One Way Flight From Uk And Return Flights From Bkk

[TCA]

I plan (roughly) to stay in Thailand approximately 11 months per year (Sept to July) and have August in the UK. Currently I can see some decent deals booking in advance (for UK departures in August), which would involve paying for a date change to get me back the following August, seeing as you can only book up to 11 months in advance apparently. This still works out considerably cheaper than booking even a month or two in advance as I know from experience that fares are much higher then and there are no offers to be had then.

My alternative is to book a one-way from the UK then a 1 month return from Bangkok the following year - this would give me the added flexibility of going to the UK whenever I wanted without being tied to a return flight and minus the hassle of changing dates. But the one-way seems expensive (nearly the price of a return but would ofcourse be a one time deal) and I can't see any decent return deals out of Bangkok equivalent to those returns on offer leaving the UK.

What does anyone else do in the same situation?

I am specifically looking at Emirates from Glasgow, so any info on their offers out of Bangkok would help. My options:

1) GLA-BKK-GLA dep Aug, return in March (current max return date to be changed) = ฃ420 plus date change ฃ75 = ฃ495 - Good price but tied to returning within 12 months of departure and messing around with date changing.

or

2) One-way GLA/EDI-BKK with EVA ฃ375 but return flights from BKK (looking now for a month in August) appear to be in the region of ฃ700-750 plus.

If I could get a return from BKK for the same price as departing the UK, I'd probably do that for convenience in the long term plus the expensive one-way would potentially be recouped over time. But I can see nothing comparable on the net leaving BKK. Can anyone please advise or point me in the direction of a good travel agent or website.

Thanks

TCA

P.S. All prices in pounds, if the currency sign has screwed up.

Edited April 5, 2009 by TCA

[spacebass]

Booking one way can be very expensive, not just the price of one of the legs in a return.

[FRM-BKK]

Considering the current exchange rate for Sterling against Thai Baht, I would strongly advice against buying a return from Bangkok.

I just returned to Bangkok on a Jet Airways on a return fare for 419.00 Pound Sterling (one year return), including all taxes and charges. At the current exchange rate (51 baht to the pound) that is 21,369 Thai Baht.

In my opinion will you never get a fare (including taxes and charges) anywhere near that price departing from Bangkok.

So, I would (at this moment in time) buy my return fare from the UK.

Jet Airways incidentally, was top notch!

Frm-Bkk

[torrenova]

Until perhaps 2007, it was preferable to have tickets originating in Bangkok. You used to have almost complete flexibility, could change anytime and the overall cost was lower than the equivalent from outside Thailand.

Come 2007, many tickets did not attract full miles or sometimes none at all. Flexibility was reduced and charges introduced.

With high taxes, the benefits of free flights were significantly reduced and thus it made sense to book on price only.

Recently, best prices have been around Bt35-40k for proper airlines which is far higher than those from the UK.

[philipp]

I usually buy my tickets ex Bangkok. Generally I have found it cheaper, especially for the nicer airlines like Cathay Pacific and EVA Air. London is always on sale on some airline!

Anyway, it's always worth checking for each trip individually because promotions change frequently on either side. For promotions ex UK, check out ebookers, expedia and also airline websites directly. For promotions ex Bangkok, check out mox travel.

Also, I have found that the fuel surcharges are sometimes different, depending where you buy the ticket. I guess airlines follow the market leader so in UK most airlines set their fuel surcharges following BA. In Thailand they follow Thai Airways. Since TG has cheaper fuel surcharges than BA, it's cheaper to buy your ticket in Bangkok.

Happy travelling!

[TCA]

Thanks to all who replied. It looks as I suspected that a good value deal from the UK (plus a date change) will be my best bet.

Can I just ask, where the flight terms quote a fee for date change subsequent to departure, is that all you have to pay?

i.e. you're not required to pay any difference to current prices as you would sometimes if changing passenger?

Thanks again.

Edited April 6, 2009 by TCA

[FRM-BKK]

Can I just ask, where the flight terms quote a fee for date change subsequent to departure, is that all you have to pay?

i.e. you're not required to pay any difference to current prices as you would sometimes if changing passenger?

Thanks again.

You don't have to pay if you stay within the rules of the ticket you purchased.

For example: If you purchase a ticket with a one year validity, your return date is booked for say 8 months after departure, you should then be able to change your departure to a later or an earlier date, provided seats are available. As long as you use the return part of your ticket before the year is up you will have stayed within the rules of the ticket and therefore not have to pay anything.

I hope this clarifies your question.

Frm-Bkk

[Forkinhades]

Anyway, it's always worth checking for each trip individually because promotions change frequently on either side. For promotions ex UK, check out ebookers, expedia and also airline websites directly. For promotions ex Bangkok, check out mox travel.

What an excellent site thanks m8e

[TCA]

You don't have to pay if you stay within the rules of the ticket you purchased.

For example: If you purchase a ticket with a one year validity, your return date is booked for say 8 months after departure, you should then be able to change your departure to a later or an earlier date, provided seats are available. As long as you use the return part of your ticket before the year is up you will have stayed within the rules of the ticket and therefore not have to pay anything.

I hope this clarifies your question.

Frm-Bkk

/quote

Thanks very much Frm-Bkk. That does indeed answer my question. Your help is much appreciated. I'm off to book that ticket now. Cheers.