flights from Manchester

[smig72 0]

Another newbie with a question you have probably had on many occasions so please forgive me...

 

Me and a pal are visiting Pattaya for the first time in October and will be flying from Manchester airport... I wonder which is the best airline to fly with? and perhaps some suggestions who to book through.

 

We are thinking of staying at Queen Victoria inn, read a couple of very good reports and they will collect from the airport for 1900 Baht.

 

http://www.queenvictoria-inn.com/index2.htm

 

I will have a good read through the forum for most of the general info but would appreciate any newbie top tips you might have.

 

Cheers

 

If any of you are out there from 1st to 15th of October it would be great to say hello and buy you a beer.

 

regards

 

Steve

Edited May 15, 2011 by smig72

[ToffeeAl 3]

Last 6 visits I have flew with Etihad from Manchester, last year got flights for £450 and went out mid Oct, booked through Netflights. Will be back mid Oct again this year for 4 weeks, Queen Vic is a good place to stay but too crazy on soi 6 for me to stay my whole visit.

[pattysteve 34]

Ive used Etihad quite a few times,this time they are more expensive and im flying Emirates.

 

The Airlines to me are pretty much of the same,just a means of getting there.No matter who you fly with you have to have a stopover,be careful when booking you dont end up with a long one.Flights are availlable with under 3hrs.

 

Im there from 7 Oct till April.

 

Try this link,its the cheapest i found this time around.

 

http://www.worldwideflights.com/

 

But there are many sites,just google and look around.

 

You're going to have a ball,no doubt lol.

Edited May 15, 2011 by pattysteve

[The Gunslinger 3]

I cant comment too much about your travel plans, but I can offer a word or two about the Queen Vic.

I have stayed there a couple of times, the owner Vic, is a good guy who will help you out all he can, his staff are generally very good, the rooms are good for the price and the food is good, if a little pricey.

The only thing worth warning you about is the back door entrance after hours. I f you are the timid type the ladyboys on soi six and a half will be a bit of a nuisance, you will have to learn how to say "no!" and look as though you mean it.

The stairs can be a bit of a hike when you are pissed, but that has more to do with my age than anything else, I`m sure you will have a great time and look forward to hearing all about it.

[danboy 151]

I`ve never flown from Manchester so don`t know about that, I always fly from Heathrow so I can get a direct flight.

 

As for hotel the Queen Vic is good(as long as you`re not the shy type) but the 1900baht for airport pick up is a bit steep. I use Mr T taxi service, very reliable and only 1000baht from airport to anywhere in Pattaya, just e-mail him.

 

mr_ttaxi@hotmail.com

 

Enjoy your trip

Edited May 15, 2011 by danboy

[newbie34 3]

I have stayed at the Queen Vic and as stated above Vic the owner is a nice bloke and always asking is everything ok and is there anything he can do to help.

2 entrances, one on Soi 6 and one on Soi 6/1, the 6/1 is the quiet entrance and how you get in late late night.

There is no lift in the Vic, it is only 3/4 floors, i didnt find the stairs a problem (i was on the top floor), though i have heard people not much into them on here over the yrs, but dont let the stairs put you off unless you have ill health or bad legs....i never had a problem with them myself.

 

At one end of Soi 6 you have beach road which is a one way that goes down to walking street, baht bus`s a plenty, the other end pf Soi 6 is 2nd road which is also a one way with plenty of baht bus`s and goes the opposit direction to beach road, so you can get to pretty much anywhere easily, just one big loop.

 

There are bars all over the place, i mean they are everywhere and Soi 6 for me is an every now and then place to go. Sabai Inn on Soi 2 may also be a place to look at, its not far off the price range of the Vic, has a lift so no flights of stairs to climb, same deal with Baht bus route and a more mellow street to stay.

 

http://www.sabaiinn.com/

 

Im sure others here can add to the list of places to stay.

 

For flights....myself i will fly with whoever is the cheapest, i flew FinAir one time, it was only £380 a few yrs ago, crap plane, but the stop overs were only a few hours. too me its just a tube of metal with a seat that fly`s, saying that the stop-over time is more important...8hrs waiting for the next flight at the 1/2 way stage is shitty, so try and get the 2/3 hour stopover at the 1/2 way point.

