BigDUSA

My wife has used Egypt Air a couple of times and was more then pleased with the service. BTW she flew business class with them. My wife has flown with Aeroflot once and thought they were OK.

Seems like we once again disagree. All I know I've been very successful negotiating discounts in low season with 4 and 5 star hotels.

Since I don't have the time or more importantly the inclination to dig around and find the individual manager's email. I used latestays as a fast way to see what's being offered currently. For a 3 week stay or 82 night stay in low season further discounts are available. CRS may have all the information required but they don't have the authority to offer deep discounts. The manager does and in low season may well be inclined to offer deep discounts. Maybe not, that's why I send 5 emails out. At least one out of the five will be willing to deal for a long stay.

I pulled the following off of www.latestays.com: Royal Cliff rack rate 11,118 discount 5,117 Marriott rack rate 8701 discount 4641 Sheraton rack rate 10,634 discount 4254 The above would be considered four and five star resorts and the discounts are considerable. Hard Rock rack rate 5,800 discount 1825 Holiday Inn rack rate 5,771 discount 3287 The above would be considered three and four star resorts. Once again the discounts are considerable. Years ago when I was doing a lot of family vacations, we would travel during the OFF SEASON and I would find out the hotel manager's email and I would email him directly and tell him I'm coming into town for two weeks and I'm looking for the best discounted rate he could offer. I also would let him know, I was sending emails to other hotels in town and whoever got back to me first with the best rate would get my business. Hotel manager's know what their occupancy rate is and has the authority to offer discounts. Reservations tend to be lazy and not respond or offer only a minor discount. I did well with a decent percentage off their lowest rates. BTW this only works in the OFF SEASON. Given the OP is staying 82 nights during low season and this is after rioting in the streets of BKK, soldier's killing and wounding scores of people in the streets. Provincial capitals having riots, burning of buildings, etc. Can the OP do better with discounts? IMHO yes but the hotels will only offer minor discounts off the heavily discounted rates offered on latestays. FWIW when I was in town last trip I stopped by the Hard Rock and asked what their best discounted rate was for three weeks. The desk clerk quoted me 4400 per night plus vat. I see their down to 1825 per night.

Another cheap shot from tommie.

First of all I don't HAVE to prove jack shit to you or anyone else on this forum. I've told YOU how to go about getting the big discounts from four and five star hotels. Up to you to go get them. What's a Skyslops? I don't stay at any place named Skyslops. I do stay at a quality guest house named Sky-Top and I pay the same price as everyone else.

They turned down a 82 night booking during low season. Did you email the manager or reservations? I find reservations could care less about a long term stay but the manager does. Let us know how you make out.

Mediocre food at a high price.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives approved a Boeing Co-backed bill that would force consideration of illegal subsidies in the multibillion-dollar race between Boeing and Europe's EADS to sell refueling aircraft to the U.S. Air Force. The lopsided 410 to 8 vote marked a victory for Chicago-based Boeing in its drive for a deal to build an initial 179 tanker aircraft potentially worth up to $50 billion. Companion legislation must be passed by the Senate before it can be signed into law or vetoed by President Barack Obama. Boeing and EADS, the corporate parent of Boeing's commercial archrival, Airbus, are locked in an increasingly bitter race over the U.S. Air Force deal. Boeing earlier this week accused EADS of courting Iran and other countries at odds with the United States and said this should be taken into account in the tanker competition, too. The measure passed by the House would require the Defense Department to consider any "unfair competitive advantage that an offeror may possess" in evaluating bids on major weapons systems. The term "unfair competitive advantage" means a situation in which the cost of development, production, or manufacturing is not fully borne by the offeror for the contract, the amendment to a defense spending bill said. A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel, in a final ruling in March, faulted billions of dollars of European subsidies to Airbus, including, according to U.S. lawmakers briefed on the matter, almost $5 billion used to develop the A330, EADS' tanker frame. A WTO panel is expected to make an interim ruling by the end of next month on a European Union counter-complaint that Boeing has unfairly benefited from U.S. federal, state and local subsidies. NINE-YEAR SAGA It was not immediately clear how the legislation adopted late Thursday would apply to any WTO finding that Boeing also unfairly gained from subsidies. But any such final ruling may not come soon enough to figure in the tanker saga, which has dragged on for nearly nine years. Bids are due July 9 and the Pentagon has told the bidders to be ready to start work by November 12 if chosen for the deal. This round of competition is the third time the Air Force has sought to start replacing its KC-135 tankers, which average about 50 years old. The first, in 2004, would have been a lease-buy deal with Boeing, but it collapsed after two Boeing officials were convicted of conflict-of-interest violations, one of them the Air Force's former No. 2 arms buyer. A team of EADS and Northrop Grumman Corp won a 179-plane deal in 2008, but Boeing successfully protested the award, leading to the current round. Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington, one of the measure's sponsors, said Republicans and Democrats could be united in a "simple proposition" as lawmakers considered the measure. "We will never allow foreign competitors to steal American jobs by using illegal subsidies, then reward them by allowing the use of those illegal subsidies to win a contract worth tens of billions of dollars," said Inslee, whose state is home to the Boeing production line for the 767 wide body that would be converted into a tanker. The Defense Department has maintained that it is barred from unilateral retaliatory action for violations of international trade rules. "That is the purview of the WTO," Geoff Morrell, Defense Secretary Robert Gates chief spokesman, said May 13. "If we were to do so, we would then be in violation of WTO rules and subject to disciplinary action." Boeing cheered the vote, saying it was entirely appropriate for lawmakers to take steps to prevent the U.S. defense industrial base "from suffering the same fate as the commercial aircraft industry, where illegal subsidies have contributed to the loss of tens of thousands of U.S. aerospace jobs." "We fully support the efforts of all members of Congress who share our concern about the unfair competitive advantage that EADS/Airbus, a foreign company, gained from decades of illegal launch aid subsidies worth billions of dollars," a Boeing statement said. EADS North American arm, which would be the prime contractor for its Airbus-based tanker, said it believed the Defense Department should be allowed to run "the fair and open competition to which it is committed." "We leave it to the Department to comment on the extent to which this or any legislation impacts that objective," James Darcy, a company spokesman, said by email. The Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Defense Authorization bill, as approved by the House, also included a provision that would bar Pentagon fuel purchases from companies that have been sanctioned for doing business with Iran's energy industry. QUOTE It's refreshing to see true bi-partisan support for Boeing.

