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May 28th, 2006, 20:07
Does anyone know of any good fares, or sources of good fares, at the moment from the US to Thailand?

Yours gratefully,

boygeenyus
TOQ
May 28th, 2006, 21:17
It seems that whenever I try to use a travel agent their fares are never cheaper than the airline website.. I prefer to use EVA out of LAX and the fares seem to be about 120.00 less on Eva site than any travel agent .

I also would be interested if anyone has any thoughts..

cya in Patters June 9 :)


john
May 28th, 2006, 22:06
... may have helped. Is this for someone aged 55 or older (your mother perhaps, and the mailman)? If so, a number of airlines offer cheaper fares for the more mature traveller, but often require travel other than on the weekend, and limit the term of the ticket to 30 days. It's little things like that that can help determine whether a "good fare" is available. A friend of mine uses Silver Wings Plus (United) but has been tempted to try Cathay Pacific's offering
TOQ
May 28th, 2006, 22:09
... may have helped. Is this for someone aged 55 or older (your mother perhaps, and the mailman)? If so, a number of airlines offer cheaper fares for the more mature traveller, but often require travel other than on the weekend, and limit the term of the ticket to 30 days. It's little things like that that can help determine whether a "good fare" is available. A friend of mine uses Silver Wings Plus (United) but has been tempted to try Cathay Pacific's offering

I did check with Eva on this, (for the mailman of course) and was told no program was in effect for seniors.. Oh well, guess he will have to pay the standard rate :(


john
May 28th, 2006, 22:30
If you can wait to Sept 1, JAL prices drop. At that time, according to my agent, r/t ecomomy will be US$859 tax inclusive. This is from LAX - BKK via Toyko which there is a one hour layover.
May 28th, 2006, 23:17
I just booked EVA Evergreen Delux out of LAX (mid JUne) and the fare with tax was 1645.
TOQ
May 28th, 2006, 23:25
I just booked EVA Evergreen Delux out of LAX (mid JUne) and the fare with tax was 1645.

I got mine a couple hundred cheaper, but I booked about 2 months ago..

Sometimes its better to book early and sometimes not.. In the past i've seen cheaper fares posted after Ive already booked. :(


john
Up2U
May 29th, 2006, 00:53
"I prefer to use EVA out of LAX and the fares seem to be about 120.00 less on Eva site than any travel agent . "....not my experience. My travel agent consistently beats the EVA web price and like you I check continually check the EVA site months in advance. When I see the lowest fare I then call my agent and she will always beat the EVA price by about $50.00. I fly out of SFO. Note the EVA site price quote excludes taxes, fees, surcharges etc. until you make the purchase. I always purchase at least 90 days in advance because as a Gold Card member I get my choice on the Deluxe Coach seat assignments.
elephantspike
May 29th, 2006, 01:54
I've got a fare bookmarked in Expedia.com for next February on Thai Airways. It is non-stop from JFK to BKK for $1,080 USD including all taxes and surcharges.
May 29th, 2006, 02:10
I've got a fare bookmarked in Expedia.com for next February on Thai Airways. It is non-stop from JFK to BKK for $1,080 USD including all taxes and surcharges.
That sounds really good.
TOQ
May 29th, 2006, 03:30
I've got a fare bookmarked in Expedia.com for next February on Thai Airways. It is non-stop from JFK to BKK for $1,080 USD including all taxes and surcharges.


That does sound good. Is that the economy or the new economy plus rate ?? Maybe I shoud check for a departure out of LAX



john
fedssocr
May 29th, 2006, 04:24
that must be regular economy. I paid about $1700 for premium econ on TG for the JFK-BKK roundtrip for September. The lowest I have seen for regular economy on that route is about $985.
catawampuscat
May 29th, 2006, 09:25
I just booked some tickets for peak periods thru Norcross Travel and have in the past as well.They are consolidators in the USA and
specialize in Thailand..Gaybutton used to recommend them on his site and they are usually able to beat the competition but not always...
They have an email address but are not great at emailing so calling is best at toll free 888-888-7157..
I also got almost the same price from thaifly.com on the internet..If you go to the site, click "from USA" on top right corner and "English" language
unless you want Thai...Don't waste time with the special promotions as they are usually "no seat available" but go directly to customer service..
Fill in the little form and ask for the dates, airlines etc. you want ..The next day or so , their USA office or affliate will answer and I was
very pleased with the connections and price..I believe the USA office is in the midwest, Chicago?..Anyway, worth a try...
elephantspike
May 29th, 2006, 10:43
Yep, that's regular economy, but that works fine for me. On Thai Airways, you get your own video monitor in economy on that route. I don't take up much space, so that's not an issue. It would be nice to be able to recline at a more horizontal angle, but hey, 17 hours and I'll be in Thailand.

