Ticket To London

[markr]

my girlfriends ticket to london is the same price as what i would pay over here in the uk,why is this? how come the prices are'nt relative to the economy like everything else,clothes,food etc

or is it that we are looking in the wrong place we have been quoted £550 pounds or38500 baht and that is what i pay when i visit her,it seems like a lot, any ideas guys?

thanks

[britmaveric]

Airline tickets don't work that way I'm afraid.

[daleyboy]

That does seem pretty expensive, even for the uk. You can get a return for £400 here in the uk, i would expect to pay betweeen £250 and £350 in bangkok. I think you are looking in the wrong place, in fact where have you been looking? I always use a travel agent called pornpin travel outside the old airport, other side of the road in a rank of shops.

Just shop around, and i am sure you will find a better price than that

[cclub75]

Great sense of humor.

Anyway. Airplane tickets pricing is much more complicated. On purpose by the way, so the consummer is let in the dark, unable to make his "shopping" on the basis of a rationnal choice.

Here are some criterias :

-period of the year : Thai Airways has low, medium and high season. 3 fares family.

-time of booking : you book and buy 6 month before departure : better price. Or you buy the day before : better price. Everything in the middle will get full fare.

-time of booking is linked in a way with "booking classes". Airlines has divided their seats in economy class with "invisible classes" : Y, C, W etc. Each one will command a different price, and different rules (for cancellation, change of date, 100 % miles earned or less etc.)

In this regard, when a class is fully booked, the next one is opened (with another fare).

-For instance, the lowest rate for economy class on Thai Airways that you can find on the web sites (low season of course), like 550 euros round trip for Paris/BKK... will not give you 100 % of mileage. Of course, you do not know it when you book...

-Distribution : another key factor. Where do you buy your ticket ? Websites, airlines directly, travel agency, or part of a travel group package ?

This is why, sometimes you can find a package flight + hotel + food for 7 days from a tour operator, that will be LESS expensive that the price of the ticket you would be able to buy directly.

-ethnic : in Paris for instance, Thai Airways still have an "ethnic" fare... for thai people. The difference is not huge... But still. Of course don't repeat it, it's not politically correct. (It was the same before with Vietnam Airlines. Prices for farang were double or triple than fares for Vietnamese. Now it's finished.)

-Promotion / Competition : on the routes between Europe and BKK, competition is high. So it's a part of the pricing policy of each airlines.

At the end of the road : not many people on a plane have paid the same price for their seat.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

That does seem pretty expensive, even for the uk. You can get a return for £400 here in the uk, i would expect to pay betweeen £250 and £350 in bangkok. I think you are looking in the wrong place, in fact where have you been looking? I always use a travel agent called pornpin travel outside the old airport, other side of the road in a rank of shops.

Just shop around, and i am sure you will find a better price than that

" i would expect to pay betweeen £250 and £350 in bangkok."

Doesn't help the OP if you just pull prices out of a hat.

[daleyboy]

That does seem pretty expensive, even for the uk. You can get a return for £400 here in the uk, i would expect to pay betweeen £250 and £350 in bangkok. I think you are looking in the wrong place, in fact where have you been looking? I always use a travel agent called pornpin travel outside the old airport, other side of the road in a rank of shops.

Just shop around, and i am sure you will find a better price than that

" i would expect to pay betweeen £250 and £350 in bangkok."

Doesn't help the OP if you just pull prices out of a hat.

If you had read the rest of my post you would see my indication to where he could go to get these tickets. So not pulling prices out of a hat, just in case you missed it i have higlighted it for you.

