flights to Thailand

[TerryP]

Hi there. I live in eastern Canada - Halifax. For my last visit to Thailand, I took a quick 1.5 hour Air Canada flight from home to NYC, and the next day to the direct Thai Air flight from JFK-BKK. The round trip cost me about $1500. I now see that Thai Air has discontinued their flight from JFK.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions of any reasonable ways to make this trip this winter? I have being trying Travelocity and Expedia but it is only presenting me with trips with multiple stops (sometimes completely ridiculous routes) and the prices are still well over $2000 round trip. Maybe I am looking too early?

 

Anyone with any suggestions for me, they would be appreciated.

[fedssocr1]

The direct JFK-BKK flight has been gone for at least a year.

 

Your problem may be that you are searching for flights from Halifax. You would be better off searching from Toronto or JFK and then adding on a flight to get you back and forth from there if you can get a cheap flight. If you do that just make sure you leave lots of time for the connection in case of schedule changes. For example I just did a quick search for January travel on kayak.com and there is a one-stop flight on ANA from JFK-BKK for US$940 round trip. Then you would need to add on from YHZ to JFK. From YYZ it looks like the best you can do is about US$1400. Travel on Tuesday or Wednesday is typically cheaper so if those days work in your schedule you should try them. If you plan to travel over the holidays it will likely cost more.

 

You might call a consolidator. There are many many "cheap" business class deals out there these days as corporations cut back on travel budgets which means more empty seats up front that the airlines are willing to sell for less money. I worked with AccessFares.com for my up-coming trip to SE Asia. I bought the ticket relatively far in advance and they didn't really have a discount over what Qatar Airways charges, but they were able to put together the Qatar flight with an add on from Washington to JFK on the same record. If you don't mind flying a US carrier like United I think there are some good deals.

[TerryP]

Great reply, thank you. I did try searched on expedia and travelocity out of JFK, but I didn't come up with anything. But it is hard to check all the dates and possibilities, etc. Is kayak a better choice if websites for searching 'flexible dates' ? I have only ever used expedia and travelocity.

 

May I ask what is a consolidator?

[Guest zipperzone]

Great reply, thank you. I did try searched on expedia and travelocity out of JFK, but I didn't come up with anything. But it is hard to check all the dates and possibilities, etc. Is kayak a better choice if websites for searching 'flexible dates' ? I have only ever used expedia and travelocity.

 

May I ask what is a consolidator?

 

It's my understanding that consolidators are primarily wholesalers and seldom deal with an individual directly. Try using a travel agent and ask them if there is any chance that they can find you flight(s) with a consolidator. The savings can be enormous.

[fedssocr1]

I think Kayak.com does a good job of searching beyond just the airlines' sites. They do have fare calendars for flexible date searches I do believe.

 

A consolidator is a company that buys seats in bulk and then sells them at a discount. Some only sell via travel agents but there are others that work directly with the consumer. They used to always have tiny little ads in major newspaper travel sections. But now I suspect most have moved to the web. The only potential catch with these tickets is that often they do not allow you to collect frequent flier miles on such discounted fares. Accessfares.com (who were easy to work with for me) seems to only deal in first and business class seat discounts. Here in DC there is a well-regarded company called Atlantic Fellowship but as the name implies they only deal in tickets across the Atlantic. So it will take a bit of homework for you to find a good one in your area or who deals in tickets to Asia. It would be wise to check if the company you use is a member of the IATA (International Association of Travel Agents) or ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents). It's also wise to buy travel insurance just in case. These days I am not so sure that consolidators will save you all that much on an economy class seat. The real savings seem to be in business and first.

[+ Axiom2001]

It's my understanding that consolidators are primarily wholesalers and seldom deal with an individual directly. Try using a travel agent and ask them if there is any chance that they can find you flight(s) with a consolidator. The savings can be enormous.

 

For my South American travels, I've gone to a consolidator as an individual and have gotten wonderful rates. This particular consolidator only does travel to that part of the world though.

 

It would not hurt Terry from attempting to use a consolidator in procuring a ticket inexpensively if he can!

[Casteran]

Try Asian agency

 

You may also try finding an asian agency in TO or Hali - they usually know the great deals to offer.

