EMIRATES now charging for SEATS

[arsenal]

Scottish: Back in 1989 I only bought a single as I was traveling on to Australia and so that's the only comparison I can give you. 360 pounds in 1989 is worth over 800 pounds today so air travel is clearly a good deal. Yes the seat choice from Emirates was free 2 months ago and now they charge but compared to what the inflationary rate would be you're still getting a bloody good deal. It's possibly the people who choose to pay for seat allocation that makes the difference between the flight making a profit and losing money. A return from (presumably Scotland) to Bangkok for 400 quid on a premier airline. Stop moaning, it's a fucking steal at that price. Oh yes...and have a great trip.

[jimnbkk]

Almost on topic: I just flew up to Chiangmai on Air Asia. They charged me 1,800 THB for my checked bag! I was outraged! I made my reservation through a travel agent who did not warn me about this excessive fee for one bag. Last trip on Air Asia for sure.

[arsenal]

These days we need to alter the way we think about airline tickets as a commodity. Similar to buying a new car the ticket will have a 'base price' or entry level and then you pay more as you add extras.

[fountainhall]

I stated clearly I did not book on the Emirates website but (like millions of people who book on comparison sites, I booked via Skyscanner in this case)

I just flew up to Chiangmai on Air Asia. They charged me 1,800 THB for my checked bag! I was outraged!

Two instances where booking sites did not provide the full information about the flights guys were booking. I am certain nothing can be done re Scottish' additional charges on Emirates since the problem really is with Skyscanner for not providing the accurate info to their customer. Same with jimnbkk and Air Asia. I suggest for the future that everyone booking flights through a third party site runs a double-check with the airline's own website before parting with cash since that will almost certainly provide all the information you need.

jimnbkk - not sure if you were aware that Air Asia is the region's largest budget carrier and like most in that category they charge for baggage. A few, like Nok Air, give you a baggage allowance as part of the ticket but then the basic price tends to be higher. So you are no better off! I wonder also if you ever thought about reading the terms and conditions of flying on budget carriers. If you book through the carrier's own website, you have to tick a box stating you have read and are aware of these T&C. Once you have read them, especially Air Asia, you may think twice about flying them because they have the right to cancel any flight not just for weather or technical reasons - but also "for commercial reasons". So if a flight to Chiang Mai is half empty, they have the right to cancel it and reallocate the passengers on other flights leaving earlier and later. That has happened to me several times on the Chiang Mai route.

[gerefan2]

I wish people would not use British Airways as an example.
The cun*s may be charging for their seats but caught me out big time.
I booked Business and didn't want to face backwards to Bangkok and back so paid, a fucking 140 GBP to reserve a seat each way.
To rub it in when I got to check in they asked if I wanted to change my seat....
For that aand their old aircraft with lousy service they are now permanently on my No Fly List

[fountainhall]

I used to fly BA a lot and unlike gerefan I actually prefer the backward-facing window seats in biz class. But the ghastly 777s they use on the BKK/LHR route are old, very cramped and in desperate need of refurbishment. I refuse to fly them

As for surcharges, I think the only way to avoid them as they are increasingly introduced by more carriers is to try and get to Silver status in an airline's frequent flyer programme. That means a lot of checking and then sticking to one airline (or one Alliance and putting miles on to your chosen airline's programme - and using credit cards to accrue miles). For years I was in the CX programme until I realised that I could get to Silver on BA for only half the number of points or miles flown on CX. The change was therefore a no brainer. Before I finally gave up on BA for flights to the UK 3 years ago, I would take the option (still offered on the BA booking site) of flying to HKG on CX and transferring to a new BA A380 to London. It made the flight times longer and only about Bt. 2,000 in total more expensive, but vastly more comfortable. But now my Silver card has expired, so I take the wonderful Qatar airline for which no charges are made for prior seat selection - yet!

[scottish-guy]

Just to gently remind people that we don't all have the luxury of a choice of airports and/or carrier - at least not without incurring either substantial additional cost or extending the journey duration (and often even both)

[gerefan2]

You have the choice of where to
Live though! JOKE!!!
Fountain.. I used Qatar a lot but this year their biz prices are up 1000 GBP London to BKK fuk me too

[goji]

Budget carriers charging for luggage are not comparable. I've done 1 week short haul holidays with Ryan Air and still got everything in hand luggage (8 T-shirts, undies, toiletries, tablet, camera, notebook, sandals, spare trousers, shorts, jumper, waterproofs, sun hat, sunscreen sunglasses). So hold luggage is an option for short trips.

The objectionable point is Emirates not making it VERY clear that there is an additional charge for seat booking, before booking. With Ryan Air, Air Asia etc, all this is obvious before the point of booking.

Incidentally, what is the Emirates charge for an emergency exit row seat ? That one would be worth extra.

[colmx]

Qatar's 787s have a reputation for being one of the most cramped and confined cabins for flying in long haul

They have just announced a new Dublin-Doha route... which opens interesting options for those of us in Ireland (or North East England/Scotland - who don't want to transit through heathrow) - especially as it will be competing directly against Emirates and Etihad

I just hope that they put one of their A350's on the route and not once of their uncomfortable 787's!