British Airways Launches Super Special Fares

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AIRLINE

British Airways launches super special fares

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- British Airways launched the super special fares for travellers visiting the UK, Europe and North America, starting at Bt19,500 for economy class return tickets and Bt90,000 for business class. The fares are available for booking until Feb 26.

Among the destinations on offer are London, Paris, Rome, Zurich, and Barcelona in Europe and New York, Boston, Washington DC and Miami in the United States.

Tickets are on sale at the Thailand International Travel Fair 2012 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, and bookings can also be made by visiting ba.com

-- The Nation 2012-02-23

[sungod]

Yes, but have you seen the taxes on these flights? They double the cost of the ticket in economy, not as super special as the headlines lead you to believe.

Edited February 23, 2012 by sungod

[theoldgit]

They were advertising this in todays Bangkok Post, with the headline fares mentioned in the article. I fancied a trip to see Big Ben and the 19,500 Baht fares were certainly available, they do say in the small print that tax and surcharges were extra, they certainly are, they add another 18,500 Baht to the price, almost 95%.

They know what the costs are so why not be up front with them, Thai Airways and a number of other carriers show the full price in their ads so why not BA, they wouldn't get away with it in the UK.

Mr sungod is too quick for me.

Edited February 23, 2012 by theoldgit

[daiwill60]

yes just got quote, got base price 19,060 +taxes, surcharges etc =38,000, what a con !!!!!

old addage , if it sounds to good to be true , then it usually is.

Edited February 23, 2012 by daiwill60

[SabaiBKK]

Yes, but have you seen the taxes on these flights? They double the cost of the ticket in economy, not as super special as the headlines lead you to believe.

are you kidding?

75 000 baht for 2 adults 1 child and 1 infant to Paris 1 way is unbeatable ... if you find cheaper on a decent other national carier let me know ...

[theoldgit]

Yes, but have you seen the taxes on these flights? They double the cost of the ticket in economy, not as super special as the headlines lead you to believe.

are you kidding?

75 000 baht for 2 adults 1 child and 1 infant to Paris 1 way is unbeatable ... if you find cheaper on a decent other national carier let me know ...

I think you are missing the point, if their fares are that competitive, and your experience seems to indicate they are, then surely they should be shouting the fact from the roof tops, not advertising a fare of half the true price and then adding on the extras when you actually make a purchase.

[sungod]

Yes, but have you seen the taxes on these flights? They double the cost of the ticket in economy, not as super special as the headlines lead you to believe.

are you kidding?

75 000 baht for 2 adults 1 child and 1 infant to Paris 1 way is unbeatable ... if you find cheaper on a decent other national carier let me know ...

I think you are missing the point, if their fares are that competitive, and your experience seems to indicate they are, then surely they should be shouting the fact from the roof tops, not advertising a fare of half the true price and then adding on the extras when you actually make a purchase.

Yes, you are right, I think it went completley over his head

[stoneyboy]

Anything with British in the name usually means lies and false information,remember British Rail,British Gas,British Sugar the list is endless.

Did I forget British Government sorry.

[MAN2SIN2BKK]

Only reason BA is doing this is because LHR-BKK is no longer part of the kangeroo route; the flight terminates at BKK, so there are a load of extra seats that need filling............. but what a con, the departure taxes from LHR are not 18K baht, check out the tax figures quoted by other airlines

[theoldgit]

but what a con, the departure taxes from LHR are not 18K baht, check out the tax figures quoted by other airlines

To be fair they don't say it's departure tax, they say "taxes, fees, charges and surcharges". The Thai tax is 700 Baht, The UK Air Passenger Duty is 3985 Baht and the UK Passenger Service Charge is 1695 Baht, making a total of 6390 Baht in taxes. On top of BA add a fuel surcharge of 12180 Baht.

[theoldgit]

Interesting to note that if you commence your journey in the UK, a return flight to Bangkok is under £700, or about 33,500 Baht, I still don't understand this.

[MaiChai]

17880 baht and then just when you are going to checkout, they add a wopping 6790 baht on top, most of which is 'fuel surcharge'. Guess the Brits have some of the most taxed fuel in the world, so I can understand the 'surcharge'. Thats Bkk to LHR one way 16th March. Try it out on ba dot com.

