cheapest airfare from lax to BKK?

[jordan52 0]

What's up everyone?

I have been to pattaya before but this time around I need to know what is going to be the cheapest flight for me and a friend on feb 22 returning march 10.? I will be leaving from los angeles. Any help would be appreciated . i found a flight from cathay airlines for 906 dollars. Is there anything better? help me out veterans, i know you guys are a lot wiser than me

[joekicker 53]

i found a flight from cathay airlines for 906 dollars. Is there anything better? help me out veterans, i know you guys are a lot wiser than me

 

That is an excellent price right now. Never say "never" but there really are only two chances of beating that price - fat and slim.

[js007 795]

There's always a chance of doing a little bit better, but I wouldn't count on saving much more. Keep in mind, also, that some of the so-called good deals require a very long layover. Is it worth $100 to sit around some airport for 11 hours? I'd say anything under $1000 R/T from LAX is an OK deal.

 

J

[BillWilson 10]

i know a little about this.... (40+ trips)

i have flown most airlines, and purchased in Thailand, flights originating there...

 

i perfer to fly Thai air

why?

1) i can walk into the Pattaya or Silom road office and extend my stay at no charge

2) i can usually extend by phone also

3) i know where i sit on the plane that works for me

4) every three trips, i accumulate enough for a free economy trip

 

cost more in the short haul

much cheaper in the long haul

 

think

you want to squeak in another 2 nites

call your airline, and no flights, or wrong dates or HUGE charge

i may pay an extra $200usd for my tickets, but when i can get

an extra day or three.....good value.....

 

i know many will now post that TG is shit, and this and that

i have ALWAYS had a great experiance on TG, food, service, aircraft

 

oh,

and because i fly the same airline, i found the back number to the ticket counter

and i get confirmed on the seat i want (exit row) they know me by name...

 

jmho

BW, over

[Tengotodo 52]

i know a little about this.... (40+ trips)

i have flown most airlines, and purchased in Thailand, flights originating there...

 

i perfer to fly Thai air

why?

W, over

 

 

And let's not forget the direct flight, hot towels and free after dinner drinks - not to mention the slender flight attendants ( i.e. NOT fat Delta or other American carrier girls).

[marcortez 0]

$856 including taxes and fees as of Nov. 26th EVA airlines.

 

 

 

FYI.......http://www.evaair.com/html/b2c/english/

 

 

 

...........http://www.china-airlines.com/en/index.htm

 

 

 

...........http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/homepage

 

 

 

..........http://www.kayak.com/?tab=flights

[jordan52 0]

thanx for the info everyone , keep it comming, I know there are plenty of people on the board who can use this info.... so much info to be gained on this board

 

I know that cathay air comes a personal tv at every seat, does thai air come with that or any of the other airlines?

 

What is the best ccard for airline miles? i.e. best promotion

 

thanx again for the info guys

[marcortez 0]

What's up everyone?

I have been to pattaya before but this time around I need to know what is going to be the cheapest flight for me and a friend on feb 22 returning march 10.? I will be leaving from los angeles. Any help would be appreciated . i found a flight from cathay airlines for 906 dollars. Is there anything better? help me out veterans, i know you guys are a lot wiser than me

 

 

 

Actually Jordan, it's not so much about being wise, talented or worldly.

 

More about being able to use www.google.com and some leg/finger work.

 

Took me all of 3 minutes to find the EVA fare posted earlier.

 

 

 

No amount of wise and talented will get you a better fare.

 

 

 

However I will toss out one tidbit of hot scoop for you.

 

99% of the time, the airlines websites will offer you a better fare by a few bucks than the myraid of travel search engines.

 

 

 

Opps....one more bit of "wise"....... http://www.seatexpert.com/ will get you the configuration of nearly every aircraft and every airline, including seat back TV screens on what aircraft.

[kikc69 45]

You should be able to get EVA for around $800.00. I booked for Jan 18 and the cost was $780.00 plus tax which came to a total of $860.00. Upgrade to Evergreen Deluxe/Elite for about $1150 and you get better seating and comfort.

[steve(jr) 0]

i have only been to thailand once but i flown around the world many times and nowadays 98 percent of all airlines have personal tv's on flight over 5 hours but it is definitly a fact that if you want to be comfortable fly business class on the cheap airlines or spend the extra money and go with a good airlines such as thai or emirates,,,,,,,,in which thai and emirates is not much more than the others if you calculate in the comfort and service and also with the cheaper airlines it is a higher chance of some lady with three screaming kids sitting beside you because she couldnt afford the better airline,,,,,,trust me on this i learned the hard way

[romankh1969 0]

Deal from Lax to Bkk for 906 is an exelent deal.Don't even try to find better.I find 896 from sfo,but later in spring

[Emil 0]

To get the true cost you need to factor in the airlines frequent flyer programs. I will pay more for a flight on United because I will earn double miles and also acquire more mile through other offers like credit card. The past 2 years I've made 12 flights to LOS from Sacramento at an average cost of just under $400. Thats 6 free and 6 paid.

[jacko 8,813]

To get the true cost you need to factor in the airlines frequent flyer programs. I will pay more for a flight on United because I will earn double miles and also acquire more mile through other offers like credit card. The past 2 years I've made 12 flights to LOS from Sacramento at an average cost of just under $400. Thats 6 free and 6 paid.

And that is 2 cheap....

 

Was all the mileage utilized obtained from paid flights to LOS? Or was some other/business stuff thrown in there?

[Emil 0]

And that is 2 cheap....

 

Was all the mileage utilized obtained from paid flights to LOS? Or was some other/business stuff thrown in there?

