Which Airline?

[billywhizz 0]

Hi,

 

I'd be soooooooo grateful for some advice here.

 

I am about to book flights for 2 of us to get to BKK for 4 nights, then on to Pattaya for 12 nights. We have found that the flights ( economy) are much of a muchness, pricewise.

 

What we'd like to know is which airline is best? Which airline charges for beer etc? Which airline doesn't? Which airline has comfy seating, which airline has the best legroom? Neither of us have flown this far before and we'd be really pi**ed off if we got a crap airline. Any ideas?

 

The shortlist is BA, KLM, Emirates or Scandinavian.........all approx £500 return ( Oct 2006 from Manchester ). Flying from London is not an option.

 

Any advice would be very much appreciated. Cheers.

[Emil 0]

I'm from the US so I can't help you on which airline. If you think you might make more trips in the future then check into the frequent flyer programs on each airline as they can bring down your transportation cost in the future. Regarding legroom, once you've booked your trip, try to get the emergency exit row seats.

[wrassell 0]

First few times to Thailand I booked on-line, thought I was getting a real bargan. Later I found a better deal from a local travel agent, and the advice about seating and scheduels was free. The agency I used was a consolidator which means they are a wholesale agency. You would think that booking online would be cheaper with the lower operating cost, thats what they like for you to think. Shop around look in the newspapers, look on-line and call the agents, could save you alot....

[jackcorbett 2]

Several of my friends and I are sold on Eva Airlines. https://ffp.evaair.com Flights in the U.S. originate from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle--perhaps a couple of other cities. This is a Chinese airline based out of Taiwan so your flight would stop over in Taipei. Service is impeccable. There are several classes. I go economy since it is the cheapest and at 165 to 170 pounds I take up relatively little room in the seat. A couple of my friends pay extra for more seat room. I think they go business class. The stewardesses are usually extremely attractive. This is no longer the case with most American airlines I've traveled on. Seeing all those beautiful Chinese stewardesses all around him makes a man eagerly anticipate the Thai girls he will be meeting later on

 

With Eva one can join their Evergreen Club and start accumulating miles one uses to upgrade his membership. There is a bronze, silver and gold card membership for example allowing one to board earlier than other passengers along with other perks. Having the Silver card gives one the right to use the Eva Lounge in Bangkok and Taipei where passengers have newspapers available to them, free beer and wine, or soft drinks, and wireless internet access from a laptop.

 

To give you an idea of the airfares, a November flight out of L.A. costs $603 but airfares are very variable as you probably know. Being from the St. Louis area I will usually fly American or other airline to the West Coast. Don't know if this is still the case, but I was able to save more than $100.00 through booking online with Eva over the prices they quoted me over the phone.

Edited January 9, 2006 by jackcorbett

[TURBO 1]

I guess the BA fare is via heathrow then direct to Bkk ? If so it is not a bad choice if you don't mind the chaos that is heathrow .

 

A better choice would be the Emirates flight but make sure the flight times into & out of Dubai don't mean a long stopover . Sometimes the cheaper fares mean an 8 hour+ waiting between flights !

[Gus 97]

billywhizz

One of the top forum members is Cheshire Tom, he uses Qatar airways from MAN.

And they are a 5* airline

[Montydog 135]

Try checking out this site gives all the details you should need;

 

Skytrax

[marleyboy 140]

well the beer is free on all airlines going to thailand! personally i go non-stop as it saves hanging about and changing planes etc. as for comfy seats well nuch of a muchness really! although some airlines have slightly more leg-room, so all in all id go for a direct flight according to the fares! for me if the fare is the same for a direct flight and a flight with a stop/plane change id go direct any day!

[billywhizz 0]

Thanks for all the replies, especially Gus and Montydog.....thanks to your posts, I checked out Qatar and Skytrax and have gotten brill flights with an hours stop e/w in Doha for only £ 424!! Happy days. Roll on October.

 

Thansk again.

[phantomtiger 0]

well the beer is free on all airlines going to thailand!  personally i go non-stop as it saves hanging about and changing planes etc. as for comfy seats well nuch of a muchness really! although some airlines have slightly more leg-room, so all in all id go for a direct flight according to the fares! for me if the fare is the same for a direct flight and a flight with a stop/plane change id go direct any day!

Not quite sure if this is still true, but since U are flying out of UK, this shouldnt affect you. But note that flying out of USA on any US based airlines ,even flying Intl flights, the bars are not free. I flew a USA owned airline to HK once 2 years ago and they made me pay for all my drinks (dont know if they change this rule again, but suggest U check before booking if drinking on a plane is a big thing for you guys.)

In my opinion, always choose any asian based airlines as the service is always better (better food, free drinks and of course, since its a Long flight--nicer gals to look at for so many hours).

 

PT

Edited January 9, 2006 by phantomtiger

[Emil 0]

But note that flying out of USA on any US based airlines even flying Intl flights, the bars are not free.

