Shocked at Prices for Flights in December 2024

[pj123]

Looking at family coming to visit from the UK in Christmas 2024 and taken aback by the prices for economy seats, LHR/BKK

Cheapest option using flexible dates EVA £1,448, TG £1,415. And this is returning 14 January.

[flyingtlger]

You're looking at the busiest time of the season.

Supply and demand......

[pj123]

Its never been this expensive

 

[HauptmannUK]

3 minutes ago, pj123 said:

Its never been this expensive

 

I think there are somewhat fewer seats on this route than prior to Covid.  A friend travelled LHR-BKK on TG at end of Feb and is returning end of March -  booked a few months ago.  Was just over £1000 I believe - quite pricey for low season.  I think the era of cheap long-haul is over - although you do ocassionally see limited promotional offers on indirect flights, but usually only available for a few days and checked baggage an expensive extra.

[Chelseafan]

BA are supposed to be restarting their routes in Oct/Nov, so maybe you want to wait as there will be more competition - no guarantees though.

There's defintely some profiteering going on. I generally fly F and fares have doubled since Covid

 

 

 

 

Edited March 8 by Chelseafan

[HauptmannUK]

10 minutes ago, Chelseafan said:

BA are supposed to be restarting their routes in Oct/Nov, so maybe you want to wait as there will be more competition 

 

 

 

 

The new BA route is LGW-BKK, not LHR, and only three times per week using older aircraft. BA have almost no domestic connections to LGW either so its very unattractive to those of us north of Watford.

BKK is mainly a leisure destination hence at the moment less interest from carriers and less capacity.

[Celsius]

1 hour ago, pj123 said:

Its never been this expensive

 

 

It is now and it's only going to get worse.

 

A few hints. 

 

airlines sometimes throw promotions out of nowhere, but I doubt it will be during Christmas, but who knows. Check the prices every day, set up the alert.....

 

Book a premium economy as it might be similar to economy price ticket. at least you get more bang for your buck.

 

I thought there would be more hints, but that's it. yeah....you're f$#&$#

[Chelseafan]

34 minutes ago, HauptmannUK said:

The new BA route is LGW-BKK, not LHR, and only three times per week using older aircraft. BA have almost no domestic connections to LGW either so its very unattractive to those of us north of Watford.

BKK is mainly a leisure destination hence at the moment less interest from carriers and less capacity.

 

Just offering an option and with more capacity on the route it might make EVA & Thai a little more competitive

Yes, London > Bangkok has never been a lucrative route versus say London>New York

 

I'm beginning to experiment flying from different airports. Stockholm > Bangkok is a lot cheaper for example even with a hoppover from London

Dublin seems cheap too, not saying it's the most direct option but if the OP is looking to save a few quid, it might be an idea.

 

I live in Watford so Gatwick isn't too far 🙂

[Chelseafan]

32 minutes ago, Celsius said:

 

It is now and it's only going to get worse.

 

A few hints. 

 

airlines sometimes throw promotions out of nowhere, but I doubt it will be during Christmas, but who knows. Check the prices every day, set up the alert.....

 

Book a premium economy as it might be similar to economy price ticket. at least you get more bang for your buck.

 

I thought there would be more hints, but that's it. yeah....you're f$#&$#

 

A few more tips. Rramp up those airmiles, credit cards (pay in full each month!) , hotels etc. Try and stick to the same group of airlines, Star Alliance, Oneworld etc.

Although having said that, getting reward tickets is getting harder.

 

[Rampant Rabbit]

2 hours ago, pj123 said:

Looking at family coming to visit from the UK in Christmas 2024 and taken aback by the prices for economy seats, LHR/BKK

Cheapest option using flexible dates EVA £1,448, TG £1,415. And this is returning 14 January.

Not saying their  good  but try Gulf  Air and Oman Air ive found them way cheaper

[DFPhuket]

I expect there will be some fluctuation in prices over the next 4 months or so. I often travel around Christmas and find prices far in advance are often higher than they will be later. I'd suggest waiting a while especially since BA has announced they will restart the route. With more competition, prices may change. You can use Google Flights to set a price alert to get an automatic email sent to you when the price changes. 

[alex8912]

You are waaay to early and if you book you are the exact reason why prices are high right now. 

[Bangkok Barry]

11 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

BA are supposed to be restarting their routes in Oct/Nov, so maybe you want to wait as there will be more competition - no guarantees though.

There's defintely some profiteering going on. I generally fly F and fares have doubled since Covid

 

 

 

 

 

Note that BA are only flying three times a week but daily to KL. Might be an option to go via there? Check the fare for both.

 

As for profiteering, it might be because they ran on empty during the pandemic and need revenue to stay operational? And if people are prepared to pay it, why not? I'd call that responsible business practise. Airlines work for themselves, not the passengers. Same as any business.

[fvw53]

12 hours ago, pj123 said:

Its never been this expensive

 

They are not in the business of serving people but in the business of making money (as Karl Marx said about the bakeries in London)

[blazes]

We are headed (IMO) for at least a recession (probably deflation), which may force airlines to ease off.  But while waiting for financial Armageddon to arrive, they are going to squeeze every last penny/satang/dollar etc from those still able to travel.

 

American debt goes up by $1 Trillion every 100 days.

[Seppius]

Been looking for a friend of mine for those dates, while they are still expense not as bad as what you are saying, these are direct, one stop much cheaper

 

 

[moe666]

13 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

You're looking at the busiest time of the season.

