Flights around Christmas..

[Allybabba22]

I know its a long way away, But I have decided to sort out my next tour already, Which will be from 30th Dec - 28th Jan and I will be staying in Patong for about 16days and then Pattaya for the rest.

Anyway I have booked my hotels already, And am now looking at flights for them dates.

And I have found some flights with Lufthansa for E1100 (£720), Now my question is to BMs who normally travel at this time of year. Should I book them tickets now? Is that the normal price for around that time of year? Or would I get it cheaper if I waited a bit nearer the time?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give

[IRISH JONNY]

Originally Posted by allybabba22

I know its a long way away, But I have decided to sort out my next tour already, Which will be from 30th Dec - 28th Jan and I will be staying in Patong for about 16days and then Pattaya for the rest.

Anyway I have booked my hotels already, And am now looking at flights for them dates.

And I have found some flights with Lufthansa for E1100 (£720), Now my question is to BMs who normally travel at this time of year. Should I book them tickets now? Is that the normal price for around that time of year? Or would I get it cheaper if I waited a bit nearer the time?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give

HI ALLY........I WENT WITH SINGAPORE LAST XMAS FOR 1000 EURO..........THEY DO A LOT OF DEALS AROUND THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.......
I WOULD LOOK AROUND......DID YOU TRY THAI AIRWAYS YET?
IJ

[Sirgezza]

Hi allybaba,

I assume you are looking for flights from Ireland?

I live in North Wales but fly from Heathrow. I've bought my ticket already, as I've been advised that flights get more expensive the later you leave it. Heathrow to BKK cost me £480 including all taxes. I have not yet booked the internal flights. I'm flying out on 28th Dec and returning on 9th Feb.

There is another thread on this board (Manchetser - BKK ??) where people list websites for booking. The one I used was onlinetravel.com and I'm flying with Qatar airlines. Let me know how you get on - I looked for ages so I know most of the flight times etc. and stop overs. Jordanian do a cheap flight (£430) but have a bad rep. for booting people off flights because they overbook the number of customers.

Get in touch before you book.

Gez

[eric-the-viking]

imho , xmas being the main mongering season , i would book your flights and hotels as early as poss ,for this time of year.
i doubt i will be able to go this xmas as i have been the last two in a row and to say my boss is not to happy is a understatment.
but im sure you will have a ball

[Sirgezza]

At the risk of hijacking this thread, who has booked their accommodation in Patong already, and where? I have not yet booked and could do with some help.

Ta


Gez

[Allybabba22]

Originally Posted by IRISH JONNY

HI ALLY........I WENT WITH SINGAPORE LAST XMAS FOR 1000 EURO..........THEY DO A LOT OF DEALS AROUND THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.......
I WOULD LOOK AROUND......DID YOU TRY THAI AIRWAYS YET?
IJ

I think Singapore only fly out of cork though, The one im actually looking at is with Star Alliance, So I will be flying to Frankfurt with Lufthansa and then on to Bkk with Thai Airways but Ill take your advise and have a good look around first. I will leave it for about 4wks tops and then make my mind up.

Gez,
I have already booked both my hotels, The one in pattaya has already been confirmed but im still waiting for a bit of feedback from c&n. What exactly are you looking for???

[Sirgezza]

Hi Ally,

Girl friendly, maybe a pool, reasonably close to night life but still quiet at night time (12:00 onwards). Clean and safe, no frills, safe deposit. Guest house???

Cheers

Gez

[Allybabba22]

Originally Posted by gez

Hi Ally,

Girl friendly, maybe a pool, reasonably close to night life but still quiet at night time (12:00 onwards). Clean and safe, no frills, safe deposit. Guest house???

Cheers

Gez

Here's a few that are all guest friendly....

http://r24.org/phuket-info.com/phuket/salathai/
www.stoneymondayhotels.com
http://directrooms-thailand.com/pat...tel-phuket-2308
www.hilltophotel.com
www.expathotel.com
www.cnhotelpatong.com

[Hep]

Originally Posted by allybabba22

I know its a long way away, But I have decided to sort out my next tour already, Which will be from 30th Dec - 28th Jan and I will be staying in Patong for about 16days and then Pattaya for the rest.