On United the drinks are free. In economy you get beer, wine and liquor. In business and first class they have a more extensive selection.

[nivla 4]

try ethiad airline or qatar

[Feileacan 32]

Scratch KLM off your list, My Mate stayed a bit longer on holidays in January and had to book a new flight as BA/Qantas were sold out. He booked with KLM. There were no blankets or Pillows provided. When he woke in the middle of the night, he asked the stewardess for one as he was freezing and was told NO, they don't provide them.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

billywhizz,

 

There are several good options from Manchester for under 500 quid without going anywhere near Heathrow.

 

Of the middle east carriers, Emirates has the best choice of flights (2 x daily) and the best stopover in Dubai, whereas Qatar is a notch above them in terms of service standards and they should be flying daily by October. Etihad is commencing daily flights in the next couple of months and they offer a similar product to the other two but for around 40-80 quid less.

 

Of the options to transit at a European airport the best bet is probably Swiss, quick connections and new aircraft. Lufthansa are also worth considering if you opt for the connection via Munich rather than Frankfurt, newer aircraft, good connection times and wireless internet if that is your thing.

 

Also worth considering is Singapore's service on their non-stop MAN-SIN service (they also have a service via Zurich which is best avoided) which is the best economy product I have experienced and Changi is probably the best transit airport bar none...... and the stewardesses are kinda cute.

 

Whichever airline you decide on make sure to join their frequent flyer club before your outward journey.

 

As for booking the flights ..... for a newbie, Trailfinders in Manchester, Deansgate is better than most. They may appear slightly more expensive than others but they have no credit card charges which tends to even things out and their agents are all experienced travellers.

 

If you are with a mate or two and are looking to stop in BKK for a couple of nights, ask the agent to quote you an "IT Fare" which is a good deal cheaper if you book accommodation with the flight. Trailfinders do a good deal with the Bel-Aire Princess which is a decent standard hotel and is handily placed on Sukhumvit Soi 5 for most of the mongering destinations and the skytrain for access to other areas of the city.

 

If you want any more info , drop me a PM and I'll do my best to help.

 

Tom

[Les21 0]

I am amazed you found flights for the price you mentioned, must be indirect. The first time i went i flew Lufthansa and had a stopover and plane change at Frankfurt, on the way back we got stuck at Frankfurt for 7 hours dur to fog. I always fly direct now and have found Thai Airways- Eva Air and B.A all about the same, all do free drink and food. I normally book whichever of the 3 is doing the best deal at the time. I have just booked B.A for March for £440 return. I have found that the air hostesses on B.A fill you full of drink on the first part of the flight knowing you will fall asleep and they will have a quite night.

[ronpet 0]

hi

give southall travel middlesexthey do hotel transfers and flight 14/21 day or they are on teletext 224 /or seach goggle they seem to be the cheapest deal from manchester on flights out manchester, via doha or dubi or gazzelle travel in newcastle think they have office in bradford as well.

[landy2a 0]

A lot depends on your body shape. If you are broad in the bum there is not much you can do about it in economy. On a 747-400 the seats are 3 4 3 .

 

If you are 5 foot to 5 foot 8 inches you should be comfortabe with the seat pitch on Qantas/BA.

 

I am 6 foot and always get an aisle seat on Qantas/BA and travel quite comfortably.

 

Take into consideration the length of time you will be in the seat. BKK to Sydney is about 8.5 hours and Sydney to BKK about 9 hours. I do not know the times to Heathrow.

 

 

John

[Eneukman 1]

A lot depends on your body shape. If you are broad in the bum there is not much you can do about it in economy. On a 747-400 the seats are 3 4 3 .

 

If you are 5 foot to 5 foot 8 inches you should be comfortabe with the seat pitch on Qantas/BA.

 

I am 6 foot and always get an aisle seat on Qantas/BA and travel quite comfortably.

 

Take into consideration the length of time you will be in the seat. BKK to Sydney is about 8.5 hours and Sydney to BKK about 9 hours. I do not know the times to Heathrow.

 

 

John

London to Bangkok is about 10 1/2 hours in the air and nearer 12 hours the other way.

 

Alan

[whitespider 1]

LHR - BKK I always try and get EVA

 

Current economy price around £420 and under £600 for the evergreen deluxe. Night flights out of LHR and direct too

[terrybooth 0]

The original query said that London is not an option therefore the best flights would be Emirates or Qatar and perhaps Etihad when they commence their flights in March 2006.

However if SAS offers a good price then they have the quickest journey to BKK(only 45 minutes at Copenhagen-the plane waits if you're late from Manchester)

[gk10002000 0]

orbitz.com really is pretty good. I have flown china airlines, korean airlines, japan airlines, eva, and even american airlines on the lef form chicago to tokyo. JAL is fantastic. Great freindly hosts on the flights. girls cleaned the bathroom every hour! individual tooth brushes in bathroom. just a wonderful flight. I have only gone from chicago or los angeles.