Edited February 23, 2012 by MaiChai

[Boater]

Let not blame BA here for the Taxes, it is the UK goverment, and no way around it !!!, but they did do an offer before, Biz class to HK or Singapore for 995 GBP taxes included, very good deal !

if the uk where to fall in line with the other EU countres , a standard ticket to BKK would drop by 100 or so pounds

[beano2274]

Instead of opening a new thread just gonna ask here.

Has anyone recently flown with BA to the UK, if so, what were your impressions?

I have looked on airlinequality, but no real input from people who travelled the route BKK - LHR.

Thanks for any info.

[cmsally]

I almost booked this - it was 38k, but you have to fix your dates including date back. Not adjustable.

[RHCP]

One of the problems is that airlines take advantage of the more lax rules here in not having to show full prices unlike in some other countries.

On the add on charges, different airlines have different breakdowns for the same route. The fuel surcharge for me is the biggest con as from what base is it calculated from? This fuel surcharge in my opinion should already be incorporated into the ticket price, what other kinds of business have this kind of practice?

[beano2274]

I pointed this out in another thread.

Emirates actually has the fuel surcharge included in its ticket price then the tax is added

[beano2274]

I just booked BA from BKK to LHR on 5th April, then LHR to ZRH on 10th April, then ZRH to BKK via LHR on 16th April, total cost 38,890.

[UbonOz]

I just booked BA from BKK to LHR on 5th April, then LHR to ZRH on 10th April, then ZRH to BKK via LHR on 16th April, total cost 38,890.

Eva always gets my vote, becoming expensive unfortunately.

Hosties are all female, mmmmm

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

God gave man a penis and a brain, unfortunately, did not give sufficient blood supply to run both at the same time.

[beano2274]

I just booked BA from BKK to LHR on 5th April, then LHR to ZRH on 10th April, then ZRH to BKK via LHR on 16th April, total cost 38,890.

Eva always gets my vote, becoming expensive unfortunately.

Hosties are all female, mmmmm

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

God gave man a penis and a brain, unfortunately, did not give sufficient blood supply to run both at the same time.

EVA don't fly to ZRH so would have to use another airline, for ease of everything 1 airline for the whole thing is perfect for me

[sungod]

Instead of opening a new thread just gonna ask here.

Has anyone recently flown with BA to the UK, if so, what were your impressions?

I have looked on airlinequality, but no real input from people who travelled the route BKK - LHR.

Thanks for any info.

flew them last June and July with the family, economy and also economy deluxe, I must say I was happily surprised with the service/flight. The food was ok as was the entertainment, the flight times are conducive to sleeping, crew were good.

[Sibbo]

Instead of opening a new thread just gonna ask here.

Has anyone recently flown with BA to the UK, if so, what were your impressions?

I have looked on airlinequality, but no real input from people who travelled the route BKK - LHR.

Thanks for any info.

I have not flown from BKK to London, but have done the philadelphia - LHR route. Can honestly say that the BA in British Airways should stand for Bloo*y Awful. I have flown numerous airlines and the attitude of the cabin crew on my return jourmey was awful. Will never fly with them again and would advise anyone else to do the same. They are overpriced, underated and lack customer care. Never again. When flying East to BKK, I will ALWAYS use an Arab Airline, Emirates, Oman, Etihad. Customer care is 100% better than BA.

[PattayaPhom]

One of the problems is that airlines take advantage of the more lax rules here in not having to show full prices unlike in some other countries.

On the add on charges, different airlines have different breakdowns for the same route. The fuel surcharge for me is the biggest con as from what base is it calculated from? This fuel surcharge in my opinion should already be incorporated into the ticket price, what other kinds of business have this kind of practice?

Virgin were the 1st airline to introduce 'fuel surcharge' many yearss ago when there was a sharp increase in fuel prices.....but they never took it off when fuel went down....it is just a big con

[PattayaPhom]

Instead of opening a new thread just gonna ask here.

Has anyone recently flown with BA to the UK, if so, what were your impressions?

I have looked on airlinequality, but no real input from people who travelled the route BKK - LHR.

Thanks for any info.

Good flight times, food and entertainment are great..free beer and goodies all the way but staff do tend to have their heads up ones bottom.

