Thai-Kiwi

one-way in J?

Thai-Kiwi

Beware the fare rules - My recent J fare ex-ICN to SIN cost KRW 1million, but had a nasty restriction - no changes permitted until the first sector flown, and then KRW 70k per change.

After a change of schedule identified for the return, it was easier to cancel at KRW 50k and re-book a new ticket than it would have been to wait until having flown the first sector.

Thai-Kiwi

Your problem is no J seats on 24 Jun.

Dummy bookings with the multi city tool for 23 and 25 Jun are OK. Initially I thought it might be due to the stop being >30 days and forcing you from J to D (or C).

See the screenshot:

flyertalker28265

what was the name of your fare, was it 'Royal Silk Flexi'? These are the rules for the flight I'm trying to get,

so I guess they just have a 30000KRW change fee which is fine by me. I'm worried a bit because for BKK-LHR, TG910 doesn't seem to be available in a lower price.

flyertalker28265

ah yes, just my plain luck I guess I have to travel on that flight specifically for my plans to work, guess I'll have to wait for more seats.

CPH-Flyer

That may be because the date you want to London is not available at the lower price. Normally the multi city option is fairly good at piecing things together at lowest available price.

flyertalker28265

yep, J class has no seats available but as Thai-Kiwi pointed out, there are seats on the 23rd and 25th.

do any of you know if the J class fares are going to pop-up again or do I have no chance of getting J class fares on the 24th of June?

Thai-Kiwi

It is possible, but who knows how likely.

You could take a chance and book on one of the other dates, and then pay the change fee if availability comes up. With a full cancellation prior if nothing comes available.

Or could you travel to BRU/CDG/FRA on the 24th and buy a cheap one-way for the last XXX-LHR sector?

flyertalker28265

thanks for your help!

also, do you have any experience with booking a ticket to a destination that you're not planning to go to? in my situation, i'm planning to do ICN-BKK-LHR-BKK and then book back to ICN but I'm planning to cancel the last BKK-ICN leg to reduce the price.

Will this be too much of a risk and if it isn't, can I do it with checked luggage?

BennyW

CPH-Flyer

This is generally referred to as 'hidden city ticketing', and airlines for sure do not like that you do it. If you read the US based carrier forums you see that these are airlines audit and track to see if people do it. It is a violation of the conditions of carriage, and people have had their frequent flyer accounts suspended for doing it. If you do it once, it is unlikely to be noticed, if you do it a lot you will most likely get in to trouble. I don't know to what extend Thai looks for it.

Another term for it is 'ex-somehere flying', e.g. on BA the talk about ex-EU flying, when people start somewhere in Europe for flying BA while being based in the UK.

Look to see if you can build several itineraries to use all the legs, and the airlines will never complain.

turtlemichael

I'm looking at how I will get home from Milan in April next year, home being Melbourne, in J.

I haven't flown Thai for many years but I believe that the long haul business class product is as good as most now. The cost on Thai on this route is substantially lower than most of their other European destinations as well as being substantially out of line with the competition. I guess I am wondering is this too good to be true? I know that Thai has had major financial issues but the situation seems to be a lot better now. Am I missing something as to why this route is "cheap"?

BinSabai

tickets from Milan on TG seem to be lower then from other destinations, in particular in J
and J product has significantly improved as well as they currently use the brand new A350 with full flat seats in J for this in opposite to 747
for BKK MEL there are currently come uncertainties and frequent changes (currently about half full flat and the other half angle flat); check the according thread in this forum

but chances are good that you get in April next year two flights with full flat J as they get more A350 and also upgrade some of the current 777-200ER to full flat

MikeFromTokyo

No, you aren't missing anything. If you have found a good fare I suggest you take it. TG is better than most European airlines, and is certainly better than Alitalia or Qantas on that route.

Thai-Kiwi

I have just made a similar booking ICN-BKK-AKL in J (one-way) in January. Fare was around USD 1,600 each. The KE fare in Y ICN-AKL direct was USD 1,400, although there are much cheaper non-direct fares.

Business class fares ex-HKG/BKK/SIN are all way more expensive. The J fare ex-KUL is good, but I still need to add-on ICN-KUL (day flight in Y), but the hassle for the USD250 savings wasn't worth it.

if there is another Malaysia Airlines sale I may be tempted - but I am happy with this fare having done considerable research.

My final hope is that the aircraft turns into a 77W or 359!

MikeFromTokyo

The beauty of premium cabin airline ticket pricing is finding the connections that yield great fares. If one has flexibility, or the stars align and the exact routing one wants is a great deal, tickets can cost a fraction of what the same segment might cost on a direct, point to point itinerary.