Air Fares to Thailand 2022

[MunichCut]

I fly from Munich/Germany from 28 November to 29 December to Bangkok. In between I will go to Pattaya and one week to Ho Chi Minh City.
I have already booked in March and fly with Singapore Airlines Economy for 459 euros. For the Air Aisa flight to Saigon I use my credits that I still had there. I hope nothing comes in between this time.

[emiel1981]

A few months ago I booked my ticket to Thailand for a very good price... 

Amsterdam to Bangkok in business class with Qatar Airways for about 750 euro each way. So for return I paid around 1500 euro. Fully refundable (lesson learned from covid: you never know what happens...) but because its a discount fare no access to lounges at airport. 

With prices for flights going up because traveling picking up and fuel prices rising, I'm happy I booked my ticket far in advance... 

[scott456]

On 6/22/2022 at 3:31 PM, scott456 said:

What was the business class fare before Covid?  EVA £2663 doesn't seem too outrageous.

 

On 6/22/2022 at 6:47 PM, vinapu said:

round the world or just London- Bangkok ?

London to Bangkok return, EVA preCovid business class.

What price did you pay back then?

[Shonen]

I just looked at google flights for my October- April vacation to Pattaya.

im thinking of using Singapore premium economy. It’s $1625 round trip. About $500 more than their economy from New York to Bkk.

I realize it’s only slightly better than economy, however I’m getting a visa exempt and will need to change the return from November to April. I figure there’s no change charge for premium, possibly a charge if the return in April is more than I paid for the original return fare. And I can have a bit more seat room.

The priority boarding is a joke to me, as I like to get on last. I want to spend as little time in the plane as possible.

Ill be spending $900 more than usual, however I understand the necessity of paying higher prices in the current situation.

is Singapore good?

 

[billyhouston]

British Airways have announced that the suspension of their LHR-BKK route will be extended to 2023. It had previously been announced that the supension would be until October 2022.

EVA have withdrawn LHR-BKK sales throughout July and August, due to the Heathrow flight cap. Their flights are still running however. The Heathrow flight cap is expected to be extended until the end of October.

Living in the 'boonies' up North, it makes little difference since I fly via CDG or sometimes AMS, when AirFrance pilots are having a strike. Certainly not AMS at the present time!

[gerefan]

5 hours ago, billyhouston said:

British Airways have announced that the suspension of their LHR-BKK route will be extended to 2023. It had previously been announced that the supension would be until October 2022.

Best news ever. Hope they make it permanent.

I’m sure everyone knows what BA stands for.

[reader]

From South China Morning Post

Greater Bay Airlines’ first flight set to take off for Bangkok from Hong Kong on Saturday

• City's newest airline will begin operations with a twice weekly service to the Thai capital
• Carrier is hoping to expand to Malaysia, Japan and Korea and eventually China

Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines is to launch its first scheduled commercial flight on Saturday, offering a twice weekly service to Bangkok, as it competes for customers with the city's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific.

The newcomer will begin service with two commercial flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok, its first and only destination, on Saturday, with the outbound flight leaving for the Thai capital city at 10:30am. The inbound flight is expected to arrive in Hong Kong at 5:10pm on the same day.

The airline, which has hoped to exploit an opening left by the closure of regional carrier Cathay Dragon, a subsidiary of the Cathay group, has the financial backing of tycoon Bill Wong Cho-bau, the man behind Shenzhen-based Donghai Airlines. He has pledged to invest HK$2 billion (US$258 million) in the carrier. But the company has faced multiple challenges, from licensing issues to expansion constraints because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Bangkok service will operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Wednesday flights will depart Hong Kong at 3pm and return at 9:40pm, while Saturday flights will leave at 10:30am and return at 5:10pm. Flight bookings are available via travel agents.