Anyway I have booked my hotels already, And am now looking at flights for them dates.

And I have found some flights with Lufthansa for E1100 (£720), Now my question is to BMs who normally travel at this time of year. Should I book them tickets now? Is that the normal price for around that time of year? Or would I get it cheaper if I waited a bit nearer the time?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give

If you give me some more details I can look into prices monday when I get back to the office for you. I have access to the airlines booking systems so I can check for the best deals at that time.

However, I need you to post your departure airport.

I take it you want to fly out on the 30th of December to Bangkok and return from Bangkok on the 28th of January. What about the domestic Thai sectors - do you want them included or will you buy those seperately?

The price of EUR 1100,- is that the total price you were qouted for the ticket?

[blixten]

Hi Gez

I have book hotel already...will staying at Victoria guesthouse from December 19 to January 8th

Peter

[Allybabba22]

Originally Posted by Hep

If you give me some more details I can look into prices monday when I get back to the office for you. I have access to the airlines booking systems so I can check for the best deals at that time.

However, I need you to post your departure airport.

I take it you want to fly out on the 30th of December to Bangkok and return from Bangkok on the 28th of January. What about the domestic Thai sectors - do you want them included or will you buy those seperately?

The price of EUR 1100,- is that the total price you were qouted for the ticket?

Hello Hep, My departure airport will be from Dublin to Bkk(Return) and I will sort out my internal flights a bit closer to the time, Also I will be flying out on the 29th of december so I can get to los for the 30th.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to do that, Hopefully I can buy you a drink or 3 someday in los

[Hep]

Decided to do some work from home today so I looked up some prices for you AB.

FQDDUBBKK/29DEC05/S
YY* AK C6 C9 DY D2 E6 FL FP TAX MAY APPLY
FR F9 GI GX G3 G5 IT JD LL SURCHG MAY APPLY-CK RULE
LQ OV QH RY R3 R8 SB SP UK
UR U2 VB VK WW W7 XF X5 YC
2L 4U 6Q 7A 9B 9G 9Q
ROE 0.753717 UP TO 1.00 EUR
29DEC05**29DEC05/DUBBKK/NSP;EH/TPM ...../MPM 8038
LN FARE BASIS OW EUR RT PEN DATES DAYS AP MIN MAX AL R
01 LHSXIE5 686 NRF S31DEC - + 7+ 2M AF R
02 VHZZIE 718 NRF S31DEC - + 7 12M AF R
03 QFRI 735 NRF S31DEC - + + 7+ 3M BA M
04 QHSX3M1 745 NRF S31DEC - + 7+ 3M OS R
05 VHIPIE4 756 NRF S31DEC - + 7+ 2M AF R
06 SLRI1 759 NRF S17MAR - + + 7+ 3M QF M
07 HHPXIE 830 NRF S31DECB31OCT+ + + 3M KL R
08 HHSX6M1 834 NRF S31DEC - + 5+ 6M OS R
09 VLRI1 839 NRF S17MAR - + + 7+ 3M QF M
10 KFRI 891 NRF S31DEC - + + + 12M BA M
11 MHSX1Y1 924 NRF S31DEC - + 3+ 12M OS R
12 KLRI1 939 NRF S17MAR - + + 7+ 3M QF M

The first price (LHSXIE5) is an Air France / KLM price. As far as I can see you should be able to get that as it falls within the criteria you want. You will be travelling from Dublin to Paris or Amsterdam and then on the Bangkok. The base price for this ticket is EUR 686 exclusive taxes. The airport taxes are approx EUR 160 so the total price for this ticket would be just around EUR 850

The second price (VHZZIE) is also an Air France price. This is a Youth fare so you need to be under 26. However on your profile it says 23 so that shouldn’t be a problem. You will be travelling from Dublin to Paris or Amsterdam and then on the Bangkok. The base price for this ticket is EUR 718 exclusive taxes. The airport taxes are approx EUR 160 so the total price for this ticket would be just around EUR 880.

The third price (QFRI) is a British Airways price. I can’t really see the routing but I suspect from Dublin to London and then on to Bangkok. The base price is EUR 735 for the ticket exclusive taxes. The airport taxes are approx EUR 140 so the total price for this ticket would be just around EUR 875.

