Flight from USA to BKK

[Carl123]

I fly from St Louis, MO (STL) normally and prior to Co#id I would get a United Airlines flight that would connect to Chicago (ORD) or Denver (DEN), then to Tokyo, and then Bangkok(BKK).  PreCV these flights would cost around $1K economy (round trip). Currently these flights are $2K and up. This is for low season and non summer higher priced travel dates.

I have recently found flights from ORD to BKK for around $1000 and I can book a flight from STL to ORD for $300.

Does anyone know why airlines are currently scheduling and pricing flights this way?

Considering the current difference in prices I will probably book two separate flights and tolerate a little longer layovers in Chicago to be on safe side. The hub and spoke system seems to not be working for me very well at this time.

[vivid2]

2 hours ago, Carl123 said:

I have recently found flights from ORD to BKK for around $1000 and I can book a flight from STL to ORD for $300.

Does anyone know why airlines are currently scheduling and pricing flights this way?

Because it's pretty damn expensive to run an airline, and they follow one of the basic laws of economics; supply and demand. Labor costs are skyrocketing for pilots and cabin crew, fuel and maintenance costs are much higher, and building and maintaining airport facilities is very costly.  

Since the pandemic ended air travel has rebounded much faster than anticipated, and planes are flying full with waiting lists.  When demand is high and supply is low.....raising prices is the way to control passenger loads and make some money for shareholders.

[speedtoy]

3 hours ago, Carl123 said:

Does anyone know why airlines are currently scheduling and pricing flights this way?

Route management.

[Greg_B]

ANA has some flights out of ORD and it's worth checking that website directly.

[Mattthenose]

Airlines discovered that they had been competing with each other on price for so long there was no margin left to make much money. No one had the realisation, it was a side-effect of covid.

But covid changed the game, and all the time that the airlines stick together and maintain high prices, then air travel will be expensive.

But, when there are high margins in an industry, it won’t be long until new competitors come along with a new streamlined approach to undercut the others and make money, which should be good for flyers.

I watch the space with interest whilst reluctantly paying the current high prices.

[Carl123]

2 hours ago, Greg_B said:

ANA has some flights out of ORD and it's worth checking that website directly.

I am planning on flying around the end of February and have been watching the various airlines offerings.  I agree that ANA is a very good option for me. I also like Korean Air.

[Luv2Phuket]

ORD should have quite a few options, as I assume you can go East via Europe/Middle East or West via Japan.

That said, the additional options will not necessarily return a better price.  Qatar, for example, has an exemplary reputation and flies non-stop ORD-DOH, but it's FAR from "cheap."

I'd suggest using the various flight search engines and putting in notifications for if/when the prices drops.

[momo5]

6 hours ago, Carl123 said:

Does anyone know why airlines are currently scheduling and pricing flights this way?

 

One of my neighbors is an executive responsible for revenue management with Delta and he has never been able to explain airline ticket pricing in a way that remotely made sense. 
 

What I do know is that airplanes have been flying at capacity for over a year now, so people are certainly paying the airfare.  Heck, last summer they had trouble getting volunteers to voluntarily bump on a flight to London for 4k a pop … got some traction at 5k, but still had to involuntarily bump a couple. 
 

Adding additional capacity quicker is easier said than done as well … airlines are struggling for staffing in nearly all areas, certainly pilots and flight crews, after lucrative separation agreements to manage the drawdown over COVID. Airports and their ancillary facilities are also struggling with increased demand.  I don’t really see a significant drop in airfares across the industry for awhile; best bet will be for certain markets and certain times of the year. 
 

[Greg_B]

1 hour ago, Luv2Phuket said:

ORD should have quite a few options, as I assume you can go East via Europe/Middle East or West via Japan.

That said, the additional options will not necessarily return a better price.  Qatar, for example, has an exemplary reputation and flies non-stop ORD-DOH, but it's FAR from "cheap."

I'd suggest using the various flight search engines and putting in notifications for if/when the prices drops.

Yes, ORD has many options, but the issue is the connecting flight. The connections are terrible because service has been reduced and not increased quickly.

The 3rd party websites have long, long, layovers of 9+ hours and you might have to pay a little more, but go directly to the airline website

BTW...I'm an ORD flyer and planned a trip for May 2024 that was $200 more than the 2023 prices

Edited December 11, 2023 by Greg_B

[Luv2Phuket]

3 minutes ago, Greg_B said:

Yes, ORD has many options, but the issue is the connecting flight. The connections are terrible because service has been reduced and not increased quickly.

The 3rd party websites have long, long, layovers of 9+ hours and you might have to pay a little more, but go directly to the airline website

BTW...I'm an ORD flyer and planned a trip for May 2024 that was $200 more than the 2023 prices

Yep - I'm leery of consolidator and discount sies.  When the shit hits the fan, you could be at the back of the line.

I meant Google flights and some of the other search sites that allows you to put notifications for when certain routes drop.

I'm using miles, so harder for me to find availability, but much more flexible after I lock it in.

[Greg_B]

1 minute ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Yep - I'm leery of consolidator and discount sies.  When the shit hits the fan, you could be at the back of the line.

I meant Google flights and some of the other search sites that allows you to put notifications for when certain routes drop.

I'm using miles, so harder for me to find availability, but much more flexible after I lock it in.

It did on my last flight ZRH-ORD (cancelation) and it was an overnight experience.

In the end, I got the hotel paid for and 50,000 FF miles in my account

But this unwanted layover wasn't any fun as I was on my own to find a hotel room. (I booked directly with UAL)

[Carl123]

5 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

ORD should have quite a few options, as I assume you can go East via Europe/Middle East or West via Japan.

Yes, there are a few options. Right now Turkish Airlines has the lowest cost flights. In the past I have flown through Europe. A year ago with Swiss Air. It doesn't really matter to me as long as the layovers are not too long.

Like others have mentioned, I never book with a 3rd party agent, only with the airline.

[semi-retired member]

I'd say that pre-Covid there was a lot of price-cutting by Chinese-airlines across the Pacific, and that this has yet to return, so there's less pressure on the decent airlines to reduce their prices.  Just my opinion. 😎