 

 

Paid flights and credit cards. Got 20K miles just for applying for a credit card and without an annual fee. If I refer someone to the credit card company they will give me 5K and the person gets 20K, interested? 3 times United was running a special where everyone got double miles, since I'm Premier Executive and get double miles on all paid flights I got triple. One time the video system didn't work from BKK to Narita and they gave me 8K miles. They have many other partners who will give you miles such as rental car companies and etc.

[brotherbuzz 3,205]

Cathay's December DOTM gets you there on the dates you want for $832.52.

[Trvlr 50]

Emil, you have an airline credit card with no annual fee? Which one is that? The offers I receive from United are for no annual fee for the first year, and from then on it's $60 a year I think.

I use Citi for that reason - no annual fee, and they give one-third points for miles flown. (I guess it used to be more, but I never got it - they changed the rule just after I joined.) But I have never redeemed any with them, so I don't know if they are any good.

[brotherbuzz 3,205]

In the past I've cancelled about 5 Mileage Plus cards that I got for the sign-up bonus and was offered no fee on all of them to not cancel.

[Emil 0]

Emil, you have an airline credit card with no annual fee? Which one is that? The offers I receive from United are for no annual fee for the first year, and from then on it's $60 a year I think.

I use Citi for that reason - no annual fee, and they give one-third points for miles flown. (I guess it used to be more, but I never got it - they changed the rule just after I joined.) But I have never redeemed any with them, so I don't know if they are any good.

 

 

It's at home and I can't remember (Maybe Chase). When you get these offers there is no annual fee for the first year. Then you call them just before the years up and tell them you want to cancel, they'll then (at least with me) offer you a different card with no fee. The difference is that the one you cancelled was giving you 1 mile for every $1 spent while the new one will only give you 1 mile for every $2 spent. Then in about another year you'll get another offer for a credit card which will give you anywhere from about 15K-20K miles if you sign up with no annual fee for the first year. I can play this game forever if they keep making me the offer. Let me know if your interested and I'll refer you.

Edited December 10, 2007 by Emil

[jordan52 0]

well I bought my tickets from cathy and wanted to know if anyone has flown cathy and info about the comfort of flight? thanks for all the info guys

[Emil 0]

I rank Cathay number 2 to Singapore. Good food, good entertainment system in economy and cute FAs.

[Trvlr 50]

Thanks Emil. But the procedure you describe is a little too involved, and the outcome uncertain.

I would have opted for a card with a fee, but I do not stick to one airline irrespective of cost. I was with United for a long while - and still use it on occasion - but if I get a decent competing flight for, say, $50-100 less than United's fare, then I will take it.

I find that between United's and Continental's (Skypass) frequent flyer programs I can cover most of my needs. United is affiliated with airlines like Thai and Singapore, while Continental offers EVA and COPA.

[Emil 0]

Thanks Emil. But the procedure you describe is a little too involved, and the outcome uncertain.

I would have opted for a card with a fee, but I do not stick to one airline irrespective of cost. I was with United for a long while - and still use it on occasion - but if I get a decent competing flight for, say, $50-100 less than United's fare, then I will take it.

I find that between United's and Continental's (Skypass) frequent flyer programs I can cover most of my needs. United is affiliated with airlines like Thai and Singapore, while Continental offers EVA and COPA.

 

Don't take this as a sales pitch from me, but a few years back I was like you and took the best deals. Then I learned more about the different levels and stayed with just United. About 4 years ago I selected an Eva flight because it was $100 less than United and it cost me about $800 as I then learned about the different levels. By taking that one flight with Eva instead of United I only made the Premier level for the rest of that year and the following year instead of Premier Executive, thus dening me the opportunity of earning double miles on my flights. On top of that I wasn't allowed free access to the Star Alliance lounges, extra baggage allowance, and preferred seating in the economy cabin.

[js007 795]

For the credit cards with no fees you could try Amex Blue. I've also got some sort of Bank of America card that gives points and has no annual fee. Same with Discover.

 

J

[Trvlr 50]

I understand Emil, and I have been there. I have been at United’s Premier Executive level for at least two years and know its benefits. In fact, of the frequent flyer programs I have used, I consider United’s the best, based on past experience (I am not sure if they have made cuts recently). Currently I have Gold membership with Continental Skypass, but I don’t consider it as good as United’s, though it gives double miles too.

 

If I am in a situation where one flight makes the difference between Executive level and Premier level, I will spend the extra $100 on a United flight to get the Executive level. Or more.

 

It’s not all about money – my next trip, tomorrow, is on Thai which was quite a bit more expensive than the next cheapest airline. But I am flying on from BKK and it made sense to take a direct flight to BKK and then connect.

 

Similarly, I won’t fly certain airlines whatever their price – such as Korean, which stopped pre-assigning seats from LAX a few years ago.

 

However, sometimes there is a huge difference between United (or Continental) and other airlines – sometimes as much as $1000. I don’t know the reason, other than that they have sold their seats. (I just checked – for a January trip LAX-Bkk Continental wants $2290, Thai is $1532 and several airlines, including United, are just above $1000 – I don’t think double miles on Continental is worth paying their price. For a June flight United wants $420 more than Delta.) So I decided to set a limit – and $50 to $100 difference is what I believe I can stomach comfortably. If the difference is any more then I will pass.

 

As for cards with points, currently I am trying Citi's Thank You, because they give points for flight miles also. I have never redeemed, so I dont know if it is a scam - I guess I will find out!

[Emil 0]

Just wanted to make sure that you understood the programs and it appears you know them better than me. I don't think UA has made any cuts to their program, at least in the last 3 years. On thing that I do to keep my air expenses low is to use the miles when I know that the airlines have a high load factor, then pay for the flights during their slow season. This current trip I used miles and my next trip in January I'll use miles again.