What is your preferred airline when travelling to and from Thailand and why?

[doorman 0]

Used all nippon (cost prohibitive) Eva..went down hill...Now fro many years..Cathay Pacific individual T.V. screens on every headrest..Decent groceries and some nice looking stewardesses to get your blood boiling. Usually about 100 us more than EVA...Doorman!

[jballstate 326]

From US east coast Cathy Pacific is the most direct flying from JFK to Hong Kong non-stop ( 16 hrs ) and then from Hong Kong to BKK which is just over 2 hrs. Counting stopover in Hong Kong you can be in BKK in just under 20 hrs which is as good as it gets from US east coast.

[Cinali 8]

Turkish Airlines : Direct flight from Istanbul, But tickets are expensive as 750 euro b4 1 month to date. Foods are great. But service is little bit poor. I'm always getting 2-3 whiskey and breezers ,nt to call hostess

Emirates : Very reasonable prices like 525 euro. Only 2 hrs of delay. Food is ok but service is good.Entertainment system is also a +

Indian Airlines : I hate it. Smelling old plane. paid 230 usd mum-bkk one way

[john5001 54]

Emirates nothing bad and always reliable.

[Hub 203]

From US east coast Cathy Pacific is the most direct flying from JFK to Hong Kong non-stop ( 16 hrs ) and then from Hong Kong to BKK which is just over 2 hrs. Counting stopover in Hong Kong you can be in BKK in just under 20 hrs which is as good as it gets from US east coast.

 

+1

 

Not to mention excellent service, food, IFE, and booze (IMHO). Like the quick stop in HK to get a day room, internet check, ab nam, and power nap.

 

Hub

[Pete12 0]

I consider the option when i am going in relation to price, length of stop over.

 

I live in Belfast and going via London is a hassle, have flew Qatar and Kingfisher through London (Kingfisher - never again!!!).

 

I normally fly from Dublin, Airfrance the most, good price and short stop over.

This time in 7 weeks and 3 days i am flying Etihad for the first time.

[Goldpanner 399]

I actually had a ticket on Phuket Airlines last flight from London to BKK. £350

..........And I lived !!!!

[tomcat76 327]

I see Cathay Pacific has just started up Premium Economy service...

 

Also, Thai Visa is reporting that Yingluck S. has directed the reopening of Don Meung for "budget airlines" in order to relieve overcrowding at Suv and in response to passenger complaints about missing flights due to lengthy immigration lines. AirAsia, Bangkok Airways, and Orient Thai are specifically mentioned, but presumably this would also include airlines like Cebu Pacific and Tiger Air mentioned here on this board in connection with those wanting to fly between BKK and Clark. Before everyone gets too excited about what this does for/to travelers making connections & so on, this sounds like direction, as in "start the process to make it happen", rather than "starting tomorrow"... I think as much as years out on this.

Edited March 16, 2012 by tomcat76

[too_mutt 10]

I see Cathay Pacific has just started up Premium Economy service...

Does anyone know if the CX LAX-HKG-BKK routes will offer premium economy class ?

[Brown1950 67]

Does anyone know if the CX LAX-HKG-BKK routes will offer premium economy class ?

 

Understand premium economy is not available on this route.

[tomcat76 327]

Understand premium economy is not available on this route.

 

Concur. 'Tried booking it via their own website. Initially, you select it from the dropdown list on the flight search page, but at some point after the flight list appears you get ' premium economy not available' indications. I could be wrong, but I THINK premium economy is only available on routes where they're flying the Airbus 330-300 ("v2") or 340-300 (also "v2"). Unfortunately they seem to be scheduling the B777-300 on the LAX-HKG and HKG-BKK routes.

Edited March 19, 2012 by tomcat76

[gaijin 146]

I'm interested to see how the Cathay Pacific Premium economy seats look like. Their Economy seats with the hardback shell is fucking horrible. Just flew Eva's Elite class round trip and must say was very satisfied with the seat. Just a little wider but sorely needed space. Much more leg room, and even has foot rest that comes up as you recline.

