Lufthansa’s not so super deal
March 3, 2010 by Rapeepat Mantanarat
Filed under Travel Deals
Lufthansa is plugging cheap online fares to boost traffic on its flights from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur.
Dubbed Asia Super Deal, the fares are valid for booking and travel until 30 June. Tickets have a seven-day validity.
Lufthansa extends its long-haul services beyond Bangkok to both Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur to pick up local traffic and feed its inter-continental services.
The draw back for passengers using the Lufthansa online fares is frequency. It serves Ho Chi Minh City just three times a week on Tuesday, Friday, Sunday departing Bangkok at 1610 and returning at 2115. It flies four times a week to Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday departing Bangkok at 1515 and returning at 2135.
On its website, the Ho Chi Minh base fare is Bt510, but when taxes and surcharges are included passengers pay at least Bt3,440 (taxes and surcharges subject to change due to currency fluctuation).
It is almost impossible to locate the Bt510 base fare on the Bangkok-Ho Chi Minh route before June. In March, April and May the lowest fare is Bt3,225 and after taxes and surcharges are included the passenger pays Bt6,255.
5On the same route, Vietnam Airlines sells a roundtrip fare at Bt5,770 for travel in April, while Thai Airways International sells itself out of contention with a Bt11, 470 fare. Both carriers fly twice daily.
On the Ho Chi Minh City route, Air France’s best fare is Bt6,510 available through a promotion that runs to September. The airline advertises the fare at Bt4,750 including taxes and surcharges but finding it on the website is a daunting if not impossible task.
LH’s promotional fare of Bt3,440, available in June, is very close to Thai Air Asia’s Bt3,160 fare for travel in June if booked today.
Lufthansa’s online ‘super deal’ to Kuala Lumpur is available for the entire four months, including the Songkran holiday and other Thai long weekends making Malaysia an attractive alternative. The best available base fare is Bt460, roundtrip. After tax and surcharge are added the net fare is Bt3,430.
Malaysia Airlines’ ongoing promotion quotes its lowest fare at Bt5,205. It is valid for booking only until 7 March for travel up until 14 January next year. MH sells higher fares based on the convenience of offering four flights a day.
THAI offers 19 flights a week, but like Ho Chi Minh it quotes itself out of contention with an online fare of Bt9,345.
Air Asia’s lowest fare is Bt4,005, all in, for travel in April. However, if the travel period falls on the long Songkran public holiday, the fare could be higher than Bt5,000. Thai AirAsia and Air Asia together operate seven flights a day between BKK and KUL.
