Thai Airways - Is this reasonable?

[merrilyanne]

Then why, Meg, are you believing anything that has been said about Brian Williams if you can't believe anything in the media?

[buggins0402]

Totally off topic in a way....but it shows you shouldn't trust everything you read on the Internet....the facts are not always vetted by the authors:

 

https://www.yahoo.com/health/why-a-journalist-created-a-bogus-study-showing-120105844182.html

[bouhunter]

Did you REALLY read the USA Today article? Did you comprehend it??? Do you understand the dynamic pricing, the different fare codes, the different this, this and that. I don't think so.

 

It DEBUNKS your entire theory about cookies and repricing flights. Two or three times in the article the author states your cookie theory is MYTH, which is what we have all been saying.

 

This from the 4th paragraph in regard to clearing cookies:

 

"Before determining whether you need to do this, though, let me address this myth (and myth is what I strongly believe it to be) by starting off with a couple of geeky facts:"

 

Too funny:) I'll give her one thing, she has spent an AMAZING amount of time to write all that meaningless stuff. Have to sign off now, I need to clear my cache so the price of gas will go down before I fill up tomorrow:D

[ptrpanpens]

Totally off topic in a way....but it shows you shouldn't trust everything you read on the Internet....the facts are not always vetted by the authors:

 

https://www.yahoo.com/health/why-a-journalist-created-a-bogus-study-showing-120105844182.html

 

Now THAT is phony advice I wouldnt mind taking.;)

Hard to believe someone on vacation would spend this amount of time on cruise critic arguing her point of view. Certainly she can find better things to do.

[waterbug123]

Once you check in at the airport, and hand the boarding pass to the agent, the airline does not know or care who you booked the ticket through. Therefore to say that if you book flights online, you are going to get stranded and the airline won't try to find you a seat on the next flight, is totally false.

 

The airline absolutely DOES know however, what rules and restrictions apply to your ticket. They know this based on the exact fare code. These rules and restrictions may determine if, when and how you can be rebooked. Will the airline find you a seat on the next flight? Maybe. But if the next flight doesn't have enough available seats to accommodate all the pax on the canceled flight the airline will prioritize, and pax on conso tickets will not be at the top of the priority list.

 

 

Originally I called Singapore Airlines before I booked my flights with an internet site and they assured me that they don't differentiate between flights they sell and flights that people book online with the various internet sites. They said otherwise, they wouldn't sell blocks of seats to the consolidators if they didn't want them to sell them to the public. The rep said that the consolidators can offer lower prices if they want to, and Singapore Air does not care if the price is lower, given it is up to the consolidator to sell off the seats at whatever price they want, as well as Singapore Airlines being able to also control and monitor their own seats that they sell. The contract is not any different, given that once you purchase the seats, you are under Singapore Air's contract as far a their tariffs, rules, regulations, etc.

 

You still assume a seat is a seat is a seat, and that's just not true. Ever buy something in a store on "final clearance" when it's clearly marked "no returns, no refunds?" Maybe it was a $50 shirt but you got it at the end of the season for $12. You change your mind, your can't return it. But if I bought the same shirt at full price and kept my receipt, I can return it and get my money back. Same exact shirt, but different rules apply to the sale. Airline tickets are very much the same. You might get a seat on the same flight but depending on the terms of your sale, the rules attached might be very different from those of the person in the seat next to you.

 

I am on vacation and won't be addressing any more bashers/haters posts.

 

 

Goodbye then.

[slogam]

Singapore airlines is very dynamic in the ticket pricing. It varies from times of the day to month of the year according to the demand and These pricing change daily by the computer according to their load projection same like cruise lines.

 

Normally you will see up to 4 differences pricing in the website for the same class, same flight with differences restrictions. The lowest price may be less than half of the highest price. Furthermore, there are additional cheap offer, like 2 to go as well as very special price during the low season with severe restrictions.

 

Yes, you can book directly for $900.00 or $ 1,400.00 for the same date, same flight, same class cabin with Singapore Airlines. But the restrictions differ greatly.

 

This has nothing to do with the cookie.

 

I am from Singapore and fly with Singapore Airlines regularly.