I checked UA website and they are selling tickets for this Sunday. NRT-BKK.

She could be bi lingual.

CHICAGO – Boeing said it will fix a design flaw in the tail section of its new 787, and it still expects to start delivering the plane by the end of this year. Spokeswoman Yvonne Leach said on Tuesday that testing showed that the outer skin of the plane and the bracket-like piece of metal that holds it near the tail could separate slightly. She said Boeing will change the way the device is made, and that should fix the problem. The problem includes the tail cone and the piece of the fuselage near the horizontal stabilizer, the part on the tail that looks like a wing. The tail cone is made by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., and the fuselage section was made by Boeing at its plant in Charleston, South Carolina. Leach said the parts were made to specifications but the specifications need to be changed. Boeing will fix all but the first three planes it produced, she said. Those first three planes are being used for testing only and will not be delivered to customers. Boeing Co. has told suppliers to stop delivering 787 parts for almost five weeks. Leach said the design problem was one small part of that delay, but not the main cause. The issue was reported Monday on FlightBlogger, part of the Flightglobal aviation news website. Quote AP

Patience, America. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is coming. (Click here for graphic.) Big windows. High ceilings. Overhead bins that will hold those overstuffed carry-ons. Wireless entertainment (and office e-mail) to your seat. More natural air so your face doesn't feel like it spent six hours in the Sahara Desert. An artist's conception of a 787 Dreamliner with the new aircraft color scheme for the combined United-Continental airline. The airline would keep the United name, but the colors would be Continental's, including its abstract globe design on the tail.It could receive its first 787 late next year. No more aging airliners on domestic routes, where the average age of a major jet is nearly 15. No more busted arm rests, 1990s-era TV sets hanging from the ceiling, duct-taped carpet and banged-up bathrooms. No more wasted space for kitchen galleys from the era before airlines decided to starve their customers. No more tiny windows that you have to crane to see out. All gone. Starting ... someday. When? Maybe the end of this year. In Japan. All Nippon Airways gets the first 787. When will Americans be able to fly this American-made aircraft on routes within America? Someday. It likely will be on an airline that doesn't even exist yet – the newly merged United and Continental awaiting approval from the feds. Maybe late next year. And don't look for it at John Wayne Airport – it's too big and heavy for us. Still, the Dreamliner is likely going to be part of your traveling for most of the rest of your life. With more than 800 on order, it will fill the skies until well toward the middle of the century. I had hoped to be flying regularly on the Dreamliner by now – it's two years behind schedule. So I had to travel up to Seattle, Boeing's home (if no longer its headquarters, which moved to Chicago several years ago) to take a look. I could have gone to the assembly plant in Everett, Wash., to see the engineering marvels of the swept-wing jet, it's thrifty General Electric GEnx (bet the engineers didn't come up with the cutesy name) and lightweight composite body. I could have heard how mechanics on the ground could monitor the plane while it was in the air via wireless updates. Great stuff. But I wanted inside. Where I and the rest of the traveling public would spend hundreds or even thousands of hours for the rest of our traveling lives. I came away impressed – and disappointed. To see the inside the Dreamliner, I didn't board a plane but instead went inside an office park. Boeing operates the equivalent of an interior furnishings showroom for customers off a wooded road in Reston, just south of Seattle. Kent Craver, the "regional director of passenger satisfaction and revenue," showed me around a mock-up of the 787 interior. He's a cool, smart, calm-voiced evangelist for Boeing's goods. Craver said Boeing knows that any aircraft manufacturer has a built-in problem with their customers. "No one would choose to sit for several hours on a plane," he said. "They're bored or angry when using our product." The company consulted with psychologists, cultural anthropologists – and Disney – to improve the passenger experience without getting in the way of the revenue stream of their real customers, the airlines. The key is trying to get people away from the feeling that they are being forced into a very large toothpaste tube. With airports a source of traveler anxiety, the move onto the airplane should also signal a switch in attitude. "We want to create a psychological separation so people leave their ground experience on the ground and feel welcomed," Craver said. It starts with an open lobby-like area at the aircraft doorway. On entry, there's