How y'all can afford to fly to Thailand from the States? Before covid, I used to fly Business class on my limited income. Nowadays, I can't even afford economy or cattle class! Today lowest price for an Economy Seat from east coast to BKK is $2,500 for the period around and post Christmas! DANG!
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TLDR : Answer Summary
Many users express frustration over the high cost of flights to Thailand, particularly around the Christmas season, with prices often peaking at around $2,500 for economy seats. The discussion reveals common strategies for cheaper flights such as booking in advance, avoiding high season travel, and monitoring prices through various tools. Travelers share averaging costs from different locations, noting that early bookings or traveling on less popular days can significantly reduce expenses.
i donāt think this is true, Changing currency charged for the fare can affect price based on what fare regional OTAs are offering and your currency against the local currency exchange rate, but connection location does nothing, if anything it makes you appear more like a ābotā that itāll show you higher prices. You can click around different currencies/locations in the flight aggregator sites like google/skyscanner themselves without using a VPN to get the result. In my experience I usually find the cheapest fares on Danish, Chinese, Australian regions. Actually thereās an app that does just this by searching flight aggregators across currencies called Twistr. Give it a try
change your travel dates. Donāt look at Christmas. Thatās the worst possible time to fly. round-trip is 12 $1200 Cathay Pacific from nyc
Nongnuch ********
Try New Year's eve for the flight . . .
Kenneth *******
I flew to Thailand on Thanksgiving day some years ago. cost less and the best part there was many empty seats so I could stretch out across the middle section of seats. I also got extra meals and 2 colas free. Fly on Christmas day if you can.
Michael *********
Problem is you are picking prime time to travel to Thailand. Not only is it the holiday season it is also the best time of year to visit the Kingdom.
Charles **********
I bought my Thai wife a ticked for $1200 RT on United to fly to Bkk early Jan to early Feb from Austin, TX.
Stephen ***********
I paid $ 1,243.00 for round trip economy. I went last month October for three weeks.
Gwen *********
I bought my ticket for Christmas Day in March. $800 one way on Delta/Korean Air.
Derek ***********
Business class tickets šļø have gone sky-high after COVID
Roman ********
Not an advertisement, but you can use: CheapOair app. I finally started using it as opposed to Skiplagged. ļæ¼
Roman ********
I used my American Express points. I transferred ļæ¼98,000 pts to Delta Airlines. Thatās the best thing you can do to save money.
Jade *******
I'm seeing $1,050 round trip from IAD to BKK mid-late January on Turkish air on Google flights. Don't put in exact dates,just look at the month view and see what's cheapest.
FYI: Round trip from thailand to usa is cheaper than round trip from usa to thailand
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Randy ******
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Lexie *******
I just got my ticket Boston to Bangkok for a month ( I leave this coming Wednesday) layover in Hong Kong - the total was 1200!
Adrian *********
Try Skyscanner cheap enough
Charles **********
If you are looking near the Holidays, that's the price ... try different dates ... its cheaper after the new year .... also they say Tuesday to Thursday are cheaper fare days
Dan *********
I paid 400 one way in September from Los Angeles
Carla ********
Use Trip.com, fly to Japan first during February & then go the Thailand.
Mark *********
try kiwi app
Andrew ********
Use Google Flights and set up an alert to send you an email when prices are down. I have mine set up to fly to the US from Phuket and sometimes get alerts for around 25,000b, around $800, I think.
Jean **************
Even for July the cheapest Iām
Getting 7 months out is $1800 with delta from Florida.
Alan ******
CheapOair is reasonable
Tiffany *******
we paid 1182 rt from Seattle for Jan .. but it is Peak time .. but they sure have gone up !!
Luc ************
Most expensive time to come and you are very late also.
Chuck *********
1700 RT (with select seat) out of FL to Seoul and then BKK. 25 hrs transit time. Korean Air. March.
Kimberly ********
Cattle class? Your ego is clearly due for a trim and realignment.
Timing, and location (where you start and where you end your flight) Join airline's mileage club and rack up points, use thise points to pay for future tickets
Frank *******
Fly KVA from Heathrow ifu in the UK. Got a really cheap return from Chiang Mai this month!
Greg ***********
is there a way to fly cheaper the other way around? For example from an East Coast airport with Qatar Airways via Doha to Bangkok ?
Ian *********
cathay pacific Ā£1250 dec 2 to jan 10. try skyscanner ,there are china airlines at Ā£950 but long waits on the return
Ian *********
There are less flights and a lot of codesharing making the planes busy. It keeps demand high therefore prices high.
Ronald *********
I flew from Manchester UK in October, return ticket to Bangkok with Emirates just under Ā£900.
Mike ********
I'm paying under 1K for my flight Dec. 31- April 1. The key was looking for prices 6 months in advance. I do it twice a year and most of the time I get RT flight's under 1K
Bob *********
I flew recently on thai from UK... MOREthan Ā£800... if that low season prices then cant afford high season think way more than Ā£1000 ive seen arab airlines Ā£600+-700+ long gone the good old days on Thai before covid Ā£434 but whilst in pattaya the good hotel prices werent cheap anymore either
Jared **********
I got some emails about jan/feb flights bos-bkk RT for under 1k on turkish a week or two ago
Jeff *******
Book way in advance if you can. The wife and I booked almost a year in advance. Vancouver to BKK return for $957 CAD. each.
