Dream of Siam
Thailand living, working and retirement
Finding Cheap Thailand Flights
On this page you will find some information on getting the cheapest flight to Thailand. There are a number of companies on the Internet providing "cheap flights" to Thailand. This page should help you do your research so you can find out if these deals really are so great.
This page is primarily intended for people booking flights from the UK, however it should be useful for those travelling to thailand from other parts of the world.
What affects the price of the flight?
There are a huge number of factors that can affect the price you pay for your flight to Thailand. Here are some of them:
Time of the year
The time of the year can play a very big part in the cost of your flight. The most expensive time to travel to Thailand is between December and April (the peak tourist season), and there are the usual peaks at Christmas and Easter holidays.
The terms and conditions aka the small print
These can make a suprising difference in the cost of a flight. Many people get caught out by "cheap flights" because they haven't read the terms and conditions carefully before purchasing. These "conditions" could be rephrased as "restrictions". The most common condition on bargain flights is that the dates of the flight cannot be changed. This means you need to be very clear about what happens if you can't fly on a certain day - perhaps you are sick, have an accident or a hundred other things could arise. You need to check whether you will get a refund or whether it's covered by insurance and so on. The real bargain flights are likely to have a number of restrictions in this regard.
The airline
Yes this makes a big difference. Who wouldn't want to fly Singapore Airlines all the time? :)
Note that many airlines sell flights actually operated by another airline. British Airways for example sells flights from Heathrow to Bangkok that are actually operated by Quantas, and you fly on a Quantas plane. Those of you who have seen the film Rain Man might think that's a good thing though! :)
The number of stops
Very often as the number of stops increase the flight gets cheaper - there is a premium for a direct flight. This is something you may be able to use to your advantage. For example, if you fancy stopping off in Dubai for some excellent shopping you might consider flying Emirates. Not only are they a great airline they offer some great deals on flights to Bangkok (via Dubai).
The airport of departure
There can be a premium for departure from certain airports. For example, in UK Heathrow is sometimes more expensive than Gatwick.
Day of the week/Time
The cost of flight varies quite a bit with day of week and also time of departure/arrival. There seems to be quite a variation on this so often the only way is to check via the various websites (see below for details on how to do this).
Extras
Be careful of this. Some sites offering cheap flights bump up the actual price you pay in various crafty ways, so make sure you know what the extras are going to be.
How to find a cheap flight
To find a cheap flight you need to have an idea of what cheap is and that takes some research.
Flight search engines / booking systems
I use Expedia as my example of the classic flight search engine because I have used it several times to find cheap flights to Thailand. I have always paid less than GBP 600 and have mostly flown British Airways, Quantas and Thai Airways.
The main advantage of Expedia is it searches all airlines (unless you tell it otherwise) to get the best deal.
Using Expedia couldn't be simpler. Just put in your airports, the dates required and hit enter. You will get back results that you can sort in various ways - usually you want to sort by price. You can refine your search in a number of ways, for example you could consider only direct flights if that's what you want.
The main problem with Expedia is there is no easy way to vary the dates and check corresponding price changes. This is a pain as usually you can be flexible about dates and times if you are going to save big money. Unfortunately, you just need to keep plugging new dates in and check the resulting prices. It's a process of trial and error. It's really important to do this though, as there can be a variation of several hundred pounds simply by changing the dates by a couple of days.
On the whole a very useful tool and keep a look out for "Expedia Special Fares" which represent flights with a very useful additional discount (typically GBP 50 to 100 on flights to BKK).
Click here to go to Expedia
Airline websites
Perhaps surprisingly the airline's websites themselves can be a great source of bargains. Many people don't bother to check them on the assumption that they will be more expensive but this isn't always so.
Below I list some of the better carriers to Thailand who have reasonably priced flights.
Singapore Airlines
Consistently voted the best airline in the world and deservedly so. They offer direct flights to Bangkok from London Heathrow, but you might also want to check out flights to Singapore. You could then spend a few days there before flying on to Thailand.
Their website is excellent. It allows you to play with dates which makes it much easier to find a flight that suits your budget.
Click here to go to the Singapore Airlines website
KLM
One of the best websites for finding a flight bargain to Bangkok. The visual tool allows you to carefully match up colour coded outward and return dates to find the best priced flight that suits you. They are also very clear about their terms and conditions.
Click here to go to the KLM website
Thai Airways
I have flown with them and I recommend them as they provide great service and often have good deals on flights to Bangkok.
Their website is sometimes a little difficult to navigate, but stick with it and also follow up links to "deals".
Click here to go to the Thai Airways website
Emirates
One of my favourite airlines. Always great service. I also like Dubai so the fact that Emirates fly via Dubai is actually a bonus for me. Very good prices too. The website is very good in that it also lets you find a flight on price with date flexibility. It will find the best prices for you and leave you to select the suitable dates.
Click here to go to the Emirates website
British Airways
Hmmphhh. Well, I have used them on flights to Thailand and have no major complaints. They didn't lose my baggage (yet) although they did severely damage one of my travel cases. The service is OK, but of course Thai Airways (and practically any other Asian or Middle Eastern airline come to think of it) has prettier and less grumpy cabin staff! ;) They do have some good prices from time to time.
There are many other airlines that fly to Thailand, but these should provide you with a starting point for your own research.
