Are planes getting back to full capacity?

[rcj1959 0]

The threat of SARS together with the terrorist threat and the Iraqi War have all done their bit to put people off flying especially for non business related travel.

Has the end of the War and the absence of SARS in Thailand increased the confidence of the travelling public or are the many planes that ply their trade to from Asia still suffering from a lack of "bums on seats"?

I ask the question because I am flying to BKK from LHR on 31/5 with Qantas having taken advantage of a fantastic offer back in March when confidence was low (see my earlier topic) and am wondering whether I am likely to be able to take advantage of empty seats (preferably the middle four) for the overnight flight..  

[Guest]

rcj,

 

I returned with EVA last weekend.  Evergreen Deluxe was aprox 70% full (normally 100%), my friends flew out last week with Emirates and they say it was approx 60% full.

 

Tom

[SabaiCedd 0]

Anyone have any info on how Thai airways flights are fliing up at present?....many empty seats  ??? My first time with Thai Airways on 5th June. Always used BA or Eva up to now.

[nidnoyham 30]

Sabaiced,

Over the last few weeks Thai has had been aprox 60-75% full, some days down to 50%, but yesterday it was oversold by 16. this can be due to large companies sending staff on free trip to Thailand for incentive schemes, sometimes up to 80 people, I am using them 28th and aprox 150 empty seats

 

Have a good trip  

[gerald 0]

Nidnoyham, How and were did you get the information on how full or unfull the plane is ???.  Thanks

[BigDUSA 71]

Call the airline reservation center. They will tell you how full they are. I n April I flew UA from Philly to BKK less then 50%. On 6 May UA was about 80%. I fly Cathay Pacific next wednesday, they told me alot of seats left open. ;D ;D ;D

[nidnoyham 30]

Gerald

I got the info on the Thai 'cos I worked until yesterday for Air Canada and we handle Thai & Eva at LHR. Thai use our res' system so I just do a transaction for the flight, but only on the day of departure- Thai will give me info on future flights. Eva have their own system, but a quick call to their office will get me loads months ahead.

 

13 July they are going to a full 747 instead of the combi they use in winter, this will give a lot more seats in Y. When I booked 2 seats in April BKK-LHR-BKK 03 Jun/31

Jul, the agent could only book us as wait listed 31 Jul, but now we are confirmed.

 

Eva staff tell me it is cheaper to buy tickets in Thailand than the U.K But I think it is true of most countries, the old Brits are ripped off for just about everything, from cheese to cars.  

[stevemcm 1]

I arrived at BKK on 2nd June with EVA there were only 23 PAX in Evergreen, economy was more full but there were still about 20 empty seats. Immigration was very quick with no queues to speak of.

 

On arrival in Pattaya I went down Walking Street and thought I was lost there were so few people about.

 

stevoh.

[RayBan 0]

Hi rcj,

 

I am a frequent flier and have been for many a year. My penny's worth is that we are now seeing something very different than before. In the past, when there was a drop in passenger loadings, yes, airlines would heavily discount, especially at the last minute.

 

This time around however, what with the Iraq war, SARS, the threat of terrorism etc, yes there seem to be less people flying, but the major airlines are not discounting too much. Instead they are reducing their scheduled flights, going down for example from 7 days a week to 4 days a week etc, less seat availability, but packing them in.

 

So be careful at premium times, as there are already flights for instance around Xmas that are "wait-listed"

 

Best wishes  8)

[Daveuk 28]

Returned to UK  BKK>Dubai>Manchester on 6 June

 

BKK > Dubai  66% full   Dubai > manchester  80%

[fishingtime 0]

I can tell you that I travel on CAL and NWA on April 12 NYC to Bangkok. And the flights were empty only about 35% full. Then I returned to NYC on April 30 and the same was the case. My next trip was all on NWA going through NRT (Tokyo) and it was the middle of May. The flight from the United States was full within 10 people in economy and only a few empty seats in business. But NWA Fight # 1 from NRT to BKK was only 1/3 full. When we returned to the US on May 30 the BKK to NRT flight again was only 1/3. But my flight to the US and my Partners flight to the US (two different flights) were both over sold in economy. Some airlines are filling the planes and others are not, it more depends on who you fly with.

[ratshead 0]

flew to sydney on ba last friday.plane was full.got told from london to bangkok the plane was 50% full.but was packed from bkk to syd

[landy2a 0]

I flew BA Sydney/BKK 7 May and Qantas BKK/Sydney 11 June and both 747-400 flights were full.

 

John

[gerald 0]

Just back from Thailand on the 30th June on Thai airways. Plane full coming and going. The plane was full in all class's on the flight back to London

[CalEden 358]

I flew Eva Deluxe on May 23, 2003, flight only quarter full. Flew back June 23, 2003, flight full (BKK to Tapia To SF).