[Jantrevor 31]

Thai Air from LAX if price is no object. Otherwise United (the world lowest ranked major airline) to Narita and ANA to Bangkok.

[jballstate 326]

From east coast of US (New York) probably Cathy Pacific has the best service. Route is JFK to Hong Kong (16 hrs) then Hong Kong to BKK (about 2 1/2 hrs) I do however sometimes fly Aerosvit when I can catch their business class on sale. Pretty much a plain jane airline but their business class is fine and they give you free limo service in New York.

[Billions 687]

I made a few journeys on Phuket Air....LHR-BKK...purely on price....it was so cheap. On my last flight with them,the pilot announced to everyone that he wasn't happy with the noise coming from an engine,and passengers could choose to leave if they wanted to. I think about a dozen bailed out at the gate. The aircraft then taxied to the take-off point,where the pilot then announced there was no way this heap could fly,and engineers were called. Hours later,all the cargo was unloaded on the runway (the plane was packed with freight),then the passengers were escorted back to the terminal,eventually (many hours later) to be put on another plane (Phuket Air didn't have many,and what they had were shot to shit) which for some reason stopped again in Dubai (unscheduled) where tons of cargo was offloaded and new freight taken aboard).Not long after,the airline went tits up and ceased to be.How they ever got authority to fly with such a dangerous and decrepit fleet is astonishing.A moody two-bob operation.

 

I travelled Cathay too several times,as I enjoyed a stopover in Hong Kong....the booking always allowed for selectable very long connection times meaning a stop-over of several days was allowed...but they stopped being cheap (at one time,they were substantially cheaper than Thai for the LHR-BKK route) and I got bored with Hong Kong. Sometimes,the planes were ancient too,with broken seats on a couple of occasions.

 

Since then,its always been Thai. I started flying direct,knocking myself out with sleeping tablets (zopiclone) after the first meal,and waking up for the second one prior to landing. For that reason,I used economy class,window seat everytime. Theres no point paying for business class if I can sleep like a log in an economy seat. And now I have shedloads of points on a Orchid loyalty card,which allows me into lounges at airports,an extra 10kg minimum on checked baggage (they give more too without having to redeem any milage).I have so many miles banked its a problem how to spend them. They also tag my luggage as "priority" so it comes off the belt early,and I can be on my way without hanging around.

 

On recent flights,Thai have been 100% full capacity. Seems lots of older couples going to or coming back from Viet Nam making up the numbers. Gone are the days of low loads.For me,Thai is cheap (if booked far enough in advance) has good departure and arrival slots,and has always been accomodating when I've needed to modify my return time or missed my flight.Thai don't enforce the hand luggage restrictions (I always take two heavy carry-ons),serve good food,plenty of drinks,and are nearly always on schedule for departures and arrivals. The 6am arrival at Bangkok suits me too,as I'm rested after sleeping on the flight.The only downside to these journeys is temporary amnesia from the sleeping tablets on arrival...often I cannot remember doing immigration,collecting baggage or getting a taxi to hotel,but everything was always fine,just can't remember any of it due to action of the zopiclone. And I have a metallic taste too for a couple of hours,but no hangover and no drowsy feeling so can start the adventure immediately without needing to recover from the flight.

 

One thing I've noticed recently is that security spotters are active monitoring passengers departing LHR to BKK,and asking questions and searching hand luggage on selected travellers.They stopped me twice last year,and seemed interested in if I was carrying cash.But this might be happening on other flights to other destinations too,although I haven't seen it.

 

I remember reading somewhere of how high the percentage of lost luggage is too.....and therefore changing flights increases that probability,hence the direct route becomes more favourable. I also find the attitudes of middle-eastern ppl difficult to deal with,and so a stop-over in that part of the world would be too much self-inflicted torture.