Fares for the Greater Bay Airlines' outbound flight on Saturday cost HK$1,363 (US$173.64) from Wing On Travel, one of the few agencies that sold GBA tickets. The price would be slightly cheaper than an afternoon outbound flight from Thai Airways on the same day, which went for HK$1,389. However, the GBA's seats were nearly half the price of Cathay Pacific's only flight to Bangkok on the same day, which stood at HK$2,603.

The new airline offered even lower fares for its flights in the coming weeks, the cheapest option stood at HK$957 (US$121.92) for a one-way ticket. A direct flight to Bangkok on August 6 would cost HK$2,206 from Cathay Pacific and HK$1,551 from Thai Airways

Greater Bay Airlines' fleet will be made up of three Boeing 737 planes for this year. Both the Saturday Bangkok flights will operate on Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which Wong's other carrier, Donghai Airlines, has also bought.

[tm_nyc]

Wow, I had the same thought as Gerefan about the news that BA is not resuming flights to BKK: that's not a big loss to Thailand-bound fliers from London.  I flew on BA LHR-BKK & return in biz class several years ago &, while it was not 'bloody awful', it was mediocre in every respect.  Never again.

[fedssocr]

13 hours ago, Shonen said:

I just looked at google flights for my October- April vacation to Pattaya.

im thinking of using Singapore premium economy. It’s $1625 round trip. About $500 more than their economy from New York to Bkk.

I realize it’s only slightly better than economy, however I’m getting a visa exempt and will need to change the return from November to April. I figure there’s no change charge for premium, possibly a charge if the return in April is more than I paid for the original return fare. And I can have a bit more seat room.

The priority boarding is a joke to me, as I like to get on last. I want to spend as little time in the plane as possible.

Ill be spending $900 more than usual, however I understand the necessity of paying higher prices in the current situation.

is Singapore good?

 

I haven't flown SQ premium economy but the airline is generally very good to excellent. From NY I think they fly A350-900ULR that is all business and premium economy and there's also the A380 service that goes via FRA. On the A350s there are 3 rows at the back of the plane where there is only 1 seat at the window so you don't have anyone sitting next to you. 

[reader]

I flew SQ on my last trip using the Frankfurt connection in the A380. Previously I took the non-stop in the A350. Both flights were in business and the only carrier I feel that comes close in service and reliability is ANA.

The one thing you want to look out for is the connecting flight from Singapore to BKK. I found that it was less expensive to get the SQ connection and not the Scoot connection.

 

[vaughn]

I just booked some SQ flights for next month from Aus, the price would have cost more for an economy fare than I paid for my business fare in April.

I ended up playing around with flights and found that if I stay overnight in Singapore and split the itinerary to multi-trip I save $600+, but I lost one night of an already short trip.

[alvnv]

20 hours ago, tm_nyc said:

Wow, I had the same thought as Gerefan about the news that BA is not resuming flights to BKK: that's not a big loss to Thailand-bound fliers from London.  I flew on BA LHR-BKK & return in biz class several years ago &, while it was not 'bloody awful', it was mediocre in every respect.  Never again.

I have also experienced how various airlines treat the same markets differently: I have flown both BA and TK between LHR and IST. While TK business class was great in every sense (aircraft, configuration, seats, service, offerings, etc.) BA was God-awful, despite costing more than TK. Never again.

All airlines seem to identify some markets as premium and put all their resources towards them, while using “leftovers” for their secondary (or, tertiary) markets. TK, in turn, does the same for flights between IST and some cities/countries they deem less important for them.

[reader]

From Bangkok Post

Seat shortage stymies tourism recovery

The shortage of airline seats remains a major obstacle for the recovery of Thai tourism as most European flag carriers haven't resumed flights and frequencies to the pre-Covid level.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the agency met the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand last week and was informed that Thailand might secure just 30.9% international seat capacity of the pre-pandemic level in the upcoming high season.

At present, international airlines, mostly from major long-haul destinations, have not resumed flights as usual, leaving a limited choice for travellers who want convenient direct flights.

The TAT has prepared a marketing plan to support airlines to bring passengers to Thailand, particularly from Russia and other countries in Europe, but it depends on the additional budget it requested.

