My 18yr old has had plane cancelled in Thailand /Laos - any seasoned travellers have advice for best way home?

Posted by more-random-words@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 55 comments

Return flight was through Dubia and the whole flight cancelled (and i guess eventually refunded) - now the flights out of Thailand are much more than her original flights for both ways was

shes enjoyed travelling through all the countries in the area (currently in Laos, then was heading to Thai for end of her trip and flight (she flew in to Vietnam)) and if anything is happy the cancellation has given her more time there

im wondering where would be the best/ easiest/even most interesting place she could get to make her way back to the UK - ive never travelled there so dont have any advice for her

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Luvlymish@reddit

Ok it's been twenty years since I was in Asia. I'm not sure how long she's got on her visa, but if she starts looking now for a flight in May and is flexible about which airport she flies out of and which one she flies into she's going to do best on the saving money front. It always used to be Bangkok to Gatwick that was the cheaper route but with the mess in the Middle East that's almost certainly wrong. Basically I'd have gone into an Internet cafe and spent a couple of days looking at kayak or seascanner equivalents. Then book a flight and enjoy the next few weeks.

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more-random-words@reddit (OP)

its just shes not committed to Bangkok airport so I just thought there might he cheaper, but fair enough if its known as a fairly cheap airport and shes happy to chill out there for a bit longer

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Luvlymish@reddit

Certainly for flying to the UK, but honestly if she's up for travel then likely she can find cheaper doing a more roundabout route.

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genxerrr@reddit

Fly direct. Thai airways or EVA air.

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I-Spot-Dalmatians@reddit

My younger sister has just been in the exact same situation. She got a flight from Bangkok to China, spent a few days there, hiked part of the Great Wall of China, then flew to Istanbul, met her bf there and they’ve flown to Cyprus now to spend a week there before coming home. It was about £250 cheaper than the quickest way home which was Thailand to China then China to England.

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more-random-words@reddit (OP)

wow ok yup a really roundabout route - from seeing responses here im more comfortable with her winging it and winding back here in whatever route presents itself

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seasonaldiamond@reddit

If you’re doing the research for her, get on chat gpt, have it analyse options within her budget from the whole region, you’ll prob get a better more current take than here or even a travel sub, given prices will change all the time and it will give some strong suggestions that you/she can then dig into

That aside, she’s in a fantastic part of the world, and if she gets to stay a little longer to enjoy more of it, then that’s a massive bonus - I hope she encourages you to make a visit there too!

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more-random-words@reddit (OP)

oh she absolutely has - shes in the middle of what seems like a week long water fight in Laos- think shed be gutted if she had to come back (her flight was today) and she wants us to go out with her next year and seeing her pics and vids it all looks an amazing place to visit

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McWozzyBurgers@reddit

I arrived home yesterday from Thailand to the UK, I used Etihad through Abu Dhabi and had no issues, and the flights were much cheaper than Emirates etc through Dubai (I originally was supposed to travel with them but got mine cancelled too!!) Try giving Etihad a look maybe?

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more-random-words@reddit (OP)

ok nice one - thx

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propostor@reddit

In the nicest way possible: Does your daughter who is currently travelling on the other side of the world - and has presumably been fine so far - really need advice from internet strangers on how to deal with a cancelled flight?

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more-random-words@reddit (OP)

tbh shes got some ideas similar to yours (China or maybe Singapore ) - its me that wants advice cos this is completely out of my knowledge so thought id see what reddit tgought

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Humble-Stay9771@reddit

My daughter has flown direct from Bangkok to Stockholm with Thai airlines in the recent past. Cannot recall flight route but she stopped in Stockholm for a long weekend before the short hop to Edinburgh so we met her there for a city break/reunion and came back to Edinburgh together.

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Mertespackers@reddit

Advice would be for them to get a plane mate

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AskUK-ModTeam@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question.

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more-random-words@reddit (OP)

I just don't know if some places have cheaper flights back to UK- its not like im looking for suggestions to hot air balloon over to everest, ski down it for a big jump over to land on a flying carpet

but if somone said its fairly easy to get a boat over to Chinese mainland (where she transferred over to Vietnam on way in ) id put that to her

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DaveBeBad@reddit

She could just fly to China - but she’d need a visa. IIRC Chinese airlines can fly over Russian airspace to get home.

Otherwise possible going further south through Addis Adaba or Cape Town - but neither way is going to be cheap.

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InterestAdditional49@reddit

If she’s a British passport holder as far as I’m aware she doesn’t need one just needs to fill in an arrival card when she lands, the visa free is only until December of 2026 if I’m not mistaken but that would possibly be the cheapest way of getting back

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DaveBeBad@reddit

Looks like they’ve changed the rules since I last looked. Thanks for the correction

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InterestAdditional49@reddit

You’re welcome, I guess working in the travel industry has come in handy for once 🤣

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more-random-words@reddit (OP)

thats the sort of thing im wondering - or get to Singapore or somewhere like that with busy airports

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DaveBeBad@reddit

Hong Kong might be a good bet. You’d need to check it though.

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Sergeant_Fred_Colon@reddit

If you can afford it, and they have the time, get them to head the east way around. The middle east isn't going to open for a while yet, any booked flight through there is going to be cancelled.

Got to Japan for a few days/weeks - then Canada for a few days/weeks - then back to the UK.

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ceffyl_gwyn@reddit

The middle east isn't going to open for a while yet, any booked flight through there is going to be cancelled.

This just is not true.

You may choose not to transit through Dubai or wherever right now, but there are still plenty of flights going in and out.

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Sergeant_Fred_Colon@reddit

The foreign office still advises against all but essential travel ti the UAE

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ceffyl_gwyn@reddit

Ok? That's completely unrelated, and as I say it's your choice whether you transit through there or not.

