It Pays To Shop Around

[sumrit]

I'm from the UK but live in Thailand with my wife and daughter. We're thinking of going on holiday to Australia next year to visit some family and friends so I started looking on line at various travel agent/airline sights to

get an idea of the cost of flights. The cheapest came out at around 107,000 baht for the three of us including all taxes and fees. Then out of curiosity I looked on the web site of a UK travel agent I usually use when we fly

back to the UK. Including all taxes and fees just over 87,000 baht (£1440), a saving of 20,000 baht if I sit at home in Thailand and buy tickets to go from Bangkok to Melbourne from the UK. In case it was a mistake I

checked another UK travel agent I sometimes use. They were slightly dearer at 89,600 baht but still a saving of well over 17,000 baht. Both travel agents were quoting Quantas flights so I went directly to the Quantas site

and they were quoting 110,000 baht for the same flight.

Sometimes it pays to look just a bit further afield when comparing prices.

[Thaivisa Travel]

I'm from the UK but live in Thailand with my wife and daughter. We're thinking of going on holiday to Australia next year to visit some family and friends so I started looking on line at various travel agent/airline sights to

get an idea of the cost of flights. The cheapest came out at around 107,000 baht for the three of us including all taxes and fees. Then out of curiosity I looked on the web site of a UK travel agent I usually use when we fly

back to the UK. Including all taxes and fees just over 87,000 baht (£1440), a saving of 20,000 baht if I sit at home in Thailand and buy tickets to go from Bangkok to Melbourne from the UK. In case it was a mistake I

checked another UK travel agent I sometimes use. They were slightly dearer at 89,600 baht but still a saving of well over 17,000 baht. Both travel agents were quoting Quantas flights so I went directly to the Quantas site

and they were quoting 110,000 baht for the same flight.

Sometimes it pays to look just a bit further afield when comparing prices.

Very interesting outcome this one, as technically any specila fares sold from Bangkok to melbourne in the UK have a requirement that they are accompanied by appropriate London Bangkok London tickets which might have been the case. Did they sell you UK BKK UK recently I wonder? If you asked us as well then we would have had to play by the rules BUT there have also been times where BA/Qantas have had specials on the Thai market which have been a lot cheaper than Singapore or Malaysian.    

[lomatopo]

What is the routing/carriers? Did you have the ticket(s) issued? Sometimes you see a price but when it comes time to pay the actual price varies. Also airlines have started to restrict Sold Outside, Ticketed Outside (SOTO) activity so you may have to physically go to the U.K. to have your ticket issued, which will add to the overall cost of course.

I did quickly compare BKK-MEL-BKK issued in BKK and issued in LHR. It looks like there is a significant difference in the fuel surcharges; 41 GBP if issued in LHR and 237 USD if issued in BKK. Not sure if this is a mistake, or acceptable practice and/or if it accounts for the price discrepancy you observerd?

Bangkok, Thailand to Melbourne, Australia: 5652 miles 13 hrs 5 min

Cathay Pacific Airways Flight CX712 on a Boeing 777 (jet) in coach class

(refreshments)

Departs Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) Wed, Apr 1 4:05p 2 hrs 50 min

Arrives Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) 7:55p

1 adult in booking code V, covered by fare (A1) below

Layover in Hong Kong 1 hr 5 min

Qantas Airways Flight QF86 on an Airbus A330 (jet) in coach class

(meal, refreshments, movie)

Departs Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) Wed, Apr 1 9:00p 9 hrs 10 min

Arrives Melbourne, Australia (MEL) Thur, Apr 2 9:10a

1 adult in booking code V, covered by fare (A1) below

Note: The flight from Hong Kong (HKG) to Melbourne (MEL) is overnight.

Note: The layover in Hong Kong (HKG) has relatively little room for delays, and for this route a missed connection would likely be very inconvenient.

Melbourne, Australia to Bangkok, Thailand: 5652 miles 15 hrs 0 min

Qantas Airways Flight QF85 on an Airbus A330 (jet) in coach class

(lunch, refreshments, movie)

Departs Melbourne, Australia (MEL) Wed, Apr 22 11:55a 9 hrs 20 min

Arrives Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) 7:15p

1 adult in booking code V, covered by fare (A2) below

Layover in Hong Kong 2 hrs 55 min

Cathay Pacific Airways Flight CX709 on an Airbus A330 (jet) in coach class

(refreshments)

Departs Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) Wed, Apr 22 10:10p 2 hrs 45 min

Arrives Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) 11:55p

1 adult in booking code V, covered by fare (A2) below

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Booking details

If you want to buy this ticket, it's probably best to use a travel agent (this ticket involves multiple airlines, which can get complicated). If you use a travel agent to buy this ticket:

If your travel agent is online and has an e-mail address, e-mail this itinerary to them

If your travel agent is not online, print out this page and fax/give it to them

It is very important to use exactly the same booking codes and fare codes that we've used on this page in order to match the price we've found.