[slogam]

Listed below are the example of Singapore Airlines Pricing dynamics as shown in their website today:

 

Route: Economy, LAX / Denpasar ( Bali) / LAX

 

1) Outbound: July 10 2015. Inbound: July 25 2015

Flexi saver: US$ 1,79.22 Flexi: US$ 2,052.22

 

2) Outbound: Sept. 10 2015. Inbound: Sept. 25 2015

Sweet Deal US$ 814.22 Flexi saver: US$ 1,052.22 Flexi: US$ 1,764.22

 

3) Outbound: Dec. 10 2015. Inbound: Dec. 25 2015

Sweet Deal: US$ 1,244.22 Flexi saver: 1,292.22 Flexi: Us$ 1,814.22

 

This example shown that SQ pricing can varies from US$ 814.22 to U$2,052.22 per return ticket for the same economy cabin,

depending on the date and Cat you want to travel irrespective of cookie.

[UKBayern]

As a former check-in/gate supervisor/ticketing agent for major airlines, I can only contemplate doing one thing after so much ignorance: slowly lower my forehead towards the desk and start banging it while softly weeping.

 

Some people here need a head on collision with fare rules before they will understand what we are all talking about.

I could write a book about non-refundable, non-endorsable, non-changeable and non-reroutable tickets in the hands of the uninformed public. In one case, 200 passengers missed their cruise.

[greatam]

Listed below are the example of Singapore Airlines Pricing dynamics as shown in their website today:

 

Route: Economy, LAX / Denpasar ( Bali) / LAX

 

1) Outbound: July 10 2015. Inbound: July 25 2015

Flexi saver: US$ 1,79.22 Flexi: US$ 2,052.22

 

2) Outbound: Sept. 10 2015. Inbound: Sept. 25 2015

Sweet Deal US$ 814.22 Flexi saver: US$ 1,052.22 Flexi: US$ 1,764.22

 

3) Outbound: Dec. 10 2015. Inbound: Dec. 25 2015

Sweet Deal: US$ 1,244.22 Flexi saver: 1,292.22 Flexi: Us$ 1,814.22

 

This example shown that SQ pricing can varies from US$ 814.22 to U$2,052.22 per return ticket for the same economy cabin,

depending on the date and Cat you want to travel irrespective of cookie.

 

Thank you so much for posting this and taking the time to look it up. It just proves if you know what you are doing, you can very often match the online discounters heavily restricted tickets and still buy direct from the airline where you are much more likely to get the help you need in case of a travel glitch. Just takes some work and research. Thanks again.

Edited May 30, 2015 by greatam

[slidergirl]

I am a Senior Contributor to Trip Advisor. I have a travel blog when I take my trips. I have been to over 15 different countries. 99% of my travels are with arrangements made solely by myself (air, hotel, transportation). I can call myself a savvy "travel writer" then ;)

 

I FARRRRRR trust Greatam, Flyertalker, Waterbug, UKByern more than the OP. You DO know there are different "fare buckets" for coach flights for the same flight on the same day on the same airline, right? It is the "fare bucket" for that coach ticket that determines the price and rules for that ticket. So, someone may have a coach ticket with the "H" fare bucket and rules for $598 and the person in the next seat may have a coach ticket with the "Y" fare bucket and rules for $1098. Both have coach tickets, both bought the same day. But, because they chose certain rules or just price, they have different tickets. Mr. "Y" can get a full refund, change flights, get on the next available flight with any route to get him to his destination if IRROPS. Mr. "H" can't get a refund, pays $250 for a change of flights, has to wait for the next exact same flight number to get him to his destination if IRROPS. Yet, they sitting next to each other in coach. So, by the OP's logic, they have the same ticket, yet Mr. "Y" got ripped off?????

Edited May 31, 2015 by slidergirl

[notentirelynormal]

So, by the OP's logic, they have the same ticket, yet Mr. "Y" got ripped off?????

 

Just want to point out - the OP is NOT the one making the outrageous statements. OP only asked a simple question about prices. merrilyanne is the one making the crazy comments.

[fbgd]

Think about it. Have you ever been at the gate when a flight has been delayed or cancelled? Does the gate agent announce that everyone that bought their ticket through an online internet site should move to the right as only the passengers who bought tickets directly from the airline are going to get on the next flight?!!!! Absurd!

 

I find it staggering that for someone who travels as much as you claim you are so ignorant to all this.

 

Sure, the agent won't announce it, but when all those people go to stand in the customer service line, or call the airline's customer service number they'll sure be informed about the restrictions on their ticket and what that entitles them to.

