I was checking for air fare from ORD to BKK starting on Mid Dec and return in first week of January. It is approximately $3000. Is it the normal fare for this high season to Bangkok?
Zuji.com had an ORD - BKK fare for about 2300 on AA/JAL but most were over 3K.
Messing around with different dates along the range on the UAL site decreses the fare by about 30%. Use the Flex dates option on the UAL website though it appears at a glance the biggest issue is retruning the first week of January.