Manchester to Phuket flight advice

[SkinnyPete]

I'm seeking suggestions for a flight from Manchester to Phuket sometime in June/July.

Normally, for a long-haul flight, I would only go business as I'm too tall and fidgety to fit comfortably in an economy seat. I also have serious issues with sleep deprivation on flights, especially those at night, as I can't sleep upright. However, all the MAN-HKT flights stop over in the Middle East, with a couple of hours' transfer time at the relevant airport.

Rather than spending £3k on a business class ticket with Qatar, I'm wondering about spending £800 on an economy ticket and using one of those sleep hubs in the airport to get an hour or two of sleep to partially recover before the next flight.

A friend also told me that flights to Phuket at that time of year are usually quiet, and it's possible I could find a row of empty seats in economy to sleep across. Of course, this is a gamble.

Keen to hear the advice of those who have done this route or something similar, whether I should be brave and risk the possible pain/discomfort for a good saving, or if I should play it safe and just buy a business ticket at a much greater expense.

Edited by SkinnyPete on Sunday 2nd March 09:40

[WyrleyD]

Alternatively you could go business class from one of the Northern European airports which I have done often, it does mean that you have to get to Oslo, Stockholm or Helsinki but it can give you a large saving. I just looked and Oslo to Phuket in July is around £2300 plus £200 to get to/from Oslo. Of course you might not want the extra leg but to me it's all part of the journey, the last trip I did was LHR-STO-ZRH-SIN-AKL and that was £2k cheaper than LHR-AKL.

[SkinnyPete]

WyrleyD said:

Alternatively you could go business class from one of the Northern European airports which I have done often, it does mean that you have to get to Oslo, Stockholm or Helsinki but it can give you a large saving. I just looked and Oslo to Phuket in July is around £2300 plus £200 to get to/from Oslo. Of course you might not want the extra leg but to me it's all part of the journey, the last trip I did was LHR-STO-ZRH-SIN-AKL and that was £2k cheaper than LHR-AKL.

Thanks for the suggestion. Whats the reason for the cost saving, airfare tax?

Out of curiosity, I visited the Eithad website rather than a flight comparison site, and if I buy an economy ticket for £800, they will give me 2 nights in a hotel in Abu Dhabi as part of the same trip. That seems a good offer, and breaks up the outbound flight.

[WyrleyD]

SkinnyPete said:

WyrleyD said:

Alternatively you could go business class from one of the Northern European airports which I have done often, it does mean that you have to get to Oslo, Stockholm or Helsinki but it can give you a large saving. I just looked and Oslo to Phuket in July is around £2300 plus £200 to get to/from Oslo. Of course you might not want the extra leg but to me it's all part of the journey, the last trip I did was LHR-STO-ZRH-SIN-AKL and that was £2k cheaper than LHR-AKL.

Thanks for the suggestion. Whats the reason for the cost saving, airfare tax?

Out of curiosity, I visited the Eithad website rather than a flight comparison site, and if I buy an economy ticket for £800, they will give me 2 nights in a hotel in Abu Dhabi as part of the same trip. That seems a good offer, and breaks up the outbound flight.

The routes probably have low traffic therefore the airlines offer lower fares to drive traffic up on those routes, it always seems to be the N European airports that do this but I have travelled via Paris CDG for the lowest fare on a particular trip (that too was to AKL) and two years running it had the lowest I could find, that was with Emirates the first time and Cathay Pacific the second time. I tend to start checking the fares from the closest and then work outward to S European and N European countries.

[5pen]

I did Gatwick to Phuket via Dubai in January 2024 (higher season than June I assume) and the first leg was on an A380 and it was less than half full. The Mrs and I had the middle block of 4 to ourselves and we did exactly as you suggest and both had a good sleep. The second leg was much closer to capacity, but Emirates economy was perfectly comfortable, though we are both fairly average sized.

[DJC76]

WyrleyD said:

Alternatively you could go business class from one of the Northern European airports which I have done often, it does mean that you have to get to Oslo, Stockholm or Helsinki but it can give you a large saving. I just looked and Oslo to Phuket in July is around £2300 plus £200 to get to/from Oslo. Of course you might not want the extra leg but to me it's all part of the journey, the last trip I did was LHR-STO-ZRH-SIN-AKL and that was £2k cheaper than LHR-AKL.

I just stuck some random dates into Google flights and it spat out Dublin and Amsterdam to Phuket via Abu Dhabi with Etihad for £2k in business.

If you’ve plenty of time it might also worth be considering Bangkok, that’s a lot cheaper. That can be done from Heathrow for under £2k in business with Finnair or as little as £1400 from Oslo or Dublin. It’s a fair amount of faff but as someone who quite likes flying I personally quite enjoy it. As a Brucey bonus Finnairs new business class is very nice and Helsinki airport is a dream.

OP it’s due to a combination of tax and demand. The U.K. is expensive for both reasons. I’m in Canada at the moment and flying from Dublin saved me over £1K in business including my positioning flights, Dublin hotel and the Guinness I drank whilst there.