I am trying to plan a trip to Thailand next January and was hoping that someone could tell me where to find the best airfare deals. Does anyone know of a good site to find cheap airfare from the US. W
I am trying to plan a trip to Thailand next January and was hoping that someone could tell me where to find the best airfare deals. Does anyone know of a good site to find cheap airfare from the US. Wholesale airfares?? And if so, what is a good price to pay from the US. I am Denver so I expect to pay a little more than I would from LAX or SFO but I was unsure of what a good price would be. Thanks for your responses.
I went to Bangkok from St. Louis on January 13, 2005 and my airfare was about $850 which included a $50 fee for travel agent. I am returning in August and the airfare is a little higher. The best deal that I have found in through EVA air out of LAX which stops in Tapei. China Air sometimes have cheap fligts out of LAX. My travel agent was able to find fares that I could not find on the internet and was well worth the $50 cost. Have a wonderful trip. Thailand is a great place to visit. I spent 52 nights during the cold Missouri winter. I spent 32 nights in Chiang Mai and 20 in Bangkok.
Sign up for and watch Cathy Pacific for deals. In late Nov 03, I flew New York - LAX - Hong Kong - BKK, Round Trip with a free stopover in Hong Kong for $650 including taxes. (no frequent flier miles though)
I've gotten good air from Best Travel store (www.bt-store.com). But I think there is not one best source. You still need to check other websites and the airlines themselves.
Check out Just Holiday (justholiday.com); the last I looked they had a $699 package, 3 nights hotel, which included a free layover in Hong Kong. This is based on LAX and SFO departures.
I have been very happy with them for tours for Hong Kong and the Yangtse River cruises.
Be careful choosing your dates. Travel in Asia peaks around New Year's (generally until the weekend after, this year around Jan 3-4) and Chinese Lunar New Year (Jan 29 this year, peak will begin the weekend before). Thailand has many people of Chinese descent living there, plus many of the airlines you are dealing with are transiting Chinese countries. If you keep your trip solidly in mid-January you may find deals as airlines experience a lull in between those two holidays. Also, as others have suggested, I would keep an eye out for deals and take your time with the purchase. Most airlines aren't even focusing on pricing that time right now. Wait until around October-November. Check the airlines own web sites and some discounter web sites. However, note that many airlines are sensitive about wholesalers competing directly with them online, and wholesalers don't get nearly the deals they used to get. You may also want to check personally with an agent in an ethnic community in Denver where the agency does a lot of business to Thailand (is there a Hmong/Lao or Vietnamese community? Those are good for travel to BKK).
I have traveled to Thailand many times. Not sure where you can get the 'best' fare but will tell you that if you are planning a January trip, plan early. If you wait untill October, you may find it very hard to get the dates you want. That is the 'High Season' for tourists and the earlier you confirm your desired dates, the better.
I JUST BOOKED MY AIRFARE THROUGH DELTA. TRAVELING ON 12/2305 AND RETURNING 1/8/06 TO BOSTON. FARE WAS $1142.00. IT IS ACTUALLY A KOREAN AIRLINES FLIGHT AND AM GETTING ABOUT 20,000 MILES (ALMOST A FULL TICKET) FOR LATER ON. LOOKED AT OTHER WEBSITES, ETC. AND ALL WERE MORE EXPENSIVE. GOOD LUCK.
I have also been searching flights to Bangkok and you do have to search in several internet sites for the best price. Since I live in the Dallas area, it is difficult to find inexpensive flights that do not to to LAX or JFK area first, which makes for a very long flight. Although not the cheapest flight, I found flights on Travelocity a few weeks ago for around $1000 leaving DFW non stop to Tokyo on AA, and Tokyo to Bangkok non stop on Thai Airways, Departing Dec 21st and returning Jan 5th. You can fly cheaper out of LAX, but the convenience of flying with less stops from Dallas (similar to Denver) may be worth the extra money. Good luck in your search!
