Burma has opened up again and whether this is a currency conversion problem or just a good deal like the old ex-Colombo, Sri Lanka fares, there are some great prices available this afternoon. Think business or even first class from Burma to the United States for $400-700.
Flights originating in Burma are not bookable on all travel sites, so I would stick to bt-store.com or vayama.com to book your trip. Most dates and U.S. cities are available, so just play around with the search engine. If you choose multi-destination, you can even force in connections…like in Singapore for example.
I booked a trip that includes a ride on the SQ A380 from Singapore to London in Business Class as well as a Delta flight from London to New York, but it hasn’t ticketed yet–that is the big question. If you book on Vayama, it seems the prices are a bit higher, but Flyertalkers have reported automated ticketing within 20 minutes. I was unable to find a fare on Vayama comparable to bt-store, so I booked through bt-store.
Take a look at some of the sample itineraries available now:
If you are interested, you really to need to book right now. And I mean right now. I would hazard a guess that airlines will not want to honor this fare once the dust settles. But keep in mind: this is NOT a mistake fare. Rather, this fare is a result of a currency devaluation in Burma and the airlines–including Air Canada, Singapore, ANA, Delta, and Air India–have been slow and lazy to react.
This situation is not analogous to an airline fat-fingering a fare at the wrong price: an airline simply cannot claim incorrect pricing here. The best they can do is claim a force majeure event, but considering the devaluation happened in April (from 6.4 kyat to the dollar to 818 to the dollar), the airlines have no excuse for taking so long to respond.
As of 1500 ET, this fare is still alive and kicking!
How did you find that deal on AC via YVR?????? Can’t seem to find it.
@JackRyan: Yeah, that’s a good one, no? You even get the 777-300ER to HKG. I just did a multi-city search on bt-travel for RGN-SIN//SIN-YVR//YVR-LAX. SFO works too. Nice to have an-all Star itinerary for only $259 in business class.
Yes, very good. Still don’t know how you did it. I tried replicating it.
Matthew, do you have thoughts on positioning flights to RGN? Also are there VISA issues for Myanmar?
Awesome, a great excuse to get tourists there and much needed cash in the hands of Burmese, they have suffered far too much, far too long. I hope those mileage runners at least leave the airport.
I am curious about bt-store, had not heard of them before, what is their strength compared to the many other options? Or just another place to check for a low price?
Well, I couldn’t get one for under $300… but $650 in all Star Alliance business class is a ridiculously good deal. Katy doesn’t yet know it, but we’re going to Myanmar next year… I wonder how she’ll take the news! Flying RGN-BKK-NRT-SFO all star alliance.
@Matthew @Kevin: what are you guys planning for your trip over to RGN from your hometown? Are you just getting a revenue one-way?
Do you need a visa to enter Myanamar and where is a good hotel to stay there?
@JackRyan: AC was the first to pull the fare, so that routing dried up.
@David: Visas are required, but they’ve become much easier to obtain. I intend to book a one-way award flight to get there.
@RapidTravelChai: BT-store seems to be a half-baked outfit. They never issued my ticket. Thankfully, I was able to get one (for about $150 more) through Travelocity.
@Kevin: Still a very good deal!
@azm: Whatever is most economical–maybe a CX F award.
@Kent: Visa is needed and I haven’t begun thinking about hotels yet, and won’t until the dust settles. There are no western hotels in Burma–it would be a guest house I’d be staying at…
@Matthew, Sigh…
Timing didn’t work for us – just canceled with Vayama. Me = Sad Panda.
Also, I think the fare will be honored. I got the confirmation e-mail from Vayama, and I was able to pull the itinerary up on United.com, etc….. I think if they were going to rescind, they would have done it by now.
Kevin: KE took several weeks to cancel their “mistake fair” to some destination in the South Pacific. Czech airways took a few days to cancel their ‘mistake fare’/system error out of BKK. So you need to wait.
@Mike S: I tend to agree–Airlines will fight to cancel these tickets, but I am looking forward to the battle. It’s research in action, actually. I am just finishing up a term paper on cases like this and today’s fare was delicious irony.
I just booked another one of these on Travelocity for my brother and it has already ticketed.
What does your research say about the doctrine of obvious mistake in contract law? I think by admitting you know it’s a mistake from the beginning that you weaken any legal case you could have against the airline. Just a thought, your research may indicate otherwise.
@77w: I was very careful to point out that this was not a mistake fare. The battle may be uphill, but I bet Posner and Easterbrook would sign on with honoring this fare. The airlines had plenty of time to correct this–yesterday was not the first day this fare was available. I was alerted to it 1.5 weeks ago, but held off on blogging about it until it was posted on Flyertalk.
I admire your dedication to fight to see this through, but be honest. If you knew about this 1.5 weeks ago, presumably through the Aussie site, then you would have booked then. Why would you sit out a week and a half to jump in when everyone else does? I read your blog cuz I think I’m getting straightforward intelligent info, just be real..you saw this when everyone else did.
@Chad–You can believe what you want, but I was made aware of the SQ/Australia ex-RGN fares over a week ago. I blame my own busy schedule and laziness for not looking into it further. I get a lot of e-mail each day…
When I woke up yesterday and saw the flurry on FT, naturally I took a second look. I never blog about these special fares until they hit FT, because when they hit FT you know they will be gone soon.
Thanks, Matthew! My friend and I got in for 2xRGN-BKK-NRT-SFO on the 27th of May 😀 Booked a one-way UA award ticket for 32,500+$2.50 to get there in Y (SFO-HKG-BKK-RGN). I wish I had enough UA miles to get there in J but beggars can’t be choosers. All my Star miles are US (no half-price one ways) and none of the other alliances had flights on my preferred dates (KE available but blacked out, no CX/JL space transpac) 🙁