No advantage booking Thai air in advance?

[hermespan]

With discount airline Air Asia and presumably others, there is a huge financial incentive (reduced price) to book far in advance. With boutique airline BKK Airways it is a lot cheaper to book a return ticket than a one way, and perhaps booking in advance saves also (not sure).

But I just discovered something weird with Thai Airways. It appears that there is no incentive to book in advance. In fact there is a DISincentive. If I book now, booking the flight that is flexible, refundable for THB2000 I think it is, it allows me to change dates (free for returning) it will cost me money to change my mind - $50 to change departure date.

I just did a test, seeing what it would cost if I booked for the next day now. NOT more expensive. So what's the point of booking in advance with Thai unless it's some super popular route where it's difficult to get a seat? Seems like a strange business strategy.

Edited August 28, 2013 by hermespan

[RabC]

Got a bit of a downer on with Thai have we????????

[hermespan]

It's a serious question. There appears to be no advantage to book ahead on Thai.

I have no issues with Thai Air.

[hands22]

Great savings if you booked months in advance. I have just booked my year end trips from Singapore for Oct to Dec for the promotion fares (including X'mas period). Each trip is about S$340.

If I choose to book in September or later, you can be sure that I will have to pay more than $420 and, worse, might not get the flight of my choice (early arrival and late departure)!

Edited August 28, 2013 by hands22

[lomatopo]

I do not believe there is any hard and fast "rule" that somehow guarantees one the lowest price based on advanced purchase date? For most popular international routes it is not unusual to have the lowest priced fare buckets with a 60 day APEX requirement.

You looked at one example, out of potentially a billion, and drew a conclusion.

I always recommend assigning a value/budget/price for an air itinerary and purchasing as soon as one's plans are firm (99%) and the price point is met.

On soft routes even the lowest-priced fare bucket might not sell out, or there may be no APEX requirements.

I'd submit that if you are looking at an int'l itin on TG for tomorrow that you probably wouldn't have been able to purchase on line, and any information you observed was suspect.

[ignis]

I found it the other way around with Thai Air......... leave it to the last few days = a big discount...

Looking at prices BKK-PER-BKK price is around 26,000 baht, booked the flight 44 hours before over the phone for 20,800 baht. Direct flight with all tax and fees.

That was the same price as Promotion Offer with Air Malaysia but a 4 hour layover in KL.

[lomatopo]

I found it the other way around with Thai Air......... leave it to the last few days = a big discount...

Looking at prices BKK-PER-BKK price is around 26,000 baht, booked the flight 44 hours before over the phone for 20,800 baht. Direct flight with all tax and fees.

That was the same price as Promotion Offer with Air Malaysia but a 4 hour layover in KL.

You've performed this exercise multiple times? You've compared the price 60 and 30 days prior to travel, and found the price at T-48 to be consistently lower?

What fare bucket? When are you flying? TG's low season, for this route, begins 30 Sep, currently in shoulder season.

A V fare is the currently published lowest fare for BKK-PER-BKK, 15,645 before any taxes and fees.

In most cases, waiting until the last minute results in the highest possible fares, because those who have last-minute travel plans usually have the least price sensitivity, the lowest priced fare buckets are sold out and encouraging this behavior would be deadly for airlines.

[ignis]

I found it the other way around with Thai Air......... leave it to the last few days = a big discount...

Looking at prices BKK-PER-BKK price is around 26,000 baht, booked the flight 44 hours before over the phone for 20,800 baht. Direct flight with all tax and fees.

That was the same price as Promotion Offer with Air Malaysia but a 4 hour layover in KL.

You've performed this exercise multiple times? You've compared the price 60 and 30 days prior to travel, and found the price at T-48 to be consistently lower?

What fare bucket? When are you flying? TG's low season, for this route, begins 30 Sep, currently in shoulder season.

A V fare is the currently published lowest fare for BKK-PER-BKK, 15,645 before any taxes and fees.

In most cases, waiting until the last minute results in the highest possible fares, because those who have last-minute travel plans usually have the least price sensitivity, the lowest priced fare buckets are sold out and encouraging this behavior would be deadly for airlines.

No only twice, as I like to book well in advance, when I used to Holiday here would book at least 9 months in advance,

Low cost airlines always appears to be the same book long in advance you get a Promo deal, [went to Mae Sot. couple of weeks ago, total airfare 2,080 baht booked 3 months before, looked 2 week before was 3,300 baht] I notice on the low cost airlines, book a week before = often more expensive than a big airline.. Never been with Air Asia but often look at there prices. next week+ next month + 3 months ahead..

I want to go somewhere again in November, so have been looking and checking prices already..

If I go to Australia again Airasia go next week 19,528 baht, book for November = 12,986 baht........ 15+ hours to get there, so to me may as well wait and hope Thai Air has a seat for 1,000 baht more and only 6,5 hours flight is the way I look at it..... Anyway not at all sure I will go to Australia, as still some other places I have not been to.

When I go to KL I use Royal Jordanian, super flights, service and aircraft , book for tomorrow or in 3 months same price 6,500 baht return all in.

[GrantSmith]

I do not believe there is any hard and fast "rule" that somehow guarantees one the lowest price based on advanced purchase date? For most popular international routes it is not unusual to have the lowest priced fare buckets with a 60 day APEX requirement.

You looked at one example, out of potentially a billion, and drew a conclusion.

I always recommend assigning a value/budget/price for an air itinerary and purchasing as soon as one's plans are firm (99%) and the price point is met.

On soft routes even the lowest-priced fare bucket might not sell out, or there may be no APEX requirements.

