A panorama of the cavernous check-in area of Suvarnabhumi International, Bangkok
My first trip to Thailand turned out to be very different than I'd planned it. The original seed had been planted in 2001 and it was originally intended to be in mid-2002, but circumstances caused it to be pushed out until 2003. I ended up going there with a good friend/co-worker who had previously visited Bangkok for a few days.
At his suggestion we booked our flights through a travel agent and arranged our hotels together by researching places we both wanted to see online, tempered by his previous experiences. It's the path I'd suggest for anyone visiting a new country and culture for the first time. If you already have a travel agent you've had good luck with, great - if not, ask trusted sources for a recommendation.
You don't directly pay an agent for arranging your bookings - their commission is almost always borne by their office, the hotel, the cruise line, etc. - and an established agent within a group can sometimes get you great fares by means of quantity bookings or within blocks of tickets they're privy to. Over the past few years, however, commissions from airline tickets have gone out the window so bear in mind you're not doing an agent any real favors by taking an hour of their time for airline tickets alone. Nevertheless, agents can still be a wealth of information, and if you let them know up front that you're merely gathering ideas and suggestions I don't think it's unfair to ask one for help. The worst they can do is brush you off, and then you can try another one. I've found many agents do what they do because they enjoy helping travelers.
If you choose to shop around for your own airline tickets to Thailand, be prepared to invest some time into doing so if you're not one who prefers to merely take whatever Orbitz or Travelocity spit out on the first search. Despite what they advertise such sites aren't always the lowest fares, and you always have to compare the additional fees, taxes, conditions and the likes. You have to do your research if you expect to get what you want at a fair price.
Explore your options before beginning your search for tickets, too: credit card companies, insurance companies, credit unions and groups you belong to (such as AARP for over 50 folks in the US) can be good places to start, as many offer some sort of travel benefits. For example, American Express has a good points program that can be applied to travel and lodging and also offers some baggage/trip insurance benefits if you use their card to book your trip. Many others do, too. Hopefully people will comment on those they feel are the best.
Airlines sites themselves have the luxury of offering specials whenever they wish, but be aware they can be limited. Additionally it should be noted that ticket prices on their sites can change at a moment's notice, and are sometimes different within the same day, so I'd suggest checking a few times as part of your research before booking one.
Seasons and times more travelers wish to fly naturally have an effect on pricing, and a good travel agent - or some time spent researching on travel sites - can be a big help here, too. My first trip was in August (low season in Thailand) on Japan Airlines, and I flew on a desirably scheduled flight in coach class with almost no layover wait for $610 round-trip. That hasn't happened since. Today I expect a coach seat from the West Coast of the USA to run somewhere around double that, but that's where the adventure of the hunt comes in!
There are too many travel forums and reference sites to do list properly, but there are a few that I've gleaned nuggets of information from, been entertained by or have found tickets through. One favorite is listed in the reference links in the right hand column here, and that's Seat Guru. It's saved me at least once when I was ready to select a seat that backed up to a restroom wall... not a good place to be for 12 hours sleep-wise, noise-wise or aroma-wise. Again, I hope others will chime in with some of their favorites. I'll update this post as I think of others and add them to the links section, as well. For ticket price comparisons Kayak.com isn't a bad place into as a resource.
My favored airline is EVA, a Taiwanese airline, but I've also had good luck with Japan Airlines (JAL) and have heard enough from friends to feel comfortable recommending Singapore Airlines and Emerites. I've had enough bad experiences with both United and Northwest that I would not only not recommend them, I'd suggest you stay away from them.
Khun BaoBao, I come to Thailand at least twice a year and can highly recommend ANA (All Nippon Airways) and Thai Airways as excellent choices to get to Thailand. Depending on where you begin your journey, Thai Airways has a non-stop from Los Angeles to Bangkok which is approximately 17 hours and the service is exceptional. Since I start from Washington DC, I usually end up on United and agree that this should be avoided if possible.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that, George - I've considered ANA myself because of the ticket prices. I'd guess you fly through Narita in Japan?
ReplyDeleteI could fly out of most any West Coast airport but SF is most convenient so far. I might try LA some time and stay over with relatives down that way.
If I fly to Thailand directly from my home in Florida, the trip becomes a three-stop minimum. My preferred route is to connect through Atlanta on Korean Airlines to Seoul and then to Bangkok or to connect through JFK on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong and then Bangkok. I prefer Atlanta since it's a short plane ride from my local city. I prefer these routes because they will often get you into Bangkok in the early evening. Most other routes often arrive past 11pm local time. Getting in a couple of hours early may not seem like a lot but can make all the difference if you want to go out and about the evening you arrive, which I typically do. And on a related note, I almost always use the taxi stand at the airport rather than any kind of car service. If you do not know how to tell the driver where you need to go in Thai, see if the place you are staying has their street address printed in Thai. This is a speed issue for me, as well. For arranged cars, there can often be dozens of people carrying signboards for you to scan before finding your own, and when you do, that person will often walk you outside and make a call to the actual driver, who is usually waiting in the parking garage.
ReplyDeleteI am often lucky enough to have my work pay for my travel expenses, but there are a couple of pieces of advice I'd give when it comes to airfare. Unless you are really travelling on a budget, it might not always be the best to simply choose the cheapest fare. I always suggest trying to fly within a frequent flyer program. Once you pass certain milestones, it is not unusual to receive perks such as waived baggage fees, priority baggage handling, priority seating assignments, and complimentary upgrades. To me, these perks are easily worth a couple of hundred dollars or more to fly on a partner airline rather than the absolute cheapest. My second suggestion is, whenever possible, be flexible in your travel days and experiment with varying departure and return dates. It is very common for fares to be one price if you leave on a Wednesday and a couple of hundred dollars more for leaving on Thursday.
-John
Some good points, John, thank you. I'd overlooked your comment waiting for moderation. My apologies!
ReplyDeleteI'd meant to mention the flexibility on travel dates and the sometimes surprising differences in the cost of the same seat on different days of the week. Building up travel miles IS a good thing to do, if a person is able to. I've stuck with EVA for that very reason, mainly.
Taxi drivers are something we haven't really covered, though - other than the "Te, The Taxi Driver" story from 20 April - but I personally feel safer with a known service. Both have their merits, though.
Johnes Joseph said...
ReplyDeleteGetting a cheap air ticket is the ultimate desire of any traveler both for domestic and international travelers. I really appreciate sharing this great post. Keep up your work.
I'd say the ultimate desire is to have the time and funds to go at all, but I understand what you're saying, Joseph (I hope I picked the right first name, there).
ReplyDeleteYou've mentioned Cathay Pacific a couple of times, and that's an airline I intend to explore at some point. Email me about them and I'll add that to the notes! Thanks for joining in.