a lot to like. Sculpted design and LED lights give the interior a feeling – perhaps illusion – of height, width and light. I was pleased to see that individual overhead air blowers were back, so your seatmate's garlic-soaked carry-on lunch can be counterattacked. "As much as possible, people want a personal space that they can control," Craver said. Bathrooms are bigger, so passengers can change clothes without squirming around like a crazy man in a straightjacket. Even the big bins are psychologically calming. No worries that you won't be able to store your bag over your seat. The powerful hinges don't require Herculean strength on your tippytoes to close. Up front, it's a wonderful world of fold-flat first-class seats and fat business-class seats that look like flying La-Z-Boy recliners designed by the Jetsons. Boeing expects that the 787 will become the go-to airliner of the high-end flier. "The business traveler knows his or her aircraft because they spend so much time on them," Craver said. "This plane will be preferred, extremely preferred, by business travelers." Great! And how about the rest of us? Welcome back to reality. No matter what designers pull out of their bag of tricks, the crush of economy-class seats, even when empty in a showroom, brings on shudders. Boeing has suggested to airlines that they use a civilized "3-2-3" seat layout of eight seats per row, separated by two aisles. Sorry. Most airlines have opted for the "other" option of adding one more seat per row for an elbow-crunching, nine-across "3-3-3" layout. The future of flight might be brighter and more colorful, but it comes with the nightmare of 17.2-inch-wide seats creating the familiar sardine effect in economy class. "It all comes down to revenue," Craver said. "In economy class, it is all about price, and most passengers are not willing to pay a dime for extras, including space." Craver said the 787 will be an improved flight experience, even for those in the airliner equivalent of steerage. And if the day dawns when economy passengers are willing to pay more for comforts, Boeing's designers are ready. "If the market wants it, we will come up with it," Craver said. Someday. Contact the writer: travel@ocregister.com

I never did this with Pattaya hotels but I have done this in BKK and other cities and did well with the pricing. No I don't remember the prices I paid but I'm sure your willing to tell us what I paid years ago.

When I was in Pattaya last March. I saw signs all over the place for 700 per night. I would think you can do better then their current offer. Email the manager and negotiate with him. I used to send out five emails to the manager's of four and five star hotel's and I'd tell them what I was willing to pay and the first hotel that got back to me would get my business. This worked well for me and BTW this only works during low season and times of civil unrest.

Could you offer further details on "Yep. It's a ripoff joint, bar and hotel". Preferably from your personal experience and not speculation. I'll refer you to your "I heard it's nearly all Ladybodys that work there now" comment.

That was then. Now the program is nearing the end of the beginning. Try and keep up.

SEATTLE – Boeing Co. has asked the companies that make the large sections of its new 787 jetliner to hold back shipping the assemblies for two of the jets for about a month. Boeing Commercial Airplanes spokeswoman Yvonne Leach said Tuesday that 787 final assembly is continuing at its Everett plant and that the temporary delay won't affect work under way. Boeing remains on track to deliver the first 787 to a customer late this year, she said. Boeing relies on suppliers from around the world to build huge sections of the plane that are later assembled in Everett. Early on, that approach proved troublesome, with ill-fitting parts and other glitches hampering production of the initial jets. Boeing originally planned to deliver the first 787 in 2008. Leach said some of the manufacturers are having difficulty getting components to finish their sections and some need to complete engineering and design changes Boeing wants. She declined to identify the companies. Boeing asked the companies to hold back sending sections for the 23rd and 24th 787s to be assembled for 24 manufacturing days so they can complete the needed work at their sites. Boeing wants to avoid having to do any catch-up work itself that would hamper production at Everett. "We don't want to be doing out-of-sequence work in final assembly," she said. While there is some out-of-sequence work currently being done at Everett, it's manageable and "this impact would have been larger than we wanted to handle," she said. Boeing built time into its 787 schedule in case of such delays, she said, and has plenty of work to do on 787s to fill any gap in the line. Boeing has orders for 866 of the planes, from 57 customers. The plane first flew in December and extensive flight tests are under way. Boeing shares fell $1.86 or 2.5 percent Tuesday to $72.48 amid a broad decline in U.S. stocks. QUOTE

