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When to book?


jumpman233345

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Ok everyone I am seriously considering trying to get out to pattaya on my maiden trip toward the end of October 'money pending for two weeks' and returning the start of November.

When would be the best time to book my air fare?? I have read prises start to drop in august is this true? Should I wait till near the time?

Also my closest airport is Manchester here in the UK. Do they do non stop flights from Manchester? Or would it end up cheaper setting off from Heathrow??

Thanks all

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Ok everyone I am seriously considering trying to get out to pattaya on my maiden trip toward the end of October 'money pending for two weeks' and returning the start of November.

When would be the best time to book my air fare?? I have read prises start to drop in august is this true? Should I wait till near the time?

Also my closest airport is Manchester here in the UK. Do they do non stop flights from Manchester? Or would it end up cheaper setting off from Heathrow??

Thanks all

i am from hull so manchester would be the closer option for me than heathrow, however, i have always gone from heathrow because you can get the cheapest flights by a mile from heathrow. not too sure wether you can get a direct flight from manchester (dont think you can) but i know a few people who do fly etihad and emirates from manchester, but in my opinion the cheapest option is always gonna be heathrow. especially if you know exactly when you are going, then you can book a train ticket online to london kings cross (trainline.co.uk very cheap) and get the underground from kings cross all the way to heathrow (takes about 45 minutes from kings cross) jobs a goodun. as for when to book, there have been lots of threads like this on here and i say the same eveery time, there is no rhyme or reason to flight prices, just keep going online every day and when you see a great deal, go for it. thats the best advice i could give. my next trip is september the 1st, i booked about 2 months ago and got my flight from heathrow direct for an amazing 484 quid. when i looked the day after, the same flight was 584 quid and it has not gone back down to 484 since but it has fluctuated from 520 to around 700 over the last 2 months, like i said, no rhyme or reason, if you know your exact dates and you see a bargain, just go for it.

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Once again ,sound advice and info. I owe you a beer WHEN our paths cross in the future lol

Thanks dude!

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Sorry to hi jack but just after some info.

 

Who do you guys book with? Everytime i've been hunting on the net.. the cheapest flights are very long and don't go direct.

 

So i've always booked with Trail finders, the past 3 trips, and flown with Thai, direct. Last two times i paid £560.. Heathrow to BKK to Phuket, then the trip i've just booked for end of the month £680.. Heathrow BKK.. week there then onto Phuket.. then home again.. Phuket to bkk to heathrow.

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Trailfinders only use airlines with good reputations and I've never seen a great difference in price between them and Internet agents. Infact often Internet agents can be more expensive. I don't think you can go wrong using Trailfinders for flight bookings, but wouldn't use them for hotel bookings.

Back to the origional topic. I think if you live in the NW of England or within 1 hour of Manchester the better option is to fly from Manchester even though there are no direct flights from there. Emirates , Etihad and Qatar all fly out of Manchester and offer connections of around 2 hours. I've allways found this the most comfortable option as you don't have to fanny about getting down to London and rely on they're unreliable public transport to get you out to the airport.

As for when's the best time to buy tickets is, Generally the sooner the better but it is a bit of a lottery.

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Yeah i only use Trail Finders to book flights always very helpful on the phone, just one thing i don't like about flying with Thai Airways is the on-board entertainment, flew with emirates a few years ago to UAE etc all with emirates and was much more enjoyable.

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Once again ,sound advice and info. I owe you a beer WHEN our paths cross in the future lol

Thanks dude!

glad you said when and not if. its a pleasure and i have an annoying habit of always being right, well that what my x wife used to say anyway lol

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Sorry to hi jack but just after some info.

 

.. the cheapest flights are very long and don't go direct.

 

this has confused me. what do you mean the cheapest flights are very long, i think you will find, no matter how much you pay for your flight, be it 500 quid or a million quid, thailand will still be the same distance away from great britain. :GoldenSmile1:

seriously, in answer to your question, the cheapest websites for flights to bangkok are usually, southalltravel.co.uk and ebookers.co.uk this is a normal rule of thumb but obviously, its not always the case, make sure you try as many companies as you can before booking.

