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Airfares seem a bit excessive this time around.

 
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sojourner1



Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Location: Where meggi swim and 2 wheeled tractors go sput put chug alugg pug pug

PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 12:10 am    Post subject: Airfares seem a bit excessive this time around. Reply with quote

Internet quotes of 1.2 to 1.6 million to go to Bangkok.
Unique Travel is quoting 850,000
Thai Airways is quoting 792,000 (not bad, but not good)
Cathay Pacific is quoting 1.2 million.

It's the same as it was a month ago. I seen some of you list decent fares, but when I check, I didn't get anything nearly as low as what you said in that thread about fares to Thailand. Maybe the week won is making prices on everything go up. I noticed my internet bill always ticks up 2,000 to 3,000 more each month since August. I noticed everything in Seoul went up too. It's all getting so excessive for my same level of pay as it was already over priced to begin with.

It's also very pricey to go anywhere else from Korea too. More if you're using an American site like Expedia. I like those sites as you can get quotes in real time while I'm still waiting for days on Korean travel agents if I don't walk into their office. They just do it the old fashioned expensive way to keep travel agents in the job. It's just like they could do away with toll booth agents slowing traffic, because we could all pay using our cell phones, but they won't automate any services for the safety of those jobs.

Why are prices getting so excessive being that fuel went down significantly since last Summer? Airfares are seeing dirt cheap sales or at least affordable offers in the Americas and most other parts, but not here. Korea likes to over state itself by playing the, "We're expensive so we're high class," game.

While Korea was already over priced to begin with, do you think they're gunning for more profits due to seeing a decreasing amount of purchases? Surely the economic crisis is affecting Korea so it's responding by hitting consumers even harder in attempt to make up for the losses from decreasing demand. The Korean market doesn't go on free market principals of demand and supply.
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Xuanzang



Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Sadang

PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 2:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

www.onlinetour.co.kr

Good prices for Bangkok posted by others on in this forum. I used them before the protests went down and still got a decent fare. Even cheaper now.
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Jeff's Cigarettes



Joined: 27 Mar 2007

PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 2:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just got my e-tickets today. 1,100,000 for two w/ thaiair.
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Brooks



Joined: 08 Apr 2003

PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 4:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

airlines like Cathay Pacific haven't done well.
They lost money in the 3rd quarter.
Korean Air has done bad all year.

Some airlines screwed up and bought fuel hedge funds when the price of oil was high. Now oil is $40 a barrel and they are screwed so they raise fares.

If you want to go to Bangkok, get creative. Look at low-cost carriers like AirAsia, which operates out of Malaysia. Direct flights always cost more.
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bangbayed



Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 6:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Brooks wrote:
airlines like Cathay Pacific haven't done well.
They lost money in the 3rd quarter.
Korean Air has done bad all year.

Some airlines screwed up and bought fuel hedge funds when the price of oil was high. Now oil is $40 a barrel and they are screwed so they raise fares.

If you want to go to Bangkok, get creative. Look at low-cost carriers like AirAsia, which operates out of Malaysia. Direct flights always cost more.


If you want to go to Bangkok, find a cheaper flight to Malaysia? Hong Kong or Manila maybe, but nowhere else would be cheaper to fly to in SE Asia than Bangkok.
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D.D.



Joined: 29 May 2008

PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 1:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Strange thing is most flights out of korea are empty. I flew to manilla and we all had three seats to ourselves. Think they would offer some bargains. I guess they get us to pay for the empty seats.
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sojourner1



Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Location: Where meggi swim and 2 wheeled tractors go sput put chug alugg pug pug

PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 1:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yikes! Singapore Air is quoting a whopping 3,067,500 won!

Why would anyone pay these kinds of exorbitant fares? Their systems must be classifying me as a rich biz exec who would just pay up to get the heck out of dodge. Servers detecting an English laptop from America operating in a foreign country would classify its' user as just that. dam. Are they way off or what?
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sojourner1



Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Location: Where meggi swim and 2 wheeled tractors go sput put chug alugg pug pug

PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 1:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

D.D. wrote:
Strange thing is most flights out of korea are empty. I flew to manilla and we all had three seats to ourselves. Think they would offer some bargains. I guess they get us to pay for the empty seats.


Totally unfair how they're playing us. This is not free market, it's a controlled scam! I guess they are trying to get us to pay for empty seats as to meet some artificial numbers they invented on expected future profits or they just want to prop up profits as to prove themselves as successful during a time the world is seeing enormous negative growth and decreasing demand for most everything. They'd rather fly empty than to sell seats at a discount! It's just like they'd rather keep a food item in a store long after it expires than to sell it at a discount just before it's expire date. And then still ask full retail price or only a tiny discount after it's gone bad! This is just downright stingy business practice. Korea is very stingy in the customer service, marketing, and sales departments, but great in manufacturing hardware. I'm thankful I don't have to put up with this crap quality customer service and sales the rest of my life, because Korea is not my home so I don't have to stay.
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Gimpokid



Joined: 09 Nov 2008
Location: Best Gimpo

PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 3:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sojourner: You seem like you're stressin on a trip out of Korea. I think you saw my fare in a different thread and yeah it's far from optimal (it will be 14 hours of hell, i'm beting), but something cheap can be had. I bought my ticket on the 28th so it's not impossible. Keep at it it and you'll get something.
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