 

Just had a look at these 2 sites

 

http://www.worldwideflights.com/

 

http://www.netflights.com/

 

The cheapest for your dates was worldwide flights, £9 cheaper, both sites showed "Qatar" as the cheapest, with only a 2/3hour stop-over which is good. I have flown with them before and a good airline, though Doha airport was not much of an airport when i was there last, who cares its only a stop over, brew/smoke stop/ stretch your legs.

 

As you said your having a good read of stuff and i would suggest doing that to anyone who has never been, tons of info here with trip reports ect to give you an idea of things.

 

You and your mate will have a great time and then some...keep up the reading

[jacko 8,762]

I am from the cup winning city.......

I detest London Heathrow so changing there is not on my list.

The choices with a single change are many.

The 3 Middle East Airlines, Emirates, Qatar and Ethiad. Not much need to look further afield really. All quite good.

China Airlines or KLM with changes in Amsterdam... not as good but Amsterdm is OK for transit.

Lufthansa, Fin Air, Scandanavian, Swiss, Turkish, Air France and a few others.

 

For price,try Opodo to get an idea. But for the Middle East carriers always go back and try their site as sometimes they offer the best price there.

I just did a quick check on Opodo and they come up with £590 on Qatar. Their site offered the same. beware of long layovers in the ME which I think are not worth the saving on flight cost.

[rainsberger 0]

I am from the cup winning city.......

I detest London Heathrow so changing there is not on my list.

The choices with a single change are many.

The 3 Middle East Airlines, Emirates, Qatar and Ethiad. Not much need to look further afield really. All quite good.

China Airlines or KLM with changes in Amsterdam... not as good but Amsterdm is OK for transit.

Lufthansa, Fin Air, Scandanavian, Swiss, Turkish, Air France and a few others.

 

For price,try Opodo to get an idea. But for the Middle East carriers always go back and try their site as sometimes they offer the best price there.

I just did a quick check on Opodo and they come up with £590 on Qatar. Their site offered the same. beware of long layovers in the ME which I think are not worth the saving on flight cost.

 

 

 

From June 1st Qatar Airways are to introduce 2 flights daily from Manchester Airport, the

first departs at 10am and the second departs at 14.55 with connections at Doha Airport

for Bangkok. Here are the full details

 

Qatar Airways is introducing a second flight from Manchester on the 1st June, offering passengers from northern England and the Midlands the opportunity to fly to Doha and beyond.

 

The increased frequency from Manchester will give passengers greater options to travel onto a wider range of flights across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Far East and Australia via Doha.

 

To celebrate, view our special launch offers from Manchester

 

The MANCHESTER - DOHA - MANCHESTER schedules effective 1st June 2011:

 

Depart Manchester QR042 at 1000 hrs, arrive in Doha at 1900 hrs

Depart Doha QR041 at 0150 hrs, arrive in Manchester at 0730 hrs

Depart Manchester QR046 at 1455 hrs, arrive in Doha at 2355 hrs

Depart Doha QR045 at 0745 hrs, arrive in Manchester at 1325 hrs

[danboy 151]

One site you might wanna try is Southall. Usually as cheap as any and I`ve never had any problems with them

 

http://www.southalltravel.co.uk/

[parry 58]

Ive flown from Manchester on all of my 12 trips and here are my top tips.

 

1. No direct flights from Manchester but Emirates, Qatar and Etihad are all good airlines. Do not have a stopover in the Middle east for more than 3 hours

2. Try and get an evening flight from Manchester therefore arriving in the evening in Pattaya. The early morning flights arrive early morning and this can be very tiring, cant get in your room till 1 etc etc

3. The best site in my experience is Travelsupermarket which encompasses most of the good sites, Southall, Netflights, Ebookers etc. Flight prices change daily so monitor daily and be as flexible as you can.

4. Queen Vic is nice but the location is wrong for a Newbie. I would suggest somewhere more central, Areca Lodge is a good quality hotel on Soi Diana that boardmembers seem to like at about 1400. If you dont require room service, pools etc then Metro Apartments is ideal. Excellent rooms, great staff and farang owned ( Dennis from Ireland) due to the genial host and the 'usually northern' fellow guests I would strongly recommend this place.

[doolish 14]

Hi,

Just got a e-mail from daughter. She is coming out to see me in Oct.

