Bangkok Airways has landed a one-two-punch offering in the attempts to salvage a crumbling aviation market brought on by Covid 19. Unsurprisingly the industry has seen a hard drop in operating revenue which has led to airlines offering various incentives to keep revenue moving. In its latest attempt, Bangkok Airways has chosen to offer two promotions which aim to attract different segments of the local market. On one hand, it has offered an Elite Pass – an unlimited flight pass on its domestic network for the whole of 2021 – which is only on sale in November 2020. On the other hand, it has taken a more approachable promotion called Flyer Pass.
This is not the first incarnation of the Flyer Pass – back in 2009 it too offered a similar promotion. In that promotion, the Flyer Pass was divided into 4 smart packs: Fun, Fusion, Fancy and Freedom. Each set consisted of 4 flight sectors selectable from the card’s designated destinations at prices starting from all-inclusive airfares of 9,000 Baht up to 29,000 Baht.
What Is Bangkok Airways Flyer Pass
Under this promotion, you can purchase tickets on Bangkok Airways domestic route network for a flat 975 Baht per flight – with the exception of Koh Samui which has a supplement attached.
Flights are marketed as 4 one-way tickets but are in fact distributed as individual redemption codes which amend the flights price at checkout.
The booking conditions for this pass are as follows:
Promotions Available:
There are two promotions available and all ticket codes are inclusive of surcharges and airport taxes.
Domestic Pass
Cost: THB 3,900
Will allow passengers to travel on Bangkok Airways flights between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Lampang and Phuket, the fare for this type is set for just 3,900 Baht (4 one-way tickets inclusive of taxes and surcharges)
Samui Pass
Cost: THB 7,900
Will allow passengers to travel on Bangkok Airways flights to and from Koh Samui to any destinations in Thailand such as Bangkok and Phuket, the fare is set for just 7,900 Baht (4 one-way tickets and inclusive of taxes and surcharges)
When Can You Book Tickets:
Booking period: 3 September 2020 – 31 August 2021
Traveling period: 3 September 2020 – 31 August 2021
Where Can You Buy The Vouchers:
This is where the promotion is clearly geared towards the local market – the downside of the promotion is that the pass isn’t available online; rather you have to go to a physical location in order to purchase it – on the Flyer Pass page it states:
Samui Pass (in-out Samui) is available for sales at:
- Bangkok Airways ticket office at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Sukhothai, Phuket and Samui (during office hours) while stocks last
- Bangkok Airways Head Office from 1 – 30 November 2020 (Office hours: 08:00 – 17:00 Thailand GMT +7. Closed on Saturday, Sunday and Official Holiday)
An interesting view – simply by the above wording at least – is that this is one of those reoccurring promotion – and that Bangkok Airways will continue it until it has enough of a war chest to see it through Covid.
Is Bangkok Airways Flyer Pass Worth It?
As with all promotions, the aim is that an upfront payment will lead to future savings by hedging flight prices ahead of time. But depending on when you want to fly, you can potentially save more money buy not buying the promotion and getting a ticket closer to the date of travel. This is especially true while the virus is rampaging through the world. As Covid is around and travel is restricted – flight prices are at all-time lows. Outside of Covid there is a bit more of a saving but not much.
Furthermore, by buying into the promotion you are locking yourself into the terms and conditions – which in this case are restrictive, including:
- Code can only be used in specific booking class (Booking class O, A, or P), for one-way journeys to participating destinations operated by Bangkok Airways
- One code is eligible to book 1 Economy Class one-way ticket for adult or child only
- Each code can only be used for only direct (non-stop) flight with a star symbol (★)
- Limited seats per flight and may not be available on all flight
- Flyer Pass is not eligible for point accrual
- After issuing ticket, flight/date change is permitted with fee. Passenger names and routes cannot be changed.
Conclusion
Personally I find the restrictions too tight and the savings negligible when considering the low fares currently and especially if you book in advance in regular times.
Like its counterpart, the unlimited travel pass, the margins on benefiting from this promotion is extremely slim as Bangkok Airways works on exceptionally tight margins.
