Difference in Prices
Nov 18, 2015, 10:30 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 43
Difference in Prices
I had to do a few bookings from different originating cities through Qatar Airways website and was astonished by the difference of prices despite the length of the trip.
For the same travel dates, the price of the ticket was:
This is what I was looking at:
Paris to Bangkok return flight on First Saver: 3127 EUR
Kuwait to Bangkok return flight on First Saver: 4335 EUR
Despite Kuwait to Bangkok being a shorter flight, it was almost 1,208 EUR more.
Any insight on why there is a massive difference? Is it due to the competition out of Paris or the Gulf region's strong purchasing power?
For the same travel dates, the price of the ticket was:
This is what I was looking at:
Paris to Bangkok return flight on First Saver: 3127 EUR
Kuwait to Bangkok return flight on First Saver: 4335 EUR
Despite Kuwait to Bangkok being a shorter flight, it was almost 1,208 EUR more.
Any insight on why there is a massive difference? Is it due to the competition out of Paris or the Gulf region's strong purchasing power?
Nov 19, 2015, 1:07 am
#2
Moderator: Qatar Airways
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: LHR/NCE/MIA
Programs: BAEC GfL & GGL, SQ Gold, Amex Centurion, Mucci des Chevaliers des Bons Mots et Qui Savent Moucher
Posts: 8,948
Very intetesting thread topic.
QR flights from the Gulf, seem to be quite pricey by comparison to those originating from Europe.
The CDG-BKK price you have quoted, sounds to me like a 3 leg F / 1 leg J service, but I am sure you can confirm. The usual pricing for CDG-BKK in F on the A380 all the way, is around €3,570 - although there was an error fare earlier this year which put the price at €2,600.
QR are routinely the cheapest F option for the CDG-BKK journey, but €3,570 can seem expensive when you compare J prices on the same route. If you do, you will note that Finnair and RJ tend to be very competitive, whereas QR are not as cheap. The former tend to be around €1,700 while QR is usually €1,900.
NB - my figures are based on a 3 day minimum stay midweek opposed to a Saturday night stay.
In terms of the Gulf, I am sure one of our local FTers will be along shortly to provide more information about the pricing structure. Apart from CAI to BKK, prices from the Middle East to Bangkok do seem high.
QR flights from the Gulf, seem to be quite pricey by comparison to those originating from Europe.
The CDG-BKK price you have quoted, sounds to me like a 3 leg F / 1 leg J service, but I am sure you can confirm. The usual pricing for CDG-BKK in F on the A380 all the way, is around €3,570 - although there was an error fare earlier this year which put the price at €2,600.
QR are routinely the cheapest F option for the CDG-BKK journey, but €3,570 can seem expensive when you compare J prices on the same route. If you do, you will note that Finnair and RJ tend to be very competitive, whereas QR are not as cheap. The former tend to be around €1,700 while QR is usually €1,900.
NB - my figures are based on a 3 day minimum stay midweek opposed to a Saturday night stay.
In terms of the Gulf, I am sure one of our local FTers will be along shortly to provide more information about the pricing structure. Apart from CAI to BKK, prices from the Middle East to Bangkok do seem high.
Nov 19, 2015, 1:26 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 43
msm2000uk - it was actually all in First class - a week trip in March flying out Monday and coming back the following Monday.
What I found to be very interesting is that the First Class Saver was cheaper the Flex Business Class ticket.
The only reasoning I see behind the different in prices is mainly due to competitiveness in the European market (18 airlines offering the route from Paris - Bangkok) compared to the Gulf region where there is only a few airlines (7) flying to Thailand from Kuwait
What I found to be very interesting is that the First Class Saver was cheaper the Flex Business Class ticket.
The only reasoning I see behind the different in prices is mainly due to competitiveness in the European market (18 airlines offering the route from Paris - Bangkok) compared to the Gulf region where there is only a few airlines (7) flying to Thailand from Kuwait
Nov 19, 2015, 3:58 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 12,046
I can comment specifically about this. Fundamentally QR is not confident about their ability to sell seats from Europe and over-confident about their ability to sell seats from certain Gulf markets.
Nov 19, 2015, 7:52 am
#5
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,685
Over-confident or actually able to? I know Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman are all lacking an airline as big as QR, but surely EK etc competition would still drive down prices a bit?