BootsnAll Travel Community

Hello all - I'm utterly new to this site, but think it looks loverly. I'm hoping you can help me...I'm looking forward to going to Thailand in the next year but I am having a tough time deciding which airline I should book with? I am an anal retentive planner - I am beginning now for a trip I plan to take in July 07. I think I would like to fly into Khon Kaen. The real problem is I am not fond of flying. So I would appreciate recommendations that are for inexpensive airlines with good service and low stress. I would consider myself to be a mid-budget traveller with a backpacking habit. Thanks in advance!

IME, it's way too soon to book your flight if you care about price. In general, the best prices usually shake out 2 to 6 weeks ahead of time esp. for USA-Asia. You could book United into BKK now, and if fares drop later you can get a travel credit for the difference but...
It's a hassle to check the prices every few days for a year.

Being that you are in Northwest Airlines country, I would predict that you will use NWA from MSP to Bangkok.

Lowest stress airline? Probably Thai out of LAX.
Lowest price? EVA or China Air.

quote:

In general, the best prices usually shake out 2 to 6 weeks ahead of time esp.

I'd have to disagree with that, that's usually when the price increases from my experience. I'd say 2 to 6 months is the best time as it's cheaper. Sometimes you can get cheap flights on standby which you may not find about until the very last minute. However, I don't think any airline would let you book 1.5 years before anyways. Maybe it's different in the US.

I flew with Cathay from Toronto - it's a long journey but this is probably the best airline I've been on. Comfortable seats with more room, personal TVs w/ the latest movies, tv shows, games, music and snacks are available at all times, the airline food is pretty good too...I think they had Haagan Daz ice cream on one of my flights. However, considering you're in Wisconsin, it may not be feasible.

Kind of a odd isn't it, you don't like stress and you are a teacher???? And you are looking for flights now for over a year from now! Most of the airlines won't book you more than 12 mos. out. You probably know that July will be just about the most expensive time to fly. Prices usually lower after the first week in September.

If you want less hassle stick with an airline near your home, probably UA or NWA, not the cheapest but they are usually reliable and organized. I do think that the Asian carriers are cheaper and the staff on the airplanes much more pleasant than the "older" more senior NWA or UA staff that fly to Asia.

With all of the flying you have done in the past you must have a several gold or silver frequent flyer cards, pick one that you can use the miles with. Flying to Thailand adds up the miles on your card. With a silver card or gold card you can get on the plane with the first boarding and all of the overhead bins are available to you. With your silver/gold card you can select your seats ahead of time and not get stuck in a bad place near a toilet or in front of a wall. You also get top priority for the bigger emergency door seats if you want them.

Sometimes you can find a last minute deal, but they are hard to find.

Occasionally a whole tour group will cancel out and lots of seats become available (after a big plane crash somewhere, customers cancel) or the airline finds a lot of undersold seats. They will lower the prices and quickly fill those seats and then raise the prices again. Just 3 weeks ago I had reserved a flight from Boston to Manila, I had 24 hours to cancel it, I checked the price the following day to see if the flight had changed price any - it had, it went up almost $400 in one day! I kept the flight I had, figured I could live with a price a lot higher than last year after all!

Avoid leaving on a Friday, a holiday, or on the weekend when the prices may be higher than the rest of the week. Also, check a few days earlier and later of your desired departure date for any change in price. What ever you end up doing check the airline websites to establish some sort of "baseline" for prices to Thailand to run the discounts against.

More than likely you will fly into Bangkok. Plan on staying a few days there for a minimum, you can get used to the heat, catch up on your sleep and relax a little. Don't schedule a flight out of BKK only a couple hours after you arrive there!

In Bangkok you can find a flight on Thai Air to take you around the contry if you want, the flights are cheap compared to the U.S. There are smaller and cheaper local airlines but you might not be able to handle the extra hassle. They might not be operating a year from now anyway.

Khon Kaen did have flights from BKK a few years ago, about an hour and 230 miles or so. Khon Kaen is easy to get to by bus if you want to see some of the countryside. Bus transportation is real cheap in Thailand and they stick to the schedule.

I'm looking to fly from NYC to Bangkok in just about 3 weeks and I'd like to extend my inevitable layover in Tokyo for a few days - however it seems that most travel websites are treating this as two one-ways with the result that the fare becomes doubled. Does anyone have a good travel agency or website you've had luck with complicated multi-stop trips? I'm no longer a student or under 25 so STA is not helpful anymore...
I really appreciate any help anyone can offer!!! Thanks so much!

To all -
I know that I won't be able to book flights for some time yet. However, I am an anal retentive planner who has an obsessive compulsive need to know as much as possible about my travel plans. I am flexible with my plans as long as I know what the potential consequences may be. (This anal retentive planning w/flexibility often works very well for me as a teacher.) To this end, I am just working on gathering information so I know what the possibilities are. I suspected that I would need to book my tickets in the nine to six month range. Since I have never traveled to this part of the world, I greatly appreciate all of the information and advice you can give me.
Perhaps I should get/renew my frequent flyer card - I had one once but did not fly places unless necessary for 7 years because my returning flight from Germany had serious difficulties staying in the air. My desire for low stress stems from this developed fear of flying. Sometimes you just have to suck it up.