A380 on Thai London-Bkk

[TheFiend 1,181]

I flew on Qatar's A380 last week in economy on the upper deck DOH-BKK. Really good layout and plenty of leg room, if you somehow manage to pre-book your seat up there go for a window seat, you get a storage box due to the curvature of the plane, there are no entertainment boxes in the footwells also.

 

I think Qatar reserve this area for their frequent flyers. I am a gold card holder with them so had no problem selecting seating in this area online. I would go as far as to say one of, if not the best economy class seats I have ever flown on. Good quick meal and drink service as well as there are a limited number of passengers up there. Only downside I could see is when you're getting off the plane in BKK, think we were last off, again no problem for myself as I get a premium lane immigration card also.

 

 

Regards

 

It's my first time flying Qatar, and although I enrolled in the frequent flyer program got no option to select the upper deck economy seats. Normally I chose seats at the rear, but due to Mrs Fiend having an onward connection for a flight up north we need to get through immigration and luggage collection pretty sharpish so I booked seats at the front of the lower deck.for a quicker exit.

 

Looking forward to my first flight on a Qatar A380... also looking forward to how the customer experience compares to Emirates as I think the Emirates experience has gone downhill over the last year or so.

[Gus 97]

Be careful where you buy your beer when at Suvarnabhumi whilst waiting for your flight to LHR, at Mango Tree it is 187thb + 7% so 200 Baht for a Small Singha, I make that £8 a pint, a nice pint of London Pride at LHR T2 is a bargain £4.20.

At least Thai airways are a little more generous with the booze than Eva. :)

[4wheels 119]

That's part of the profit equation. But every airline limits the # of upgrade seats in Business & First (if they have First). Another part is filling every seat in a low-yield market makes little sense when you can move that aircraft to a more profitable route with a load factor that is not full but has higher yield fares.Filling 100% of A-380 seats as opposed to 80% of 2 744 acft makes sense because the operating costs are far less when you factor in fuel & crew/layover costs for them. Yield management is closely watched on a daily basis and is a reason you see fares change on a daily basis in some markets.

Pure surmission on my behalf, but many airlines run their " cattle class " at a slight loss or barely break even, so the loss of capacity wrt reduced number of flights is likely to be secondary to overall profit margins of running just one more economical aircraft. The telling factor would be are the 1st and Biz classes at capacity with " full paying" fares and not upgrades.

[Brown1950 67]

That's part of the profit equation. But every airline limits the # of upgrade seats in Business & First (if they have First). Another part is filling every seat in a low-yield market makes little sense when you can move that aircraft to a more profitable route with a load factor that is not full but has higher yield fares.Filling 100% of A-380 seats as opposed to 80% of 2 744 acft makes sense because the operating costs are far less when you factor in fuel & crew/layover costs for them. Yield management is closely watched on a daily basis and is a reason you see fares change on a daily basis in some markets.

And the Freight revenue on this route ?

[Goldpanner 399]

Every time I look Thai are lumpy ? BA have been cheapest direct last few years on my dates

 

Cheapest OH yeah flying their cramped seat worn 777. They still dont carry sufficient 'Normal' food either. On both legs outbaound and inbound then ended up having to give half the plane Veggie food. The seats are also terrible. I will never fly them again. OH yes and a 22 hour delay and it took a County Court action and 4 months for them to pay out compensation.

Never......ever... again

[Gus 97]

Cheers for that Goldpanner, our choices for a direct flight from LHR to BKK are getting less, but BA? Not for me thank you.

[Gus 97]

Just a quick couple of points on the A380 LHR-BKK service.

With the seat plans for the A380 (inc other airlines) row 59 I think D seat is missing, anyone know why this is?

Also do TG block the economy seats upstairs on the 380, I just tried a dummy booking and the TG web site only allowed booking up to row 73.

TIA ps: my dummy fare for 22/7-16/8 was £1100.

[atlas2 4,329]

The only time I flew a 380……I'm walking to the back…..and walking…….and walking. In the end I asked one of the stewardesses if any buses went this way!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well she thought it was funny!

Edited May 17, 2015 by atlas2

[Odense 489]

I tried the top (in monkey class) from Doha (Qatar Airways) to Bangkok and it is OK but did not seem too different from their other long haul aircraft.

[jacko 8,766]

I tried the top (in monkey class) from Doha (Qatar Airways) to Bangkok and it is OK but did not seem too different from their other long haul aircraft.

I just did the Biz Class on the Qatar A380 (Bangkok to Doha), very nice indeed.

Edited May 18, 2015 by jacko

[atlas2 4,329]

Why did you photograph a bottle of beer?

[jacko 8,766]

Why did you photograph a bottle of beer?