Fare (A1): QF BKKMEL VHSS1YTH fare (rules) THB 13325

Fare (A2): QF MELBKK VHSS1YTH fare (rules) THB 13325

Tax: Thailand Passenger Service Charge THB 700

Tax: Australian Passenger Movement Charge AUD 47.00

Tax: CX YR surcharge $59.20

Tax: QF YQ surcharge £41.00

Tax: Australian Safety & Security Surcharge AUD 5.55

Tax: Australian Int'l Passenger Service Charge AUD 26.10

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total for 1 adult passenger: £560.70

(as of Friday, September 12, 2008 3:54am; fares loaded Friday, September 12, 2008 1:02am)

Fare construction (sometimes useful to travel agents):

BKK CX X/HKG QF MEL 403.59VHSS1YTH QF X/HKG CX BKK 403.59VHSS1YTH NUC 807.18 END ROE 33.016 FARE THB 26650 EQU GBP 438.00 XT 11.50TS 21.80AU 2.60WG 12.20WY 41.00YQ 33.60YR

Bangkok, Thailand to Melbourne, Australia: 5652 miles 13 hrs 5 min

Cathay Pacific Airways Flight CX712 on a Boeing 777 (jet) in coach class

(refreshments)

Departs Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) Wed, Apr 1 4:05p 2 hrs 50 min

Arrives Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) 7:55p

1 adult in booking code V, covered by fare (A1) below

Layover in Hong Kong 1 hr 5 min

Qantas Airways Flight QF86 on an Airbus A330 (jet) in coach class

(meal, refreshments, movie)

Departs Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) Wed, Apr 1 9:00p 9 hrs 10 min

Arrives Melbourne, Australia (MEL) Thur, Apr 2 9:10a

1 adult in booking code V, covered by fare (A1) below

Note: The flight from Hong Kong (HKG) to Melbourne (MEL) is overnight.

Note: The layover in Hong Kong (HKG) has relatively little room for delays, and for this route a missed connection would likely be very inconvenient.

Melbourne, Australia to Bangkok, Thailand: 5652 miles 15 hrs 0 min

Qantas Airways Flight QF85 on an Airbus A330 (jet) in coach class

(lunch, refreshments, movie)

Departs Melbourne, Australia (MEL) Wed, Apr 22 11:55a 9 hrs 20 min

Arrives Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) 7:15p

1 adult in booking code V, covered by fare (A2) below

Layover in Hong Kong 2 hrs 55 min

Cathay Pacific Airways Flight CX709 on an Airbus A330 (jet) in coach class

(refreshments)

Departs Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) Wed, Apr 22 10:10p 2 hrs 45 min

Arrives Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) 11:55p

1 adult in booking code V, covered by fare (A2) below

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Booking details

If you want to buy this ticket, it's probably best to use a travel agent (this ticket involves multiple airlines, which can get complicated). If you use a travel agent to buy this ticket:

If your travel agent is online and has an e-mail address, e-mail this itinerary to them

If your travel agent is not online, print out this page and fax/give it to them

It is very important to use exactly the same booking codes and fare codes that we've used on this page in order to match the price we've found.

Fare (A1): QF BKKMEL VHSS1YTH fare (rules) THB 13325

Fare (A2): QF MELBKK VHSS1YTH fare (rules) THB 13325

Tax: Thailand Passenger Service Charge THB 700

Tax: Australian Passenger Movement Charge AUD 47.00

Tax: CX YR surcharge $59.20

Tax: QF YQ surcharge $237.00

Tax: Australian Safety & Security Surcharge AUD 5.55

Tax: Australian Int'l Passenger Service Charge AUD 26.10

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total for 1 adult passenger: THB 39830

(as of Friday, September 12, 2008 3:57am; fares loaded Friday, September 12, 2008 1:02am)

Fare construction (sometimes useful to travel agents):

BKK CX X/HKG QF MEL 403.59VHSS1YTH QF X/HKG CX BKK 403.59VHSS1YTH NUC 807.18 END ROE 33.016 FARE THB 26650 XT 700TS 1330AU 160WG 740WY 8200YQ 2050YR

[sumrit]

Very interesting outcome this one, as technically any specila fares sold from Bangkok to melbourne in the UK have a requirement that they are accompanied by appropriate London Bangkok London tickets which might have been the case. Did they sell you UK BKK UK recently I wonder? If you asked us as well then we would have had to play by the rules BUT there have also been times where BA/Qantas have had specials on the Thai market which have been a lot cheaper than Singapore or Malaysian.    

