L&J Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Question has three parts- first we want to book tickets from Thailand to the USA. 1. Notice in the Bangkok Post travel agencies offering flights at a certain rate(not including taxes & surcharges)- understand that probably never going to get those rates, but how much in the ball park are those fares? 2. Can travel agencies here in Chiang Mai relatively match the expected prices out of the Bangkok agencies? 3. Have you any recommendations for local agencies that are competitive and reliable? Any assistance will be appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjhbigv Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Why not just book online. No chance of getting ripped off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L&J Posted November 15, 2011 Author Share Posted November 15, 2011 Why not just book online. No chance of getting ripped off. Have looked at that option but the price is much higher than those advertised. Know that getting a bargain isn't always a bargain but wanted to see what experiences others have had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve187 Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 use moxtravel.com, can book on line and then pay at a bank of your choice. they send a bar coded invoice to you by e-mail, pay with this and within a short time the ticket is send by e-mail, i used them earlier this year and an excellent service and prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seedy Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Kumon Travel - inside moat - east side - in new shophouses close to the Tesco Express just being built. Honest, reliable - can't be beat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siamshot Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 (edited) Can recommend "bts travel service", always best and reliable service and best rates "http://btsthailand.com" Edited November 15, 2011 by siamshot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerjoy Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 use P & P Travel at Thapae Rd. in the middle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msg362 Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 use P & P Travel at Thapae Rd. in the middle... +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uptheos Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 use P & P Travel at Thapae Rd. in the middle... +1 + 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNXBKKMAN Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 use P & P Travel at Thapae Rd. in the middle... +1 + 2 +3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinnieTheKhwai Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 use P & P Travel at Thapae Rd. in the middle... +1 + 2 +3 +4 Though I will say I mostly use airlines these days with a sane ticketing policy, meaning that stuff (including promotions) are just as easily and cheaply booked on their site. Maybe the days that travel wizards with big binders and access to several ancient GDS terminals (Amadeus, Sabre, etc) were required to get you a routing and fare will finally be behind us soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellodolly Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Why not just book online. No chance of getting ripped off. Have looked at that option but the price is much higher than those advertised. Know that getting a bargain isn't always a bargain but wanted to see what experiences others have had. On line quotes include taxes and surcharges they are not cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fookhaht Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Can recommend "bts travel service", always best and reliable service and best rates "http://btsthailand.com" Based on this recommendation, I tasked BTS travel to arrange my trip to the USA in April. BIG MISTAKE. The customer service was fine UNTIL they got my 53,000 Baht. After that, they basically ignored my many requests for receipts, flight confirmations, and seat selection confirmations. I have logged over a dozen phone calls and many dozen emails to get them to respond. The responses have taken up to THREE months, and then they were in error. The requests to fix errors also went without reply. This is the most frustrating experience I have have had, EVER, with any travel agency. I am a veteran traveler to over 30 countries over a period of 40 years, and have never been treated in such a shabby way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
true blue Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 book online with airline mate,instant acceptance,lots of people had bad experience with travel agents in cnx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fookhaht Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 book online with airline mate,instant acceptance,lots of people had bad experience with travel agents in cnx. I used to do that, until someone suggested travel agents could often find better bargains, particularly for complicated itineraries (which mine is). Back to the old days, I guess! Thanks for that insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I buy all my tickets at the airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fookhaht Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I just called the airlines involved and they have no current reservation for me. This, despite a supposedly current confirmation and receipt sent to me by the travel agency. I paid 53,000+ baht back in October when they supposedly reserved the flights for me. This is scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobl Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I buy all my tickets at the airport. Does that still work? I used to do that all the time before the airlines did a u turn and decided it's better to have an empty seat than sell a cheap ticket... Seems these days you can only get a bargain if you book well in advance... For the OP - I like skyscanner.net because they let you do searches from wherever you're at to "everywhere". Found some bargains that way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fookhaht Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I just called the airlines involved and they have no current reservation for me. This, despite a supposedly current confirmation and receipt sent to me by the travel agency. I paid 53,000+ baht back in October when they supposedly reserved the flights for me. This is scary. Follow up: Now found out travel agent canceled all five of my flights in error back on Dec. 5th. Of course, the scary scenario is that I would have arrived for my departure flight in April without a prayer. They want to re-book, but flights are now full, so I would be "wait-listed." I want a full refund and start all over, booking myself. They won't give a refund. What would you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGreen Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I have used KK business centre on Thapae for years - very reliable - no harm in getting a quote from him - not 100% how he compares with other recommendations but worth a phone call . Mr Kanit 0811113815 or 0813222815 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobo4819 Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 For years now, I have done my research on matrix.itasoftware dot com. Apparently they write the online booking software for many of the world's airlines. You cannot book tickets with them, but they are invaluable for researching fares, date