I Need To Get An "open" Return Flight To The U.k.

[Yaaklenmai]

Hi all,

I need to go back to the U.K. to sort a few things out.

I'm guessing, but think I will need to be there for around 4/5 weeks so cannot specify a return date, to the airline.

Can anyone suggest the way to get the best price (and estimated cost) for a DIRECT flight?

Would it be better to buy a return, or a single - Or arrange for the purchase to be made in the U.K. (in reverse order)?

I'm trying to avoid the Christmas rush if I can, but MUST leave in the next three weeks - NOT a VISA problem, just linked to what I need to resolve!

Sorry if this sounds naive.

ALL advice will be most gratefully received.

[yabaaaa]

I use proteam travel they are in this list but here are many others you can try

http://www.pbair.com/en-TH/inside/customer...&ofc=agtbkk

PRO PRO TEAM TRAVEL CO.,LTD 02-7334541-2 02-7336481 19/623 M.13 Soi Jamphen, Nawamin Rd., Klongkum, Bungkum,Bangkok 10240

Edited November 3, 2009 by yabaaaa

[enyaw]

If you want be back in Thailand for Christmas then you should probably go as soon as possible no later than a week from today, getting back after the 17th December onwards till after Christmas and Newyear will probably be impossible now.

Edited November 4, 2009 by enyaw

[PhilHarries]

How fixed are you on your DIRECT flight? As enyaw says you may have a problem with getting a seat on a plane never mind the cost. I flew BKK to LHR mid SEP and LHR to BKK early Oct and both flights were full, chock-a-block, stuffed.

You may want to try via KL as I had to fly back to the UK during Xmas week and return new year's week a couple of years back and got seats no problem.

Or sound out the usual suspects with stopovers in the sandpit.

Also, again as enyaw says, you are probably better booking a flexible return but just watch out for those change fees, THAI are one of the more expensive more so than BA I believe .

[happylarry]

There are no "cheap" tickets to be had in Thailand. A friend is coming out here in two weeks and has just booked his ticket from Heathrow at 450 pounds.....you try and match that from this end....impossible.

I guess the reason being that the only Thai's who fly are the really rich ones and they arent bothered about price anyway!!!!!! So the airlines simply dont bother to cut prices. What do you think the reason is?

I will be interested if anyone knows of a cheap way because I want to book for next year.

HL

[enyaw]

There are no "cheap" tickets to be had in Thailand. A friend is coming out here in two weeks and has just booked his ticket from Heathrow at 450 pounds.....you try and match that from this end....impossible.

I guess the reason being that the only Thai's who fly are the really rich ones and they arent bothered about price anyway!!!!!! So the airlines simply dont bother to cut prices. What do you think the reason is?

I will be interested if anyone knows of a cheap way because I want to book for next year.

HL

What methods are using to find your prices? Googling online sites wont give the best results.

[richm7]

Well of course, nobody attempts to answer the real question, which was about open returns. I can offer two pieces of advice:

1. DO NOT believe anything you are told by a travel agent regarding the ability to change your return at no charge. They just want to sell you a ticket and will tell you what you want to hear. Find out the ticket fare class and check with the carrier. I had to return to the UK at short notice recently and bought a supposedly changeable ticket from BA (yes, the BA office on Rama 4) which turned out not to be when it came to changing it. Buyer beware.

2. The alarm bells should ring if they insist on you booking a return date. In that case check the fare class VERY carefully, because it goes to my comment below. It might well be changeable to a seat in that class. If you can find one. A truly open return is generally only available at FULL fare. In which case, bloody good luck, because full fare is very expensive. The only other way is to buy a RTW (round the world) ticket, which can have only the first leg booked. Trouble is, you have to go round the world!

Contrary to other comments, there are generally LOADS of seats available. My daughter works in the booking software industry (there are three big players, globally) so she can check loading for me any time. What is not available is a seat at the price most of us are prepared to pay, a different thing altogether.

It is my view that the next Albert Einstein should not waste his brainpower on Physics and Mathematics. His efforts would be much better spent for the benefit of mankind in figuring out Airline seat pricing, truly one of the greatest mysteries of the world. Worth a Nobel prize or two in my book.

[mizzi39]

Hi all,

I need to go back to the U.K. to sort a few things out.

I'm guessing, but think I will need to be there for around 4/5 weeks so cannot specify a return date, to the airline.

Can anyone suggest the way to get the best price (and estimated cost) for a DIRECT flight?

Would it be better to buy a return, or a single - Or arrange for the purchase to be made in the U.K. (in reverse order)?

I'm trying to avoid the Christmas rush if I can, but MUST leave in the next three weeks - NOT a VISA problem, just linked to what I need to resolve!

Sorry if this sounds naive.

ALL advice will be most gratefully received.

I have had my ticket "opened" before on a return flight through THAI airways. I use a consolidator in the States though for all my travel needs, even from Thailand, since everything is done electronically. The fee for an open ended ticket varies from airline to airline. Typically the airline will open it up for 6 months (so you have 6 months to use it before you loose it), and you have to book at least 24 hours in advance subject to seat availability. The last time I had an open ended ticket (about 2 years ago) the price was an extra 100 dollars above the price of the ticket

Edited November 4, 2009 by mizzi39

[mizzi39]

There are no "cheap" tickets to be had in Thailand. A friend is coming out here in two weeks and has just booked his ticket from Heathrow at 450 pounds.....you try and match that from this end....impossible.

I guess the reason being that the only Thai's who fly are the really rich ones and they arent bothered about price anyway!!!!!! So the airlines simply dont bother to cut prices. What do you think the reason is?

