Many people will be aware that for major holiday destinations like Thailand, airlines offer massively reduced return fares. Nearly everyone on a plane to Bangkok will be on one of these tickets whether they know it or not as even the economy fare without discount is way beyond most people's budget.
What some may not know is that just about every passenger will have paid a different "discount" price and someone on that plane paid the lowest of all which may be as much as half of what most others paid. So how did they get the ticket at that price ? Its surprisingly easy.
There are many travel sites these days that allow comparison of airfares between the different carriers. You just type in your requirements and up comes a list of the different airlines that operate between your departure point and Bangkok, usually sorted (or sortable) in price order. They will, however, only list airlines for which they have a commission agreement so be aware that many do not list all the carriers operating your route
These sites are a great tool to help you find the lowest rates but there are a couple of other things you should know before making a booking.
Perhaps the most important factor in getting the cheapest fares is to book well ahead. The earlier the better is usually true but for off-peak times of the year, three months ahead should be sufficient to get the best rate but watch out as a seat can jump wildly in price within a single day so book it as soon as you can. Thailand's holiday high-months are January to April.
Another good way to get the fare even cheaper is to experiment with the dates. Most people taking a holiday leave at the end of a working week and return at the end of another working week. This means that the airlines can fill flights travelling on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the easiest so you can sometimes save a small fortune by travelling Monday to Thursday. If you intend travelling in the high season then this principle can save you even more, especially if you can leave a day or two before the christmas break.
Something else worth experimenting with is your starting airport. If you have a choice of airports within a reasonable distance from your home see what the cost of your itinerary is for each of them. You will quite likely find that different airlines become available to you and, of course, different fares. If the saving is big enough it might be worth sitting on a bus for a few hours.
Nearly all international flights to Thailand terminate in Bangkok. You can book straight through to other Thai cities via the websites mentioned earlier and a suitable connecting flight that will almost certainly be by Thai Airways will be added to your bill. If the time between flights in Bangkok suits and the cost is not a problem then this method has the advantage of being able to check your luggage right through.
If, however, the connection wait-time is not good or if you want to save 50% on this leg of your journey then you can book a flight on one of the cheaper thai domestic airlines. More information on these can be found in the Travelling Around Thailandsection.
Some good airline booking search sites are :
Netflights(Good for Europe and UK)
Lastminute.com (Good for Europe and UK)
Travelocity (Good for the U.S.A.)