Jeeves isn't interested in the sex trade, but still going to Thailand

[brian]

Anyone with experience in booking cheap(ish) trans-Pacific flights? I seem to be getting a lot of conflicting information.

Cheapest fares seems to be some pretty sketchy Chinese airlines (anywhere from $450 to $600), which I don't mind avoiding, but getting some good prices from ANA (All Nippon Airlines) which seems to be a pretty well-respected Japanese (duh) airline. (Tix in the $730-$750 range.)

My advice thus far has been to try and get on Korean Air or Singapore Airlines, which tracks, but those tickets seem to be anywhere from $200 to $500 more than ANA.

So basically, any personal experiences to share?

[govmentchedda]

An acquaintance, who travels internationally with his family (wife and four kids) a lot, recently turned me on to Scott's Cheap Flights. It's a website/email service where you select airports of departure, and it alerts you to deals. It's free to join, but you can also pay $30 (annually) and get the alerts sooner than the cheapskates. I selected Tampa, Orlando, Miami, and Atlanta as my departure airports, and I get probably 10 emails a week on average with details on cheap airfare. You kind of have to jump on the deals quickly, but the deals I've seen have been great. I signed up a month ago, and there has been one 'mistake fare' email. RT to New Zealand for under $300.

The acquaintance's other tip was to sign up for AARP (there's no age requirement), and if you go through a logged in AARP account, every seat on British Airways is $65 less than advertised.

He's taking his family of 6 to the Netherlands and Belgium this spring break, and airfare was less than $300 per person RT from Tampa to Amsterdam.

[govmentchedda]

I'm not sure either the Scott's Cheap Flights or British Airways tips will help much, as I haven't seen many alerts to Asia, and I don't think BA flies there, but it might help. You also may get more flights to SE Asia from Vegas than I do from Tampa.

[brian]

I'm not sure either the Scott's Cheap Flights or British Airways tips will help much, as I haven't seen many alerts to Asia, and I don't think BA flies there, but it might help. You also may get more flights to SE Asia from Vegas than I do from Tampa.

Yeah, I'm pretty much committed to booking from LA as opposed to Vegas. I think they gouge you on the connecting flights to LA and I can either add those on separately or even just drive to LA and park or take a luxury bus for $20 R/T.

[Moreta]

Of the airline options that popped up on skyscanner, I’d probably go with Cathay. A friend does some contract work for them and they seem legit.

[brian]

Other thing pissing me off about this is my wife is going out for a month and I'm only able to go for like 11-12 days so we're not going to be traveling together one way at least and she's being impossible about considering anything other than Korean Air because a friend of hers took it there and raved. I'm tempted to tell her to get there however the fuck she wants and I'll do my thing and we'll just meet at our friend's place in Chiang Mai.

[sancarlos]

I don't suppose this is very helpful, but I've flown Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines and they both provided top notch service that put the US airlines to shame.

[Pruitt]

Of the airline options that popped up on skyscanner, I’d probably go with Cathay. A friend does some contract work for them and they seem legit.

My brother used to live in Sri Lanka and has travelled all over Asia. He likes Cathay Pacific and Singapore airlines very much.

[bfj]

try Rosetta Stone

[The Sybian]

I don't suppose this is very helpful, but I've flown Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines and they both provided top notch service that put the US airlines to shame.

And all their stewardesses are gorgeous.

My best friend growing up went to Thailand for a 3 month stint teaching English. 20 years later, he is still there, living in Phuket with a wife and a kid that has to be about 8 years old. Last person I ever expected to live abroad, but he loved it so much, he kept finding new gigs. He isn't on any social media, and I don't have contact info for him, so basically I am no help. Enjoy the trip though, I've always wanted to go. I want to eat at the floating market in Bangkok.

[brian]

Found a flight on Etihad Airways for $750, but it connects in Abu Dhabi. A 16-hour flight from LAX to AUH with a five-hour flight to BKK to follow.

[P.D.X.]

Damn. Is that on an A380?

[brian]

Damn. Is that on an A380?

777-300. I probably won't be going that route.

[degenerasian]

Damn. Is that on an A380?

777-300. I probably won't be going that route.

Don't ever take China Southern Airlines. It's garbage service and worse is that it's the cheap option for cheap, loud and obnoxious Chinese people you don't want to be on a 13 hour flight with.

How are you on flights? Do you want to break up the time on flights or go direct? It's 17 hours from SFO to SIN. That's too much for me. I usually like to break it up into 10 hour chunks if I can.

When I go to Vietnam, Calgary to Tokyo is 10 hours and Tokyo to Saigon is 7 hours.

[brian]

Ended up not wanting to bother to fight it, so we're flying together out of SFO via Korean Air in July. Tickets were only about $720 from SFO and we'll have to spent about $150 or so r/t to get to SFO from LAS, but still not a bad price really.

Having never flown across the Pacific before, the flight home kind of blows my mind (even if I understand completely how it works).

Depart Seoul at 7/24 20:00
Arrive San Francisco at 7/24 15:00

[degenerasian]

yeah that international date line screws with some people.

One time I left Taipei at 2am Monday morning and got to the Vancouver airport in time for Sunday Night Football.

Also it's different for some people but I don't get jetlag going to Asia because time is going forward but get jetlag coming back because of time going backwards.

[sancarlos]

Also it's different for some people but I don't get jetlag going to Asia because time is going forward but get jetlag coming back because of time going backwards.

That's the way it usually works. Much easier on the body to fly westward than to fly east.

[brian]

Also it's different for some people but I don't get jetlag going to Asia because time is going forward but get jetlag coming back because of time going backwards.

That's the way it usually works. Much easier on the body to fly westward than to fly east.

Never really thought about it, but it makes sense. Even though you're "losing" an extra day flying across the Date Line, it's still flying west and therefore easier w/r/t jetlag.