Fare from Man. to BKK return was 425GBP. With Ethiad. Travel agent asked her where she is going to in LOS. She said Udon Thani. T.A. said if she got ticket BKK to Udon now it would only cost her 20GBP's for a return ticket.

Out of interest i checked out flights from BKK to MAN. Same airline and same dates, but oppisite way around. What a shock. To buy in LOS it would cost 41,000B Over 800GBP. Nearly double the cost. What a rip off.

Cheers Doug.

[TheFiend 1,181]

Flew from Manchester with Etihad 15/5 and the outward flights didn't impress me..... Pushed back off the gate on time but was then held up for over an hour before we eventually took off..... and with a 2 hour layover in Abu Dhabi it meant things were pretty tight for catching the connecting flight. Also found the in-flight service wasn't as good as Emirates.

 

Still got the return flight to do.... hope there is an improvement or I might cross them off my list.

 

Currently staying in the Queen Vic..... love the place!!!

[Fireman Sam 336]

Flew from Manchester with Etihad 15/5 and the outward flights didn't impress me..... Pushed back off the gate on time but was then held up for over an hour before we eventually took off..... and with a 2 hour layover in Abu Dhabi it meant things were pretty tight for catching the connecting flight. Also found the in-flight service wasn't as good as Emirates.

 

Still got the return flight to do.... hope there is an improvement or I might cross them off my list.

 

Currently staying in the Queen Vic..... love the place!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Same same for myself used Etihad in March and April, not impressed with them, thought the legroom on all their planes was a lot tighter than Emirates.

 

 

So back with Emirates next week on the A380 all the way. Worth the small extra cost for myself as I travel quite often.

Edited May 17, 2011 by Fireman Sam

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Hi,

Just got a e-mail from daughter. She is coming out to see me in Oct.

Fare from Man. to BKK return was 425GBP ...

 

 

Which agent is doing flights at 425 quid? I'm sure some BMs would suffer Etihad's sardine class at that price.

[pattysteve 34]

I totally agree Tom £425 is a fantastic price,i certainly couldnt find anything near that.

I have booked Emirates at £588 for early Oct,Etihad were quoting over £600.Admitted mine is a 6mnth ticket which tend to be a bit more expensive.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

I totally agree Tom £425 is a fantastic price,i certainly couldnt find anything near that.

I have booked Emirates at £588 for early Oct,Etihad were quoting over £600.Admitted mine is a 6mnth ticket which tend to be a bit more expensive.

 

I'm sure prices will drop a bit to fill the increased capacity ex Manchester. In my experience, good deals for Sep through to the end of Oct tend to appear around the time of the late May Bank Holiday.

[TheFiend 1,181]

I'm sure prices will drop a bit to fill the increased capacity ex Manchester. In my experience, good deals for Sep through to the end of Oct tend to appear around the time of the late May Bank Holiday.

 

I got my flight for £471 and it was significantly cheaper than Emirates for the dates I booked. Emirates must be hurting Etihad with the morning flight. My Etihad flight had loads of empty seats.

[jacko 8,762]

Flew from Manchester with Etihad 15/5 and the outward flights didn't impress me..... Pushed back off the gate on time but was then held up for over an hour before we eventually took off..... and with a 2 hour layover in Abu Dhabi it meant things were pretty tight for catching the connecting flight. Also found the in-flight service wasn't as good as Emirates.

 

Still got the return flight to do.... hope there is an improvement or I might cross them off my list.

 

Currently staying in the Queen Vic..... love the place!!!

Possibly an issue with Manchester airport and not a factor of Ethiad.

LHR did that to me so many times, BA flights, it was one reason why I stopped using them. Once sat there on the tarmac waiting for over 1/2 hour as they couldn't find a gate for us at LHR. I felt like I had been kidnapped.

 

I don't particularly like the transit at Abu Dhabi, that terminal is rather grotty and crowded.

Edited May 17, 2011 by jacko

[doolish 14]

Hi,

Don't know where daughter got tickets from C.T.. I just did a quick check, by Google, and found the following prices, it said all inclusive. To many sites to list. But below was the quoted cheapest prices.

From MAN. To BKK return.