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Have a look at Kayak just stuck in Heathrow to Bangkok for 12th to 28th October - Oman Air £480 booking with Oman Air direct. Travelled with them last year in economy and highly rated though they don't fly every day and always at least 1 stop

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this has confused me. what do you mean the cheapest flights are very long, i think you will find, no matter how much you pay for your flight, be it 500 quid or a million quid, thailand will still be the same distance away from great britain. :GoldenSmile1:

seriously, in answer to your question, the cheapest websites for flights to bangkok are usually, southalltravel.co.uk and ebookers.co.uk this is a normal rule of thumb but obviously, its not always the case, make sure you try as many companies as you can before booking.

 

Sorry i mean, don't go direct.. so your waiting around for hours in airports in say singapore or india.. I could of got a flight for nearly £200 cheaper but would be travelling for 22+ hours instead of roughly 10 hours.

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I use skyscanner to search for my Deals.....

 

Managed to get EVA airways (Great Airline) direct from Heathrow to Bangkok for £524 via Ebookers.com

26 Aug - 10 Sept

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Jumpman,

If you prefer to fly from Manchester check this flight out on Skyscanner for end of October. Would save you a trip to London and back. The flight is via Abudabi or Emirates a little bit more expensive via Dubai.

 

Good luck,

 

Hope you make it to Fantasia-land.

Manchester-Bangkok October.doc

How do you write, create?" You don't, I told them. You don't try. That's very important: not to try, either for Cadillacs, creation or immortality. You wait, and if nothing happens, you wait some more. It's like a bug high on the wall. You wait for it to come to you. When it gets close enough you reach out, slap out and kill it. Or if you like its looks you make a pet out of it."

 

Charles Bukowski. Bukowski.jpg

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Sorry i mean, don't go direct.. so your waiting around for hours in airports in say singapore or india.. I could of got a flight for nearly £200 cheaper but would be travelling for 22+ hours instead of roughly 10 hours.

mmmm another ambiguous one, dont want to sound picky here but you have said dont go direct and then moaned about waiting in airports if you dont go direct. in my experience going direct is obviously better, no two ways about it, you get on your plane and thats it, no need to worry about changing and you can get your head down and have a decent uninterrupted sleep before you arrive in bangkok.

also, not going direct doesnt neccessarily mean you will be travelling for 20 plus hours, i have travelled jet air (5 times), qatar airways (twice) and gulf air (once) and unfortunately air india (once) and have never been travelling for more than 16 hours. most airlines do a short layover before you get on the second flight, usually only about 2 and a half hours so you should never be travelling for more than 22 plus hours as you have said but it is possible if you go with one of the more obscure airlines like royal jordainan, oman or sri lankan. as i have posted many times on here, jet airways is the best airline by far out of the ones that dont go direct and their stopover time is only 2 and a quarter hours. not a great hassle if it means saving a couple of hundred quid. again, dont want to sound like a picky b*****d (even though i probably am one lol) just giving you a true account of the facts.

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Ok everyone I am seriously considering trying to get out to pattaya on my maiden trip toward the end of October 'money pending for two weeks' and returning the start of November.

When would be the best time to book my air fare?? I have read prises start to drop in august is this true? Should I wait till near the time?

Also my closest airport is Manchester here in the UK. Do they do non stop flights from Manchester? Or would it end up cheaper setting off from Heathrow??

Thanks all

its a matter of choice,i,ve flown from heathrow straight throuh ava i,ve flown from amsterdam klm,but i prefare flying from manchester with either emerates or etihed,i think it,s much better getting halfway there then having a couple of hours break in between,you are not as nackered when you get there,them 12 hour flights really take it out of you,try asda travel and netflights any price between 520£ and 620£,keep looking like reg says.good luck.

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I usually look for flights with companies i have miles for, then i book a return and upgrade the ticket to business class flights using miles.

 

Direct flights is a must for me, i cant be arsed hanging around airports for the sake of a couple hundred quid, i can spend that on a night out.

 

I have miles with a few airlines but Emirates is definitely one of the better ones, leg room is better and the inflight entertainment is excellent......if your stuck to economy, book one of the seats that go from 3 seats to 2 seats at the tail section of plane, more room on both sides of you...the seat has more room at the window and aisle....not too close to toilet, maybe 2 rows in front and its not too bad, people wont bother you and the smell isnt too bad........

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Flight connection times are a ball-ache for me, use skyscanner to search for flights.

They have a travel time bar on the left hand side to help cut out all the crappy nonsense 20hr+ journey times.

 

 

Anyone getting sensible quotes on Thai air lately?

Have been checking for Oct/Nov flights and they are 800+.........

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There should be plenty of choice of flights from Manchester - do you really what to extend your jorney by 3 or 4 hours getting to/from Heathrow just to save @£100, less when you take account of bus or rail costs.

