Nok Air

[Kerryd]

I was browsing fares to go from Bangkok to Hat Yai (and back) at the end of the month. Looked reasonable, 1,043 baht there and 950 baht to get back on the dates/times I selected.

Clicked to go to the next page and they show the fare summary.

Departure

1 Fare (Adult(s)) 1,043.46

1 Tax, Fee and Surcharge (Adult(s)) 1,296.54

Airport Tax 100.00

Insurance 50.00

Administration Fee 50.00

Fuel Surcharge 950.00

VAT146.54

Total (Adult(s)) 2,340.00

Return

1 Fare (Adult(s)) 950.00

1 Tax, Fee and Surcharge (Adult(s)) 1,290.00

Airport Tax 100.00

Insurance 50.00

Administration Fee 50.00

Fuel Surcharge 950.00

VAT 140.00

Total (Adult(s)) 2,240.00

Trip Total 4,580.00

Advertised fares (total) = 1,993.46

Totals fees/surcharges = 2,586.54

The extra charges equal almost 130% of the fare ! The fuel surcharge alone is equal to the Hat Yai-Bangkok fare !

And this is a discount airline ?

The same trip on Thai air works out to 3,730 for the fare, and an additional 2,010 for the taxes/surcharges for a total of 5,740. So Nok Air does come out cheaper (by 1,160 baht, or $34 US).

Silly me. While planning this, money isn't a concern. Just thought it weird to see how they price the tickets.

I checked Kayak.com for the same flights/dates/times, and they quoted a price of 9,072 baht (on Thai Air).

Expedia quoted a price of 9,400 baht.

In the end, it suddenly occured to me to see if I could do this with my Thai Air miles and sure enough, have enough to fly Silk Class both ways, and it's only going to cost me 2,000 baht in additional fees/charges. Use them or lose them I guess (as I have about 18,000 miles expiring in December anyways).