[Ricardo]

Virgin were the 1st airline to introduce 'fuel surcharge' many yearss ago when there was a sharp increase in fuel prices.....but they never took it off when fuel went down....it is just a big con

There's not much new, under-the-sun !

A decade before Virgin ever took to the skies, fuel-surcharges were common with charter-flights in the package-holiday industry, because the ability to forward-hedge fuel-prices did not yet exist.

The airline would quote prices based on a certain fuel-price/exchange-rate, to enable the package-holiday companies to price their holidays which often sold several months in-advance (Christmas was a popular time to peruse the brochures & book !), then several-weeks before the month-of-flying the actual fuel-price/exchange-rate would be used to calculate a supplement, which the package-holiday company would pass-on to its customers.

I remember this practice as being very-common during the mid-1970s, after the oil-price shock to the global-economy, it perhaps became less-necessary as prices became more-stable and as airlines/tour-operators gained the option from banks to forward-fix fuel-costs & exchange-rates. People who didn't (like Freddie Laker with the payments for his DC10s) tended to go-bust !

These days most airlines cover most of their fuel-prices for up-to a year ahead, they sometimes get caught-out when oil-prices fall, and have to continue to charge more until the forward-contracts expire. But at least they've 'fixed' a couple of their major variable-costs, thus reducing the risk of serious cost-increases, which they're unable to recover from customers who've already booked-&-paid.

[asdecas]

As that old buffer Buffet says, if you want to make a $1m, invest $2m in airlines. They have to have some way of clawing back their losses.

[sprq]

They were advertising this in todays Bangkok Post, with the headline fares mentioned in the article. I fancied a trip to see Big Ben and the 19,500 Baht fares were certainly available, they do say in the small print that tax and surcharges were extra, they certainly are, they add another 18,500 Baht to the price, almost 95%.

They know what the costs are so why not be up front with them, Thai Airways and a number of other carriers show the full price in their ads so why not BA, they wouldn't get away with it in the UK.

Yes, and at the current travel fair at QSNCC Lufthansa were advertising better fares with the full price quoted. I commended them for that, and the rep said that it was company policy. BA take note!

[sprq]

Instead of opening a new thread just gonna ask here.

Has anyone recently flown with BA to the UK, if so, what were your impressions?

I have looked on airlinequality, but no real input from people who travelled the route BKK - LHR.

Thanks for any info.

Good flight times, food and entertainment are great..free beer and goodies all the way but staff do tend to have their heads up ones bottom.

"staff do tend to have their heads up ones bottom"

Is that included in one's ticket?

Can one choose which staff, e.g. female or male, young or mature?

[maloyd1]

Instead of opening a new thread just gonna ask here.

Has anyone recently flown with BA to the UK, if so, what were your impressions?

I have looked on airlinequality, but no real input from people who travelled the route BKK - LHR.

Thanks for any info.

Flew Economy one way BKK to LHR in December 2011 with Wife & 2 Children. Good in-flight service and reasonable legroom in comfortable seats with indevidual Video selection. Food good as far as in-flight catering goes. Cannot comment on price as I used my B.A. miles but the Taxes were £760 which is £190 per person. Looks like the Taxes B.A. are charging now for these so called cheap fares are in line with what I paid for a one way ticket assuming the fares quoted are returns.

[bkk_mike]

Only reason BA is doing this is because LHR-BKK is no longer part of the kangeroo route; the flight terminates at BKK, so there are a load of extra seats that need filling............. but what a con, the departure taxes from LHR are not 18K baht, check out the tax figures quoted by other airlines

Sorry, but I think you're talking crap.

Flew in last night on Qantas and there's still the BA flight going 30 minutes earlier doing LHR-BKK-SYD.... (the two are code shares, so you can book on Qantas and be on BA, or booked on BA but flying Qantas)...

I avoid actually flying on BA personally (when I'm the one paying, and therefore sitting in economy), I did it once, but I'm 6'2" and their seats in economy simply don't seem to allow for people being that tall (and 6'2" isn't that tall). OK on a short haul, but 11 hours in the torture chamber that is an economy seat on BA is not for me... (If you're under 6 foot, it's probably an OK flight)