So rather than make pointless comments why dont you try and contribute something yourself

To the op, if you want phone numbers give me a pm and i will try and dig the number out, although i have just packed the house up ready to move, i will make the effort to try and find it

Edited September 22, 2006 by daleyboy

[daleyboy]

Just to add a note about pulling prices out of hats

Price £315

Time depart 2215 arrive 1535

Airport depart Heathrow arrive Bangkok

Flight BA7312

Operated By Qantas airways Ltd

Taken from British airways website for travel on the 1st October for 14 days. So like i said before £500 seems like an awful lot of money

Edited September 22, 2006 by daleyboy

[Rinrada]

Another RIP OFF..

she should be paying about £12-50 for her return flight ticket to London.....

I blame the old government for keeping prices artifically HIGH...its endemic..Kor Thort krup...tomorrow is another....

[daleyboy]

she should be paying about £12-50 for her return flight ticket to London.....

Now that would be a good price

[Soju]

Great sense of humor.

Anyway. Airplane tickets pricing is much more complicated. On purpose by the way, so the consummer is let in the dark, unable to make his "shopping" on the basis of a rationnal choice.

Here are some criterias :

-period of the year : Thai Airways has low, medium and high season. 3 fares family.

-time of booking : you book and buy 6 month before departure : better price. Or you buy the day before : better price. Everything in the middle will get full fare.

-time of booking is linked in a way with "booking classes". Airlines has divided their seats in economy class with "invisible classes" : Y, C, W etc. Each one will command a different price, and different rules (for cancellation, change of date, 100 % miles earned or less etc.)

In this regard, when a class is fully booked, the next one is opened (with another fare).

-For instance, the lowest rate for economy class on Thai Airways that you can find on the web sites (low season of course), like 550 euros round trip for Paris/BKK... will not give you 100 % of mileage. Of course, you do not know it when you book...

-Distribution : another key factor. Where do you buy your ticket ? Websites, airlines directly, travel agency, or part of a travel group package ?

This is why, sometimes you can find a package flight + hotel + food for 7 days from a tour operator, that will be LESS expensive that the price of the ticket you would be able to buy directly.

-ethnic : in Paris for instance, Thai Airways still have an "ethnic" fare... for thai people. The difference is not huge... But still. Of course don't repeat it, it's not politically correct. (It was the same before with Vietnam Airlines. Prices for farang were double or triple than fares for Vietnamese. Now it's finished.)

-Promotion / Competition : on the routes between Europe and BKK, competition is high. So it's a part of the pricing policy of each airlines.

At the end of the road : not many people on a plane have paid the same price for their seat.

A good list, which as you say is not complete. I would add that many times it's cheaper to fly R/T from point A to B to A, rather than from B to A to B, especially if you're using country B's national flag carrier. So example, Thai Airways likely has cheaper prices for LHR-BKK-LHR than BKK-LHR-BKK. But if you wanted to fly BA, then you'd likely find their BKK-LHR-BKK tickets to be cheaper than their LHR-BKK-LHR tickets. It's because most people buying a ticket in any one country likely live there and they prefer to use the national flag carrier over foreign airlines because they'd like to accumulate mileage, think the service is better, or for whatever reason. So the foreign airlines need to discount their tickets when originating in a foreign country in order to attract more customers. This situation isn't always the case, but very often it is.

[markr]

£300 sound more like it i spoke to olavi travel on the khoa san rd and they were qouting £500-£600 for several airlines, do you think it was because i was asking(farang) rather than my gf would she get better quotes? i'm doing the leg work cos she is currently working in the phillipines

[markr]

the £315 on the british airways website is just one way,you go through the booking process and they double it

£697 inc taxes!!!!!!!

[daleyboy]

the £315 on the british airways website is just one way,you go through the booking process and they double it

£697 inc taxes!!!!!!!

