Thailand was predicted the status of “killer Sochi”: with the launch of direct flights, tours will become cheaper

According to ATOR forecasts, the cost of flights to Thailand this winter could fall by 40% with the promised introduction of direct flights to the country. This will happen even before the New Year – direct flights will appear from the end of October. In addition to Tai, Egypt, the UAE and Turkey will become popular countries where you can escape to rest from Russian frosts this winter.

Now the situation with flights to the country of elephants and durian is the same as that of the unfortunate passenger from Ryazanov’s film. You will celebrate the New Year at best at the airport, and at worst – in the air. After all, the average duration of a flight to Bangkok or Phuket with transfers is 17-22 hours.

Economy flights are mainly offered with one or two transfers (UAE, Bahrain). It turns out that two days of vacation will inevitably go down the drain. After all, not everyone succeeds in “flying while sleeping or sleeping while flying”. In addition, you have to pay 100-145 thousand rubles for this pleasure (in December, before the New Year, it is more expensive). And there are also flights with 3 transfers (the third in Delhi).

Tour operators, however, are cautiously encouraging those who like to warm their “white, crumbly body” in the sun. Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Maya Lomidze says that the cost of plane tickets will drop by 35-40% if direct air links with Thailand are reopened. And with Vietnam, by the way, the same. This will happen at the end of October.

“Tours will probably not become that cheap, because the volume of transportation will still be in short supply – there is nothing to put charters on in the volume in which it was before,” warned Lomidze. But in general, the price of the New Year holidays in the subtropics will be based on traffic volumes and demand.

The director of ATOR added that Egypt, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates remain popular resorts for winter holidays for Russians. Because, no matter how the situation changes, the Maldives or the Caribbean, for the most part, can’t afford it. Too far and expensive.

But what if the planes have not yet been allowed to go directly, but you already want to go to Tai? “MK” turned to sophisticated tourists for help and enriched himself with the advice of local residents. But it turned out that the advice of experienced people does not work today. They suggested that a flight from Irkutsk, Novosibirsk or even Vladivostok would help save on tickets. Like, the further east, the geographically closer and, therefore, cheaper. But this is not true – flights from the eastern cities of the Russian Federation turned out to be not cheaper, but on the contrary more expensive by at least 20 thousand rubles.

Other savvy tourists told a new way to get to “happy Tai” – through Mongolia. Like, the route from the Trans-Baikal Territory will still cost less than “the only flight from Moscow.”

The Ulaanbaatar-Bangkok ticket really turns out to be 2-3 times cheaper than the Moscow-Bangkok route. That’s just to fly to Mongolia from Moscow is all the same 100 thousand rubles or more.

And in general, only “normal heroes”, single stringers, and not family people with children, will be able to overcome such a path to Southeast Asia. After all, you must first get from Moscow to Ulan-Ude, and from there somehow get to Mongolia. A flight from Moscow to Transbaikalia takes 7 hours and costs 25-30 thousand rubles. Next is the trip Ulan-Ude – Ulaanbaatar. On a plane that flies 4 times a week. Or by bus, which also has a difficult schedule with a shortage of seats even for natives. There is another way to the homeland of Genghis Khan by car, over rough terrain. But there you can’t figure it out without a guide and “half a liter of koumiss”. However, there is good news too. The harsh Mongolian airlines are also going to fly to Phuket from November, there will be more flights from Ulan-Ude. And, purely theoretically, economy round-trip tickets according to this scheme will cost less than 100 thousand rubles per person.

– No, I have not heard about such a procedure for flying to Thailand, – says the representative of the tour operator Valentina. “I don’t even know what to say. Connecting flights are always a risk. It’s one thing when a transplant is to be done in a country where everything is well worked out. And mild climate with good weather forecast. But Buryatia on the eve of the New Year can greatly delay the flight or cancel it altogether, due to weather conditions. Especially if they fly only 4 times a week. And Mongolia… As for charters from Moscow, their number, of course, will depend on demand. Now there are a lot of calls and bookings for the New Year. The price of tours is acceptable, many people say that “Tai is cheaper than Sochi”, people have a great desire to go there.