neilri2001

As Cheshire Tom warned some weeks ago I'd be very careful booking Phuket Air at the moment as the chances of them surviving the low season aren't great. You might get some good deals in the very short term though. Neil

Flew Lufthansa business class to LOS. Staff were very unhelpful, wouldn't entertain advance seat requests. Seats were decent size though. Would only use long haul again if the price was very good. Have found their european service to be much better with comfortable leather seats in economy from Heathrow. Neil

Vientiane is my favourite restaurant in Pattaya and i will be said to see it go. The performance of the girls might vary but I've always found Vientiane to be consistently good, and very reasonably priced too. Neil

For doctors or hospital treatment it has to be the bangkok pattaya hospital. for basic dental treatment i use Smile in south pattaya. 500baht for check up, clean and polish. English spoken at both places Neil

I flew Ba and Eva business class long haul within 2 months of each other quite recently. The Ba seat was more modern and a flat bed ,but the EVA seat was wider, which is probably an important consideration for some of us on this board. The service was much better on EVA and the ticket was half the cost for a slightly longer journey. EVA's first class seats looked the same as Business class, just a smaller cabin and a much larger seat pitch. Not worth the extra unless someone else is paying Neil

Seems to be boom time in Pattaya. Stayed for a week in early January ( 20th visit in 17 years ) and have never seen it so busy, or so full of Russians! Neil

Niall, Where can you get Eva business class for £950. The cheapest i ever got was £1075 plus taxes last June from West East travel. Neil

Roland is correct. Used the lounge ( it is still the SAS one ) in Jan. Good selection of drinks but no proper food, only snacks. Neil

The Royal Cliff is the best place to take your western wife or girlfriend if they insist on coming to Thailand with you. They will accept overnight guests if you pay but expect some less than friendly looks from staff and fellow guests. I stayed at the hotel a few years ago and the hotel and service were fantastic, i just don't think of it as a p4p hotel Neil

Whilst we all like to take advantage of cheap airfares and the like lower prices inevitably means the arrival of the lower class of tourist. I first went to Thailand in 1988 and prices are lower now in both real and absolute terms than they were then Neil

Recently saw a chartered Phuket Air Jumbo being loaded with several hundred Burmese Pilgrims ( a very strange sight ). The plane looked Very old and i don't think i would be keen to get on one unless it was the last flight out of a warzone. Thai International must be hurting quite badly as they are also discounting through mainstream travel agents as well as the more normal web sites. Neil

On Eva you can usually upgrade one class higher than the class you have booked. On my recent trip in Jan business class was showing full for the reurn leg so i booked Evergreen deluxe. On check in was still showing full but was told i could upgrade at the gate if seat became available. One did but the upgrade was a hefty 35000 thai baht and they wouldn't negociate. With eva it all seems to depend on the time of the year. Last June i booked a business class return for £1075 and they were advertising first class for just £1300 at the same time Neil

I've flown Dynasty class a few times in the past and the seat size offers excellent value for money. Make sure that you have 2-3 hours in Amstedam as i've had a few problems with luggage not being on the same flight as me. Neil

clive, I've literaly just returned from the Flipper lodge and enjoyed it just as much as my first visit there in 1992. Its right in the middle of the action, staff are friendly and helpful and the price varies between 700 to 1000 baht a night according to season. www.flippergroup.com Neil

I guess the introduction of the new equipment will mean the end to EVA's excellent business class fares. Neil

Ok if you're confident of a business class upgrade but i certainly wouldn't recommend economy. Istanbul airport can be fairly chaotic too. Neil

As i found to my cost EVA business is about £1500 in January. They do offer fares around £1000 but usually in low season. In jan try Eva deluxe or China although both are fairly heavily booked until the middle of the month. Neil Neither Thai or Eva business class are worth more than £1250 as they currently stand

Eva have quite frequent specials although they usually start later than feb. Last June i got business class for £1075 plus tax and they were advertising first class for around £1300. I'm flying with EVA in Jan and i got the last seats on my preferred dates travelling Business on the way out and Deluxe on the way back but still had to pay a fair bit more than i paid for business class both ways last June China airlines are also very good but you should allow at least 3 hours in Amsterdam if you want your luggage to travel with you. Neil

Sorry for the delay in replying terrenova but i've been in China for a few days. I'm looking to travel early Jan mid week, staying 8 nights. Minimum requirement is premium economy but business class better. Budget up to around £1250GBP. Direct preferred but not essential. neil

Anyone found any good fares ( business or premium economy ) for london- Bangkok departing early january? WestEast who are my normal port of call have nothing at all for this period. Thanks Neil

I've only used swiss air twice but my experience wasn't great on either occassion. Surly staff, overbooking and charges for all refreshments. I used them on European routes so hopefully you will get better service longhaul. Neil

Thanks for the advice. I will stick to EVA for my trips to Thailand but i might give world traveller plus a go for my trip to Beijing as there are no cheap business fares from the uk to china ( unless anyone here knows different ). Neil

Has anyone flown premier economy ( they call it world traveller plus ) with BA. Specifically how does it compare with EVA deluxe or China. The website gives the seat pitch at 38 inches which isn't bad but i can't find any info on seat width other than that the configuration is 2-4-2 as opposed to 3-4-3 in economy. Thanks Neil

KIKC69, Sabai Lodge in Soi 2 have two room suites for around the 1500 mark Neil

West East have just released details of their latest offers with EVA . Offers are valid for travel up to Dec 3rd and must be booked by the end of September. Economy £370 Deluxe £530 Business £1050 www.westeasttravel.com Neil