Cheapest Us City To Fly From To Go To Bangkok

[Eremite]

This may be a bit of a strange question and I didn't see it answered with a cursory search.

I have a family member who gets lots of free plane tickets because they use their credit card for all their small business purchases. What this means is that I can get a plane ticket to anywhere in the USA for either free or ridiculously cheap.

So, in order to save money on a trip, I thought I'd find the best city to fly from to go to Bangkok. I live in Austin now and just changing to flying from Los Angeles drops the price by $300 US.

Also, I'll be travelling from mid-december to the end of the first week in January (about 3 weeks). Any travel advice for that time frame would be very useful.

Much appreciated and sorry if this was asked somewhere else.

[moe666]

That would be high season and you will pay premium for that time frame.LA is fine to fly from Bradley International Terminal can be very crowded but with patience you get thru the lines.

You may want to check out SanFrancisco International the fares maybe a bit cheaper from there.

[WilliaminBKK]

If your family member gets freebies that are valid for USA domestic check and see if they are valid for Canada, often Vancouver and Toronto have less expensive fares than the USA especially to HKG. On the return portion US customs and Immigration are located in Canada and are usually faster than landing in LAX.

[pomchop]

Are you talking about flying on a frequent flyer ticket? If so then you can fly roundtrip to bangkok from most ANY east coast city for exactly the same miles as if you flew from/to the west coast as they are common rated. ON united for example if you book way in advance and get a "saver" seat it is 32,500 miles one way east or west coast to Bangkok. So no need to worry about "cheapest city". Not sure what type of tickets they could get from using a credit card that would only be valid for USA domestic travel? If they get enough frequent flyer miles credit you should be able to use them all the way to BKK....but if you are going to pay from a usa city to bkk your cheapest flights would likely be SEA, SFO, LAX.

[lomatopo]

I think I understand what you're trying to do...you want to use a free ticket for intra-U.S travel, so for example, AUS-LAX-AUS, then purchase a ticket for LAX-BKK-LAX. So you're looking for the best gateway city for the lowest price.

A couple of thoughts...

You may end up saving $250 ~ $500, versus buying AUS-BKK-AUS.

You may introduce a new set of issues and problems, separate tickets, baggage fees, problems with mis-connects.

You introduce additional complexities to the itinerary.

That said, LAX might the best gateway? China Airlines has a 1,490 all in fare (LAX-BKK-LAX) right now for that peak, high-demand travel time.

[moe666]

. I always fly Southwest from Albuquerque to LA they offer a non stop flight as opposed to a stop or flight change on most other airlines. on Southwest you have to collect your bags and check in yourself but I know they where checked in for my on going flight and no lost bags yet knock on wood.

[62strat]

Anchorage Alaska........China Air....getting there is another question....

[blazes]

Cheapest city in US would be Seattle. Probably United or Eva Air have cheapest flights. Do NOT go China Eastern Airlines. Heard many stories of horrors of cattle class with them.

You pay for what you get.

Eva Air have an intermediate class, costs about $1900 instead of $1600, for which you get a biz class size seat and a bit more leg room. Well worth the $300 extra.

The ONLY non-stop from N America to Bkk is Thai Air's flight from LAX. However, do you really want to be in a plane for 17 hours? Maybe with 8 ounces of fuel left when you get to Bkk.

With Eva Air you have to change in Taipei.

With China Eastern Airlines you change in Shanghai.

Consult Korean Air....

Since you live on the eastern side of USA, you might want to consider flying from Dallas/FW to London Heathrow, and then on from there. Fares are MUCH more competitive from LHR to Bkk, ...loads and loads of airlines flying that route. Try Etihad or Emirates. (Do NOT go with any Indian airlines or Russian.)

About 9 (?) hours from Dallas to London , then 12 to Bkk via British or Quantas (non-stop), or 6 and 6 with Etihad or Emirates. (change at Abu Dhabi or Dubai).

Etihad have just signed a sponsorhip deal with Manchester City, and are anxious to tell the world who they are. Their fares are super cheap, but it is not a cheapo airline.

[avidflyer]

Delta flies to BKK from Portland, Oregon. Sometimes they have very good prices. The Portland airport is terrific.

[frank2611]

i cannot understand you Yanks. Save $100.00 but travel for an extra 10 hours each way. Ii is suppose to be a holiday to Thailand. Not a holiday waiting on planes. Pay the money for the most direct quickest plane and save extra for the holiday. If not go for accommodation that is $10.00 a day cheaper. Maybe that is the amount you have allowed for your accommodation. if so get a thai girl on first night and stay at her place.

Can you lot explain your compulsion to hang around airports to get something cheap. My 20 year old son knows more about travel than most of you tight <deleted>

[hhfarang]

Nice 3rd post frank2611. I can tell you're going to have lots of friends on this forum...

I can also tell from your lingo that you are from the UK (probably) and the airfare from there is much less that the U.S. so yes, it helps to shop around and find the best fare when you're traveling halfway around the world. I've been traveling back and forth between Thailand and the U.S. for 30 years and have paid as little as $700 round trip and as high as $2000. Doing a little research can save you a lot more than $100 and doesn't necessarily make a time difference. Airline pricing is one of the most illogical things on the planet.

That said to frank, the last time I flew the cheapest fare was using Seattle with one stop in Taipei with Eva (under $1400), and I only had to add about $200 to get the bigger seats in Evergreen Class. I don't remember, but that may have been a temporary promotional deal and it wasn't high season (it was September). I did that for the same reason as the op. I had free tickets from Miami to Seattle so I used Seattle as the gateway to Bangkok.

