neilri2001

As someone who puts seat width / pitch above IFE i was a big fan of Business c;lass on EVA's 747's. I've only seen pictures but both the Elite and Premium Laurel seats definately seem narrower than before. Might have to give China Air another go Neil

Thanks Gus. That explains why they were not showing any flights when i entered my dates Neil

Planning to make a side trip from Thailand to xian in China. Looked on the net and it appears that Bangkok airways fly this route but when i entered some dates in their website nothing was showing. Anyone Help? As an aside are bangkok airways flights all one class or do they have business class too? Thanks Neil

I flew Lufthansa business class about 3 years ago LHR - BKK via FKk. I thought it was ok but nothing special but what annoyed me was that the staff in London and Bangkok wouldn't reserve me an aisle seat. I paid £1200 plus tax back then and i certainly wouldn't want to pay any more than that now Neil

I also use Top Charoen optical although you definately need to negociate. As a general rule of thumb you can still make good savings on specialist or high end products. as i don't look after my glasses i tend to wear a pair for a few months and then throw them away so end up buying less expenive pairs. At this end of the market savings aren't great but service is generally better Neil

Those new Premium Laurel seats looked a little narrower than the current Super Business class seats too me, although i accept that the recline and IFE will obviously be greatly improved. Neil

A one way upgrade from Economy deluxe to Business from BKK to LHR cost me 35000 thai baht in January and this was a take it or leave it figure, no negociation. Neil

Wouldn't recommend the hotel but i normally make at least 1 visit per trip to the adjacent massage parlour of the same name. Nothing special but no better or worse than sabailand and all the others. Neil

Even though we can get what we think are bargain fares at certain times of the year , in the U.K. we still pay some of the highest prices in Europe. The difference is usually even greater for business class fares. When i first went to Riga a couple of years ago BA wanted over £1000 for an economy class ticket without a Saturday night. With the arrival of Air Baltic and Ryannair the same flight on the same plane can be had for less than £100. Slightly off topic but if you're based in Europe and only have a couple of days you could do worse than Riga although prices have noticeably increas

If you are travelling from the UK then west East normally have the best prices for EVA. Sign up for their email / text updates as they often have some off peak specials. Neil

Irmster, Who did you book this deal through? Neil

What a difference three weeks makes. Just tried to book a trip with East West for late August and the best price was £1550 which they still had the gall to call a " promotional fare". Neil

Some of the rooms in the lodge certainly used to have a bath tubs although on recent trips i've had shower rooms. I personally prefer the lodge to the house. Neil

The west East website currently has good fares on Economy, Deluxe and Business with Eva. Book by April 30th and travel up to June 30th. Neil

Rooms in Flipper house are slightly smaller than flipper lodge but the Flipper house is a newer property. I have stayed many many times at Flipper lodge and they will sometimes do better rates for returning guests as well as the stay for 14 pay for 10 night offers. Neil

Depends party on how busy the plane is and also how many frequent flyer miles you have. In January i upgraded from deluxe to business on Eva but the plane was full and they wouldn't budge from their initial price of 35000 baht. Might be worth trying to book through one of the agents in Thailand rather than taking your chances at the airport. Neil

Tom, Point taken. I'm fortunate / unfortunate to live about 40 mins drive from Heathrow and sometimes forget that it's not as convenient for a fairly hefty percentage of the population. Despite the points i made i do like China's Dynasty service and will probably use it again in June unless EVA's business fares drop a bit. I know from your previous postings you have used Quatar's business class service. Did you book via their website or through an agent as Gatwick is only a direct train from my neck of the woods too. Neil

China Dynasty is much better than EVA deluxe. But flying from the Uk it has three main drawbacks I) It is indirect ii) The connecting flight is economy iii) If your connection time is less than 2 hours it is unlikely that your luggage will travel with you Neil

Don't think anyone will be in the slightest bit surprised by this news. With Thai and Eva so cheap at the moment who will fly in a museum piece from Gatwick for the sake of an extra £20 quid or so. Neil

It's going to be interesting to see how much EVA increase their fares when the new planes come into service. There are some good prices right now in economy / Deluxe but if you're looking for business or several months ahead then not so good. I'm getting quoted over £1600 for Business class in June, last year it was £1075. Unless anyone has found anything better? Neil

I've used TopCharoen optical the last 3 years. They have several branches including one on walking street near Boots. They are a bit cheaper than the Uk but not a great deal. If you don't negociate you might end up paying as much as back home. Turn around time was 3 days. Neil

West East usually have the best prices for EVA from the UK. Neil

Prince Pattaya is right. Any travel agent will sell you a one way ticket but expect to pay about 75% of the cost of a return. Why not buy a 6 month or 1 year return with Thai or Eva. Some great deals about as long as you avoid the Easter Period. Neil

Typically locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. Re inforcing the door to the flight deck was a very good idea. Most other airline security measures post 9-11 have just inconvenienced normal people with no appreciable reduction to the terrorist threat. Neil

Business class is ok. Economy tends to be colourful and crowded. Don't think you should have a problem getting a beer Neil