Why The Air Tickets Are So Expensive

[ningli2009]

I am looking at tickets to go back to the UK for a visit and the difference in price is amazing.

To go from BKK to London return is around 80% more expensive than going London BKK rtn.

Why? Anyone any clue?

[bababuffalo]

i have noticed the same thing going to the u.s. on china air there are no tickets out of taipei in august

[neverdie]

After initally replying to this thread, im starting to wonder if its spam?

Edited July 1, 2009 by neverdie

[PattayaParent]

Air travel FROM Thailand is seen as a 'luxury' purchase available only to the more wealthy locals or expat workers whereas air travel from UK is cheaper than taking a train or a car and the airlines also have to compete for the Ibiza / Corfu crowd.

[PatinBKk]

Flights from BKK-Lon are no more expensive now than 5 years ago...you can still fly with Sri Lankian Air 26,000 Baht Return, Thai Air and also Gulf etc are all competitive with prices starting at 29,000 Baht.....these are prices that were the same at least 5 years ago. The reason you think they are expensive is because you are calculating at todays exchang rate....£ at 54 rather than 70 $ at 35 rather that over 40 etc....If you are paid in Baht in makes no difference but for someone living here on a pension or savings then yes flights would seem expensive......

[theoldgit]

Thai Air and also Gulf etc are all competitive with prices starting at 29,000 Baht.....these are prices that were the same at least 5 years ago.

Stick us down for a few of those 29,000 Thai flights from Bangkok to London. 65,000 Baht (£1181) for the dates I was looking for in October, as opposed to the other direction £366 (20,130 Baht) - both quotes on the Thai website so thought I would have been looking for similar prices.

[PatinBKk]

wow, that is a difference..........I paid 36,000 only a few months ago with Thai air...maybe you should adjust your dates a bit

[PatinBKk]

Just did Thai Air website 10th August BKK-LON and Return 21st August....56,000 Baht....also LON-BKK same dates £901....not really a big difference considering 56 Baht to £..........must admit 56,000 is a lot and so is £901, but why you guys are getting such large parity between the prices in Baht & £ is beyond me...

[Brown1950]

People in UK are reporting within last 24 hours many airlines increasing tickets by over £100.00 ex Uk for flights in Sept/Oct. Now i know our friend Gordon has imposed extra taxes on all air tickets ex UK w.e/f 1.11.09 but why this sudden increase for sept/oct ?? Increased fuel perhaps ? As an example Qatar have increased Sept prices ex Manchester-Hong Kong by over £130.00. Understand Emirates ex all UK airports have also increased prices within last 24 hours. Do the airlines know something we don't ???

[Old Croc]

This is now a new financial year and is probably considered high season for flights in the northern hemisphere. Perhaps this is a reason for higher prices.

Notice the spammer OP is now banned.

[Datsun240Z]

vacation time is coming in the 4 season countries. Prices go up

[jackdanielsesq]

Generally speaking, the major volume based hubs offer better competitive pricing than their counterparts - which is why they prevent us from purchasing in LA to fly from BKK

BR>Jack

[torrenova]

Until a few years ago, BKK-LHR-BKK was way way cheaper and with a far more flexible ticket than LHR-BKK-LHR especially with direct flights and particularly with Thai. The changes to the current situation where Thai and others are far higher starting from Bangkok is not an FX issue because the fares in THB are far higher now and recently than they were.

I wondered if the USD was the key, that internally, everything was priced in USD and then converted to GBP and THB. However, if the USD was 40 and the THB price was 20k, then if the THB went to 30, the effective THB price should have come down to 15k but it did not, it rose as the USD weakened. So the FX theory is largely a non starter.

The idea of flight being a luxury item is a non starter as well because it was priced far more appealingly not so long ago.

Now indirect is so much better that it wins unless somehow, the direct players have some mega deals on. Even then, TG flys old buckets with crap in flight equipment and that is mind numbing over 12 hours.

[micky1965]

try etihad 27,500 all in works out just over 500 quid still expensive when the same flight is only 330 quid in the uk and the taxes are more then 200 quid . what i don't understand is why emirates tax is only 3,000 baht out of lhr when all the other airlines are over 10,000 baht . same airport ????????????

[theoldgit]

what i don't understand is why emirates tax is only 3,000 baht out of lhr when all the other airlines are over 10,000 baht . same airport ????????????

I think you find that the Emirates base price includes all fuel surcharges whilst most of the other airlines add a fuel surcharge with the tax. So the Emirates tax is just that, and the others quote a figure for tax and fuel surcharges. Certainly the ads I have seen in the Bangkok Post, where the price they quote is the base price, indicate that that Emirates price includes any fuel surcharges.

Adverts in the Europe, and I think Australia, and probably others, have to indicate the actual price in their headline ads, so if they can do it then why can't it be done in Thailand, transparency in pricing would make it so much easier to compare prices - oh, of course that's why they don't do it.