jacko

That is incredible. I have never seen better than about £2650 biz class from Manchester via LHR on BA :frustrated But keep your eyes open, I just noticed that on the return trip they have me landing in LHR and departing from LGW....assholes!!! At £2930 I get to stay in LHR...but one leg is on Quantas.... I think the BA biz class is a very comfortable product, but if I can get to BKK a grand cheaper on another major carrier, with only 1 stop (LH, KLM etc etc)...I will not even consider it. How did you book the Milan trip? I could use my BA air miles to fly to Milan.....then perhaps come back on the same plane to LHR and on to Bangkok....

Well nobody seems to be answering this. I have never had any problems on Gulf, but I normally go biz class. Economy is pretty cramped. If you do get any aggravation it will be at Heathrow. That said, most customers are Middle Eastern and tend to travel with the kitchen sink! Play safe, keep your hand bagage to 'normal' sort of levels, then get the duty free and other stuff in Bahrain. I don't carry too much when I travel out there, you can buy mostly what you need pretty cheaply on arrival. have fun.

Serviced Apartments are a better option. Most have room service, daily servicing and pretty much everything a hotel can offer......with the extras of more space, a living/sitting area, fill the fridge up yourself (big saving on a hotel minibar). I had DVD/toaster/coffee maker/microwave. Hotel rooms get old....flying ducks on the wall at The Inn!!!! Most apartments include electric and water, some charge it seperately.

Whilst I have alot of respect for Emirates airlines, I did work in the Middle East for 20+ years and do not wish to feel that I am back there for 20+ hours.

You are wasting your time grimsbyuk. Someone out there is stuck in the same groove...

You need to try few others.....they have kept me waiting fewer times than BA. Does BA009 EVER take off on time! I normally fly biz with KLM (not for 300 quid) and have been quite satisfied.

KLM are offering 300 quid from Manchester (383 incl), economy of course but no hassles in the Middle East or other God forsaken place. Other places in europe on special too, book a non weekend flight for best price. Fly April to End June, stay max 30 days. Easy to book at KLM.com

Taltos.... It totalled at a fraction under 1400 pounds. That was biz class booked directly on klm.com. Tweak with the days if you can be flexible, weekend flights are more expensive. jacko

I walked down Patong beach yesterday, a lot of buildings are damaged and under repair. I am staying at Kata which is okay but very quiet. Look for somewhere set back from the beach a little.

Eric asked about KLM biz class. Just did it. The seats do not go flat, they are somewhat like the old BA seats...and have a silly goosneck reading light. IFE is fairly good if English is for you. I am a bit of an empty head as I watch the flying map....now that is painful as it goes through English, (imperial and metric) Dutch and Chinese. They are an efficient airline.....there was a problem with an Engine that was declared as I drank my champers...we all disembarked and we were up in the air on another 747-400 within 2 hours which impressed me! BA rarely get there plane up on time without a problem.

Despite being English I would never recommend going through London......unless you specifically wanted to do the tourist bit there. London hotel prices are way too high for the crappiest rooms imaginable. Try staying at the Airport Hilton.....I paid 115 pounds years ago for a blah blah room and then had the pleasure of having to pay an extra quid to use the phone...to an 0800 number! I also paid around 85 pounds for a Holiday inn (again years ago) and the room wasn't big enough to swing a kitten in. Then there is getting from Heathrow (a terrible transit airport) to the hotel, they have come up with some overpriced torture called Hoppe buses...or something like that. At the moment the underground is closed from T4 too although that mainly hits BA passengers. I do Schipol!

And these issues are not applicable to more efficient airports elsewhere????? Heathrow is a poor example of an airport and should have been replaced years ago, instead of the current expansion. Fortunately I normlly check in at Manchester and do not have to tackle that hole. Going through it is enough. Problems are exagerrated by staff with attitude. And Bangkok, normally I arrive for check in and am in the lounge within 30 minutes. Sadly for those in the London area there is little alternative.

