Boston, Usa To Bkk Nov Or Dec For 90 Days...Best Air Ticket Price?

[jsflynn603]

I intend to spend two to three months in Chiang Mai arriving later in November or early December, and am very flexible on dates.

The lowest airfare I could find was $1397 inclusive of taxes and fees from Boston to Bkk. Does that sound reasonable?

Perhaps because I looked last year I had expected ~$1200.

There's tons of discussions about tickets from the US West coast, and from Europe but I find little about the East coast of the US.

Also many sites seem to only allow less than 30 days, where I wish to find 90 days.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[IMA_FARANG]

Go to www.kayak.com and check the fares there. I saw a Continental Ailines (transfer in New York...JFK) round trip flight for about $1205 connecting to an All Nippon Airways out of Narita to Bangkok. I picked a 25 October departure and a 25 February as arbitrary departure/return dates. This is only to Bangkok...not including a trip to Chiang Mai. There are also cheap ($1200 to $1300 round trips) with Cathay Pacific through Hong Kong to Bangkok. If you pick another day it may show you that Cathay Pacific has the cheapest Boston-Bangkok fare. You will almost always have to go through JFK in New York either way.

[craigt3365]

Prices are up this year for sure. At least 10% more than last year, maybe more. Also try those sites that send you emails as they check prices. Like Bing. There are about 3 or 4 of them. If you find a good fare on a site like kayak, also try the airlines site. Sometimes, I can get the same flight for a bit less...but not always!

Also try air china, china air and eva. Sometimes, their flights don't show on sites like kayak, etc. And sometimes you have to call them to get feeder flights into their major hubs, but they can set that up as they did for me when I flew Vegas to BKK. They only show LA to BKK, but when called, setup the feeder flight for me.

Good luck!

[rfukata]

check optional Intl' airports near Boston that you will be flexible to depart from. I would check out the airfare cost for your given dates out of JFK, Laugardia, Newark NJ, Reagan Intl,<div>Washington DC. Other options are as the earlier poster mentioned, check out the Asian carriers out of the Big cities such as ANA, EWA, Asiana, Korean, Cathay Pacific, Thai, Malaysian air, China Airline (Taiwan) etc.  You might want to explore Malaysian airlines rates - fly into Kuala Lumpur and connect to airasia which might have a direct into Chiang Mai.</div>

[gotlost]

Skip Bangkok. http://www.china-airlines.com/en/index.htm New York to Taipei to Chiang Mai.

[lomatopo]

For this type of trip any recommendations of on-line booking sites are useless. You are straddling seasons (low, shoulder, high, peak) and exceeding some maximum stay requirements (deep discount fare buckets: S/K/L/T). Your best bet is to use a consolidator who specializes in Asian travel. I will PM you the contact details of a very reliable and popular consolidator in Boston.

$1,397 all in sounds reasonable given the relative close-in departure date (low-priced fare buckets sell out far in advance), but you may be able to do better. I fly BOS-BKK-BOS five times each year (paid, plus one award ticket), stay for 60 ~ 90 days, but only on UA (I get free upgrades from economy to business), and my most recent tickets (for next year) were $1,181 and $1,251 all in.

edited to add: I missed the detail about CNX being the final destination (topic header says BKK), so that can obviously add some complexity and potentially, cost.

Edited September 19, 2010 by lomatopo

[mizzi39]

I took my wife and son to the States (Boston) back in April. Korean air was $1650.00 for adult tickets and 1350.00 for my son. There is a consolidator in Dorchester that only deals with Asian travel. He has contracts with all of the major Asian carriers and will beat any rate that you get and get you an open ticket which can be changed if necessary. PM me if you are interested in his contact information.

reason for edit: Just read the above post. Probably the same consolidator.

Edited September 19, 2010 by mizzi39

[jsflynn603]

Thank you all for your good suggestions. I had tried Boston to Manila and Boston to Singapore but prices seemed higher considering connecting flights.

I did find what I thought was a possible decent deal at Korean Air. Boston to Chiang mai for $1370, and the reviews that I have read about Korean Air make it sound like one of the best airline to fly, they seem the antithesis of the others charging little or nothing in the way of extra fees. That would be convenient and I really don't even care to stop in Bkk unless it was for a week or three.

Now I must learn how to get a 60 day extendable Visa and hope that I can do it within the next 60 days. So much to learn!

I'll try your suggestions--thank you all.

ขอบคุณครับ

[gotlost]

Thank you all for your good suggestions. I had tried Boston to Manila and Boston to Singapore but prices seemed higher considering connecting flights.

I did find what I thought was a possible decent deal at Korean Air. Boston to Chiang mai for $1370, and the reviews that I have read about Korean Air make it sound like one of the best airline to fly, they seem the antithesis of the others charging little or nothing in the way of extra fees. That would be convenient and I really don't even care to stop in Bkk unless it was for a week or three.

Now I must learn how to get a 60 day extendable Visa and hope that I can do it within the next 60 days. So much to learn!

I'll try your suggestions--thank you all.

ขอบคุณครับ

Your expendable visa are called a "Tourist Visa" they are good for 60/30 day stay and the 30 day will cost you an extra 1900 baht at immigration in Chiang Mai. BTW double entry Tourist Visa are free untill March.

[mizzi39]

Thank you all for your good suggestions. I had tried Boston to Manila and Boston to Singapore but prices seemed higher considering connecting flights.

I did find what I thought was a possible decent deal at Korean Air. Boston to Chiang mai for $1370, and the reviews that I have read about Korean Air make it sound like one of the best airline to fly, they seem the antithesis of the others charging little or nothing in the way of extra fees. That would be convenient and I really don't even care to stop in Bkk unless it was for a week or three.

Now I must learn how to get a 60 day extendable Visa and hope that I can do it within the next 60 days. So much to learn!

I'll try your suggestions--thank you all.

ขอบคุณครับ

Your expendable visa are called a "Tourist Visa" they are good for 60/30 day stay and the 30 day will cost you an extra 1900 baht at immigration in Chiang Mai. BTW double entry Tourist Visa are free untill March.

Just go to the Thai consulate in Boston. It is above the Union Oyster house 41 Union Street next to Faneuil Hall. They will hook you up with a 60 day tourist visa no problem. Make sure that you get it close to your trip to get the most out of it.

[dddave]

I'm originally from Boston and used to get the best Asia fares from a small travel agency in Copley Sq. called IDEAL TRAVEL,(617 247-9898) on the seventh floor of a small office building. It's been four years since I was there last so they may not still be there.

You may also not be aware that there is an "Honorary" Thai Consulate above the UNION OYSTER HOUSE behind Boston City Hall. The owner of the Oyster House is the Consul. There is a small side street along the left side of the restaurant, enter the first door on the right and the consulate is one flight up a very rickety old stairway. Last time I was there appointments were necessary but they were very helpful with my visa.

[sirineou]

I use travelzoo.com , it is a website that allows you search all the major travel search websites from one place, It opens a different window for each one, that way . in the end you can compare all the results . I did a quick search for Nov 9- Feb 9 ( I have being told that Tuesdays are the least expensive) and I found Expedia and Travelocity to be the least expensive @ $ 1,174 total, from Boston Logan, with Korean Air.

Good Luck