[tomcat76 327]

I'll have to scrutinize Thai more carefully. I've NEVER seen a competitive price from them, no matter how far in advance, and they no longer have the direct flight LAX-BKK. I think I'm going to try and start building up some points with Cathay Pacific. I too like the idea of a selectable long stopover in Hong Kong, and eventually they're sure to inaugurate Premium Economy on the route from LAX.

[MC_Ldop 40]

United because of the upgrades as a 1K flyer. UA also has nice last minute award travel and easy miles redemption.

[too_mutt 10]

Yes, CX pretty much has a lock on Hong Kong as a stopover/hub for trips to LOS. I hope they keep the quality up, as I have read some rather poor reviews lately. I too am looking forward to premium economy, as biz class is really expensive.

 

[Baht 9]

I used to like Etihad until their prices rose by a lot. They had good service on the planes,the food was fine and the stop over was usually short. Now I tend to just go for the cheapest one that has not got a good chance of crashing .

[jacko 8,813]

I used to like Etihad until their prices rose by a lot. They had good service on the planes,the food was fine and the stop over was usually short. Now I tend to just go for the cheapest one that has not got a good chance of crashing .

It is 'The Business Model' of how these carriers start off. Competitive prices to draw in the business and loyalty, then to squeeze them up. They seem to have a big pot of gold when they start doing business. Anyhow, the competition is good, and they offer alternatives from Manchester and other regional airports than going through that outdated shit-hole Heathrow. When it comes time for me to book my next one, I will have taken information from here and tried bookings direct with the airline websites to compare carriers, like you avoiding lesser known or scary ones. I wish the European Carriers would compete better ex-Bangkok.

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

United because of the upgrades as a 1K flyer. UA also has nice last minute award travel and easy miles redemption.

 

Same-same. I have four more trips to the U.S. booked and paid for through January 2013 and I've already been upgraded to biz on each and every leg of the flights.

 

The inconvenient times for arriving/departing Thailand are the biggest downside to United.

 

Evil

[keyman 1,413]

I've flown Thai Airways several times over the last few years as I prefer the direct flight rather than hanging around another airport for several hours just to save a few quid. No complaints over the food and pretty much each time i travel I manage to get an 'exit' seat so more legroom. The only gripe I had was the IFE was pants. They just had the large screens several rows ahead of you which more often than not couldn't be seen too well. However I believe their flights London-BKK now have individual back seat screens.

I've also amassed a good few points so on the return leg next time I can get an upgrade!

Costwise they have been expensive, but when I last booked they were charging over £900 return for a points-accruing seat. When I rang them up about this rather than just booking online, the price dropped to just over £700 and they threw in a free internal domestic flight if I booked it there and then, so worth making the call!!

 

 

 

Keyman

[TheFiend 1,181]

Was Emirates until they changed the goalposts for the Frequent Flier Tiers, so have switched to Etihad...

 

Sadly they in-flight experience for Etihad wasn't as good as Emirates the last time I flew.

 

Just returned from a short trip and we flew with Emirates this time. Compared to my last trip on Etihad the in-flight experience was much better - the flight attendants could not have been any more helpful.

 

Both return legs were A380 and I must say that is now my favourite plane to travel on.

 

Want to give Qatar a try to see how they compare, and if there price is competitve the next time I book I will go with them.

[darkmancomes 75]

Just returned from a short trip and we flew with Emirates this time. Compared to my last trip on Etihad the in-flight experience was much better - the flight attendants could not have been any more helpful.

 

Both return legs were A380 and I must say that is now my favourite plane to travel on.

 

Want to give Qatar a try to see how they compare, and if there price is competitve the next time I book I will go with them.

 

Flown with all three and on the 380 great palne I agree but Eithad is my favourite and of the three Qatar would be my least favourite. I find Eithad have better food and service although Qatar usually have more deals on.

[TheFiend 1,181]

I find Eithad have better food and service although Qatar usually have more deals on.

 

I found Etihad's service to be rather lacking.... on more than one occasion I asked a passing FA if they could fetch me a bottle of red which they replied "we will bring one for you" but they never did meaning I ended up having to the galley for one, whereas Emirates would return with one almost instantly.