The hunt for cheap airline tickets to Bangkok seems to be on. Will low-cost carrier Norwegian become the thorn in the side of the airlines that now fly to Thailand?
KLM was previously 'not amused' with the arrival of this budget airline at Schiphol. Now THAI Airways is also starting to worry. Norwegian is competing with THAI Airways with three direct flights from Oslo to Bangkok. In response, Thailand's national airline has announced to fly daily from Oslo to Bangkok from June 18 to August 15 instead of the current five flights. Within 1 to 2 years THAI Airways will fly daily all year round. The fear of the new competitor is apparently great.
Rightly so or not?
The fear of KLM and THAI Airways seems justified. A quick look at Norwegian's website reveals spectacularly low fares. For example, it is possible to book a one-way ticket from Bangkok to Amsterdam in June 2013 for € 272. Do you want to travel from Amsterdam to Bangkok? Then you will have to fly via Oslo-Gardermoen, but these flights are also offered for less than € 50. Those who are looking for a bit can fly back to Thailand for less than € 500. The rules for luggage can also be called reasonable: 20 kg hold luggage and 10 kg hand luggage. Whether Norwegian will offer direct flights from Amsterdam is not yet clear, but it is a realistic option.
Price fighter Norwegian.com
Price fighter Norwegian is growing fast. In ten years they have become Scandinavia's second largest airline and Europe's third largest low-cost airline after Easyjet and Ryanair. But the company is advancing further: in 2012 no fewer than 222 new aircraft were ordered, including the fuel-efficient Boeing 787. Norwegian will start intercontinental flights to popular destinations such as Bangkok and New York in May and June, when it will take the first of eight Boeing 787 -8 Dreamliners.
Base at Bangkok Airport
To save costs, Norwegian will use Thai crew members on flights to and from Bangkok. That is why a crew base is being set up in the Thai capital. In this way, and in combination with the lower operational costs of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the budget airline wants to charge considerably lower rates than the competition.
Source: scandasia.com/competition-between-norwegian-and-thai-airways-means-cheaper-flights/
Norwegian Boeing 787 Dreamliner
In light of the ambitious plans, Norwegian hopes that the soon to be delivered Dreamliners will actually be allowed to fly. For now, they are all still on the ground due to a series of issues over the past few months.
Incidentally, I wonder how the return rate – including the Amsterdam-Oslo route – could end up at less than 500 euros. With the amounts mentioned above you will also end up between 650 and 700 euros, I think.
@ They even offered return tickets (Oslo – Bangkok) for € 380, but of course they are all gone already. Norwegian's website then became overloaded.
That's right Cornelius. If you add it all up, it turns out not to be cheap at all because you also have to buy a return ticket to Amsterdam Oslo.
Whether Norwegian will really be a cheap alternative for the Dutch remains to be seen. Once all aircraft have been delivered, the network will be further expanded. In any case, more competition is good. The fact that KLM and THAI Airways are getting nervous is, of course, a sign on the wall.
Just try to book, for example in June this year. Are no flights available AMS-BKK. Go back, but you have to get there first. Hopefully the planes are better than the website. For now it's nothing more than hot air.
I would like to know how many hours longer we are on the road. I now fly with KLM direct for 28.120 baht return – 1 month. then those Norwegians are not really explosively cheaper, also considering the longer travel times that I hate.
I've tried everything until recently, but I can't get back from AMS, whoever manages to do so; July BKK_ams and August AMS-BKK??
Nice to see a message that was there before, but I didn't manage to book!!
If you had followed the news, you would have known that the flights will be serviced with Boeing 787s. The existing ones are grounded for safety reasons, while it may take some time before the ordered ones are delivered. Ergo, it is almost certain that there will not be any intercontinental flights this summer. What those return flights BKK-AMS do on the website is a mystery to me. Norwegian currently flies with 737s, so that means refueling at least two or three times along the way…
Apparently it has still not sunk in: Norwegian does not yet fly intercontinentally and therefore not to Bangkok.
And won't be for a while. How do you think those planes fly from BKK? Shouldn't they come first? Let me think a moment! The whole website is a farce.
By the way: a one-way ticket is usually more expensive than a return ticket. KLM even dares to ask 1700 euros for it…
I think you are right Hans and that this is hot air. The first Dreamliner of 6 that have been ordered (so not 8) will not be delivered until 2014. The other aircraft will only start delivery from 2016, so they are not growing that fast in terms of new aircraft.
Source: Wikipedia
information above is from aviation news.nl, at least there is exactly the same text.
http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nl-NL/Article.cms/Airlines/Run_op_Norwegian-tickets_naar_Bangkok_en_New_York.
It is high time that an aircraft operator did something about the pricing, especially when departing from Bangkok.
There is often a difference of 200-300 euros between flights departing from Europe.
And that applies to almost all airlines, including MAHAn.
Why price agreements?
That this can be called quite serious is evident from the reactions of KLM, Thai and a few other companies.
We are waiting………………….
Don't get the prices either. I have a return Amsterdam-BKK via China airlines, paid about €700. Now my girlfriend is flying dd2-5 to the Netherlands, and has to pay € 900. I think it was the other way around a few years ago.
As long as you know the right way! Have a look http://www.moxtravel.com Only sells tickets from Bangkok. I book there regularly, without any problems and at a competitive price.
Just made a trial booking, Arlanda (Sweden) to Bkk, costs 650 euros. Now there is an additional 100 euros for AMS to ARL, I don't think 750 euros is that bad during the main holiday period. Now it is also true that my brother lives 1 1/2 hours away, so I kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
I can't go on the big holiday (Luckily) because of my work, but I'm going at the end of March, beginning of April, and I don't know which airline yet.
My girlfriend is going back around March 20 with KLM 689 euros.
The flights will continue, if not with the dreamliner, then with rented 747s
Dear Kees. Could you please be a little clearer. You jump from heel to branch. The trial booking is with which airline? This is about Norwegian and from Oslo, you come with Arlanda Stockholm (what a terribly expensive airport this is, fly there again in 2 weeks…pffff). You are talking about Ams – Arlanda 100€, so a one way ticket? Your girlfriend is going on March 20 or around March 20? How do you already know the price of € 689, because as you write this ticket has not yet been booked? You then end up with the flights continuing as usual. Which flights? Norwegian? Do you have a link where it says they are going to rent other planes? Thank you.