Yeah apologies for that i should have said one way. Your right that does seem expensive, seeing as i only paid £430 return including taxes in June this year. I did book in January so maybe that's why it was cheaper, all i was trying to point out is the fact that £500 was a lot for a ticket bought in Thailand, the ba thing is neither here nor there as the op was asking for Thailand to UK, below is the receipt for the wife and i from June

Payment Type:*************

Card Number: *****************

Payment Total: GBP 861.80

Date / Issued by: 05 Jan 2006 / British Airways, Newcastle, UK

IATA Number: 91498363

Fare Details: GBP 664.00 + Tax/Fee/Charge GBP 197.80 = GBP 861.80

[markr]

i suppose it could be that we have left it so late, she is due here on the 19th oct, it just seems wrong that every thing else you pay for in thailand is about a third of what you would pay in england appart from airline tickets ...annoying!!

my search will go on!

[jdinasia]

i suppose it could be that we have left it so late, she is due here on the 19th oct, it just seems wrong that every thing else you pay for in thailand is about a third of what you would pay in england appart from airline tickets ...annoying!!

my search will go on!

There's a point of no profit for an airticket ..... they's just not sell tickets from BKK to the UK if they could only get 1/3rd

[markr]

profit margins vary in everything! companys have to sell products and services at a rate witch is relative to that particular countrys economy, if toyota sold cars in vietnam at the same price they do in england no one would buy one,so they have to make up their profits selling in richer countrys,this i thought would be the same with flights.

[jdinasia]

Fuel, Labor, Capital investments, etc are the same on the plane ....... whether you buy your ticket in Thailand or London .... only savings is local labor.

And MANY companies that manufacture in Asia choose NOT to sell there. (or if they do it IS as expensive or more so than "back home")

[N47HAN]

friend booked a flight on friday last week

return ticket leaving 13 oct returning 28th

london- bkk thai air.. 440pounds inc taxes

[tk47]

my girlfriends ticket to london is the same price as what i would pay over here in the uk,why is this? how come the prices are'nt relative to the economy like everything else,clothes,food etc

or is it that we are looking in the wrong place we have been quoted £550 pounds or38500 baht and that is what i pay when i visit her,it seems like a lot, any ideas guys?

thanks

Teletext on line is the cheapest place I have ever found for flights.

Using Teletext on line I saw Dial a flight quote £359 inc taxes from LHR - BKK return (quoted today inc taxes)

Even better though is the flight I booked for 10th Oct.

Etihad airways Manchester - BKK return £432 (quoted today inc taxes) but on a brand new airbus with tv screens on the backs of the seats and only a 2 hour stopover in Abu Dahbi

Better value for me because of the entertainment on board / the better meals and shorter flight.

when I phoned dial a flight I got mine for £412 Man - BKK

HTH

[percy2]

Thai Airways B22,500 on the front page of their website.

[markr]

good prices but....... the ticket is from bangkok TO london for my gf so dial a flight and co cant really help it needs to be booked in thailand doesnt it???? the tickets need to be there

[libya 115]

Try Bangladesh airlines BIMAN: 300 GBP return LON-BKK; the flight is a living hel_l but you will save money. Also Pakistan airlines are cheap 330 GBP, again the flight is a living hel_l, but more modern aircraft.

If you choose to travel on the above airlines, wear wellington boots, and bring a face mask and a packed lunch.

[Couthy]

That seems somewhat strange :- Is she on a settlement visa or a visitors visa?.

If on a settlement visa she only needs a one way - on my case I was here on business anyway and paid the 'round robin' fare - missus got the UK visa and was charged one way fare.

(with that particular airline it was less than half the UK round robin price to go one way from BKK to LHR )

Perhaps a vistors visa is different and open tickets these days are more expensive than confirmed.

Shop around - you will always find a better deal with travel agents.

Costs are not relative - it costs the same to keep the aircraft flying internationally wherever you are. (Well mostly!!)

Cheers,

Couthy.

my girlfriends ticket to london is the same price as what i would pay over here in the uk,why is this? how come the prices are'nt relative to the economy like everything else,clothes,food etc

or is it that we are looking in the wrong place we have been quoted £550 pounds or38500 baht and that is what i pay when i visit her,it seems like a lot, any ideas guys?

thanks