Another option is to go from Frankfurt. I’m pretty sure that you can catch one of those annoying low cost airlines from Dublin to Frankfurt rather cheap so in that case you can fly out of Frankfurt directly.
Alitalia, Lux Air, Austrian Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa and Thai all have a youth price out of Frankfurt for EUR 672. The only condition is that you have to be under 25 at time of departure.

Frankfurt - Bangkok
07 TKZZGE 672 + S27MAR - + - 12M AZ R
08 OKZZDE 672 + S27MAR - - 7+ 12M LX R
09 QKZZD 672 + S31DEC - + 7+ 12M OS R
10 VKZZDE 672 + S27MAR - + 7 12M AF R
11 HK1ZZ 672 + S31DEC - + + 7+ 12M LH R
12 VKZZ1 672 + S31DEC - + + 7+ 12M TG M

The airport taxes for Frankfurt – Bangkok is around EUR 100 so your total ticket price out of Frankfurt would be EUR 772.

If you go for the Frankfurt option I do recommend that you fly with a STAR Alliance company and join their Frequent Flyer club. That is pretty good. Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and Thai are all STAR Alliance.

Now the prices listed above here are all what is know as “Published Fares”. That means that basically every travel agent would be able to sell you these (provided there still are seats left in that booking category). However, you might be better off going to each of the airlines websites and see if you can’t buy it directly from them. Also you might be lucky and find an even cheaper price than what is listed here if they have a special campaign or something like that. If you cant find for instance a youth price on their website you can call the airline directly.

You could also try and check what Kilroy Travels or STA (both youth and student travel organisations) charge for a ticket. They usually have pretty good prices and since you are only 23 you can use their services.

I would recommend you to wait a bit before purchasing your ticket. Look for special campaigns, as there is plenty of time left.

As a general rule you would want to purchase your ticket minimum 30 days before departure as most of the lowest priced tickets has a 30 day advance purchase requirement. However as the airlines only offer a certain number of seats for each ticket type you should probably buy your ticket 2-3 months prior to departure to make sure there are seats left on the plane.

I’ll try and keep my eye out for some good deals in the meantime.

If you have any questions just ask and I’ll do my best to answer them.

[Allybabba22]

Thanks Hep, I will have a look into that, I dont really want to fly with air france as I have read some bad reviews form them, But flying directly from frankfurt could be a good option and at the time of leaving I will be just turned 24 about 8days so that will be no problem, Only problem would be that I would'nt be able to check my luggage all the way to bkk.

One other thing you mentioned and I have heard before is about the frequent flyers club, How do I go about joining one of this clubs? And the star alliance one in particular, As I flew with them on my last trip and had a really good experience.

[Ady B]

Hi all,

1 - Book your flights asap - Dec/Jan is the busiest time of the year and I struggled to get a seat on my preferred route in August last year and the previous year I flew business as I took the last seat when booking in September. I always fly direct with Thai from Heathrow and have my flight going out on the 16th Dec for £700ish (my tickets are already in my hands!!)

2 - Frequent flyer - I have joined Thai's frequent flyer programme (Royal Orchid) as they are in the Star Alliance network. I am not sure how good value they are compared to others but as I travel extensively the freedom to rack up miles with partner airlines is a bonus. Just go to the Thai Air homepage and enrol there - http://www.thaiair.com/

Hope that all helps

[Hep]

Originally Posted by allybabba22

One other thing you mentioned and I have heard before is about the frequent flyers club, How do I go about joining one of this clubs? And the star alliance one in particular, As I flew with them on my last trip and had a really good experience.

Well basically you should enroll with the carrier you are flying with. If you decide on going with Thai then join on Thai's webpage. If you go with Lufthansa join on their homepage. I am pretty sure that you can also pick up a registration form at the airport but it is probably better to register in advance.

Once you join the frequent flyer club from one STAR carrier then you can earn points on any STAR alliance partner you fly with in the future. Just make sure to get your frequent traveller number registered when you purchase tickets. You will even get miles for the Thai domestic sectors you fly (not many though but some).

