Cheap Airfare To Thailand

Many times I’ve tried to find cheap airfare to Thailand and I know that it can be done. The problem is that to save a few hundred dollars on the flight usually means two or more layovers and 12 or more extra hours of travel time. Since I am coming from the U.S. this can mean total travel time of 30+ hours in order to save $200. Is it really worth it to add an extra day in travel to save a few hundred dollars? I’ve come to the conclusion that cheap airfare to Thailand is not worth it. I would much rather arrive somewhat rested and spend the extra time enjoying my holiday in Thailand rather than stuck for hours on end in an airport in Paris or Dubai or Taipei.

For the past several years now I’ve been making all of my flights on Thai Airways and when considering the time factor as well as the service provided by Thai I would say that theirs is the cheapest airfare to Thailand. Thai operates non-stop flights to Bangkok from New York and Los Angeles in the U.S. and from a host of cities in Europe including London, Paris, Frankfort and Zurich. What’s more, the airfare is usually comparable or even less than other flights that have one or more stop-overs. How can you possibly beat that?

Looking right now on Orbitz (I’ll never use Expedia again, but that’s another story) for flights from New York to Bangkok I’m finding a non-stop flight for $1364. That’s a bit higher than normal, but it is in the middle of December which is prime time for vacationing in Thailand. Other prices range from $1115 all the way up to $3136 for flights that all have 1 or more stop-overs. Let’s look more closely at the flights priced at $1115 which is a savings of $253 off Thai Airways non-stop flight.

Actually this isn’t a bad deal and if I didn’t travel frequently to Thailand I might grab it. The flight leaves New York at 11:30am and flies direct to Tokyo (14 hours 10 minutes) where you have a 1 ½ hour layover. Really that’s nothing. You then re-board and fly from Tokyo to Bangkok (7 hours) arriving at 10:15pm. Total travel time including loy-over is 22 hours 45 minutes. The downside here is that until you get your bags, clear immigration and get to your hotel to check-in it’ll be 1:30am or so. Plus if you fly to Thailand often you should consider the impact of frequent flyer miles.

Thai Airways non-stop flight on the other hand leaves New York at 11:35am and flies directly to Bangkok arriving at 4:45pm the next day, total travel time 17 hours and 10 minutes. And that has been very accurate, in fact I usually arrive a bit earlier than scheduled. The landing time isn’t bad, considering the time it will take to clear immigration and get your bags you should miss the worst of Bangkok rush hour traffic and be checked-in at your hotel by 8:00pm and able to at least get a nice dinner and good nights sleep.

So, to get your cheap airfare to Thailand it will cost you about 11 hours total travel time in addition to the hassle of changing planes and making your way through a possibly unfamiliar airport as well as the potential frequent flyer miles lost if you travel to Thailand often. Maybe I am just spoiled, but I love the convenience of a direct non-stop flight and can’t even put a price on it although if I had to it would be more than $253 round trip.

If you can afford it take the non-stop flight, but if you’re on a tight budget and have no time line for your holiday then by all means go with the cheapest airfare to Thailand you can find.

How do you get to Thailand? What deals and bargains have you found? We want to know!

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