Arthur Frommer mentioned these at a recent travel show: www.gotoday.com - $750 to Bangkok Escapes Unlimited - www.escapesltd.com - $929, Cathay Pacific 5 nights The rates might be different now but check out those websites.
Also get your internal flights too - Chiang Mai is brilliant and also check out Chiang Rai. You can also visit Vietnam from there also for a couple of nights.
It is a time consuming project. Start with bookingbuddy.com and put in your dates, then us all the sites they let you connect. Saves repetetion of your info. Also use google site and put in consolidated international airfare and see what they offer. I beleive you can get to Sidestep, Opodo, Mobissimo, and Qixo thru Booking Buddy, but if not go thru google. Hotwire may have the best fare BUT you do not get to know what airline or flight times until you purchase. I got a fabulous fare from Denver to Venice in Dec. for a flight this month and it turned out to be United/Lufthansa as the carrier.
I 2nd the idea of EVA (the national airline of Taiwan). We flew Newark>Seattle> Taipei> Bangkok last November. The best thing is if you can spring for an upgrade to Economy Deluxe for something over $200....for all but the final leg. What a bargain to have a roomy seat, and space to move around in in the nose of the plane.
i also think now is too soon to book for january-if you are not going for more than a few weeks,don't try crossing borders(v nam-that's another wonderful country to spend weeks-or as long as you can).Orbitz is a good site to keep checking..certainly wouldn't pay a travel agent $50-rather spend it on my travels.Find a Lonely Planet guide at your library to do Homework,then buy the latest edition online at Amazon for a discount/used...it is my travel bible! :-)kay
I don't know whether you are planning a tour or just travelling. My husband and I went to Thailand about 2 years ago and toured with Pacific Delight Tours. This was a wonderful tour of about 12 days for approximately $1,000. per person.
You might check out skyauction.com as well. Sometimes they have good tours.
One thought is if you have accumulated enough WorldPerk miles for a redemption, you may select to obtain a e-ticket/paper ticket via Northwest with its partner, Malaysia Air. A few years ago, went in that direction via redeemed miles, and Northwest's online system was not capable of including the flight segments of Malaysia Airlines within their online redemption system. Thus,needed to telephone them. Was issued an e-ticket and paper ticket combination.
Basically, was Chicago-Narita Japan, Singapore,Malaysia to that destination. Or,possibly NW partner usage of Garuda Indonesia for possibilities. As was mentioned, Cathay has some deals upon occassion and as does Singapore Airlines. Check out their time era for Asia Passes for both.
Book the cheapest upgradeable fare with an your favorite airline, or one that is a partner in your air milage program. I travel to the Orient at least every two years...twice in the last six months. In February I paid NW about $1000 to Bangkok and used WorldPerks miles to upgrade to International Business Class. NW installed wonderful new flat seats last fall. I asked for CO OnePass miles for the flight and was pleasantly surprised with the reward of bonus elite miles, in addition to the actual miles flown.
If you're planning to use package tour,singapore airline have it's own company,www.asianaffairholidays.com.Otherwise,i'll advise to choose Thai airways international as they are the only direct flight to Bangkok without need to change flights or layovers.
Best deals in travel to SE Asia is thru travel agents and consolidators specializing in that area. Pick up an ethnic newspaper at your local Thai, Malay, indian etc store and call those agents listed.
January is in the peak season. Fares from LAX will be around $800-900 on most airlines. Try www.mobissimo.com as a guide to available fares.
Package tours to Thailand is a waste of money unless you have a special needs. You can make your own packages once you arrive there with local travel agents at a much substantial discount from what you get from here.
Allright. I found airfare to Bangkok from Denver next January on Orbitz for 902pp. It was a little higher than I wanted to pay, but it seems that everyone thought $800-$900 was the range for airfare. I wanted to get it over with and paid off before we leave so I am glad to have booked it now. Booking Buddy.com was very helpful!