China Air. 439 GBP's. Air France 444GBP's. Turkish Air 446 GBP's. Swiss Air 458 GBP's

Qatar 490 GBP's. Etihad 480GBP's

This was travelling mid week for a four week stay in Oct. 2011.

Cheers Doug.

[Brown1950 67]

Hi,

Don't know where daughter got tickets from C.T.. I just did a quick check, by Google, and found the following prices, it said all inclusive. To many sites to list. But below was the quoted cheapest prices.

From MAN. To BKK return.

China Air. 439 GBP's. Air France 444GBP's. Turkish Air 446 GBP's. Swiss Air 458 GBP's

Qatar 490 GBP's. Etihad 480GBP's

This was travelling mid week for a four week stay in Oct. 2011.

Cheers Doug.

 

I stand to be corrected but i have not seen these prices from Manchester since 2 years ago.

EY/EK/QR from Manchester even with the increased capacity are presently enjoying a 'bonaza' and

filling their boots with loads in excess of 80%.

 

Now understand why the likes of Air India / Jet Airways / Air Asia X are all looking at joining the

'gravy train' at Manchester and Emirates considering a 4th daily departure along with a 2nd daily A380.

 

Perhaps you could be more specific with the Company(s) offering these cheap prices ?

[pattysteve 34]

I stand to be corrected but i have not seen these prices from Manchester since 2 years ago.

EY/EK/QR from Manchester even with the increased capacity are presently enjoying a 'bonaza' and

filling their boots with loads in excess of 80%.

 

Now understand why the likes of Air India / Jet Airways / Air Asia X are all looking at joining the

'gravy train' at Manchester and Emirates considering a 4th daily departure along with a 2nd daily A380.

 

Perhaps you could be more specific with the Company(s) offering these cheap prices ?

 

I too would love to know which site is quoting such low prices.I have just checked Opodo,Travelsupermarket,Netflights,Hoodaki and one other.

The cheapest was £545 with Lufthansa after that they were mostly over £580.

 

Please please let us in on your info.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Hi,

Don't know where daughter got tickets from C.T.. I just did a quick check, by Google, and found the following prices, it said all inclusive. To many sites to list. But below was the quoted cheapest prices.

From MAN. To BKK return.

China Air. 439 GBP's. Air France 444GBP's. Turkish Air 446 GBP's. Swiss Air 458 GBP's

Qatar 490 GBP's. Etihad 480GBP's

This was travelling mid week for a four week stay in Oct. 2011.

Cheers Doug.

 

Doug,

 

You're going from the sublime to the ridiculous here, mate. To claim that flights at those all-inclusive prices, with all those airlines are available with "too many sites to list" is bordering on the riculous. Maybe you need to clear your cache because, as Brown 1950 pointed out, you seem to be pulling up results from a few years ago.

 

Or maybe there's something you forgot to mention, like your daughter is 9 years old.

[Big_Brian 179]

I'm sure prices will drop a bit to fill the increased capacity ex Manchester. In my experience, good deals for Sep through to the end of Oct tend to appear around the time of the late May Bank Holiday.

I'm hoping that you're correct there. So far I'm not seeing anything acceptable for a late Oct flight. Living in Cornwall, London, Birmingham or Manchester are only a couple of hours different in travel time for me, so any will do. However, the flight has to be late enough that I can get there on the day and the return early enough that I can get home on the day, which complicates things. So far the best price (and the only one I keep seeing under £500) is Oman ex Heathrow, but it has a 13 hour lay-over on the way back and doesn't get me back in time to get a train home, so I'd have to be desperate to take that one.

 

Still looking.........................

[rainsberger 0]

Remember Guys from the 1st June Qatar Airways have 2 daily fights out of

Manchester.

 

The first flight leaves at 10am for Doha and connects into the 21.00pm

to Bangkok and arrives there at 07.45am next day

 

The second flight departs at 14.55pm and connects into the 1am flight

to Bangkok and arrives there at 11.45am next day

[TheFiend 1,181]

Possibly an issue with Manchester airport and not a factor of Ethiad.

 

I don't particularly like the transit at Abu Dhabi, that terminal is rather grotty and crowded.

 

Well, whilst we were waiting after being pushed back off the gate, I saw the Qatar and a few other terminal 2 flights getting pushed back off the gates and taxing out for take off.... Also the Emirates flight had also left before we did..