Urgent Request: I Wish To Fly To The Uk Today (Friday 13Th April)

[Globaleyes]

Hello. I may have to fly to the uk today. Is it still possible to turn up at the airport and take whatever they've got (is that expensive?) ? I know that it used to be. In fact, that used to be a way to get a cheap flight - is that still the case?

Any help much appreciated.

G.

Edited April 13, 2012 by Globaleyes

[edwinclapham]

You havent said where you wish to fly to in the uk!

I guess you can call various airlines and ask for a stand-by rate, but I am also led to believe this can be costly.

As you say you used to be able to get some good rates, not so sure now though.

I hope you manage to sort something out quickly.

Edited April 13, 2012 by edwinclapham

[smokie36]

Your best bet is to phone the airline direct. I would recommend trying BA and explaining your situation if its an illness at home etc. They tend to be fairly sympathetic to this and will try to find you a seat.

As to the price I'd imagine fairly expensive.

[dddave]

I regularly fly on short notice with a company paying the fare. They usually find buying direct from the airline sales office at the airport to be the most expensive as airlines like to cash in on last minute business travelers. They usually find the lowest last minute fares on Expedia HOWEVER, if you buy a ticket online with a credit card within 72 hours of the flight you might be asked to show the card used and a back-up card at check in.

[BrianCR]

The most expensive way to fly is to buy a ticket at the airport, even on domestic routes , expect to pay 50% more than with an advance booking. For International routes you will need to take your Bank Manager with you!

[SantiSuk]

The old cheap standby model died decades ago - presumably the airlines found that the overall effect was that far too many customers who would otherwise make an advance purchase and give them money a few weeks in advance were playing the waiting game. Better to have a 90% load of regular advanced fare paying passengers than 70% of those and 30% of late bargain payers (all of whom would sit next to the former and pee them off with their tales of how cheap they had bought).

[rakman]

I hope we hear back from the OP on what he did pay for a counter ticket. Which class of service purchased would be helpful as well.

[Globaleyes]

Many thanks for your replies.

The reason I wished to get back to quickly was for a wedding - I'd just been given some time off by my boss, unexpectedly, and therefore I had the time to see some good friends married.

Alas, not to be, as the costs were, indeed, prohibitive.

The cheapest quotes I got online at that stage were around the 60 000 baht mark - more than double the normal price and 3 times what I often pay. This was with Swissair, Finnair, Jet airways and Qatar - all about the same. Some of those flights were leaving within 2 hours of the time of quote.

If you factor in the suggested 50% addition at the counter, it would be around 90 000 baht!

I'm now looking at putting that money into airline shares instead....

Thanks again.

[oldsailor35]

If anyone is in the OP's position again, i suggest you google ......eDreams for reasonable priced flights up to 3 hrs before flying.