In 2019, Thailand had a seat capacity of 56.2 million, before plunging to 14.8 million in 2020 and 4.9 million in 2021.

Tassapon Bijleveld, executive chairman of Thai AirAsia and acting chief executive of Thai AirAsia X, said most airlines are facing extremely high operational costs and insufficient manpower and aircraft.

"The aviation business cannot pick up overnight, particularly for those who slashed their workforce during Covid-19," said Mr Tassapon.

He said after parking aircraft for over two years, all engines need major maintenance work before taking to the skies, resulting in long queues and full bookings at every maintenance, repair and overhaul facility.

Mr Tassapon said the TAT's initiative to help airlines increase seat capacity is a good strategy to boost the tourism industry.

In the past, governments from many countries adopted similar mechanisms, such as providing incentives for airlines that can carry international passengers at certain levels.

 

He said Thai AirAsia maintained all staff in the past two years to avoid such circumstances during the recovery period as commercial pilots have to extend their licences every six months by training with flight simulators.

 

[tm_nyc]

2 hours ago, reader said:

30.9% international seat capacity of the pre-pandemic level in the upcoming high season.

That doesn't sound like much of a Thailand high season to me.  I suppose that China accounts for a big percentage of the shortfall & the Russia situation doesn't help.

[fedssocr]

Unless Putin ends his war I don't think there's much way to incentivize Russian arrivals.

It probably doesn't help Thailand that it's primarily a leisure destination so the airlines have less incentive to add flights since the conventional wisdom is they can't charge as much for tickets

[Boy69]

Thai hotels are currently  about 30% occupancy in general, when the demand is so low there is no reason for airlines to increase the flights to Thailand. 

[alvnv]

Seems like a vicious circle: demand could be low because of fewer seats/flights and higher airfares 🤔

[PeterRS]

Is anyone else having difficulty getting mileage tickets around their preferred dates? A month ago I tried to use miles from the Asia Miles programme for a return business class ticket BKK/UK on Qatar covering a fortnight in March 2023. I was informed there were no such tickets avaiable, not only on my preferred dates but on any flight within the 14 day period. I pointed out that QR has at least 50 flights to and from BKK to Doha and probably more from DOH to the UK during that period and it was inconceivable there was not one business class ticket on even one flight available during that period. I even tried a few days either side. Same reply. I was merely told to try later. I argued but as expected I got absolutely nowhere.

Yet I did not want just any flights because flight connections at Doha can sometimes be lengthy. I really wanted the shortest ones. Two days ago I contacted Asia Miles again. To start I got more or less the same response. No biz seats but this time they could offer me economy. I kept pressing. When I asked the lady to look at other dates around the time of my originally requested flights, there was a long wait. Then I was surprised to be told that my return flights ex-UK did in fact have a biz ticket available. Checking outward flights in the 3 days before the original date, now there was a seat 2 days beforehand. All had the short plane change! I immediately booked it. I was told I would have to call QR in BKK to chose seats, but the e-ticket had allocated seat 2A in all flights. Clearly that seat is avaiable for mileage tickets on most if not all QR flights. Why it had not been available a month earlier, I have no idea! 

The only other issue I had is that the extra charges for mileage tickets have risen considerably. No doubt fuel surcharges account for part of that. But I have my tickets and that is the main thing.

[fedssocr]

Award seat inventory is constantly changing. Glad you found the seats you needed. If you have the QR booking reference number you should be able to pick seats on the QR app or website under Manage Booking. 

[belkinDC]

As @fedssocr points out award seat inventory is constantly changing and it would not be unusual at all for there to be no biz class award availability on a given route for weeks on end. But you should never call an airline looking to make a booking (particularly a partner booking like Asia Miles -> Qatar) without first knowing that the seats you want are in fact available. I find an ExpertFlyer subscription ($99 year) to be well worth the money; it allows searching (+/- 3 days in each direction) for award inventory on pretty much all airlines as well as setting up alerts for when inventory on a given flight becomes available (this has helped me nab seats on a more preferred flight mid-trip when they become available on many occasions). Once you know the inventory is available, keep calling back until you find an agent who knows what they are doing and can make the booking. This can often be a frustrating experience depending on the airline as many staff are quite poorly trained.

