A380 on Thai London-Bkk

[Butch]

Hi Chris

On one hand 450 ackers one way biz upgrade seems tempting, but looking at it another way, it's also the thick end of 500 quid which might be better out to use elsewhere. As regards being worth it?, well, it certainly seems cheap on the face of it , business class tickets are normally 3 to 4 times that of econ fares.

 

It might be worth working out the finer details, or do a search on the website to see how much a 1 way biz ticket is and how much you're saving.

 

Your last point is interesting, and I'd be asking myself if it warrants or justifies effectively spending the cost of another return flight to upgrade one way on this occasion , bearing in mind that very often the outward flight to LOS is normally much better than the homeward (or UK bound ) one is!.

[Goldpanner]

Just booking Emirates for October, Flying an A380 for 3/4 of the whole trip

£438 Opodo

[jacko]

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

£450 to upgrade one leg is equivalent of £900 difference for the round trip.

Debatable... not really such a bargain in my eyes..

Your choice, but I go for the way you are treated as a passenger in Biz rather than a sheep in economy,

The A380 Biz class experience is great. The Qatar-Manchester leg not so great.

 

Only you can decide if the money can be used better elsewhere, especially in Pattaya......

Factor in the Fast Track check in and security.

The lounge access at BKK (use the Thai lounges at the ABC concourse end)..a beer or two.

Non queue boarding.

Welcome champagne and comfy seat etc.

Access to the distant premium lounge in Doha with waiter service restaurant.

[Gus]

Also some airlines, Emirates and Etihad are two, give free Limo transfer up to 70 miles in the UK on Business class.

My friend he goes Emirates economy and Business class return because of the longer return flight and also you are on a downer for the return bit.

[yselmike]

There is an article in today's independent that it's cheaper to fly to Bangkok this summer than to fly to the med ,what with the extras for hold

Luggage choice of seats and food etc.

[jacko]

Also some airlines, Emirates and Etihad are two, give free Limo transfer up to 70 miles in the UK on Business class.

My friend he goes Emirates economy and Business class return because of the longer return flight and also you are on a downer for the return bit.

Qatar do not, but at the moment British Rail are offering an exercise in frustration, cancellations and tardiness on my particular route.

[Butch]

Ahhh...Network Rail, that bastion of reliability, excellent customer service and unfailing servitude.

 

Not only did they manage to leave us stranded at Stratford with a 3 year old and 80 kg's of luggage, they also managed to completely absolve themselves of any blame or responsibility because it's not their fault that a train broke down ahead of us, therefore it's not their responsibility to help us with our forward journey.

It's my own fault for wanting to travel by rail to Heathrow with the family, after all, it's only one train journey then onto the tube. I mean what could possibly go wrong?.

 

Jacko, since then it's been Taxi all the way, for the sake of £60 over the price of the (extortionate) rail fares I really didn't know what was going through my mind at the time.

[jacko]

Jacko, since then it's been Taxi all the way, for the sake of £60 over the price of the (extortionate) rail fares I really didn't know what was going through my mind at the time.

Well possibly the same as me..... saving £50!

There is electrification work on the line I use that I was not aware of....plus Monday strikes were being threatened... on a bank holiday of course. What are we, French!

 

Taxi next week!

Edited May 25, 2015 by jacko

[Gus]

I believe that the A380 starts on the LHR route on Wednesday, looking forward to a TR. :)

[Butch]

Yep you're bang on Gus, I think it's running on the 12 pm service that used to be daily, which arrives at SVB around 0600, and it seems Thai have cut the evening service out completely.

 

Be interesting to hear about anyone's experiences after they've flown on it.

[Brown1950]

Evening flight TG 917 at 21:36 ex LHR to BKK to be re-introduced from 25th Oct. Combination of B777/747 aircraft.

Bookings available until 26th March 2016.

[Gus]

Thanks for that news Brown1950, I was sure that they would need more direct flights to BKK for the high season.

BR do extremely well with their Premium Economy (Elite) cabin, I have always thought that TG could reduce the number of Business class seats and have Premium on the LHR route.

[jacko]

Thanks for that news Brown1950, I was sure that they would need more direct flights to BKK for the high season.

BR do extremely well with their Premium Economy (Elite) cabin, I have always thought that TG could reduce the number of Business class seats and have Premium on the LHR route.

The profit margins are generally much better on Biz Class seats and to reduce the size of the cabin makes it less appealing I would expect.

LHR is very much a Business airport.

[Butch]

I read somewhere that on Long Haul flight, and for many airlines in general that they pretty much only make decent profit on the business and first class seats they sell. Economy is a "break even" affair, which is why economy on many airlines has declined with regards service and quality.

