CheshireTom

SoCalGuy, Sorry ........... you are correct, they do apply to the Inn. Regards, Tom

Denny, "Nova Park another good place on Beach Road." You're getting confused with the Nova Lodge again! Tom

The difference between the rooms is that the standard rooms do not have: A bathtub - a bonus for me as I have a nasty habit of falling over when showering in a bath. I actually prefer the much larger shower cubicle in the standard rooms. Coffee/tea making hot water thingy. You know .... one of those big flask-type things you plug in and press the top down to get hot water. Hair dryer - as if that's on my list of priorities! There are both standard and superior "internal" rooms. Floors 1 and 2 = standard, 3 and 4 = superior. I always book a room nearest to the rear of

dave, Yesterday I booked MAN-BKK with Qatar through their reservations at GBP 348 + tax for travel 3-21 March. No credit card charges or add-ons. Business class upgrade for the whole trip was 80,000 miles. Tom

bintang, All the hotels are good choices and have their particular pros and cons. The Nova Park, however, is nowhere near the beach as stated above. It does have a brand new wing that has been open a matter of weeks. Tom

More likely because they are all bankrupt.

LBJ, I normally stay at the Sabai Inn but most of the reasons could be applied to the majority of the hotels at the 2nd Road end of Sois 1/2/3/4. 1. Location. Access to everything is on your doorstep. The soapies, Welkom Inn ST Bar, Big C and Central Festival Centre, 7-11s and Family Mart, cinemas, beer bars all the way from Soi 0 to Soi 4 etc are all on your doorstep. 2. Access to other areas. Taxis, quite literally, stop at the front doorstep to take you down south to Sois 6/7/8, Pattayaland and Walking Street. Getting back is just as easy. 3. Access to PIH for dental

Gus, The 773 will replace the 747 Combis because of an impending EU regulation which would require considerable modifications to combi aircraft (KLM are in a similar position). The current 747 combis will be either thrown at the US market or converted to full freighter. The full pax 747 at LHR are not affected. I'm not sure what the score is with the combi showing up one day a week unless they have a limited number which have undergone the modification. The sensible thing to do at the moment would be to continue accumulating your miles and not waste them on an upgrade on the 747. T

Sorry, guys. I screwed up.

patk, There is really only the direct flights that may be affected, Thai in particular since it didn't really go in for the UK-Aus/NZ market too much. There will certainly be hotel bargains to be found (particularly in BKK as twin-centre bookings are cancelled). Keep an eye on the Bidding for Travel site to see how the non-contracted prices are going over the next few months ....... Tom p.s. I would be inclined to forget about booking Phuket Air's bargain flights until such time as you can be sure they will make it through the tourist downturn.

Emirates, as well as being a tad optimistic with their 34 inch seat-pitch claims are the only major scheduled airline that still fits pax 10 abreast in economy in their 777s. You are effectively paying premium rates for a charter service. Seat pitch nowadays means very little since some of the newer seat designs and manufacturing materials effectively give you a couple of extra inches legroom.

Calm down, guys! You've got to remember that this is Thai advertising the service. I seem to remember in the spring that they said they were having a complete new image makeover and that all the aircraft would be refurbished by the end of 2004. How many are complete? Nil, zero, zilch ......... Even Thaksin seen fit to jump on their case last week. Does anyone know if they actually have a sales office in NYC yet? Tom

BigD, The actual route flown by Singapore is from the in-flight map thingy and shows the flight basically going NYC-LON-SIN .......... eastabout in answer to your original question.

1. You are allowed to travel with diabetes syringes in the aircraft cabin. Take what you need for the journey and pack the remainder in your hold baggage. 2. You will need to carry your insulin in the cabin - the tempatures inside the hold would degrade it - so it would seem stupid to explain the insulin and not take syringes. 3. Call ahead and warn the airline about your diabetes and the supplies you need to carry - you would need to advise them of your dietary requirements anyway. 4. Bring a letter from your doctor explaining your need to carry syringes/injection devices and

Flighty, I think that you will find Qatar matching Etihad's Gatwick prices since they are also keen to establish their new Gatwick service. Good news for the guys down south .... At the moment they are GBP 385 (incl tax) from 5 Jan through until 18 March - available through e-bookers and most of the major agents. Tom

I would avoid doing any business with Airline Business Limited - at least until they actually have a licence to sell flights ........... they were only listed as applicants as at last week. From the CAA website: An ATOL application does not give any protection to customers – they will have protection under the ATOL scheme only when an ATOL is granted. Always call the CAA on 020 7453 6361 if you have a query.

Next thing you know we'll have catholics playing for Rangers .........

According to the Star Alliance timetable Thai is shown as operating 6 x weekly non-stop flights between BKK and JFK from 1 May 2005. TG 790 BKK-JFK 0:40 - 06:35 Daily except Monday TG 791 JFK-BKK 12:00 - 16:10 Daily except Monday Anyone know any more about these plans or are they no more than TG "wishful thinking". The flights are also loaded in some computer reservation systems (CRS) but no prices are showing yet. I made a cursory check for LAX direct but nothing showing up yet. Star Alliance Timetable Tom

Niall, And then of course we have the athletes from Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Anglesey, Shetland etc who represent Great Britain in the Olympics. We won't mention Zola Budd .............. :crying Tom

exwannabe, Basically, it's a case of we invented the game so we will set the rules. The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which sets the rules of the game (not FIFA) originally comprised the Football Associations of the four home countries, namely: The Football Association (England) The Scottish Football Association The Football Association of Wales Irish Football Association Each of these Associations has one vote each on the IFAB. FIFA joined the IFAB some time later and has a total of four votes. Historically, all motions must have a 75%

The airline reviews don't appear to be very encouraging ....... :crying Turkish Airlines - Reviews Tom

According to their website, they only have individual IFE on their newest 777s. On the 747 to Bangkok it is main screen video and 12 audio channels.

IMO EVA business class is not worth the additional outlay over the cost of Evergreen Deluxe. Unless there is a special on you will likely struggle to get business class with a reputable carrier for 1,250 GBP incl. Add on another 100 quid and both Swiss and Qatar come into play and have good products on new airbus aircraft. If you can fly from Gatwick, as opposed to Heathrow, it may be worth phoning either Etihad or Qatar direct as they are both keen to get their new Gatwick services up and running and may cut you a deal. Tom

portiebear, "ru sure they will pre book our seats???" Trust me; I'm a Jock! You can pre-allocate seats in Dynasty Class up to 90 days prior to the date of travel. The folk at China Airlines are really helpful and will go out of their way to sort you out. Regards, Tom

Portiebear, There are two different seat configurations depending on which particular aircraft you are on - both operate on the AMS-BKK route. Whatever the case, you can prebook your seats by phoning China Airlines on 0207 436 9001. Book Row 10 for the maximum leg room. Seating plans for both aircraft configurations are below: China Airlines - 747-400 Seating Plans Regards, Tom