I have just arrived after a China airlines Biz class flight. At 780 quid I cannot complain in fact I would say it is great value. Left Manchester at 10.30am (KLM), left Amsterdam about 2.30pm...in Bangkok at 06.30, no queues. So great connections and fast into Don Muang...may be a little early to get into a room in Bangkok though. For Biz class the legroom was rather limited, especially if the guy in front is 'inclined to recline'. Service very polite, food 'fair', in-flight entertainment, 'fair'. BA biz class is certainly better, but at 2000 pound more

Haven't done Swiss economy but I would take them. Stopping in the Mid-East (excluding Dubai) isn't great.

I have used the BA Plus quite a few times. Seat pitch is tolerable and the in-flight entertainment was OK. I got my standard aisle seat, but if I hadn't getting in and out would have been difficult. My major dissatisfaction on 2 out of 3 trips on the BKK-LHR legs was the number of kids causing rather a lot of noise in the bulkhead seats infront of me. I guess they had got their sleep on the Sydney-Bangkok leg and the Bangkok boarders be damned....parents seemed oblivious. I used air miles, had good through connections at LHR, but I would not say that the Traveller Plus was good value. Biz class is never available on miles and that price is just silly!

"S--t, reading this back -I really do sound a sad case " Sir, if you are planning trip to Pattaya then maybe you aren't so sad! I might add, being near wrinkley myself, that I find the Soi 7 and 8 area just too central and a bit noisy. You are never too far from the beach in Pattaya, beach road to 2nd road being a 150m walk. I hope this map helps. http://pattayacity.com/pattaya/pmap.html Hotels...Lek or Lido Beach...so many!

Most men find that they have to go and have injections after they arrive in Pattaya!

Sorry, can't figure the anagram????

I would never buy baht in the UK.....there are exchange places in the airport to use on arrival and all over Bangkok and Pattaya and other tourist areas. Banks will do the business off the beaten track. Carrying large amounts of cash is risky...believe me it is easy to get caught up in the fun and be careless. Sterling traveller's cheques and debit cards will cover you. A credit card to fall back on when you are skint or perhaps cover/ guarantee for a hotel. I have found the post office has a low commision on the Traveller's cheques, unless you see a zero commission deal from another place. It's sterling my friend not stirling....

The Gazelle site still seems to be down.... so how do I get to a cheap China Airways Biz class seat? And have they stopped crashing their planes??? Eva......web page just tells me nothing available for the period I want to travel (Out early Oct, back around Dec 19th). So it may be Air France after all....any feedback on them on the original questions.

Nothing to do with the flight but I dispute your "why do the brits get all the good deals?" statement. The UK is a rip off place, practically everything more expensive than anywhere else. I have always been envious of the cheap flights the 'yanks' get to LOS...considering the distance. That and much better frequent flyer opportunities.

I will check out the Gazelle site as soon as it is up and running....not yet! I keep hearing "Dynasty Class".....is this business, premium economy or what? Thanks for all the feedback from out there...it sure is appreciated. I still recall my Biz class flight with Lauda Air once, very personal treatment and a "chef" complete with big hat stood at the front of the plane. A free wash bag including fanny pack and condoms!

The Gazelle site seems to be duff at the moment. Some confusing unresolved host name message! Very surprised to hear of Cathay in the 'cheap' biz class discussion. As for BA miles, they seem to be useless for flights with BA!! I can only get the offer of a seat crushed into World Traveller, probably with hyperactive kids on all sides! I think the free 'mileage tickets' with BA are very restricted! I have 400,000 miles sitting around! I have used Swiss....but many seem to think they might be bankrupt before you can use the return leg! China Airlines is an unknown quantity but at 779 quid that is cheap! Any reviews...I may like a cheap flight but do expect something for my fare. Any more recommendations for Biz class, actually I would be ex Manchester so London would generally be avoided.

AF are coming up cheapest on a Biz class flight to BKK...and now I can get the KLM Air Miles from them. But...as a born again no smoking bore I remember why I stopped using them 2 years ago. CDG to Sao Paulo, I suffered through a supposedly no smoking flight as the crew merrily puffed away at their foul smelling Gallois behind the curtain in the galley. Of course a few passengers wanted a reprieve from a 12 hour vigil too and joined them. So do they still allow this? And how is their biz class ride....should I stay with the hospitable considerate Dutch people???

Well I just tried KLM on their website and was quoted 510 pounds incl. No effort whatsoever...just avoid Fri/Sat travel. http://www.klm.com/uk_en/index.jsp