Supply and demand......

Typically they have no fares until 6 months before.

[ronster]

13 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

I think there are somewhat fewer seats on this route than prior to Covid.  A friend travelled LHR-BKK on TG at end of Feb and is returning end of March -  booked a few months ago.  Was just over £1000 I believe - quite pricey for low season.  I think the era of cheap long-haul is over - although you do ocassionally see limited promotional offers on indirect flights, but usually only available for a few days and checked baggage an expensive extra.

Friend arrived in bkk yesterday on Thai airways from UK and said plane was half empty .

Oddly though they offered chicken or fish for eating and he chose chicken. When they started serving they said wasn't enough chicken and could he have fish , despite him being in front row of seating. He told them no and they said give us 5 minutes upon which they returned and asked if would eat beef . He said yes and was given steak from business class 😄

[Drumbuie]

15 hours ago, pj123 said:

Its never been this expensive

 

It's been creeping up since COVID and Ukraine. Cost me £1100 basic ( I paid more on top of that for extra legroom) return to UK last May/June (KLM via Schiphol to avoid the hell of LHR,). 

 

Some of my family are flying over in July, going back August and it's around £1200 each return (Qatar Airways). Student friends  flew out last month on Air China via Beijing (don't ever do this, folks)  to get the cost below £1,000 each. 

 

No more cheap longhaul flights, I fear. 

[proton]

1 hour ago, ronster said:

Friend arrived in bkk yesterday on Thai airways from UK and said plane was half empty .

Oddly though they offered chicken or fish for eating and he chose chicken. When they started serving they said wasn't enough chicken and could he have fish , despite him being in front row of seating. He told them no and they said give us 5 minutes upon which they returned and asked if would eat beef . He said yes and was given steak from business class 😄

 

Good job he was not vegetarian

 

 

[bradiston]

17 hours ago, pj123 said:

Looking at family coming to visit from the UK in Christmas 2024 and taken aback by the prices for economy seats, LHR/BKK

Cheapest option using flexible dates EVA £1,448, TG £1,415. And this is returning 14 January.

My daughter usually visits from the UK at peak season, but as we're selling our property here, I'm working on meeting halfway or thereabouts. Maybe Turkey, or Central Asia. This place has had it!

[bradiston]

4 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Note that BA are only flying three times a week but daily to KL. Might be an option to go via there? Check the fare for both.

 

As for profiteering, it might be because they ran on empty during the pandemic and need revenue to stay operational? And if people are prepared to pay it, why not? I'd call that responsible business practise. Airlines work for themselves, not the passengers. Same as any business.

Their revenue comes from paying passengers, not from themselves.

 

But it's very revealing what you say about KL. That must be a huge blow to Sreetha's hub fantasy. And tourism in general. But what's so appealing about KL? Landing fees? Slot fees? Connectivity? Hubsworth? BKK really was a hub at one time. Fly in, fly out anywhere you chose. And amongst the cheapest long haul destinations. Remember the good old days? Lot, Aeroflot, Tarom? 6 hours in Warsaw airport? Overnight in Moscow with a city tour included? Fags, booze, no phones. Just adrenalin!

[lavender19]

It's a lot to do with the net zero con cr@p

[sirineou]

17 hours ago, pj123 said:

Looking at family coming to visit from the UK in Christmas 2024 and taken aback by the prices for economy seats, LHR/BKK

Cheapest option using flexible dates EVA £1,448, TG £1,415. And this is returning 14 January.

I think the operative word here is "Christmas" 

around the holidays prices go up. for obvious reasons. 

How close to christmas is their arrival day? 

By the way, christmas is a long way , By the time you get closer to Christmas it could be more on it could be less. 

Edited March 9 by sirineou

[KannikaP]

26 minutes ago, sirineou said:

it could be more on it could be less. 

n is nowhere near r on the keyboard

[Phil1964]

17 hours ago, pj123 said:

Its never been this expensive

 

Blatant collusion between airlines happening to inflate air fares at yes the peak time of the year. (Recovering pandemic losses, oh yeah of course 🔔🔔)!!  Why don't the family visit in Europe's school holidays? Weather's okay and flights are a lot cheaper, (circa £400 each on a direct flight route).

[sirineou]

7 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

n is nowhere near r on the keyboard

Good eye!! 

[Nick Carter icp]

39 minutes ago, sirineou said:

 

By the way, christmas is a long way , By the time you get closer to Christmas it could be more on it could be less. 

 

   How do you know that ?

[Bangkok Barry]

44 minutes ago, bradiston said:

Their revenue comes from paying passengers, not from themselves.

 

That's what I meant. Passengers are their source of revenue and so they hike their prices to make up not having passengers during the pandemic. They are only interested in themselves and how much revenue they can generate, not whether or not passengers find the prices high. If they had empty planes as a result that might change, but they don't.

 

As for your other comments, ah yes. Nostalgia indeed. One of my first trips to Bangkok was on Tarom, after buying the ticket from their one-room upstairs office in Regent Street in London, if I recall. 

[sirineou]

9 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   How do you know that ?

It could remain the same, go higher, or go lower .

Can you think of another option? I can't. 

Christmas 2024 is a long way, they suggest booking airfare 1-3 months before departure date, nine months in advance is way to early IMO and the opinion of many experts.