I will be interested if anyone knows of a cheap way because I want to book for next year.

HL

Find a consolidator who specializes in travel to Asia. I am sure you have them in the UK, mostly found in major cities. Consolidators are travel agents who have contracts with various airlines guaranteeing them X amount of sales per year, thus getting tickets at a reduced rate, and turning that discount over to you. Most are found by word of mouth, however a google seach may produce some results.

[doctormann]

There are no "cheap" tickets to be had in Thailand. A friend is coming out here in two weeks and has just booked his ticket from Heathrow at 450 pounds.....you try and match that from this end....impossible.

I guess the reason being that the only Thai's who fly are the really rich ones and they arent bothered about price anyway!!!!!! So the airlines simply dont bother to cut prices. What do you think the reason is?

I will be interested if anyone knows of a cheap way because I want to book for next year.

HL

Check out the Lufthansa sale but be quick as it finishes on 05 November. I've just booked two tickets from BKK to Birmingham (UK) for GBP 904 total. Very restricted though and certainly not open returns.

DM

[PhilHarries]

Contrary to other comments, there are generally LOADS of seats available. My daughter works in the booking software industry (there are three big players, globally) so she can check loading for me any time. What is not available is a seat at the price most of us are prepared to pay, a different thing altogether.

I wasn't talking about "full" when I went to book, I was talking about FULL when I checked in (econ. business and first apparently. Hard to believe but that's what they said). Surprised me especially as it was THAI, a very expensive airline these days and one that I'll not be using again in a hurry. THAI obviously runs to that Thai business logic that if trade is down put the price up, but it seems to work judging by the lack of empty seats on the planes.

It is my view that the next Albert Einstein should not waste his brainpower on Physics and Mathematics. His efforts would be much better spent for the benefit of mankind in figuring out Airline seat pricing, truly one of the greatest mysteries of the world. Worth a Nobel prize or two in my book.

Ain't that the truth.

[happylarry]

Thanks for the tip doctorman but I have just checked the Lufthansa site and they want 105,000 baht for two tickets to London and 97,000 baht to Birmingham so obviously their special price does'nt run until June next year. I'll have more chance of getting a better deal nearer the time of course, but as I said before you just cant get the bargains when buying in this country like you can in the western world.

HL

[happylarry]

I just noticed that your price doctorman is only four pounds more than my friend has paid in UK so it looks like I will have to eat my words.!!!!!

HL

[theseahorse]

I had to do the same thing a few months back.

As everyone is saying, open returns are very expensive the best way is to book a return ticket that you can change the date of your return flight. You will have to say a date that you will be returning and then change it when you know when you can return. Giving a return date is stndard procedure and although one poster advised against this, it is the only way not to pay the price of an open return.

You normally have a time limit until you can't change your ticket again, I think I had the choice of 3, 6 or 12 months, the longer it is the more it costs. I flew back with Etihad and it cost 600 baht each time I changed the date, I done it twice and had no problem, just a two minute phone call each time. Although not a direct flight, I only had 20 minutes in Abu Dhabi and it was nice to get up and streach my legs.

Hope this helps.

[doctormann]

I just noticed that your price doctorman is only four pounds more than my friend has paid in UK so it looks like I will have to eat my words.!!!!!

HL

You don't actually have to do that as I know where you're coming from with your original comment. It's very true that flights from LoS to Europe have been around 70% more costly than those originating in Europe for quite some time now. I haven't seen any fares from here as low as the Lufthansa offering for a year or more, which is why I quickly snapped up those Birmingham seats.

There must be some sort of logic in how the airlines arrange their fare structures, I suppose, but I haven't quite managed to work out what it is!

DM

[enyaw]

Well of course, nobody attempts to answer the real question, which was about open returns. I can offer two pieces of advice:

1. DO NOT believe anything you are told by a travel agent regarding the ability to change your return at no charge. They just want to sell you a ticket and will tell you what you want to hear. Find out the ticket fare class and check with the carrier. I had to return to the UK at short notice recently and bought a supposedly changeable ticket from BA (yes, the BA office on Rama 4) which turned out not to be when it came to changing it. Buyer beware. Always get the travel consultant to email you the conditions of the ticket before agreeing to confirm.

2. The alarm bells should ring if they insist on you booking a return date. In that case check the fare class VERY carefully, because it goes to my comment below. It might well be changeable to a seat in that class. If you can find one. A truly open return is generally only available at FULL fare. In which case, bloody good luck, because full fare is very expensive. The only other way is to buy a RTW (round the world) ticket, which can have only the first leg booked. Trouble is, you have to go round the world! When booking a fixed outbound with a changeable inbound ticket it will be necessary for the consultant to take an inbound flight date. As you say a fully flexible fare will be the most expensive, a full fare in economy (Y class) will have the least restrictions.

Contrary to other comments, there are generally LOADS of seats available. My daughter works in the booking software industry (there are three big players, globally) so she can check loading for me any time. What is not available is a seat at the price most of us are prepared to pay, a different thing altogether. This comment is nonsense?

It is my view that the next Albert Einstein should not waste his brainpower on Physics and Mathematics. His efforts would be much better spent for the benefit of mankind in figuring out Airline seat pricing, truly one of the greatest mysteries of the world. Worth a Nobel prize or two in my book. true.

[Blinky Bill]

Plenty of seats available with Thai Airways International. I just had a quick look on the TG online booking here and came up with this............

You could try any number of other airlines online.

[xbusman]

Go to EVA air website and do a search on Hot Fares. Flights out of BKK are scarce but you should be able to put together an acceptable itinerary at a good price.