CheshireTom

I think it was Hicksville Post Office Truck Driver of the Year. Apparently he went two years without a vehicle accident which is hardly surprising since, by his own account, he spent most of his "working" time asleep in the bag room.

Yes, I've escaped up to BKK for a few days and will nip down to Singapore on Sunday to change my visa over (and pick up some SQ uniforms for Robin ). Then it's back up to life by the beach. I got your e-mail but was wanting to square a couple of things away before bringing you up to date. Have you got dates for Sep/Oct yet? Let me know when you do and I'll get myself some cheapie flights sorted out.

Well, it seems at this moment in time you're still dreaming.

scaly, Just quoting what Boeing says on its own website. Anyway, isn't one of Boeings design centres that is putting the 787 together actually in Moscow and staffed by over a thousand Russian engineers? BTW the Japanese et al aren't sub-contractors, they are full programme partners.

Both I and Boeing would disagree with you ............. From their own website: Boeing announced that they would expect Japanese companies to produce approximately 35 percent of the 787 airframe. Its plans call for Kawasaki Heavy Industries to design and build the forward body section, the main landing gear wheel well and the wing fixed trailing edge; Fuji Heavy Industries to design and build the center wing box and integrate it with the main landing gear wheel-well; and for the first time a Boeing partner, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, will design and build the main wing. How did the house hunting in Udon go? Still dreaming about relocating?

I'm sure Airbus realised that's what they'd get when they hired a Yank.

Err, no. Wrong again BigD. Maybe the Mitsibushi, Fuji and Kawasaki et al engineers who are the people providing the parts to Boeing who are just sticking the thing together.

Airbus never said it was going to use a composite barrel ....... you provided the link to some Mickey Mouse report that they were going to do so under pressure from the likes of Qatar. Anyway, some more good news ....... Avianca also announced an Airbus order today for 70 planes. 150 aircraft in one day .......... not bad going for a lame duck methinks and the Paris Airshow is still a couple of weeks away.

From Flight International ............ Airbus does not intend to make changes to the fundamental fuselage design of its A350XWB, the company’s chief commercial officer customers John Leahy said today. Discounting a report that Airbus is preparing to shift to an all-composite barrel, Leahy stressed that the fuselage design is frozen. “We have the A350-800, -900 and -1000,” he notes.

Just a cursory check brings up Etihad at 484 quid incl ex MAN in Sep through www.openjet.co.uk (dates 11-18 Sep) ........ seems an OK price to me and I would think quite competitive against QR and EK. http://www2.openjet.co.uk/search.jsp?homeL...destLeaveDay=18

Etihad is available for next week from Manchester for less than 430 quid incl through Opodo (I used the booking dates 5 and 12 June). Both Emirates and Qatar are a couple of quid more.

Mango, I forgot to ask a while back. What planes did/do you actually fly?

The aircraft is at exactly the same point that the A380 was in its development and manufacture. The "accomplishment" in achieving a roll-out date is no better than Airbus achieved with the A380. As has been said before, it's the delivery date that matters to the buyers of the aircraft. Ask the Japanese ........... "The Federal Aviation Administration has placed a series of limitations on Boeing Co.'s KC-767 aerial refueling tanker, delaying its delivery to a key foreign customer and potentially frustrating Boeing's efforts to sell the plane to the U.S. Air Force. The tanker is the first of four scheduled to be delivered over the next two years to the Japanese government. Under terms of the contract, Boeing and Itochu Corp., its Japanese business partner, were required to get the KC-767 certified for flight safety by the FAA, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense. The FAA issued a basic certificate on April 12 declaring the plane to be airworthy. But the agency's approval came with conditions on how the tanker could be used, including restrictions on carrying passengers and cargo in certain areas of the plane, according to a copy of the six-page certificate obtained by the Press-Register. Chicago-based Boeing claims the tanker is ready to fly and that full certification by the FAA is unnecessary for a military aircraft. Japanese officials disagree, saying they won't accept the plane -- initially due Feb. 28 -- until the limitations are removed. Meanwhile, the tanker sits in limbo at Boeing's aircraft modification center in Wichita, Kan. Japan reportedly is imposing a fine of 10 million yen -- about $82,000 -- for each day the plane is late. Delivery "will take a few more months," according to Japanese Air Force Lt. Col. Ichiro Sato. Sato said the Japanese government has asked Itochu, the Tokyo-based trading company that holds the tanker contract in Japan, "to promote delivering as soon as possible."

