On 3/23/2023 at 5:04 PM, Mac Mickmanus said:

Just book a return flight London-BKK for 471 GBP leaving this weekend for a month , with Emirates airline

I will have to revoke that .

It was a con and it wasn't a genuine flight price 

They called me an hour later saying the flights are full and they have another flight at normal costs

[richard_smith237]

4 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

I will have to revoke that .

It was a con and it wasn't a genuine flight price 

They called me an hour later saying the flights are full and they have another flight at normal costs

Bait and switch...   scamming ayholes !!....   Which site was it? (name and shame !).

 

I ended up purchasing direct from Emriates which seemed to offer the best deals for dates and routing etc...  everything else was either ‘horrific’ (i.e. with a 6 hr layover in India etc) or far more expensive... 

 

 

Two journeys...  

Summer: 35,000 baht / Christmas: 40,000 baht (BKK-DXB-UK return)

 

There really wasn’t much other option than not travelling.

 

 

 

[Mac Mickmanus]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

Bait and switch...   scamming ayholes !!....   Which site was it? (name and shame !).

 

I ended up purchasing direct from Emriates which seemed to offer the best deals for dates and routing etc...  everything else was either ‘horrific’ (i.e. with a 6 hr layover in India etc) or far more expensive... 

 

 

Two journeys...  

Summer: 35,000 baht / Christmas: 40,000 baht (BKK-DXB-UK return)

 

There really wasn’t much other option than not travelling.

 

 

 

Yeah I got caught .

I was speaking to a young pretty Western woman (going by her profile photo) by text on the Travel agents website and I asked whether it was a genuine fare and she said that it was and I asked her whether she would be phoning me up in five minutes telling me the flight was full and that I had to pay double the price  "No, of course not", she said "Soon as you pay, the flight is your" , so I quickly bought the flight .

   Five minutes later, Abdul phoned me up telling me the flight was full and the new price is now double the original fare .

   I found their home address online and asked when would be convenient for me to go around there and get my money back .

   The money got sent back to me this money .

 

[thai006]

i book a one way ticket on 10 march to go to bkk on November  and now the same flight is at 650 euro with Singapore airline , crazy !!!!

[Mac Mickmanus]

21 minutes ago, thai006 said:

i book a one way ticket on 10 march to go to bkk on November  and now the same flight is at 650 euro with Singapore airline , crazy !!!!

What was the price when you bought the ticket ?

[thai006]

330 euro ????

[Mac Mickmanus]

What is the best way to buy flights these days ?

All the online travel agencies seem to be bait and switch merchants and they don't have the fares that there are advertising and its a huge risk buying from them .

  The only other way is to go to the individual airlines webpages and search there individually.

   Is there an easier more convenient way to book flights ?

[richard_smith237]

7 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

What is the best way to buy flights these days ?

All the online travel agencies seem to be bait and switch merchants and they don't have the fares that there are advertising and its a huge risk buying from them .

  The only other way is to go to the individual airlines webpages and search there individually.

   Is there an easier more convenient way to book flights ?

Yes... Use a search function such as SkyScanner or Google Flights... 

 

Look for the best options price etc...  then go to direct to the airline website and see if the price is similar.... (it usually is).