Click here to go to the British Airways website
This page is primarily intended for people booking flights from the UK, however it should be useful for those travelling to thailand from other parts of the world.
What affects the price of the flight?
There are a huge number of factors that can affect the price you pay for your flight to Thailand. Here are some of them:
- The time of year
- The terms and conditions
- The airline
- Number of stops
- The airport of departure/arrival (where there is a choice)
- The day of the week of the flight
- The time of day of the flight
- "Extras"
Time of the year
The time of the year can play a very big part in the cost of your flight. The most expensive time to travel to Thailand is between December and April (the peak tourist season), and there are the usual peaks at Christmas and Easter holidays.
The terms and conditions aka the small print
These can make a suprising difference in the cost of a flight. Many people get caught out by "cheap flights" because they haven't read the terms and conditions carefully before purchasing. These "conditions" could be rephrased as "restrictions". The most common condition on bargain flights is that the dates of the flight cannot be changed. This means you need to be very clear about what happens if you can't fly on a certain day - perhaps you are sick, have an accident or a hundred other things could arise. You need to check whether you will get a refund or whether it's covered by insurance and so on. The real bargain flights are likely to have a number of restrictions in this regard.
The airline
Yes this makes a big difference. Who wouldn't want to fly Singapore Airlines all the time? :)
Note that many airlines sell flights actually operated by another airline. British Airways for example sells flights from Heathrow to Bangkok that are actually operated by Quantas, and you fly on a Quantas plane. Those of you who have seen the film Rain Man might think that's a good thing though! :)
The number of stops
Very often as the number of stops increase the flight gets cheaper - there is a premium for a direct flight. This is something you may be able to use to your advantage. For example, if you fancy stopping off in Dubai for some excellent shopping you might consider flying Emirates. Not only are they a great airline they offer some great deals on flights to Bangkok (via Dubai).
The airport of departure
There can be a premium for departure from certain airports. For example, in UK Heathrow is sometimes more expensive than Gatwick.
Day of the week/Time
The cost of flight varies quite a bit with day of week and also time of departure/arrival. There seems to be quite a variation on this so often the only way is to check via the various websites (see below for details on how to do this).
Extras
Be careful of this. Some sites offering cheap flights bump up the actual price you pay in various crafty ways, so make sure you know what the extras are going to be.
How to find a cheap flight
To find a cheap flight you need to have an idea of what cheap is and that takes some research.
Flight search engines / booking systems
I use Expedia as my example of the classic flight search engine because I have used it several times to find cheap flights to Thailand. I have always paid less than GBP 600 and have mostly flown British Airways, Quantas and Thai Airways.
The main advantage of Expedia is it searches all airlines (unless you tell it otherwise) to get the best deal.
Using Expedia couldn't be simpler. Just put in your airports, the dates required and hit enter. You will get back results that you can sort in various ways - usually you want to sort by price. You can refine your search in a number of ways, for example you could consider only direct flights if that's what you want.
The main problem with Expedia is there is no easy way to vary the dates and check corresponding price changes. This is a pain as usually you can be flexible about dates and times if you are going to save big money. Unfortunately, you just need to keep plugging new dates in and check the resulting prices. It's a process of trial and error. It's really important to do this though, as there can be a variation of several hundred pounds simply by changing the dates by a couple of days.
On the whole a very useful tool and keep a look out for "Expedia Special Fares" which represent flights with a very useful additional discount (typically GBP 50 to 100 on flights to BKK).
Click here to go to Expedia
Airline websites
Perhaps surprisingly the airline's websites themselves can be a great source of bargains. Many people don't bother to check them on the assumption that they will be more expensive but this isn't always so.
Below I list some of the better carriers to Thailand who have reasonably priced flights.
Singapore Airlines
Consistently voted the best airline in the world and deservedly so. They offer direct flights to Bangkok from London Heathrow, but you might also want to check out flights to Singapore. You could then spend a few days there before flying on to Thailand.
Their website is excellent. It allows you to play with dates which makes it much easier to find a flight that suits your budget.
Click here to go to the Singapore Airlines website
KLM
One of the best websites for finding a flight bargain to Bangkok. The visual tool allows you to carefully match up colour coded outward and return dates to find the best priced flight that suits you. They are also very clear about their terms and conditions.
Click here to go to the KLM website
Thai Airways
I have flown with them and I recommend them as they provide great service and often have good deals on flights to Bangkok.
Their website is sometimes a little difficult to navigate, but stick with it and also follow up links to "deals".
Click here to go to the Thai Airways website
Emirates
One of my favourite airlines. Always great service. I also like Dubai so the fact that Emirates fly via Dubai is actually a bonus for me. Very good prices too. The website is very good in that it also lets you find a flight on price with date flexibility. It will find the best prices for you and leave you to select the suitable dates.
Click here to go to the Emirates website
British Airways
Hmmphhh. Well, I have used them on flights to Thailand and have no major complaints. They didn't lose my baggage (yet) although they did severely damage one of my travel cases. The service is OK, but of course Thai Airways (and practically any other Asian or Middle Eastern airline come to think of it) has prettier and less grumpy cabin staff! ;) They do have some good prices from time to time.
There are many other airlines that fly to Thailand, but these should provide you with a starting point for your own research.
Click here to go to the British Airways website