As did the A380. The first delay to the A380 was announced 6 months after the rollout.

MyQatar is not Qatar Airways appointed agent (whatever that means) and have no connection whatsoever with the airline. They are a bog standard travel agent (part of the My Vacations group of companies).

What constitutes a vehicle? Plenty, possibly the majority, of Thais have the bog-standard moto-sai as their only means of transport ......... around 6k deposit for one costing 35-45k and the balance over 12-48 months. A long way short of 12k per month.

The Sabai Inn doesn't require a CC guarantee. As long as you have an e-mail confirming your booking you'll be OK. As an aside it is worth e-mailing them and requesting an outside room. Some of the rooms are "inner" and don't have much in the way of natural light.

All they're doing is a roll out on 8 July. They could stick it together with glue if that's what's needed or just sub-contract the job to Airfix. The critical date is when the thing will start flying. ANA isn't going to start complaining about timings since their order is part and parcel of the deal that took the bulk of the manufacturing process to Japan.

Not only are both the MAN and BKK legs normally heavily booked the 777 aircraft they use on both routes are mostly in a high-density (charter) configuration i.e. 3-4-3 rather than the 3-3-3 operated by almost all other regular airlines on long-haul routes. Other than that, the service is good and Dubai airport is OK (the new, Emirates dedicated terminal is due to open sometime towards the end of this year). Emirates will start receiving its A380s next year and the BKK route is likely to be one of the first to benefit.

Err, what is incorrect? WestEast isn't searched on Pricerunner. Eva and Thai do have availability but on some days Qatar at 427 quid is considerably cheaper than both and on some days Etihad is cheaper than Thai (the same is the case on the WestEast site ......... . Far removed from the statement "Indeed the pricing on Etihad has skyrocketed recently" which is not only untrue but unhelpful to newbies planning their trips. The reality is that they (Etihad) have zero availability in the cheaper classes on some dates, as does Qatar. That has very little to do with bookings from the UK but rather the peak travel periods for folk based in the Gulf (Thu-Sun) who pay a considerable premium for their Doha/Dubai originating flights compared to your average UK-based traveller. Therefore, it is the legs tbetween the Gulf states and BKK that are booked out rather than the UK=Gulf legs. By the time you include the CC surcharge levied by WeastEast EVA comes out at 453 quid which is near enough to the 456 quid ball park figure I quoted. I don't understand the term the flights are wide open ........ unless you have access to the CRS you can't tell if there is one seat or fifty available at any given price.

Exactly the opposite is true. Airlines booking/yield management systems only release seats into the cheaper classes when they aren't selling sufficient numbers at the higher price. A quick check on pricerunner or similar site for the week commencing 2 June shows different airlines having cheaper seats on different days of the week. Etihad can be had for 456 quid the same week which is around the ball park figure being offered by other carriers but not on a daily basis.

The air route is relatively hassle free nowadays. A couple of passport size photos and 20 USD for your visa on arrival is all you need (absolutely no advantage in giving up your passport to get a visa in advance). The newer terminals at the airport are fairly straightforward in the usual Bangkok/Siem Reap Airways style. It's worth noting that there is an ATM outside the departure terminal that dispenses US dollars. I would assume that there is one at arrivals but I wasn't looking/paying attention so didn't notice. I believe that Bangkok Airways/Siem Reap Airways has a monopoly on the BKK route for several more years to come.

Depends on the individual hotel's policies.

It is "suspended" for a year or so until they get the right aircraft for the route. The actual route was never announced but Stansted and Manchester were the apparent favourites.

You are correct. I got the same for Hat Yai and Chiang Mai in Nov ........ 642 Baht in taxes and charges each way. It's also good for International flights ........ Bangkok-Hanoi comes up at a total fare of 2,750 Baht return.