I've never flown that route before. Usually I start in Boston, then have to change planes in Chicago or Detroit, and then in Tokyo or Seoul, making for a 26+ hour ordeal, but this one goes all the way from NYC in one shot. There is even a new Portland, ME to NYC shuttle route on Jet Blue for as little as $120 RT, so it's practically door to door for $1200, and a total of less than 20 hours including switching planes at JFK. I tried searching for fares straight through from Portland to Bangkok on Expedia, but they were a lot more than just booking the Jet Blue connection separately. All of the Boston fares listed were $1200+ and went the same Boston-Midwest-Northeast Asia-Thailand route as I've taken before.

I'm curious; do these new non-stop NYC-BKK flights go via the trans-pacific route or over Europe and India? I think the mileage is less going the European route.
May 29th, 2006, 10:57
Not great quality, I know. You get better detail if you click on the image itelf

http://upload4.postimage.org/291156/swp1.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/291156/photo_hosting.html)

http://upload4.postimage.org/291157/swp2.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/291157/photo_hosting.html)

http://upload4.postimage.org/291158/swp3.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/291158/photo_hosting.html)
May 29th, 2006, 18:20
Thank you all for your ideas.

The travel will be some time after September 1, and will indeed involve people over the age of 55. Mom and Dad (the mail man couldn't find anyone to cover his route).
Dodger
May 29th, 2006, 19:27
You may want to check out Priceline,com. You can purchase a ticket from New York to Bangkok on Cathay Pacific for around $1,000 in the September timeframe. Here's there link...http://www.priceline.com/
Dodger
May 29th, 2006, 19:33
I just checked Priceline.com and you can get a flight in the early September timeframe from LAX to Bankok for $822...via China Airways.
May 29th, 2006, 20:02
problem china air is that you lose almost one day with the long layover I believe.
dab69
May 29th, 2006, 23:42
giving at least 3 weeks advance time, I usually travel from small airport to Minneapolis or Detroit AND roundtrip to BKK for ~$950, in case you are travelling from a smaller metro area. Only the departure time of 6:00 from BKK is a drawback (I canNOT sleep on a plane)

One year I thought it was expensive, only to find I didn't give enough advance time purchasing before takeoff date.
May 29th, 2006, 23:53
I went with EVA this time and paid ┬г426 from London ( around $750?)

Thanks god it was the 777 with a TV in every seat and not 1 per each side of the cabin like some of their older aircraft. Even at that cheap price for a direct flight it was still half empty .
May 30th, 2006, 00:33
Book directly at Thai Airways website.

Non-Stop Lax - Bkk

: economy (36" seat pitch) $1,059 including taxes, valid for 6 months, return date can be changed for a $50 fee, earn 100% mileages.

: premium economy (42" seat pitch) $1,514 including taxes, valid for 12 months, return date can be changed for a $50 fee, earn 110% mileages.

The economy class seems a good value in my opinion.
fedssocr
May 30th, 2006, 02:36
I'm curious; do these new non-stop NYC-BKK flights go via the trans-pacific route or over Europe and India? I think the mileage is less going the European route.

Actually they basically go north up over the North Pole and then straight down the other side, so it is more or less a great circle routing. I think the mileage is something like 8500.
May 30th, 2006, 02:37
Elephantspike - when I took the non stop Thai Air flight last October they went northwest through Western Canada into Alaska, the Artic and then into Russia and south over Russia, continuing south into Thailand.
I found the economy seats fairly comfortable and I'm a large man.
May 30th, 2006, 03:51
the mail man couldn't find anyone to cover his routeThe English pronunciation of this word is "root" and "cover" is what stallions do to mares. Oh well