I have returned from a holiday in the UK 3 months ago but neither travel agent would know this as I did everything on line and only went as far as confirming that the three seats were available at the total price quoted. The travel agents I used were http://www.expedia.co.uk/default.aspx?eapid=737-3,%20737-3 and http://www.airlinewarehouse.com/ and I enquired for two adults and one child traveling from Bangkok to Melbourne on 4-3-09 and returning three weeks later on 25-3-09. With both of these agents once you get to the 'confirm booking' page they are confirming the seats are available and give the total price so as I only wanted an idea of the price I didn't actually book the tickets but just canceled the query at that point. The first one was £1440 (87.000 baht) and the second £1486 (89600 baht), both with Quantas, and both E tickets so no tickets to be issued or collected. Before that I'd googled flights from Bangkok to Melbourne and checked on various sites from there. The cheapest (usually Malaysian airlines) was always around 107,000 baht. I then checked the Malasian (107,000 baht) Thai (107,000 baht) and Quantas (110,000 baht) sites directly before going to look on the UK sites.

Three or four years ago, whilst in Thailand, I used a UK travel agent to book a flight from Chiang Mai to Laung Prabang, Laos. Again an E ticket was issued, paid for by UK credit card, and there was no flight from the UK involved.

Sometimes you see a price but when it comes time to pay the actual price varies.

you may have to physically go to the U.K. to have your ticket issued

The UK travel agents by law have quote all prices including all taxes and fees on any price you are given. Surcharges can be added however after booking is completed but before payment is made under certain circumstances.

As I said before, E tickets would we issued so there is nothing to collect and E tickets are always confirmed by email. (Whenever we go back to the UK I always buy the tickets this way from a UK travel agent whilst in Thailand)

[Kerryd]

SaveFlights.com is showing r/t flights to Melbourne for anywhere from 31,700 baht (Phillippines Air) on up.

They show Quantas flights from 39,400 baht +, and Singapore Air from 34,700+.

The only direct Bkk-Melbourne flights shown are on Thai Air, starting at 36,900.

I personally don't trust Expedia's prices at all. I've used them a few times just to see what flight options were available. I noted their "great" prices, then found that I could get the same tickets through the airline website substantially cheaper.

I checked a couple of times, thinking there was an error somewhere. Wrote down the details on the flights quoted (dates/times/flight numbers/etc), then checked the airline websites. In some cases, I would have saved over $600 US, and in a couple of cases, Expedia quoted prices that were upwards of $1,200+ more than the airlines !

Once I've got the best flights/prices I can find, I throw it at Tom at SaveFlights to see what he can do for me. Probably booked 8 or more trips through him now, and he's saved me money every time.

(Example. I spent a couple of days last June planning a trip for end July. Had to fly Dubai - Bangkok - Manila - Vancouver and back to Bangkok. Had to fly my father from Vancouver to Bangkok (and back). Wanted to do it with as few changes as possible (i.e. didn't want to do three stop-overs and change airlines 3 times as well). All business class travel of course.

Found the flights/schedules and prices that I could live with. Sent my plan (without the prices) to Tom. He made a minor change to one leg of my trip, and gave me a price that was $1,400 US cheaper than what I could come up with !

As the OP mentioned, it does pay to shop around. In most cases, it never hurts to just ask for a quote.

[sumrit]

SaveFlights.com is showing r/t flights to Melbourne for anywhere from 31,700 baht (Phillippines Air) on up.

They show Quantas flights from 39,400 baht +, and Singapore Air from 34,700+.

The only direct Bkk-Melbourne flights shown are on Thai Air, starting at 36,900.

The two travel agents I looked at both quoted me less than 30,000 baht, both with Quantas.

I personally don't trust Expedia's prices at all. I've used them a few times just to see what flight options were available. I noted their "great" prices, then found that I could get the same tickets through the airline website substantially cheaper.