My mates travel from Manchester and usually fly with Emirates (good choice) or KLM/Air China. Etihed is also an option. Make sure your connections are no more than 3 hours if possible. I usually book about 2 months ahead, but if you see a price under £600 I don't think it will get much cheaper.

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There should be plenty of choice of flights from Manchester - do you really what to extend your jorney by 3 or 4 hours getting to/from Heathrow just to save @£100, less when you take account of bus or rail costs.

My mates travel from Manchester and usually fly with Emirates (good choice) or KLM/Air China. Etihed is also an option. Make sure your connections are no more than 3 hours if possible. I usually book about 2 months ahead, but if you see a price under £600 I don't think it will get much cheaper.

 

By flying from Manchester he would also extend his journey by not flying direct.

If I lived near Manchester, I would fly direct from Heathrow, not to save money but for a more comfortable reliable direct service.

 

As for when to book, there is no right or wrong answer, when the planes are getting full, they raise the price. I like to fly with EVA, I find they have good prices a long way in advance so they do raise there prices a few months before. BA/Quantas and Thai, generally have higher prices early on so they may drop there prices closer to the time. Thai are more likely than BA/Quantas to drop their price.

Flying midweek is cheaper than weekends. Direct flights are often available for less than £600. When I booked mine for October, EVA were £525.

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Last time I went to Thailand I flew Etihad from Heathrow I found a really good deal at £475 on Skyscanner which then directed me to ebookers for booking. I found Etihad very good and had only a 1hr 30mins layover in Abu Dhabi and the only annoyance was having to go through Airport security again in Abu Dhabi.

 

I hope to return again in November and the cheapest non-Direct flights I am seeing are with Gulf Air, Kingfisher, Jet Airways and Royal Jordanian via Bahrain, India and Jordan. Which of these would people recommend? I've never flown on any of them but have read that Gulf Air is good and Kingfisher are a 5 star airline according to Skytrax, prices I am seeing are similar, is India a hard transit and how would Mumbai or Delhi airports compare say to Abu Dhabi or Heathrow?

 

I'm not really pushed but when booking flights I'd either rather go for the cheapest to save cash or else shell out for a direct flight, eg. I'd rather pay £800 for a direct flight than £720 to fly non-direct as I'd be spending a fair wedge so might as well go all the way and I'd only consider non-Direct flights if there is a good saving, with the exception of the A380, do Qantas ever operate the A380 to Bangkok when going to Oz or are they still reserving the A380 for the London-Singapore-Oz runs and for LAX-Oz? If I could fly on the A380 direct to swampy from Heathrow it would win hands down regardless of the cost!

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I always fly from Newcastle and I often find that you get the best deal going on the airlines website i.e. KLM or Emirates. As mentioned by BigReg, there is no hard or fast rule, just keep looking as the prices often go up and down like a Thai girl's underwear! The price of oil is often a factor.

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then you can book a train ticket online to london kings cross .... mess about printing train tickets...(trainline.co.uk very cheap) and get the underground from kings cross, after finding your way round the smelly underground..... all the way to heathrow (takes about 45 minutes from kings cross)

 

Rather pay the extra £100 or so and fly from Man

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Rather pay the extra £100 or so and fly from Man

in my case, i live in hull, getting a train to manchester would cost me around 40 quid, getting a train to kings cross would cost me about 20 quid, so its more expensive for me to get to manchester on a train than it is to kings cross, dont ask me how because manchester is closer to hull than kings cross. it takes around 2 and a half hours to get to kings cross on a train and around 2 hours to manchester. saving a hundred quid is well worth an extra half hour on a train in my opinion, especially as it is a cheaper train to london than to manchester.

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Just done a rudimentary search and prices from are about 500 quid from Manchester and about 520 from heathrow(aug 2-20 sept) both flights with Qatar Air.

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Evening fellas, may i join in :Moon2:

 

The guys was asking when to book.

 

I would say pretty soon really.

 

I booked my flight in december. Direct flight with Eva from Heathrow £520

 

My mate told me i was mad and i should have left it till the last minute ( he maybe right yet) but.............

 

I have since checked same flight and at monthly intervals.

 

The price has risen massively.

 

I think last month it was over £700 same flight same Agent.

Checked again today

 

same flight same agent. £ 693.

 

Id say i did the right thing.

 

The agent i use is Southall travel.

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