Maybe you missed it but I think I read somewhere about the really big cloud of ash that came out of nowhere and shut down almost all the airports in where was it? I'll have to look on a map because I think it's called Euro Disney. No that's not it. Shit maybe you know where it is? Let's see, what help could be made available? How about a temporary small loan program be made available? Shall we say maybe 500 pounds payable in 12 months.

Thai has plenty of planes at the airport. Announce on a first come, first serve basis, irrespective of what airline you bought a ticket on We will fly you to London. Do the same for people stuck in London waiting for a flight to BKK. Thai turns the tickets in to the appropriate airlines for reimbursement. Thai may lose a few Baht on this deal but the PR will be priceless.

I agree with brotherbuzz. Decent knockoff is more then OK for the occasional traveler. I travel frequently and I found that out of all the various brands I've bought over the years Travelpro lasts the longest. My wife just bought a 32" Travelpro off the internet for $200USD including shipping. Good value for the buck.

I hate to rain on this guys parade but I've found the Mexican food at the Reef to be mediocre at best. They do a good job on the fish & chip.

Boeing’s 787 logs 500 hours of flight, gains additional FAA approval Posted at 8:43 pm by Michelle Dunlop Herald Writer The Boeing Co.’s 787 jet has cleared another regulatory hurdle on its path to first delivery later this year, the company said Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Administration has given Boeing expanded type inspection authorization, which allows FAA officials to accompany Boeing on 787 flights to collect flight-test data needed for certification. The move “is another significant step toward delivering airplanes to our customers. We remain on track to deliver the first airplane to ANA this year," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program, Commercial Airplanes. Boeing’s 787 flight test airplanes have logged a total of 500 hours of flight since the first Dreamliner made its maiden flight Dec. 15, 2009. Boeing also said on Tuesday that it has finalized the aerodynamic configuration of the 787. "We have completed sufficient testing to decide that no additional changes to the external lines or shape of the airplane are required," Fancher said. "Having an airplane match its expected performance with so few changes is rare and speaks to the maturity of the design." Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, which is more than two years behind schedule, has won 866 orders. The Chicago-based company is set to report its first quarter earnings Wednesday. QUOTE

Boeing 787 undergoes extreme weather testing Posted at 2:13 pm by Michelle Dunlop Herald Writer The Boeing Co. is putting its 787 Dreamliner through a series of extreme-weather tests in Florida as the company works toward certification later this year. Boeing’s new 787 jet is in a hangar at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Elgin Air Force Base. Inside the hangar, the aircraft experiences heat as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit and as low as minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Sensors and monitors will allow the test team to determine if all systems hardware and software operate as expected. Cold-weather testing is being conducted first, with preliminary hot-weather testing to follow. Additional extreme-weather testing will be conducted later in the flight test program. “We have Dreamliner customers who will operate the 787 in a wide variety of environments throughout the world,” said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. “This testing is about ensuring that the airplane meets the expectations of our customers.” Boeing hopes to gain Federal Aviation Administration approval for its 787 later this year so that the aerospace company can deliver the first Dreamliner to Japan’s All Nippon Airways by year’s end, roughly two years behind schedule. A crew of approximately 100 people traveled from Seattle to support the test operations on ZA003, the third 787 airplane to be built. The testing in Florida is expected to last nearly two weeks. Boeing’s second 787 to be built, ZA002, has been undergoing a variety of testing in Victorville, Calif., last month. QUOTE

And to think all the above from a guy who has stated he's been by Sky-Top hundred's of times but never bothered to stop in and see for himself if it's a shit hole. Yes there have been guys who felt Sky-top didn't meet their expectations but the Hub forgets to mention there are a number of guys on this forum have stayed there and it met their expectations and some have become repeat customers. Hub's opinion hold as much validity as the guy who slags off the FLB. Beer's to warm and overpriced, band is lousy. AC is shit and the BG are dead dogs. Then you come to find out he's never been to the FLB but that doesn't stop him from making asinine comments on a place he's never visited.