I checked a couple of times, thinking there was an error somewhere. Wrote down the details on the flights quoted (dates/times/flight numbers/etc), then checked the airline websites. In some cases, I would have saved over $600 US, and in a couple of cases, Expedia quoted prices that were upwards of $1,200+ more than the airlines !

I almost always use either Expedia.co.uk or Airline warehouse, I've always got the price they quote me and it's always cheaper than going to the airlines direct.

As I live in Thailand I need to book the outward journey from Bangkok, both of these sites allow me to do so on line. If I go to the airlines own web sites I'm directed

to their 'Thai' version which means paying in baht (paying to transfer the money to Thailand or getting a poor exchange rate with a UK credit card) and is more expensive.

Most UK versions of the airline sites don't allow booking the outward journey from Bangkok on line, and there not cheaper anyway.

I agree that if you look on expedia.au ,the Australian version of Expedia their prices are not competitive (over 1200 Australian dollars if I

remember correctly) but I was quoting from expedia.co.uk, the UK version, which I've never had a problem with and I can pay on line in

GBP with a UK credit card without any extra costs involved.

All I was trying to point out in my original post was that going to the people who specialize in a particular flight is not always the best option and that in this instance going

to two UK travel agents who probably very rarely sell Bangkok to Melbourne flights on their own would save me over 20,000 baht for three tickets over the cost of

going to the obvious travel agents. For me thats quite a saving and it's worth looking in the less likely places.

[lomatopo]

Did you purchase the tickets?

[PTYstefan]

going to the internet and making all the search through the net, booking through the net buying through the net. everything through the net, what happens if you want to change or something happens or needed help at the time when you are in the airport.

many websites are not on a 24 hour service. and then somethings happen to you. what then???

you need to make all the search through he net, you have to make everything your self. you have to read everything that is on the net. you have to make everything your self.

but when you go into a travel agent, you sit down tell them what you want, maybe also get a coffee. and wait for them to twist their hands and heads and making you an offer within a few moments you get an offer, if you do not like it they make you another one.

what did you do. sit and wait. nothing more.

that is one of the reasons a travel agent is there.

what do you think?

[sumrit]

going to the internet and making all the search through the net, booking through the net buying through the net. everything through the net, what happens if you want to change or something happens or needed help at the time when you are in the airport.

many websites are not on a 24 hour service. and then somethings happen to you. what then???

you need to make all the search through he net, you have to make everything your self. you have to read everything that is on the net. you have to make everything your self.

but when you go into a travel agent, you sit down tell them what you want, maybe also get a coffee. and wait for them to twist their hands and heads and making you an offer within a few moments you get an offer, if you do not like it they make you another one.

what did you do. sit and wait. nothing more.

that is one of the reasons a travel agent is there.

what do you think?

I got a better price, saved a lot more than the price of a coffee.

As the travel is in the UK and I'm in Thailand I'd find it difficult to go to their office and drink their coffee.

I can compare the cost with numerous travel agents/airlines from the comfort of my home and not have to travel to their offices or have the cost of phoning them

even if I was in the UK.

Booking on line means I can do so at my convenience and time, and not be restricted to the times the travel agent is open and have to travel there for the pleasure.

If I have any problems I can still telephone the travel agent with my query. Most travel agents offer a 5% discount for booking on line, or charge a 5% premium for

an office/telephone booking.

While I understand it's not for everybody booking on line suits me.

[sumrit]

Did you purchase the tickets?

No, I found out around the same time that we may have to go back to the UK for a few months later next year so I need to sort that

problem out first.

[THAIPHUKET]

Most interesting post. Could it be that rules for Germany are different? Because I was told whenever I fly out of Thailand or any other country into Germany the first leg must originate abroad. ( Hope I the reasoning right)

Could a UK agent issue a ticket BKK-FRA?

[sumrit]

Most interesting post. Could it be that rules for Germany are different? Because I was told whenever I fly out of Thailand or any other country into Germany the first leg must originate abroad. ( Hope I the reasoning right)

Could a UK agent issue a ticket BKK-FRA?

These are the two sites I usually use to book my flights from BKK to the UK. Most other UK travel agents will only allow you to book the outward journey from the UK when you book on line but these two allow the outward journey to be from any country.

Have a look for yourself.

http://www.airlinewarehouse.com/

http://www.expedia.co.uk/default.aspx?eapid=737-3,%20737-3