 

Just a few weeks ago I missed my connection and went to the rebooking desk to get my flights altered. The person next to me was informed that because of certain restrictions on their ticket they couldn't be rebooked on another carrier, whilst their friends who were travelling with them had already been put on another airline. They were pretty unhappy about it.

[BeagleOne]

I've learned a lot about airline tickets from this thread, thanks to the many informed people who have posted. I guess I've been very lucky because in spite of hundreds of flights over the years, I've never had a huge flight delay that required consideration of what type of ticket I had. (Now I have probably jinxed myself.) I will pay more attention when buying tickets in the future.

 

I think when so many reporters and writers are saying the same thing, and so many people have found it to be true, then it likely is true.

 

That is one of the most unbelievably ridiculous things it has ever been my misfortune to read. Saying something is true often enough doesn't make it true.

[Omega1]

Thanks to all the well informed contributors - I have learned a lot about airline ticketing practices.

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

[slidergirl]

Just want to point out - the OP is NOT the one making the outrageous statements. OP only asked a simple question about prices. merrilyanne is the one making the crazy comments.

 

You are, of course, correct. Mea Culpa to the OP. merrilyane just took it over so much that I just thought of her as the OP...

[Globaliser]

... And for your information, I do have access to consolidators database, and I can assure you that their prices are never lower.

 

Obviously, if you book 800 flights a year for others, you are somehow connected to the travel industry or a consolidator business for profit. Obviously you are trying desperately to defend the outdated concept of using travel agents and consolidators. Travel agents and consolidators NEVER offer lower prices than what can be found on the internet. ...

You talk the hypothetical talk, but can't walk the factual walk. Find me a price of $900. for the $1600. flights offered by Singapore Air, if you and your consolidators are so great. ...

 

I am stunned that you say you book over 800 flights per year yet haven't discovered that travel agents and consolidators charge more for the same flights as the online companies do.

I just wanted to preserve these bits of these posts, which are hilarious. They come from someone who - just a few posts earlier in the thread - didn't even know what a consolidator is. And still didn't, at the time of writing these posts - because those precious $900 tickets come from consolidators. That's what those cheapie online websites are selling - consol tickets.

Again, although the main poster has gotten friends to come on here (how else would they know it is a "she" when I thought it was a "he) ...

You're still not reading posts properly. None of my earlier posts in this thread showed that I already knew that greatam is a "she".

 

And no, I didn't ask anyone else to join in the discussion here.

 

Now, back to your claim that you buy ten times the air travel that I do ... if that were true, then when your flight gets cancelled you wouldn't be queueing at the gate waiting to see the gate agent.

[CruiseMGM]

An absolutely hilarious thread, although I sympathize with the frustration shown here and there. Greatam, Globaliser, and all you other VERY well informed contributors, thank you soooooooo much for the enlightening posts, I learned a lot.

 

Best wishes.

[buggins0402]

An absolutely hilarious thread, although I sympathize with the frustration shown here and there. Greatam, Globaliser, and all you other VERY well informed contributors, thank you soooooooo much for the enlightening posts, I learned a lot.

 

Best wishes.

 

+1. I always click on the AirCruise board just to learn...it is one of the most educational boards on CC. It can be tough love...but, it is a group that tries hard to educate. Most people don't realize that if they present a clear flight question...routings and dates...that group will go the extra mile to research a ton of possibilities...many times thinking outside the box.

[notentirelynormal]

+1. I always click on the AirCruise board just to learn...it is one of the most educational boards on CC. It can be tough love...but, it is a group that tries hard to educate. Most people don't realize that if they present a clear flight question...routings and dates...that group will go the extra mile to research a ton of possibilities...many times thinking outside the box.

 

I agree. Without the help of the very knowledgeable people on the AirCruise board I would never have had the slightest idea how to book airline tickets using miles or, more importantly, for upgrading. I was too naive to have the courage to enter into that mysterious world. With their help and guidance I was able to get business class tickets for myself and DH and then later my mother from LAX to Rome. Just the info of calling in various times to work with different agents paid off in spades. One guy says, oh the seats aren't open yet for points. Weird, I thought. I booked it the week before but was trying for better connections. Call back. Call back. Those people will spend a great deal of their time helping complete strangers find exactly what they need to get from point A to B and sometimes C and D are thrown in.

 

The umm, boldness shown by merrilyanne in telling them that she knows more because she heard it on TV and read about it is, well, priceless. Where is Forrest Gump when you need him?