Duncan ********
Supply and demand. Google it.
Newton ********
1 way-1way?? I did mines through chicago o'hare to Bangkok and hanoi to back home for 1500 to 1600 in total.
Rolf *********
Whatās wrong with your countries? I pay around $700 for rt from Sweden to Bangkok suvarnabhumi airport. In high season, low season is $200 lower price.
great. So whatās the posting guy on about? Why canāt he find a good ticket himself?
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Rolf *********
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Jo **********
During Covid a lot flights routes between Asia and Europe and also to North America were eliminated. These routes have been partially restored but not closed. As a result there is limited capacity.
Marty *********
I think I paid $1,800 round trip Bangkok-Hartford last June so $2,500 at peak high season sounds about right. I flew west, 1 stop in Korea.
Adam *************
My round trip plane ticket and 30 days in a hotel was a little over 2k.
Nan **********
Check ANA. I used it to travel from Chicago to Bangkok, with a stop in Japan before continuing to Bangkok.
Brian **********
where are you flying from - BKK - CLT round trip $935 economy 32 flight time 3 stops - look a kiwi.com
Ryan *********
Yeah airfare is out of control
Bob **********
I paid $3500 BC Vegas-Bangkok in March
Craig ********
Here's a flight in April, LAX to BKK for less than $500. What's the problem? It's even a 21 hour flight, so very limited layovers and plane changes
Paul **********
I typically visit in October, as it is more affordable, and stay through December.
Art *******************
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ohare international out of Chicago 2nd week of May everywhere
William ******
Flights to Thailand round trip full service rarely cost over $900 Round trip (from LA for me at least). Try finding a hidden city ticket by flying to another Asian city and getting a smaller flight to Thailand if itās not available
Brian **************
West Coast economy under $1000
But that a long way unless your short and legroom doesnāt matter
Hector *********
Biggest profits ever for airlines now days double dipping after covid .
Lion *****************************
try air charter companies and also private jets on an empty return leg..
Summer **************
Lol your lack of awareness l. My husband and I flew off of credit card points, didn't afford to choose seats next to each other, in our honeymoon, economy "cattle" class, 2 layovers , for our honeymoon...and we have zero complaints because it was magical.
Thomas ********
From Idaho to Chiang Mai 5 years ago was $900. Last year was $1200.
Tim *********
1800 round trip to phoenix in jan
JasonDon ********
Be humble
Zak ********
I have a friend put me in their checked baggage. Works every time for $55
but if you save $1500 by flying a month earlier, you just gained $1500 for on the ground expenses. Those monies are what make a trip memorable, not your flight.
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Thomas *******
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Lynn ***********
Don't fly high season. Save money as much you can to fund your trip. And travel within budget.
Jason ********
Points. Booked BC on SQ for 73k air Canada miles transferred from Chase plus about 60 bucks cash. Have to take a positioning flight to ewr to catch my flight. and that cost 140. Have spend one night in hotel overnight since morning departure. Used a free night cert from Marriott for that.
Credit card points get you to spend where you donāt need to. Itās the biggest scam ever, in my opinion. You think youāre getting a good deal but in reality theyāre profiting off your credit card swipes and breakage from points accumulation. Cash prices rarely fall far from points deals nowadays too
most people in points game know how to play correctly and rarely if ever carry a balance nor spend unnecessary. Plus the discounts and credits for using the right cards on the right purchases actually make us money. Plus itās much safer than using a debit card and we donāt pay swipe fees. Idc about interchange fees or the cost to the banks which just recoup it off the poors. I avg 8-20% back or more on just my daily/monthly spend on bills, insurance, taxes, utilities, food etc. plus double dip using Rakuten and other shopping portals. Hell I have to buy 2 phones this week and will pick up
I get 4.5-10 cpp on my redemptions. Sq bc going cash price around 4k or so. Using 73k air Canada miles. FC coming back on JAL cost 110k miles. Cash price is around 7500.
Total out of pocket for me less than 100 bucks.
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Jason ********
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Jason ********
Also if your credit doesnāt suck youāll earn enough points from your monthly spend and sign up bonuses to never have to pay for plane tickets again. Double if you have a business even a very small one.
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Jason ********
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Naly ******
RT from Anchorage Alaska to BKK $1800 ššš went in May-June
Aaron *******
Book your flights to BKK from Chicago or Houston, usually $800 - $1000 round trip, due Eva Air and other airlines matching. Book your flight to Chicago or Houston separately, for me from ATL usually around $200 or less RT. Newark used to be cheap also.
Kayla ********
You can also set up flight alerts for last minute flights. Sometimes they are very cheap I paid 200$ one way from Hawaii on a ticket 2 days out.
You can track your specific dates and origin/destination thru Googleās flight aggregator (flights.google.com) and click āTrack pricesā switch to get notified when thereās changes
Reply to
William ******
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Braulio *********
Fly Business Class on JAL. Good food and comfortable seats and bedding.