[TerryP]

Thanks for all your advice. I'll keep you updated. I'm going to stay away from Travelocity from now on. Terrible customer service. Look at this email I sent them, and see their reply below. (Note that they called me Tanya!)

 

 

Hi there. I am having a problem with your 'flexible search' function. I am looking for a flight from JFK-BKK, early january to early march, for about 60 days. However, no matter which flight I select, I cannot make my flight any longer than 30 days. If I pick a departure date of January 5, I get no return date options past February 4. This is true even if the flight I suggested said "latest return: 90 days", etc.

 

Is there anything that I can do to still use "flexible dates" but be able to check flights longer than 30 days?

 

 

The reply:

 

 

Dear Tanya,

 

Thank you for choosing Travelocity.

 

We understand that you concern regarding the reservation.Per the records we see that you wanted to book a flight reservation and you are not able top book it on line we request you to contact our customer care department at 1-800-457-8010 and they will assist you further.

 

We look forward to assist you !

 

Regards,

 

Rachel P

Travelocity Customer Service

http://www.travelocity.ca

[lokki]

While there is no one search engine that always has the lowest price, Kayak is the place to start, because they search many search engines at once. Also, try Mobissimo.com and Vayama.com. That should give you a good overview of your options and prices. Also, once you book a flight, enter it into Yapta.com. If the price drops, they'll e-mail you. In some cases, it may be worth paying a ticket change fee to get the lower price--and some airlines will issue you a credit for the difference, even on a highly restricted ticket.

[ServeUncutUncle]

Try Canadas Largest Asian Wholesaler:

 

http://bookingb2c.toureast.com/

[+ Lucky]

Tanya, I have used a consolidator many times, and get frequent flier miles too. Try it!

[Guest ryan2552]

 

 

Dear Tanya,

 

Thank you for choosing Travelocity.

 

We understand that you concern regarding the reservation.Per the records we see that you wanted to book a flight reservation and you are not able top book it on line we request you to contact our customer care department at 1-800-457-8010 and they will assist you further.

 

We look forward to assist you !

 

Regards,

 

Rachel P

Travelocity Customer Service

http://www.travelocity.ca

Wow the typos are amazing. Plus calling you Tanya is absurd. It shows all they are doing is cut and pasting and forgot to change the name to address it to.

 

Plus why call customer care if Rachel P is in customer service. She should have taking ownership of your issue.

[TerryP]

Wow the typos are amazing. Plus calling you Tanya is absurd. It shows all they are doing is cut and pasting and forgot to change the name to address it to.

 

Plus why call customer care if Rachel P is in customer service. She should have taking ownership of your issue.

 

Exactly. Somehow I'm supposed to believe that if I call a toll-free number to contact customer care, that they will "assist me further", even though I already contacted customer care by email and they did not assist me at all!

[+ Lucky]

Recently I canceled my XM Radio service, and the dealings with customer service were just absurd. They didn't follow their own rules, referred to my call to them when I never called, and responded to my emails with comments that showed they hadn't even read them. But I got it canceled!

[KMEM]

I have had to deal with XM customer service a few times over the years. I always had better and faster service when I was dealing with someone who I thought had English as their first language. I am not denigrating any Canadians at all. I can easily imagine someone whose first language is French might have a different story. I would be interested in hearing any of our Canadian friend's opinion about this.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[+ Axiom2001]

Could you guys get back on the initial topic of traveling to one of my favorite countries (Thailand) without having to pay "an arm and leg" for the fare. Thank you!

 

A new thread can be formulated in "The Forum" discussing your customer service experience--pros and cons!

[KMEM]

Sorry, I didn't realize this was a "restricted" thread.

 

You could always hitchhike. I have seen rather attractive gals go all over by being at the right place, at the right time. It would be a bit more difficult for guys in that they would have to find a gay crew or at least a senior member of management who was gay or gay friendly.

 

By hitchhike, I mean wait in likely lounges where business aircraft are going international. It is somewhat like going standby on the airlines with about the same likelyhood of going. Little and none. But, it does happen.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[+ Lucky]

Could you guys get back on the initial topic of traveling to one of my favorite countries (Thailand) without having to pay "an arm and leg" for the fare. Thank you!

 

A new thread can be formulated in "The Forum" discussing your customer service experience--pros and cons!

 

Axiom, the thread is about customer service.

[+ Axiom2001]

Sorry! -