For a free solution though, search BA.com or Qantas “classic” rewards for OneWorld carriers like Qatar. Air Canada is good for searching Star Alliance and Air France is good for SkyTeam.

[joshhb]

EVA seems to have lots of award availability. Call your local office first, and they will tell you if there is a Premium Economy to Business Class upgrade on your chosen dates. If yes, immediately book PE on line, then call back with the booking reference. They will then do the upgrade with an email confirmation in minutes.

LHR - BKK rtn "costs" 75k miles, and you travel in one of the world's best business class products.

[ggobkk]

On 7/27/2022 at 3:17 AM, joshhb said:

EVA seems to have lots of award availability. Call your local office first, and they will tell you if there is a Premium Economy to Business Class upgrade on your chosen dates. If yes, immediately book PE on line, then call back with the booking reference. They will then do the upgrade with an email confirmation in minutes.

LHR - BKK rtn "costs" 75k miles, and you travel in one of the world's best business class products.

I was planning on Eva for it convenience and quality...unfortunately transferring flights in Taipei requires a covid test.  So I booked United to Tokyo then transfer to Thai.  Not a lot of great choices for those going west to Bangkok from the west coast of the USA

 

[Olddaddy]

On 7/23/2022 at 9:17 AM, vaughn said:

I just booked some SQ flights for next month from Aus, the price would have cost more for an economy fare than I paid for my business fare in April.

I ended up playing around with flights and found that if I stay overnight in Singapore and split the itinerary to multi-trip I save $600+, but I lost one night of an already short trip.

Must admit having flown economy and business class these last few months I couldn't travel nowadays without going business class.

Last night Bangkok to Sydney stop one stop  Manila with Philippines airlines had a bed to myself in business class,$2800 ( Au) return ,not direct flight however and stopover in Manila 6 hours 

I flew economy a few weeks ago in a short flight Bangkok to Manila and it was the worst experience,cramped in like sardines no room to move, kids screaming & crying etc

[PeterRS]

On 7/27/2022 at 10:46 AM, belkinDC said:

But you should never call an airline looking to make a booking (particularly a partner booking like Asia Miles -> Qatar) without first knowing that the seats you want are in fact available. I find an ExpertFlyer subscription ($99 year) to be well worth the money; it allows searching (+/- 3 days in each direction) for award inventory on pretty much all airlines as well as setting up alerts for when inventory on a given flight becomes available

I will certainly look more into this. But going back to one of my earlier posts, I know that an airline in an Alliance does not always make its allocated mileage tickets available to all other members of the Alliance at the same time as it may first give preference to its own loyalty club members. Not sure of Mileage Plus, but this is certainly the case with OneWorld. I was given this information by one of the BA OneWorld execs after calling at 00:01 UK time on the day mileage tickets were supposed to become available 51 weeks in advance. I had then been informed "Sorry no mileage seats available!"

In the case of my recent booking with Qatar, this has to be the case. Otherwise, how would specific flights I requested a month earlier suddenly become available half way through a phone call a month later and only after I had been told there were no seats. I realise mileage ticket holders can change dates on payment of an extra seat surcharge and it's just possible that my requested flight had suddenly had a seat become available. But when OneWorld mileage tickets on all carriers are supposed to be avaiable something like a year in advance, how does it explain the situation a month earlier when  I was informed there was not even one seat available on more than 50 BKK/Doha flights in mid-March 2023?

Looking at the QR website, it makes clear that mileage tickets are "subject to availability as determined by Qatar Airways and the Airline's Partner Programme." Yet Asia Miles claimed it had no knowledge of QR's policy on mileage tickets and only issued those available on their computers!