John *********
It used to hurt, but my wife told me to stop complaining. Now life is good. We do round trip from near Chicago to BKK. To Thailand in mid-October and return after Songkran. We fly premium plus for about $3000 each. I found premium plus is more comfortable for me than business class.
Bruce ********
Iām flying from Washington DC to Bangkok roundtrip for around $12-1500 via Emirates. Iāve flown Business the previous few times but need to save money. The best roundtrip rate I got was a decent $6800
Vince **********
You have to check everyday and donāt hesitate when you see a good price. They can change daily. Sometimes a flight next day is cheaper than next week.
Morris *****
January to May and September to mid November are usually the cheapest, you can find one-way tickets for low as $450.
The key is sometimes you need to book 2 one-way tickets instead of 1 round-trip ticket. It comes out cheaper half the time.
Mai *******
This year isn't as bad as last year, last year was crazy high.
Nah you can get way less. Subscribe to secret flying and monitor the main airport hubs. You can find a cheap connecting flight and then another one onward from there (like Athens or Istanbul)
awesome, but i am traveling on and on and on...lol
Reply to
Steven *********
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Leon ********
Prices have certainly gone up a lot. It doesnt make sense because the covid excuse is gone and all airlines are running at profitable margins. Singapore Air went up by 36% from South Africa to Phuket in the last year. Thats tracking it over the whole year .
Prices went up because they notice people leaving the u.s. and not coming back, lol
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Vonn ********
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Steven *********
Too bad you have no brain and flew business class. People with limited income should not be flying business class. Common sense. Now you got no money? Lmao. Hilarious
never seen it that cheap from Sea , not for a few years even then maybe if u go in june or july .. How do you get it so cheap ? we paid 1182 Rt for Jan
Philippine Airlines on certain days of the week on kayak.com for the last year they've been running these huge sales and I've already booked three of them. Again, certain days of the week. Also, I should add, I don't fly holidays.
Reply to
Andy *******
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Brian *******
ive never paid more than $1000 from arkansas. they always leave to atlanta or dallas or chicago..
watch meā¦ I never paid more than $780 for a one way ever to Thailandā¦ Christmas or notā¦. Thereās ways you just gotta do the searching, buying or searching a ticket from America is your first mistake
is flying from Milwaukee cheaper than flying from Chicago? $2500 is around the cheapest average price. Iāve seen on any airline flying from Chicago ORD to BKK.
what airline and did you price economy plus as well? I am large and tall so economy on any flight would be very uncomfortable and for a long flight would be almost unreasonable. Iām trying to figure out the best way to fly round-trip for three weeks at the end of April or end of December. Iāve looked at a bunch of airlines and the search continuesā¦
Iām 6ā2ā 320 so economy would be a painfully tight squeeze and my knees would be digging into the seat back in front of me. economy plus or better is a must for me for any international flights. Itās the main reason I havenāt made the trip already. Business class runs around $5K USD.
Reply to
Christian ***********
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Willem ****
Christmas was always expensive. Avoid it if you are not willing to pay for it. A few weeks before or after are easy 50% cheaper
Sam *********
2500 USD isn't a lot of money...Also try not to fly during high season, wait until prices drop off again around February if you're hurting for funds.
Micah ********
It's the Christmas spike. Normal prices can be found 1,200-1,500 round trip if not in peak season and enough advance. Christmas/NYE prices are absolutely absurd.
1) $2,500 for round trip, obviously. I am not retired yet and have to come back. 555. Objective of the trip to scour the area before full time relocation. Although I don't live in the NYC metropolitan area, but I added it to my search since NY has the cheapest flights just because of competition being served by every major airline ( domestic and foreign)
2) I have been keeping an eye on the price since August 24 as it is recommended that you pre-book months in advance to secure the cheapest fare. Price has not changed since then. My only filtering criteria is one stop only , and no Air India. 555
agree. 1 stop only. first time was from LA to BKK via hong Kong... never again lol!. next was from Philly to Boston, then Istanbul to bkk... both times less than $1500... and last time one way only with bus ticket to Cambodia if needed... works for me. good luck.
Some airlines, if you book direct with them, like Qatar, give you a free hotel for your layover. I go from London to BK via Doha with Qatar for about Ā£700
Yes, I'd like to know what's going on. It's the same from the uk.
The best I can usually get a return flight from London is
*********
to Phuket. A return flight to LA is less than half the cost, I've even see them at only about a 3rd of the cost. Virtually an identical distance,,,, How?
go to BKK instead and then get a cheap internal flight to Phuket, you will probably find it works out a lot cheaper. Have a night or two in Bangkok even, make something of it.
There is no more cheap internal flights BKK to HKT. They are almost all fully booked . Crazy . The whole planet is pouring into Thailand. I guess you have to enjoy the highways for tourists ā¦
London much cheaper than the rest of the UK for flights. I'm in Thailand 3-4times a year so have to budget abit, usually fly to Milan and then from there as it saves me a few hundred but just very long.