I didn't, I photographed an empty bottle and a glass of beer, half full or empty I am unsure.

[MM 6,562]

Why did you photograph a bottle of beer?

Corona is very photogenic... https://www.google.co.th/search?q=corona+beer&safe=off&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=SIBZVdSdHdCJuASav4HQAQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=653

[atlas2 4,329]

I didn't, I photographed an empty bottle and a glass of beer, half full or empty I am unsure.

 

Why did you photograph 'an empty bottle and a glass of beer, half full or empty I am unsure.' ??

[keyman 1,379]

 

Why did you photograph 'an empty bottle and a glass of beer, half full or empty I am unsure.' ??

 

 

Who cares?

[Catbear 28]

Corona is very photogenic... https://www.google.co.th/search?q=corona+beer&safe=off&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=SIBZVdSdHdCJuASav4HQAQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=653

Martin I think you may find Presidente more photogenic

https://www.google.com/search?q=presidente+beer&espv=2&biw=1422&bih=664&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=w1taVZtGhKuDBOHFgIAE&ved=0CCwQ7Ak

[MM 6,562]

Martin I think you may find Presidente more photogenic

https://www.google.com/search?q=presidente+beer&espv=2&biw=1422&bih=664&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=w1taVZtGhKuDBOHFgIAE&ved=0CCwQ7Ak

You may be right...they do need better looking models though.

 

[jacko 8,766]

 

Why did you photograph 'an empty bottle and a glass of beer, half full or empty I am unsure.' ??

 

I did it to show a 'premium' beer was available.

 

The Gin was Bombay Sapphire, the one in the Blue bottle.

 

Pictures of sandwiches do not seem to aggravate you so much!

[atlas2 4,329]

 

I did it to show a 'premium' beer was available.

 

The Gin was Bombay Sapphire, the one in the Blue bottle.

 

Pictures of sandwiches do not seem to aggravate you so much!

 

 

What!!! You have pictures of sandwiches too………Can you show photos of the 'special ones'?

 

No, I'm sorry I didn't meant upset you or cause a fuss….. I just never would have thought of sitting in 'Biz' and thinking I absolutely must photograph this bottle of beer………or no one will believe me!!"... I thought it a strange thing to do……Obviously it's only me that thinks that way.

 

Back to the sensible bit of the thread…….And enjoy your holiday.

Edited May 19, 2015 by atlas2

[Gus 97]

Well I found out off Flyertalk one answer to my query.

There is no seat 59D as that is the emergency exit hatch for the crew rest area on the 380, so plenty of leg room for 60D.

I guess to book the economy seats in the rear of the upper deck you have to contact Thai airways office directly.

[Catbear 28]

You may be right...they do need better looking models though.

 

 

 

I agree with that one but did like these

 

[jacko 8,766]

 

 

 

 

No, I'm sorry I didn't meant upset you or cause a fuss….. I just never would have thought of sitting in 'Biz' and thinking I absolutely must photograph this bottle of beer………or no one will believe me!!"... I thought it a strange thing to do……Obviously it's only me that thinks that way.

 

Back to the sensible bit of the thread…….And enjoy your holiday.

Give it a try some time, you may like it.

I obviously took pics of a few other things, but they did not turn out very well...... I was thinking to do a report on Qatar Biz Class you see. New transit airport etc I won't bother you with it.

[TheFiend 1,181]

I just did the Biz Class on the Qatar A380 (Bangkok to Doha), very nice indeed.

DSC00038.JPG

 

I've just flown Man-Doha-BKK with A330-200 to Doha and A380 to BKK. Wasn't to impressed with the first leg, but had a much better experience on the A380.

 

And whilst we were sat waiting to pull back off the gate in Doha spotted one of the 2 Qatar A350 parked on the gate next door. Noe that is a great looking plane.

[atlas2 4,329]

Give it a try some time, you may like it.

I obviously took pics of a few other things, but they did not turn out very well...... I was thinking to do a report on Qatar Biz Class you see. New transit airport etc I won't bother you with it.

 

 

I'd only be jealous…….Even Air Bangladesh Biz class would make me drool….

[chris_heaton 4]

I m flying on Qatar A380 on June 11th from Bangkok Doha and then on to Manchester. This time I am in economy but last time got an upgrade. Qatar have a fantastic lounge at the rear of the business class section. Great place to relax. Like sitting in a bar with all the drinks free and the stewardess is the barmaid.

 

Just received an upgrade offer from them. They say for £450 they will upgrade me to business for the whole flight from Qatar to Manchester. Do you think it is worth it? The economy section upstairs is really comfortable. Was about to purchase the upgrade but then I thought it is nearly the same price as another trip from UK to Thailand in economy. So now not sure what to do.

 

Chris