[62strat]

Korean Air has a good route with less time in the air......China Air through Taiwan will have specials on line from LA as will EVA...some have bought very cheap tickets...I have flown them and Cathay Pacific (although from New York) ...I agree with Southwest to LA..and finding a deal on line through Cheap tickets..or the airlines directly....watch for layover times in Asia (sometimes very long) and arrival times in Bangkok some airports like Hong Kong are fairly pleasant ...better to arrive mid day for buses, taxis and less traffic...but of course your money and up to you....best tip for this kind of flying is getting a sleeping pill from your doctor for the flight, ear plugs or quality noise reduction headphones and drink plenty of water......

[frank2611]

Frank2611

I appreciated your kind words and they are taken with the smile they were sent with. I get so frustrated at some of the question asked before they get to Thailand. How will they survive? If they cannot get their own air ticket by themselves I have my great worries about them.

No I am not from UK, more easy than that for my flights but I have worked out the shambles of USA flights.

Yes I agree that by checking around you should save money but all he needs is to go to one website maybe WEBJET put in a date and look at maybe twenty options. If you do not like the prices change the dates and try again. I do not live in USA but the hubs for a person from Austin I image would be LAX, SFO, DFW or Seattle. Sending someone to East coast to then travel back West is crazy. The problem with all this has been caused by the internet. If travel agents could make some money from selling airfares these days they would kindly give you the information but since the revolution of not paying commissions to Travel Agents by airlines initiated in the good old USA you now find everyone is stuffed and getting ripped off.

My suggestion is pay a family run Travel Agent $100.00 and get the prices for all options. Taking a guess at it the following are the options:

Thai direct but most likely a bit expensive. ( they will have more petrol than some of the other airlines mentioned)

Eva, Korean ( but who would fly them), the two Japanese carriers Air Nippon and JAL via Tokyo, A few of the Chinese carriers but watch out for the time between connections.

Delta or a code share with United and North West with an asian carrier. I have my worries about the safety of all American airlines so not the top of my priorities.

Nothing more to say except keep batting on and I will have a drink with you when in BKK mid September through to mid October.

Nice 3rd post frank2611. I can tell you're going to have lots of friends on this forum...

I can also tell from your lingo that you are from the UK (probably) and the airfare from there is much less that the U.S. so yes, it helps to shop around and find the best fare when you're traveling halfway around the world. I've been traveling back and forth between Thailand and the U.S. for 30 years and have paid as little as $700 round trip and as high as $2000. Doing a little research can save you a lot more than $100 and doesn't necessarily make a time difference. Airline pricing is one of the most illogical things on the planet.

That said to frank, the last time I flew the cheapest fare was using Seattle with one stop in Taipei with Eva (under $1400), and I only had to add about $200 to get the bigger seats in Evergreen Class. I don't remember, but that may have been a temporary promotional deal and it wasn't high season (it was September). I did that for the same reason as the op. I had free tickets from Miami to Seattle so I used Seattle as the gateway to Bangkok.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A week or so ago, I priced a flight from BKK to LAX RT via Narita on American Airlines, via the AA web site, for the middle of this coming December at under $1100 all inclusive.

There were other days in that same week when the best avail fares were $1600 or higher... For some reason, the best fares out of BKK seemed to be departing here on Tuesdays or Weds...

Back when I was living in Los Angeles, I always had the choice of taking Thai Air's nonstop flights to BKK... Apart from usually being higher priced, I always tended to choose EVA's one-stop flights via Taipei, usually with about a two hour layover..

For me, apart from the price, I wanted to take a break and stretch my legs and get out of the plane after 11 hours or so... I didn't see the nonstop flight as any advantage.... I'd usually feel worse upon arrival, than on those times when I'd used the one-stop flight via Taipei and had a pleasant break there.

I flew China Eastern to LAX once via Pu Dong Airport... The flight and plane itself were fine...not a cattle car at all, just regular economy... But Pu Dong Airport was a major bore lacking in any conveniences, and the transit immigration procedures there were pretty messy and unorganized.

[elgato]

Delta is running a special out of Detroit to Japan that's supposed to be cheap. Lots of cheap connection flights from Japan to BKK

[RaoulDuke]

Customs/Immigration at LAX is horrendous, go with SEA or SFO if you can. I have been watching the LAX-BKK airfare for the last 2 years, and it very rarely seems to change, always $950-1100 for the the cheapest 5 or so airlines, up to $1500 for the rest of the Asian carriers. I just got a ticket on Cathay for the end of November for $1060. Last year, I flew via Seoul on Asiana for $950. On a quick check online, I noticed that if you fly out by December 9, you should be able to get it for close to $1000, aftwards it goes up to $1400 for the rest of December. Airlines from the USA and China should be avoided like the plague (Hong Kong and Taiwan airlines are ok, but nothing that connects in PEK or Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc). It is worth the $50-200 premium to fly a better airline.

One website you should check out is http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ They seem to have the most flexible search options of any website I have found, including a month view of airfares. You cannot book through that website, but as long as you know what flight numbers to take, it is easy to book the itinerary on other airfare websites, incliuding the airline website.

[HaruHaru]

Eva, Korean ( but who would fly them),

I recently flew on Korean Air A380 (the new aircraft) from LAX to Seoul and that was the most pleasant experience.

Their service was superb and it had more leg room than any American carriers.