I'd submit that if you are looking at an int'l itin on TG for tomorrow that you probably wouldn't have been able to purchase on line, and any information you observed was suspect.

Ever get the feeling you're bashing your head against a brick wall when explaining these intricacies?

[1Ping1]

May be slightly off topic but for solo international flights. Little notice. Less than four days. Thai air rocks my world.

Last minute empty seats are not at a premium. They are trying to fill empty seats. I've flown 6-7 times one way and round trip under these conditions and always dirt cheap. 25-35% cheaper than 14-30-60 day notice.

Just a heads up for those flexible w travel and flying solo.

[lomatopo]

May be slightly off topic but for solo international flights. Little notice. Less than four days. Thai air rocks my world.

Last minute empty seats are not at a premium. They are trying to fill empty seats. I've flown 6-7 times one way and round trip under these conditions and always dirt cheap. 25-35% cheaper than 14-30-60 day notice.

Just a heads up for those flexible w travel and flying solo.

Can you share any details?

Routes/dates/prices at 14-30-60 and 4 days?

[davejones]

Perhaps they had lots of seats left on the flight you checked, so reduced the price. On another flight they may be fairly full and increase the price. If it was as easy as you say, then everyone would just book on the day. Prices can go up or down depending on lots of factors.

[build6]

airline ticket pricing is an entire sub-field of economics (I vaguely remember a module entirely about it back in school).

basically the goal of the airline is to not have empty seats (within reason - my pilot friend tells me sometimes they deliberately have empty seats for weight/direction reasons) - once the plane takes off with an empty seat, that's a realised loss. All this is complicated with interactions with crew schedules, connecting flights etc.

in the US at least (don't know about other countries) you have to deal with shenanigans like the airline deciding that your particular flight isn't full enough to make money, and therefore they cancel the ENTIRE FLIGHT and bump you (and your fellow unlucky passengers) onto other flights that can then be full and make them money. If you were planning on connecting to a flight that's not theirs, well it's "too bad, you should've flown with us all the way".

basically, if you *know* you're going to have to fly on a particular date, then booking early gives you some measure of certainty (of course the fine print allows them to bump you off a flight nonetheless) you will be on that flight. That's all that's really on the table, it's not really a "money saving feature".

Ticket pricing tends to "spike" - if you book early, the ticket price might be high (airline management - "we need to squeeze the people who absolutely have to be on a flight that day for as much money as we can, while without scaring them off to other airlines/routes"). As the impending date of the flight approaches, and the seat remains unfilled, airline management decides they might be losing that game of chicken and so starts lowering prices. Then at some unspecified point in time they decide the economics works out better to squeeze the last-minute urgent travellers for more money, and the price climbs again. All this is affected by competition and demand for the particular route, time of day etc.

The airlines that play this game well make a lot more money than those that don't (so, now they all try to). (Hotel room pricing can also be like this)

If the ticket for the flight "tomorrow" is at the same price as what's booked long ago then it may be that airline management has decided they're more desperate for any revenue they can than hopeful some big-spending procrastinator is gonna show up.

[build6]

my understanding of budget airline pricing is that they lower costs as best they can in all ways, but especially by increasing aircraft utilisation (the aircraft doesn't need to sleep), the "low low low!" ticket prices attract a baseline number of people onto the aircraft to meet their running costs, but they don't actually make their real money from them - they get that from the "latecomers" buying tickets from the higher priced buckets.

A lot of people just assume that a "budget airline" is the cheap choice and go on them, even for last minute flights, when a lot of times the full-service airlines are actually about the same in price (and in my personal experience, can even be lower). The early-ticket buyers are the ones who pay for the running costs, the late ticket buyers represent the profit.

Speaking of AirAsia, I've actually met Tony Fernandes once (not that he'd remember me though!)

[ignis]

my understanding of budget airline pricing is that they lower costs as best they can in all ways, but especially by increasing aircraft utilisation (the aircraft doesn't need to sleep), the "low low low!" ticket prices attract a baseline number of people onto the aircraft to meet their running costs, but they don't actually make their real money from them - they get that from the "latecomers" buying tickets from the higher priced buckets.

A lot of people just assume that a "budget airline" is the cheap choice and go on them, even for last minute flights, when a lot of times the full-service airlines are actually about the same in price (and in my personal experience, can even be lower). The early-ticket buyers are the ones who pay for the running costs, the late ticket buyers represent the profit.

Speaking of AirAsia, I've actually met Tony Fernandes once (not that he'd remember me though!)

Yes agree, just yesterday my search, BKK to Brunei, Royal Brunei Air 8,940 baht with all taxes,,,,,,,,, same date Air Asia 9,900....

I do find it difficult here, and can spend hours per day for weeks looking.... going to the same place but different Airlines, same day, same class, one place was looking at prices were from 13,100 baht to 40,080 baht !!!

Never used Air Asia, but there website is maybe the easier one as it shows the prices each day for a full week, and a click show the next week etc, often 1.000's of baht difference in flying on a different day..

Just maybe here it is not done, or they have no idea what I am wanting...... In UK could pop in or phone my Travel Agent, and say what's a good deal for 3 or 4 days, a few days later she would phone me with 2 or 3 stunning offers.. often with a 4 * hotel in the package.. I have been to some amazing places, and places I would never have even looked at...

Like now, want a few days away, dates anytime in October to about 12th November., Perth Australia again ? Brunei ? Sri Lanker ? Nepal ? Here they look at me as if I am daft, Surprise me with a good offer/deal somewhere.. No they need to know the dates, and the place.

Now appear to have another problem with Thai Air, pop up saying enter this number, yet there is no number, so no idea of flights of prices,, there again maybe it is just me getting older and finding searching more difficult.