Your claim that the middle east is shut down and all flights through it are cancelled is simply factually false. There are still flights into and out of Dubai (and others). People are still transiting through Dubai, especially on Asia to Europe routes. That's just the factual reality.

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Albert_Herring@reddit

FO advice is likely to affect any travel insurance she may have.

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ceffyl_gwyn@reddit

Yes, and again, irrelevant.

Fact: there are flights going in and out of major Middle Eastern hubs, such as Dubai.

Fact: people can transit through them, and many are.

Fact: it's up to the individual whether they choose to do that or not.

Sharing false information, as you did initially does not help anyone make an informed choice.

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dom_eden@reddit

The ME is completely open, Dubai International is apparently about 75% capacity. What are you talking about?!

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NoNewspaper9016@reddit

This gets my shout for “most interesting” option

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explax@reddit

China. There's also visa free travel to China now so you can book to china with one airline and to UK other transit point with another airline.

Or you can fly via India.

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tom144gian@reddit

Quick google search shows you can find flights from BKK to LHR for just about £300 - what’s the issue here?

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InterestAdditional49@reddit

That the original flights may have been cheaper at the time and limited funds to cover the higher costs

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dom_eden@reddit

I doubt you're going to get cheaper than £300 for an eight-hour flight.

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matty_lam_937@reddit

Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific are pretty well priced and a great airline IMHO. Hong Kong is also very cool (my favourite city) and an easily navigateable city if she wants to stay a few days and have a look around!

The airport is also easy to get to via the MTR, and flights are regular and direct to the U.K.

Good luck

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NoExperience9717@reddit

Chinese airline probably best to avoid Middle East although will be a Russia overflight if that bothers them.

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Joyride4Life@reddit

Why avoid Chinese airlines? They are effectively secure from fuel issues as China has large reserves and overflight of Russia isn’t a problem either as there is zero chance Russia would move on a Chinese airline.

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NoExperience9717@reddit

I'd take the risk and DGAF but issues with Russia overflights:

Lots of Ukrainian long range strikes going on so Russian air defence is likely pretty jumpy. It wouldn't be intentional but that's small comfort.
Ethical considerations where people avoid Russia
Possible if you're in the defence/public sector you may be banned from or encouraged not to overfly Russia for the risk of an emergency landing.

Asia also is getting hit hard by the oil crisis as Hormuz is on their side of Suez so a lot of the 20% was going to Asia. China might be OK just about but they were thinking about restricting exports from their refineries which shows they dont have a massive surplus.

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Joyride4Life@reddit

China has the biggest oil reserves in the world next to Japan. They are restricting refined exports because they can play this two sided game where restricting exports costs the US but not China and they retain certainty of supply.

But unless OP is in the defence sector (in which case they will know the risks and cost won’t be an Issue) then the overflight of Russia is fine. They fly well beyond the range of drones until the last part of the flight where they come in north of anything that’s ever been hit.

Ethics are a luxury that a budget traveller hoping to just get home may not have the cash for.

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cboel@reddit

They are restricting refined exports because they can play this two sided game where restricting exports costs the US but not China and they retain certainty of supply.

China restricting exports is likely the reason why OP's flight got cancelled in the first place. If China is playing some kind of geopolitical game with respect to exports to get back at the US, and OP is already a victim for no other reason than China is playing games (they have plenty of oil reserves as you say), then why would OP want to continue getting caught up in all that and potentially be put in even more harm's way?

Ethics are a luxury that a budget traveller hoping to just get home may not have the cash for.

And preaching isn't necessary when someone who isn't involved in some kind of geopolitical struggle and just wants to get home in the least stressful and cheapest way possible, wants to avoid becoming even more of a pawn than they already are. smh

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TimeTimeClock@reddit

I haven't checked many iterations, but if you search Kiwi.com, she can fly Asiana, Hanoi, Seoul, LHR tomorrow for £743.

If you want to have a look see by combining cheap local airlines, you can try Air Asia, but my quick searches so far come up with a similar cost.

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andyone100@reddit

Etihad are flying out of BKK to LHR at end of April for £280, which isn’t bad. Firm up using google flights.

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sudoku602@reddit

Emirates are still flying from Bangkok to the UK via Dubai so if her ticket was with them they should rebook her onto a different flight. If it was a self-transfer then yes she needs to book a new flight.

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GFoxtrot@reddit

Because I love it and if she doesn’t need to rush back I’d look at flying to Japan and spending a bit of time there.

Loads of flights back from Japan to Europe.

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Joyride4Life@reddit

Depends on your budget, but consider flying into China and back that way. They have enough oil in. Their reserves to ensure aviation fuel isn’t an issue. You will end up flying over Russia but on a Chinese plane that’s no issue.

Look at google flights to see what your options are. China southern or similar will do fine.

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YouSayWotNow@reddit

When an airline cancels a flight, I was under the impression it's their responsibility to get the passenger an alternative flight home, even if it's on a different airline and costs more. Check if that's true (a travel subreddit would be a better bet than here) and if so, tell her to insist that they find the flight. They will try hard to push it onto the passengers to deal with but there are rules governing this.

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rocketscientology@reddit

Singapore is the biggest transit hub in the area with direct flights to London, but Bangkok/Hong Kong/anywhere in China will also be an option.

Re cost - all flights are going to be expensive. She (or you) will have to pay a lot of money upfront and then wait for the refund and any insurance claim. I am assuming that you didn’t let your 18 year old go to SE Asia without travel insurance so get a claim going ASAP and put it on a credit card in the meantime.

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more-random-words@reddit (OP)

I dont mind sarky responses - but yeah think i shouldve asked in a travel sub

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