 

Some may recall that when EVA were running the 747 400 Combi's out of Heathrow the planes were half cargo half passenger, the rear bulkhead finishing about 2/3 of the way down the cabin and upper deck was biz / first. They still had "Elite" class as it was then known (deluxe now), but to be honest the economy service then was almost equivalent to the deluxe service today. Also Elite worked out at approx £150 on the price over an economy ticket, whereas today it's more than 50%. I guess even in premier economy the profit margin just isn't there until you step up a grade.

 

I am surprised that Thai are putting the evening service back on, albeit though with perhaps a newer and more economical plane if it's a 777. To be honest I'd have thought a full A380 on one service would be worth more than a half full A380 and a half full 777 / 747 on two, then again demand must be higher than I thought.

[Brown1950]

I read somewhere that on Long Haul flight, and for many airlines in general that they pretty much only make decent profit on the business and first class seats they sell. Economy is a "break even" affair, which is why economy on many airlines has declined with regards service and quality.

 

Some may recall that when EVA were running the 747 400 Combi's out of Heathrow the planes were half cargo half passenger, the rear bulkhead finishing about 2/3 of the way down the cabin and upper deck was biz / first. They still had "Elite" class as it was then known (deluxe now), but to be honest the economy service then was almost equivalent to the deluxe service today. Also Elite worked out at approx £150 on the price over an economy ticket, whereas today it's more than 50%. I guess even in premier economy the profit margin just isn't there until you step up a grade.

 

I am surprised that Thai are putting the evening service back on, albeit though with perhaps a newer and more economical plane if it's a 777. To be honest I'd have thought a full A380 on one service would be worth more than a half full A380 and a half full 777 / 747 on two, then again demand must be higher than I thought.

 

 

You forget passengers are only 60% of the equation ! The other 40% is freight revenue ! and the B777 is a great for freight revenue.

Edited July 12, 2015 by jacko
Remove reply from quote area.

[Butch]

Yep the 777 is great for freight, if it's configured for freight and not passengers.

 

Freight has the advantage of not needing to be fed, put to sleep or checked in. Having paid £25 per kg +VAT + Duty for Airfreight in the past (before entering the realms of volumetric weight which is a pain in the arse) , I'm at a bit of a loss as to why I didn't jack my job in and become an Airfrieght company director!.

[Gus]

Not using Skyscanner etc I compared fares on the Eva and Thai web sites from LHR to BKK, out 04/11 return 16/12 Economy class, and it was £548 Eva and £994 Thai.

 

I posted this on the Thai Airways Facebook page and they replied that Thai Airways Fares are being reduced from Tuesday, somehow I still cannot see them being competitive with Eva.

Thai do offer reasonable fares for under 30 days but anything over 30 days seems expensive.

[jacko]

Not using Skyscanner etc I compared fares on the Eva and Thai web sites from LHR to BKK, out 04/11 return 16/12 Economy class, and it was £548 Eva and £994 Thai.

 

I posted this on the Thai Airways Facebook page and they replied that Thai Airways Fares are being reduced from Tuesday, somehow I still cannot see them being competitive with Eva.

Thai do offer reasonable fares for under 30 days but anything over 30 days seems expensive.

Something to do with the Tourist Visa exempt stay being for 30 days perhaps.

[Fatboyfat]

Something to do with the Tourist Visa exempt stay being for 30 days perhaps.

Maybe; I've always wondered about their 30 day price vagaries, and they are the only airline that "I know of" that differentiates in that way. I suppose it could be down to it being a state run airline with one of it's original founding policies to promote tourism in Thailand. IE proper tourists, and the most desirable ones, would not be expected to stay beyond 3-4 weeks in the eyes of the government.

[Gus]

I don't know if the 30 day tickets are extendable for a change of date fee. if it were possible, you could buy a 30 day LHR-BKK return with Thai for say £510 then pay a change date fee of £100 bringing the total to low £600s as opposed to the higher fares.

[ajsp9]

I don't know if the 30 day tickets are extendable for a change of date fee. if it were possible, you could buy a 30 day LHR-BKK return with Thai for say £510 then pay a change date fee of £100 bringing the total to low £600s as opposed to the higher fares.

That's a really good shout, never thought of that

[jacko]

That's a really good shout, never thought of that

Watch out though, some carriers have exorbitant change charges.

I just took a quick look at Qatar and it was US$200.

[Goldpanner]

Changed my mind on the Emirates flight just in case Isis decide to have a go, booked Thai on their new A380. £503.

[jacko]

Changed my mind on the Emirates flight just in case Isis decide to have a go, booked Thai on their new A380. £503.

Isis is in Syria, for Emirates you have to worry about ISID or ISIUAE.

(Didn't Thailand just send a lot of Muslims back to China........)

Edited July 16, 2015 by jacko

[Goldpanner]

Isis is in Syria, for Emirates you have to worry about ISID or ISIUAE.

(Didn't Thailand just send a lot of Muslims back to China........)

But ISIS worst enemy is the Saudi's ! so the less stops the less problems.