papalazarou

I flew them from Bangkok to Udon back in March. Cost a pittance as I booked early. I've heard from other people they're are a pretty unreliable outfit but the flight went smooth and they were on time for both legs. Surprise came when I checked in and realised there was no seat allocation - you basically sit anywhere that's free. Fortunately for me I was ushered into one of the front seats (unoccupied despite the plane being almost full) by a flight steward. I didn't really get that at the time, f*ck knows maybe he fancied me. Shame it wasn't the stewardess, as she was hot stuff and I spent the whole trip discretely ogling her assets. I may well be going up there again in September and will probably try them again.

I flew with them a a few years back from LHR to BKK via Moscow. One thing to avoid IMHO is a long stopover in Sheremetevo. It was a really depressing looking place with f*ck all to do but get pissed in the Irish theme pub and the food they served in the transit lounge would not have looked out of place in a gulag.

Coming back to my current favourite topic of laptop powerpoints in economy. SAS told me they have powerpoints in all the seats on the Copenhagen to Bangkok route. I found this rather suspect as their website implies this facility is only available to flexible economy ticket holders. I sent them an email to get something in writing - they haven't responded as yet.

Thanks Tom, The class thing is something I will think carefully about as I lost out on that recently coz I didn't check the class. Fortunately that was only a shorthaul trip.

My situation is that I want to fly StarAlliance for my points and preferably leave LHR on a Friday night and arrive back from BKK on a Sunday evening. This said I noticed that some online booking agents have dropped their Thai Airlines price from LHR to BKK for late August from a silly £700+ to a more sensible £485inc taxes (cheapest quote). My question is, should I hold out for special offers or take it now? I sometimes get screwed on these things as I book what seems a cheap fare only for the airlines to drop £100+ off the price a few days later, or I hold off a bit and the price goes up. I guess the counter argument is am I willing to miss out on £100 or so for peace of mind - and ultimatley yes of course I am - but I need a bit of gentle persuasion before I make my mind up.

I was thinking of using the wifi thing on my way back from Changi to London with Singapore Air, just for the novelty of chatting on msn while at 38,000ft. Unfortunately I left my wifi card behind and couldn't but my gripe is that there aren't any laptop power powerpoints in economy so you only get the full benefits if your in Business. If there was an airline that offered it and had powerpoints in economy I would fly with them longhaul all the time.

I just booked a return flight with www.AirAsia.co.th from BKK to Udon for only 1495baht inc taxes. Always planned on going up there for a few days but never got round to doing it. This fare gave me the added incentive I needed. If these cheap fares carry on I wonder how many other guys on the board will take advantage? From what I've heard and read there are a few farang run pubs/bars sprouting up in Udon (for better or for worse, depending on your viewpoint) and there is a significant expat community there.

I've been looking at prices for flights from LHR to BKK around the Easter period. I noticed that from 18 March onwards many carriers hike up their prices substantially, however you can still get good rates if your flying out on 17 March or before. I'm limited to flying with Star Alliance carriers and they all increase their prices from 18 March. If anyone knows of any good deals please post.

I read some months ago about Thai Airway's planned upgrade. This was going to include the introduction of personal tv screens in economy. It was due to take place on the London to Bangkok route by the end of 2004. Anyone heard anything?

I once sat next to a Russian woman on Aeroflot, who had really bad wind. Smelt like rotting cabbage. I would have complained but I think the maximum Aeroflot pay in compensation is 20 cents. Crackpot Those fat people who eat less than skinnies are all liars, they scoff cakes when everyone's back is turned. As for glandular problems - they are making it up as they are going along.

Make them pay! I don't think the rest of us should suffer because we choose not to stuff our faces with pies every hour God sends. Also, I think it is an absolute outrage that passenger only got £13,000 - she should have got 10 times that!

I should have said it was Qantas on a BA codeshare as Valentino pointed out. I flew same route with Qantas a few years back and found them pretty good. I think they have now installed a similar inflight entertainment system to Singpapore Air, which is nice if you need lots of movies and stuff to keep you occupied.

Dunno about other times but above fair definately available in May. I booked with Thai a few weeks back for £407 inc tax and now I wish I had waited. The fare is available through www.travelocity.co.uk

Stevoh, I've already considered some of the points you raise and decided to take it anyway. The one thing that almost swayed me against taking it is the weight. I've got a big hefty Dell contraption, with all the bits and carry case it weights in at a wopping 5kg. Roof Garden Inn Hotel said I could dial direct from room at 1baht per min, which is just fine for me. Looks like a nice place too but a bit out in the sticks for my liking. If I get anymore positive responses from hotels on call charges I will post them here. Picking up on your point about electrical spikes, I've been using a surge protector I got in the UK with a conversion plug whenever I'm abroad. I was told this will give me adequate protection.

