air travel within thailand

hi all,

we have a short two week vacation booked this christmas. we are confirmed flying into chiang mai and out of bangkok. we would like to be spontanious with the rest of our travel within thailand, however we are concerned with the economics of that decision. our plan is to fly down to the beaches for a few days and then back to bangkok.

is it advised to arrange and book all our travel prior to arrival to avoid inflated rates of same day travel? i see in the guide books that there are several airlines to choose from. are any of them low cost airlines that have one standard fee reguardless of time of booking?

thanks, jack

air travel within thailand

Hi Jack,

These are the common airlines within Thailand:

Thai Air, Bangkok Airways, Air Asia, Nok Air, 12Go.

You can consider the last 3 as low cost airlines.

Would suggest you check their internet sites first.

All of them have standard fees. E.g. Thai Air from Chiang Mai to BKK. Y/class approx. THB. 2600.00 excl. taxes. I bought a ticket in June one day before my dept. for THB. 1700.00. I have seen prices from the low cost airlines for THB. 1000.00. However the earlier you book, the cheaper the fare can be. Since you are travelling in December (and this is high season) it might be difficult to get cheaper tkts at the last moment. Flights early in the morning or late at night might go for a cheaper price. If you want to fly Chiang Mai to Phuket directly, I would suggest you book this already on Thai Air, as they are the only one flying directly to Phuket and the plane gets full very quickly. Hope you can use this information.

Tony

air travel within thailand

You cannot be spontaneous at Christmas/New Year here.

Hotels will be full and flights will be full.

It is not a matter of paying a higher price - it%26#39;s a matter of no seats being available, particularly over New Year when all of Thailand is on the move.

This is not a customer driven market. Yes, a few extra buses may be put on, and maybe the odd extra plane. But when it%26#39;s full, it%26#39;s full.

Christmas and New Year are the one time hotels can guarantee to be full so unless you%26#39;re prepared to settle for third best book now.

thanks guys. due to your exellent advice i will be purchasing all travel arraingments soon.

jack