[ashley]

Hey Ally:

It is a very good idea to join the Star Alliance Network of airlines. You can accumulate points for up to 3 years I think and use them to get a free flight or upgrades. If I were you I would join them ASAP and then you will be able to use your flight from your last trip. As long as you kept your tickets, or boarding passes. I always fly with Star Alliance members, and this year alone I am using a free flight to go to China in August and then one to Thailand in September.
You can join here:
http://www.star-alliance.com/star_al...e/main_10.html

It will take you a few trips to accumlate the points needed for a free ticket but it will be one hell of a trip when you do! Think of the fun you can have with the 1000 Euros you will save on your flight!!

Good luck!

Cheers,

Ashley

[dizbuster]

Originally Posted by Hep

Well basically you should enroll with the carrier you are flying with. If you decide on going with Thai then join on Thai's webpage. If you go with Lufthansa join on their homepage. I am pretty sure that you can also pick up a registration form at the airport but it is probably better to register in advance.

Once you join the frequent flyer club from one STAR carrier then you can earn points on any STAR alliance partner you fly with in the future. Just make sure to get your frequent traveller number registered when you purchase tickets. You will even get miles for the Thai domestic sectors you fly (not many though but some).

My job involves flying all the time and from my experiences I would recommend you register with Thai Airways frequent flyer scheme "Royal Orchid Plus". The reason is simple, airlines that fly to destinations you want to go to are a lot easier to get these free tickets with. I am a member of Star Alliance with British Midland and also BA's Executive Club. I have used points to fly to Thailand with both, with BA it was a doddle and I booked it online straight away - no hassle. With BMI I had all sorts of problems, the reason being that they have to rely on other airlines allowing them to have the ticket(s). Lufthansa would also be a good idea as they fly to Bangkok from Frankfurt and also to Dublin. You can gain points for flying on Star Alliance flights with both. I now have enough points for a Business Class flight to/from Bangkok from London, but I just know I am going to have problems booking anything.

Good luck
Diz

[Werwolf]

Originally Posted by Hep

..... You will even get miles for the Thai domestic sectors you fly (not many though but some).

You get minimum 500 miles for one flight. I the distance is longer you get the efective miles to your account.

[rudolph11]

hi all
just signed up for the frequent fleyer miles after reading this thread.
just a quick few questions,I signed up for the thai airways ff miles on star allaince ,does it make a differerence if I had signed up to one of the other airlines in the alliance or are they all the same?
also how do I go about getting ff miles for trips I made in the last few months,I still have the ticket stubs,where do i send them
thanks for any help

[Hep]

Originally Posted by rudolph11

just a quick few questions,I signed up for the thai airways ff miles on star allaince ,does it make a differerence if I had signed up to one of the other airlines in the alliance or are they all the same?
also how do I go about getting ff miles for trips I made in the last few months,I still have the ticket stubs,where do i send them
thanks for any help

The frequent flyer programs are not the same as each individual STAR Alliance airline has it's own program. Basically if you sign up with Thai Airways you are then considered a member of their frequent flyer program but you are able to accrue points on any STAR Alliance airline.

Because each Airline has it's own individual frequent flyer program (but all can earn points on eachother) it might be worthwhile looking around at the different benefits each airline offer.

I, for example, am a member of the Scandinavian Airlines frequent traveller program because they have some great special offers only available to members of their frequent flyer club. The SAS one has also won the Freddy Award (for best frequent flyer program) 7 years in a row. For my purposes and travel pattern the best option for me was either the SAS or Lufthansa one.

Also it is worth looking at which partners the different airlines have. Some offer points for hotel stays at certain chains, car rentals etc.

For getting retroactive points/miles you would have to send in your stubs from the boarding passes to some special address. I am not sure where to send it to Thai Airways, but I'm sure you can find that information on their homepage. Be sure to take a photocopy of the stubs for your self before you send them in!

[slimbag]

DO NOT FLY AIR FRANCE , last thing you want is be stuck in Paris because some ****ers are on strike. I always go for the cheapest direct route ticket (switzerland --> hub in euro --> thailand) but avoid air france, alitalia which are well known for their strike problems..

[Werwolf]

Originally Posted by dizbusta

......Oh well, only another 178 days to go !!
Cheers
Diz

That means you go to Los at the 6th November!!!
Perhaps we see us again.
How long do you stay this time???