Intend to use my laptop quite alot to connect to the internet next time I come to Thailand. Therefore, I need a hotel that will offer me decent priced local phonecalls. I emailed a few places I stayed before and the cost seems pretty high. I know from a friend who rents an apartment in BKK it costs about 3 bht to make a local call in BKK regardless of how long the call lasts and I'm guessing it can't be much more in Pattaya. Does anyone know of any decent hotel or apartments in Pattaya that offer direct dial and don't lump on extra charges for the call? TIA

After endless browsing I have finally decided to book with Thai, travelling in May. The deal is £411 inc tax and all other fees @ lastminute.com. The big appeal is that the LHR-BKK leg is on a Friday night and I arrive back in London on a Sunday evening. The price is pretty much the same as I paid with them last year for the same period. Thai wasn't my first choice as they were full last time I flew them (which meant cramped seating and poor cabin service) and the inflight entertainment was almost non existent. Still, it's cheap and reliable and the money saved can go to good use . If anyone has seen better offers I'd be grateful to hear them, if not I will book this before it's too late.

I read about this somewhere and I think it's a really positive move as far as I'm concerned, so long as they keep their prices competative. I've always considered the crap inflight entertainment (non-existent on my last flight) and more recently the always full flights to be the only things that made me reluctant to fly them from LHR to BKK. I read somewhere that they expect to install personal IFE on all their 747's by the end of 2004, so hopefully it's not gonna be a long wait. I could definately put up with full flights if I had lots of movies and games to keep me occupied. On the downside I think they will reduce legroom in economy if they are gonna install personal IFE but lets hope they are not daft and reduce it to less than 32".

Can anyone tell me which airlines flying from London to Thailand provide this feature, especially any that provide it in economy. TIA

I saw the same fair on www.travelbag.co.uk thought it looked a pretty good deal. Checked some reviews on RJA and now I'm very reluctant to fly them. I got the impression from some of the reviews that they overbook and bump people on a regular basis. Infact RJA sound like a pretty good candidate for worst airline of the year. See link below http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/rja.htm

Finally booked with Singapore Airlines at a discounted rate of £460 inc tax. Great thing I found out about SIA is that if you are a member of their frequent flyer program you can check in up to 48 hours before flying by using their internet site, so I joined ( this took just a few minutes). Called to check how the 48 hour check in thing worked, explaining that I really wanted to pre-book seat 64k (Boeing 747), to my surprise the lady said she would put a request on for me to have that seat now, more than 2 months before I fly! The reason for wanting 64k is it is a window seat in a row of 2, right at the back next to the toilet, with a space to stretch behind the seat. On my last longhaul trip I flew on a full Thai Airways flight and let me tell you it ain't easy waking up the 2 people next to you to half way through the flight and making your way to the toilet at the other end of the aisle in the dark. Apparently the inflight entertainment system in SIA economy is very good too

Thanks for the info guys, especially Alterego for alerting me to www.flynow.com, never really looked at that site before. I found a flight there on China Airlines for £443 inc tax from LHR to BKK via Amsterdam on the days I want. I wish now I had booked the Singapore flight this morning. It was gone when I went back half an hour later. I may as well get the China Airlines one as I don't want to leave it any longer and end up paying an extra £100. Anyone got anything to say about China Airlines economy class? A lot of guys here have mentioned flying with them. I just hope the flight is half full and they are willing to serve me lots of gin and tonic. Ml Where did you see that Royal Jordanian flight? I can't see them for less than about £480, but then I am only looking at weekend flights Just to finish off here are a few of my favourite sites for sourcing flights, grateful for other recommendations: www.ebookers.com www.travelselect.com www.airline-network.co.uk www.thomascook.co.uk www.tiss.com www.onlinetravel.com www.cheapflights.co.uk and of course www.flynow.com

Taking 3 weeks off in Oct/Nov to travel to thailand. These days I always fly on a Friday night or Saturday morning and come back on a Sunday, maximising my holiday time. Don't seem to be any really good deals on at the moment, except for Singapore Airlines. They are doing a fare from LHR to BKK for £462 inc tax, which has a stopover in Singapore. I'm minded to take this unless any of you guys has a better recommendation.

I flew from LHR to BKK in May this year and had the same deal through Ebookers at £412 inc tax. I'm slightly reluctant to fly with them again though. The food, which was very good on the previous occasion, was stodgy and overcooked on the LHR to BKK leg, despite the 34 inches of legroom the flight was full and I found it uncomfortable and the attitude of the cabin crew was poor. There are no individual tv screens with Thai and they didn't show any inflight movies, perhaps this was because I was on the night flight on both occasions. I think it's still a good deal as I doubt you will get a direct flight much cheaper, though Eva Air did a great deal a few months back. I'm considering doing a stopover next time I fly to BKK so the direct flight is not so appealing.

Further to my last post here is an answer I got from someone on a forum on www.travelquality.com No, there are no personal TVs at economy class in Thai. They may install them as their new Airbus A340-500/600 comes on line in a couple of years. But if you have not noticed yet, Thai Airways is significantly behind in all aspects of inflight services in F, J, and Y. But one good thing about TG's Y is the legroom -- still good old thirty four inches. Most Asian airlines, including CX and SQ, reduced Y seat pitches to 32 as they installed PTV.

Gerald I have flown Thai from LHR to BKK and the food was very good, heard positive things about the food from others too. They didn't have the mini screens in economy when I last flew but but they may have upgraded, so I have asked about this and will post an update. Hope they change the movie selection for when I fly next month as I have either seen or can't be bothered to see the stuff they are showing this month. Nice to hear that about the airmiles. BTW the seats have 34 inches of legroom, which is the most I think u will get in standard economy.