I've been trying to organise a trip to Thailand from Sydney for a while now, however due to me and my friends having commitments we've only recently finally managed to find dates we can can all agree on.
What companies tend to provide cheaper flights? Should we buy now, or wait later?
We are looking for the cheapest flights possible as we would prefer to spend more at the place.
Thanks and any advice is appreciated.
It's almost always worthwhile to check Kayak.
I just got return flights to Bangkok from Melbourne in late November for about $470pp with Jetstar. The flight's going to be pretty no frills, but as you said, I'd rather save money on the travel and have more to spend when I'm there. Not sure if they fly direct from Sydney though (maybe they do to Phuket?).
Starting now I'd keep an eye out for sales in the usual places (and here of course) and be ready to buy when something comes up. Anything under $500 return is a good deal but will most likely be with the likes of Air Asia or Jetstar.
I've flown Melbourne to Bangkok on Jetstar.
The plane was 9 hours late departing Melbourne. Every hour they would announce that the flight had been delayed by one more hour. Turned out they were doing a full engine replacement in Melbourne (ie the 1-hour delays were lies, it was never going to be just 1 hour).
Many of the bogans got hopelessly drunk while waiting for the flight in the Melbourne terminal.
Then once we got on the plane there was an actual punchup on the flight, a drunk bogan reclined into another drunk bogans space so he hit the other guys girlfriend. Lol.
I would reccomend scoot for this trip, their fares are usually very good and the plane is almost what I would expect from a Full service airlines. Let me do my best to explain.
They use a Boeing 777-200 in a 3-4-3 configuration, so not the greatest on width, but it is very similar to Air new Zealand who run a Boeing 777-300er in a 3-4-3 configuration. (The 300er is just a longer version to the 200)
As for pitch, you get a very standard 31 inches in the blue economy seats. This isn't great, but it is about the same as Qantas, Jetstar, Air NZ, etc. Although, alot of other airlines (full service may I add) do have 32 and 33 inch seat pitches.
The yellow "super" seats are a real bargain if you can get them for a good price, I remember I got the upgrade at time of purchasing for about $24 each way to singapore from the Gold Coast. I would really reccomend you get this, the 35 inch seat pitch is well worth it for the reasonable small asking price. I mean, $25 bucks, compared to the exit row charges of full service carriers, thats a bargain.
What these seats also get you is the ability to sit in the smaller cabin behind the business class cabin, it's only about 3 rows and is much quieter than the other cabin, the seats are also mroe spread out because the entire cabin is comprised of super seats. So for the $25 you get some very spacious legroom and a more spread out cabin.
As for food (if you want some), go for the premium one. My most recent flight had a better than average for airlines food pie, it also comes with some other things, like a desert, side and a drink, all depends on what time you take your flight. My mother got some chicken dish which just looked (and tasted) like pure matter, but mine was (i would say) better than that of Qantas, and on par with what I had been served on emirates.
To wrap up, I would recommend (depending on how many people you travel with) row 22 or 23, this is in the middle of the private cabin, so you are not near any of the toilets or galleys, this also means that there is no one migleing nest t your seat when you try to rest. All my flights have been in row 22 A, B and C, for my two parents and I. These seats have worked really well, good leg room, good width (we are used to flying AirNZ since my dads a Kiwi), and alright food.
The way I think of it, a Qantas flight from Brisbane to Singapore will cost $1200 return on a good day. While a scoot flight from Gold coast to Singapore will be about $160-200 return on a really good day, $3-400 return on a good day, and $5-600 return on a fairly average day. The way I see it, the added $50-60 for the premium food, baggage, private cabin, extra legroom, is all really worth it. In reality, the price including all this is always (for my routes) about $500-600 cheaper than the lowest full service equivalent.
Here's a seat map for the private cabin since it is not yet available on seatguru
And here's an article from Aus business times showing some pics of the cabin and legroom
Hope this has helped.
@Mikeologos
Thanks for the very detailed writeup very helpful.
cheers.
I am a regular (about 6 return p.a.) between Sydney & Bangkok. A lot will depend on if you want baggage, direct flight etc. and willing to take stopover. Scoot is with overnight stopover in Singapore on outward leg. AirAsia is via Kuala Lumpur LCCT both ways(A real s*hole of an airport terminal). With Scoot and AirAsia web sites, my opinion is that you need to look out for sales and jump in quick, being flexible with your dates too. Subscribe to their emails. You pay for baggage and food and seat selection. You might look at Expedia Ireland and Brazil for possible approx $650 Qantas 30kg baggage direct flights and food incl. especially when Qantas is 'on sale'. Vietnam Air web site with 1 night stopover in Saigon - which I like - can have sales approx $760 includes food baggage, good return connection. Note: need to pay for Vietnam Visa for o/nite stay. Jetstar I think is via Melbourne or via Phuket - not for me!!
Thai air web site - rarely on sale, but often a direct return trip can add internal flight cheep! about $900 up.
Emirates, need to monitor their web site, their prices vary daily!! 30 kg baggage, 3750 miles accumulation, plus about 5,000 for first trip. Or can accum. Qantas ff. miles. Have seen recently for diff. dates $799, but often around $900.
No matter what airlines, School holidays will be high, and returning December January will be high priced.
Try Scoot Air, they have been looking pretty cheap to Thailand via Changi. Haven't flown with them though. Also check out the Skyscanner app.