I guess I should have been more aware that quite a few airlines have sold off their loyalty programmes to third parties. There's an interesting book "Designing Future-Oriented Airline Business" by Nawal K. Taneja which makes this point - "Frequent flyer programmes have become businesses in themselves and have their own objectives that may be different from the objectives of the airline!" I wonder if Expertflyer takes this into consideration, especially with Asian based airlines?

[belkinDC]

33 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

I will certainly look more into this. But going back to one of my earlier posts, I know that an airline in an Alliance does not always make its allocated mileage tickets available to all other members of the Alliance at the same time as it may first give preference to its own loyalty club members. Not sure of Mileage Plus, but this is certainly the case with OneWorld. I was given this information by one of the BA OneWorld execs after calling at 00:01 UK time on the day mileage tickets were supposed to become available 51 weeks in advance. I had then been informed "Sorry no mileage seats available!"

Correct, most airlines make more seats available to their own frequent fliers. In some cases, such as Singapore Airlines and Air France, they only make their first class seats available to their own frequent fliers using their own mileage currency (in the case of AF, one must further be an elite member to have the privilege of paying ~200k miles or so for transatlantic F!)

 

33 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

In the case of my recent booking with Qatar, this has to be the case. Otherwise, how would specific flights I requested a month earlier suddenly become available half way through a phone call a month later and only after I had been told there were no seats.

I am not sure how the phenomena you described above plays into your situation? Qatar decided to release inventory to partners that was previously unavailable. Usually this "saver level" award inventory is available equally to all airlines in an alliance. Thus for example, if you see a Qatar flight bookable on the Qantas website as an award, you will know that it is also bookable with Asia Miles and if a rep tells you otherwise, you know you are dealing with a dud and need to HUCA (hang up, call again) until you get an agent who knows how to properly search for and book partner awards.

 

33 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

But when OneWorld mileage tickets on all carriers are supposed to be avaiable something like a year in advance, how does it explain the situation a month earlier when  I was informed there was not even one seat available on more than 50 BKK/Doha flights in mid-March 2023?

Not all carriers release award seats on flights a year in advance. I'm not sure what Qatar's policy is. But many/most airlines release the seats dynamically when their internal revenue control projections tell them the seat would otherwise go unsold (this is certainly how award seat inventory for more close-in flights are managed, regardless of whether they have a policy to release a couple of seats on each flight one year out).

If they think they can get a cash paying passenger to buy a business class seat, no way do they want to sell it to Asia Miles/CX for pennies on the dollar (for some interesting insight as to how much airlines in alliances reimburse each other for award seats, see this recent post from OMAAT. The numbers are pretty shockingly low: https://onemileatatime.com/insights/airline-award-ticket-cost/).

In your case, likely it's either another award seat passenger canceled/changed their ticket, or their revenue projections changed such that they decided to release a partner award seat. Or it could have been the case that the first agent from Asia Miles you spoke with in your initial attempt to book just didn't know what they are doing, and the seat had been available all along. Which is why it's good to know before you call what the actual award inventory is on the flights you are eyeing by using sources such as ExpertFlyer or other airlines in the same alliance (i.e. searching Qantas awards for travel on Qatar)

 

33 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

I guess I should have been more aware that quite a few airlines have sold off their loyalty programmes to third parties. There's an interesting book "Designing Future-Oriented Airline Business" by Nawal K. Taneja which makes this point - "Frequent flyer programmes have become businesses in themselves and have their own objectives that may be different from the objectives of the airline!" I wonder if Expertflyer takes this into consideration, especially with Asian based airlines?

I'm not sure that this is really a factor at all here. For one, Asia Miles is wholly owned by Cathay Pacific and so their interests are fully aligned. But even in cases where the loyalty program has been wholly severed in ownership (I'm not aware of any examples nowadays since Aeroplan is once again owned by Air Canada), it is still the operating airline that makes the decision to release award inventory to partners or not. The Asia Miles agents have no control over Qatar's award inventory. But you can at least make sure they aren't giving you the run around by independently verifying QR award seats before calling CX