they would have too drop it a lot bit. the domestic market (thais) are totaly priced out of this flight. At first I was kind of excited too here that thai airways would offer a non stop to jfk. after seing the flight time and knowing that thai tends too price it's routs above most airlines (even cathey) i started thinking this JFK-bkk non stop may not work out. After seeing the price on fodors and watching a tv show that showed the econ pemium seats, which were good but not that good (espeically for the looooong haul). I am not surpised the airline is cuting back..

According to a Bangkok Post article the NY flight has done well -- 70 to 80% capacity. But I think they see an opportunity in LA and they only have a certain number of planes that can fly the route. Also fuel cost is very high for the flight. They will now have a total of 8 non stop flights (4 from NY and 4 from LA) instead of 6 so they are actually increasing the service from the US.

But glorialf - Thai's three weekly BKK-KIX-LAX flights are on 747-400 (375 to 405 seats). The four new BKK-LAX non-stops are on 215-seat 340-500, so that's a significant decrease of seat for sale to the US West Coast.

The problem is of course high fuel cost. I'd argue that with this kind of fuel price, the 340-500 really cannot make a profit on most routes. 4 engines taking ~200 passengers on 20-hour flight has a very high cost.

didn't realise the difference in size. But, yes -- fuel is the big problem.

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Craig - if coming home well-rested at the end of your trip is the goal, you could spend the unexpected extra day in Bangkok just relaxing at one of the superb hotels. Don't know where you are staying, but we love the Peninsula (staying on the "other" side of the river is lovely).

The Peninsula is a wonderful place to enjoy a day of R&R -- you could eat the fabulous breakfast buffet, relax by the pool (looking out on the river), dine at the hotel's wonderful outdoor Thai restaurant and even pop next door to the Oriental's spa for massage/treatments if you really want pampering.

Wintertravel - we did end up adding an additional night in Bangkok. We will be staying at the Penn for our first 4 nights but not at the end of our trip. We are doing an excursion to Luang Prabang in the middle of our stay. When we return from LP, we will spend 4 nights at the Plaza Athenee (Club Floor). The Athenee is better situated for shopping and dining and less expensive than the Penn. From what I have heard, the Athenee has a terrific pool so we can take advantage on our last day if we choose to go easy.

Speaking of high fuel costs...well...remember I had thought of surprising my mom and taking her to Singapore/Bangkok...in the spring... and giving her my Delta frequent flyer miles(on Singapore Air) and then buying myself a ticket. Well, that didn't work out so well due to the difficulty of Singapore Air only assigning 6PM flights...to award holders...between Singapore and Bangkok(We needed to arrive into BK earlier). So I called up Delta Friday before last and told them to cancel the whole thing. I was tired of the headache of having to check back. So, instead, I've decided to take her to Paris, where she'e wanted to go anyhow. She hasn't been in 27 years. Well, I called United and all of the cheap seats...for purchase.... were sold out...for April 2006 and on Delta...no award seats are available...from now until May 2006.I prefer my miles to go into the United account because they only require 60,000 frequent flyer miles for a free ticket to BK/Singapore as opposed to Delta's 70,000 mile requirement. So,I called Delta and they had a few cheap seats left(on Air France) for the dates I needed...but at $220.MORE per ticket than I paid to go to Paris just this past spring. This past spring's ticket was bought in September for the following spring. So about the same number of months in advance as I've bought these two tickets for spring 2006. I go to Paris annually so I know what the prices usually are and this year prices are being quoted as high as $1300...although I didn't pay that. I went on and paid the extra $220. per ticket since it's my mom's birthday soon and I'd like to enclose her ticket in her birthday card. Plus, she'll need to know months in advance since she has other travel plans in the works...throughout the year... with some friends of hers.So, I don't want any conflicts of scheduling. I decided to use the Delta miles to book Singapore/Bangkok for Aug 2006 and my ticket came over the weekend. And again Singapore Air would only issue a seat on the 6PM flight up to Bangkok. I called the first day that one is allowed to book for a ticket...which is...10 months in advance. Happy Travels!

Orgy 7, it was good to meet you at "The Brunswick" last week. CJ is a great tour guide.

Once again this board has proved invaluable. Were it not for this posting, I would never have known that the JFK-BKK flight on which I have 6 FF seats no longer exists (can't be too surprised that there weren't any phone calls alerting us to this). It appears that they have rebooked us a day later cutting our trip short by a day, so it's not the end of the world but the lesson is clearly to confirm, confirm again, and then keep on checking.

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