ranges, alternate routes, etc., before you go to the travel agent to see if they can do any better. They show ALL flights, fares, and short connection times, long layovers, airport changes, will do a month-long search, etc. Not the end-all, but the best ammo I have found rather than leaving all in the hands of the travel agents. Oh yes, their quotes include all taxes, gate fees, TSA surcharges, etc., so no surprises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobl Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 For years now, I have done my research on matrix.itasoftware dot com. Apparently they write the online booking software for many of the world's airlines. You cannot book tickets with them, but they are invaluable for researching fares, date ranges, alternate routes, etc., before you go to the travel agent to see if they can do any better. They show ALL flights, fares, and short connection times, long layovers, airport changes, will do a month-long search, etc. Not the end-all, but the best ammo I have found rather than leaving all in the hands of the travel agents. Oh yes, their quotes include all taxes, gate fees, TSA surcharges, etc., so no surprises. Matrix is good for some places, not so good for others. For example they don't seem to have Air Asia in their database. CNX-KUL you can pick up for about 4,000 baht on skyscanner where the "standard" price for a return to KL is usually around 12,000+ on most search engines (matrix included). And skyscanner lets you do a search for "whole month" (like matrix) but also has "whole year". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priceless Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Can recommend "bts travel service", always best and reliable service and best rates "http://btsthailand.com" Based on this recommendation, I tasked BTS travel to arrange my trip to the USA in April. BIG MISTAKE. The customer service was fine UNTIL they got my 53,000 Baht. After that, they basically ignored my many requests for receipts, flight confirmations, and seat selection confirmations. I have logged over a dozen phone calls and many dozen emails to get them to respond. The responses have taken up to THREE months, and then they were in error. The requests to fix errors also went without reply. This is the most frustrating experience I have have had, EVER, with any travel agency. I am a veteran traveler to over 30 countries over a period of 40 years, and have never been treated in such a shabby way. I sympathize with your problems. However, there is one thing I don't understand: Based on a recommendation in a post from less than six weeks ago, you decided to use the services of BTS Travel. You have since "logged over a dozen phone calls and many dozen emails to get them to respond". Then you add: "The responses have taken up to THREE months", i.e. you were expecting their response 1½ months before you contacted them? Does your time run backwards? / Priceless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fookhaht Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Can recommend "bts travel service", always best and reliable service and best rates "http://btsthailand.com" Based on this recommendation, I tasked BTS travel to arrange my trip to the USA in April. BIG MISTAKE. The customer service was fine UNTIL they got my 53,000 Baht. After that, they basically ignored my many requests for receipts, flight confirmations, and seat selection confirmations. I have logged over a dozen phone calls and many dozen emails to get them to respond. The responses have taken up to THREE months, and then they were in error. The requests to fix errors also went without reply. This is the most frustrating experience I have have had, EVER, with any travel agency. I am a veteran traveler to over 30 countries over a period of 40 years, and have never been treated in such a shabby way. I sympathize with your problems. However, there is one thing I don't understand: Based on a recommendation in a post from less than six weeks ago, you decided to use the services of BTS Travel. You have since "logged over a dozen phone calls and many dozen emails to get them to respond". Then you add: "The responses have taken up to THREE months", i.e. you were expecting their response 1½ months before you contacted them? Does your time run backwards? / Priceless Sorry, I will clarify: I had quotes from 4 companies prior to Oct. 5, just under 3 months ago. At that time, I dropped two of them and worked with two travel agencies including the one in question; but BTS won out with their excellent service, so I dropped the other and went with them, according to my records, on Oct. 10. I made payment shortly after. Immediately, the quality of service dropped off. Seeing the recommendation here, about a month later, I decided to hang in there with them and see if things improved. Yes, it's been most of October, Nov. and Dec. that I have been working with them, and most of that time I have been frustrated with their level of service. So yes, the recommendation here was a critical factor in my decision to try to stick it out with this company, but did not precede my initial contact with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMX Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 (edited) For years now, I have done my research on matrix.itasoftware dot com. Apparently they write the online booking software for many of the world's airlines. You cannot book tickets with them, but they are invaluable for researching fares, date ranges, alternate routes, etc., before you go to the travel agent to see if they can do any better. They show ALL flights, fares, and short connection times, long layovers, airport changes, will do a month-long search, etc. Not the end-all, but the best ammo I have found rather than leaving all in the hands of the travel agents. Oh yes, their quotes include all taxes, gate fees, TSA surcharges, etc., so no surprises. Matrix is good for some places, not so good for others. For example they don't seem to have Air Asia in their database. CNX-KUL you can pick up for about 4,000 baht on skyscanner where the "standard" price for a return to KL is usually around 12,000+ on most search engines (matrix included). And skyscanner lets you do a search for "whole month" (like matrix) but also has "whole year". You're both correct. ITAsoftware is the best engine of all - for searching out IATA (major airlines with their associated partners) airfares. They do not list cut-rate airlines such as AirAsia. Still, anybody who does not use them as a baseline (they search an entire month's time for you) before going to travel agents is missing a bet. So "places" is not so much the issue as comparing both ITAsoftware dot com and then then (for us) Airasia - maybe Nok or the like. But Bangkok, China, East China, Korean and of course all other majors are shown with their best rates. These are the quickest and most reliable ways to begin; travel agents so far as I have found are on a lower step, after research here on this forum. Edited December 21, 2011 by CMX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkok blue Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 (edited) Fookhaht, contact tourist police and file a complaint againts bts travel. Failing that, stand outside their office for a day telling people not to go in. That'll get their attention. I also echo the excellent service of P&P travel on Thapae Road. Edited December 21, 2011 by bangkok blue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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