Emirates Bangkok To Cairo The Same Price As To Dubai...Interesting

[OMGImInPattaya]

I guess this is the right forum to post this...it's not about travel to or around Thailand but about travel from and back. Anyway, so I'm planning my next trip on my new favorite airline, Emirates, and poking around their website to see where they go and the fares on offer. One interesting place I have always wanted to visit is Egypt, and Emirates of course goes there through their hub in Dubai. Another place I thought I might want to see is Dubai itself. So I go ahead and price both itinerary and low and behold the business class fare is the same...51k from Bangkok return. The flight from BKK to DBX is the same flight as the BKK-DBX-CAI. So basically, Emirates, on this routing, is giving away the two hour or so flight from Dubai to Cairo for free...so where do you think I'm going? And maybe just add a 2-3 nite stop-over in Dubai.

[craigt3365]

That's actually not unusual. I'm planning a trip right now and the direct flight is more than extending it to an extra city! Like 20% more! Crazy.

Enjoy your trip!!!

[KittenKong]

Airlines tend to price their tickets to make their less popular destinations cheaper and I suspect that currently Cairo is one of these. Also it's quite common for airlines to charge correspondingly less for flights crossing their hubs than for flights to their hubs, as anyone taking one would have a change of plane/stopover which many passengers like to avoid, and this may especially be the case in business class. (I pay very little for my yearly BKK/LHR/BKK flight in business class because I use an airline that has very long stopovers at their hub on most flights, and I do that deliberately because I have lots of spare time and like to save money. A direct flight would cost me nearly double.)

You are a somewhat unusual traveller in the sense that you are thinking about going somewhere because it is quite cheap to get there rather than because you specifically want to go there, and that can work in your favour of course.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Airlines tend to price their tickets to make their less popular destinations cheaper and I suspect that currently Cairo is one of these. Also it's quite common for airlines to charge correspondingly less for flights crossing their hubs than for flights to their hubs, as anyone taking one would have a change of plane/stopover which many passengers like to avoid, and this may especially be the case in business class. (I pay very little for my yearly BKK/LHR/BKK flight in business class because I use an airline that has very long stopovers at their hub on most flights, and I do that deliberately because I have lots of spare time and like to save money. A direct flight would cost me nearly double.)

You are a somewhat unusual traveller in the sense that you are thinking about going somewhere because it is quite cheap to get there rather than because you specifically want to go there, and that can work in your favour of course.

I think you may have mis-read my post KK, I did mention that one place I would like to visit is Egypt (all those triangle shaped thingies in the desert and that funny golden mask and all) and the Emirates fare is reasonable...especially as like you, I've got lots of time, so the stop-over is actually appreciated as it gives me a chance to stretch and enjoy the lounge in DBX before my onward journey. The fact the second leg is basically free is an added bonus. The sand of Dubai has no intrinsic interest to me...but seeing the over-the-top Arab consumerism hotels, and kitschy malls holds some sort of end of the world interest to me.

When I was first looking into this a couple weeks ago, the fare to Dubai was actually 70k and the Cairo fare 50k so it was actually cheaper to go to Cairo (two flights and further) than to Dubai. Currently they are the same price.