*BRITS* thai air promotion

[Gus 97]

Valentino and Crackpot,

Please don't let this little "spat" stop either of you  posting information on the forum in the future.

Both of you have provided lots of good info for the Bros, and long may it continue!

It can only be good for FLB brothers if we have access to "in the trade" information.

Rgds

[Crackpot 2]

I wasnt going to continue this thread but I dont like being misquoted.

 

:Yeah, you're in the 'industry'....

:I won't bother to tell you what 'industry' I'm in.

No, I said I was 'in the trade' not industry. why do you misquote me?

So tell me what 'Industry' are you in?

 

 

:Are you going to say all those reviews were written by :their own staff ?

 

No I didnt say that at all. read what was written

 

It doesn't matter to me anyway. I don't travel THAI economy because it's 'bog standard'.

Yet you will travel Malaysia, losing, in effect practically one whole day! strange ?

 

 

That doesn't mean that I would discourage anyone else from travelling with them.

I wasnt trying to discourage anyone, I was simply reporting what I had found, and pointing out the pitfalls of believing Airline 'Surveys' which can be very easily manipulated

 

 

 

Though, of course, you have a vested interest.

Now that is downright stupid. I have a vested interest in selling Air Tickets and Holidays. ANY air tickets.

My main vested Interest is to my clients, NOT an airline. They trust me to give them the best deal on the best Airline, which is what I try to do. As with any consumer based enterprise, people ask your advice based on experience, and that is what I try to pass on. When I obtain my own ATOL I will continue to pass on that knowledge. Thats what being in business is all about.

 

In conclusion: The vast majority of single blokes travelling to Thailand just want the cheapest seat on a decent airline and just want to get there as fast as possible and enjoy themselves for the longest period of time in the LOS. The Fares on SIA and MS to Bangkok are too high because one has to fly to KL or Singapore, change flight then up to Bangkok. Its a case of flying South to go North !. Also as I mentioned you are going to effectively lose one whole day in the process. A day which could be spent in a Bar or in bed ;D

 

Loosen up. Life's too short.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Crackpot,

 

Your comments about changing flights with SQ or MS are based on the assumption that everybody lives south of Watford.  If you are travelling from one of the regionals then a change of plane is necessary no matter which route you take.  Your comparisons are therefore only valid for Thai v EVA v BA/Qantas non-stop from LHR.  The actual travelling time from MAN to BKK can be less going via KL/SIN/Dubai/Doha rather than via LHR - the same can be said for the other regionals going via Amsterdam/Frankfurt etc.

 

I don't think it is true that the guys on this site only look for the cheapest flights - the number of posts re Evergreen Deluxe and China Airlines Premium Economy would seem to indicate otherwise.  If you can get us some great deals on these two carriers, I'll be the first to buy you a pint in Bangkok!  (I'll phone ahead from Emirates economy to let you know what time I'll get in!).

 

Most of the UK broadsheets (as well as the travel trade magazines) have annual travel awards and it is many years since Thai picked up any award of note.  Having just travelled back from BKK yesterday in business class on one of their 747-400 non-sleeper aircraft it is not surprising.  Entry to the lounge in Bangkok refused because it was full, food no better than EVA Deluxe, no personal TV (even in business class) and seats no better than those in EVA Deluxe and inferior to those in China Airlines Premium Economy.  Add to that lot that you can't pre-allocate your seat (something you can do with both China and EVA) and a FF programme that is the pits so, apart from flying non-stop daily from LHR, I honestly can't see what the airline has going for it.  It can't be the price because each time they do an offer EVA tends to respond in kind.

 

Regards,

 

Tom

[papalazarou 0]

I flew from LHR to BKK in May this year and had the same deal through Ebookers at £412 inc tax.  I'm slightly reluctant to fly with them again though.  The food, which was very good on the previous occasion, was stodgy and overcooked on the LHR to BKK leg, despite the 34 inches of legroom the flight was full and I found it uncomfortable and the attitude of the cabin crew was poor.  There are no individual  tv screens with Thai and they didn't show any inflight movies, perhaps this was because I was on the night flight on both occasions.  I think it's still a good deal as I doubt you will get a direct flight much cheaper, though Eva Air did a great deal a few months back.  I'm considering doing a stopover next time I fly to BKK so the direct flight is not so appealing.  

[Crackpot 2]

My comments were not so much relating on how bad Thai was but on the fact that an airline flying with half empty planes and a full complement of waitresses (such as Malaysia will always give better service than one such as Thai where the flights are pretty much full most of the time. Thai have been victims of their own success and are now starting to suffer. I just hope that with the purchase of the new fleet things will get better.

Malaysia threw an awfull lot of money at their service and the purchase of new planes. Sometime back Thai did the same thing with 747-400's and were top of the league. Now their planes are getting a bit long in the tooth they are buying new ones. But with their planes consistently flying with 80+ seat occupancy they are going to take a hammerring compared to one who is flying at around 40%

As for food. I think the problem is out of most carriers hands as it is prepared locally by contractors so if you had crap food outbound you have to blame the food people in London and etc etc in Bangkok.

For consistently good food I've always found Gulfair to be one of the best.

 

Personally I would rather not have seatback TV's in economy as the leg room is restricted by the control boxes under the seat. I think the last Film I watched all the way through was Topgun on GulfAir.

Im always fast asleep.

 

I have to disagree with the cheap flights too. Though there will always be those who can afford Business class or the upgraded Economy, its the bog standard flights that will always sell, because UK blokes want to save their money. Thats why cheapies such as Turkish and Aeroflot will always have punters because there are always bargain basement hunters.

When someone like Thai offers a Nonstop flight at £412 they will fill them as has been shown because no matter what, a non stop flight will always be the better bet. As for Northern departures I see your point but my point was that it really is a little pointless flying on SIA or MS as one will have to fly way south first before changing planes and then flying north, in the process losing about adays travelling time. Theres no problems with an Amsterdam or Paris change because you may only lose a few hours rather than a day. When China first started their service from Amsterdam if you got the days right they would give you a free overnight in ahotel and you piss it up in the city all night. They soon stpped that though

 

But hey, isnt that what freedom of choice is all about ??

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Crackpot,

 

It is only 3 hours extra overall travelling time to fly MH or SQ from MAN to BKK as compared to going via LHR on bmi/TG.  Hardly losing a day is it?  Both SQ and MH are flying 80%+ load factors from MAN so I don't see where the 40% comes from.  The airline would cut the service rather than increase it as they have both done over the last six months.  If anything, I would much prefer to fly MH at 40% capacity with loads of stewardesses fretting over me than with TG at 80%.

 

If you get any deals with EVA or China though (or anyone else for that matter) let us know and I'm sure some boardies will put business your way.

 

Tom

[valentinoxxx 4]

Valentino and Crackpot,

Please don't let this little "spat" stop either of you  posting information on the forum in the future.

Both of you have provided lots of good info for the Bros, and long may it continue!

It can only be good for FLB brothers if we have access to "in the trade" information.

Rgds

 

Don't worry Gus

 

I can see that my 'basic' comment about the Thai Airways economy cabin has brought out feelings of loyalty from Crackpot.

 

That's no reason why either of us should stop posting.

[valentinoxxx 4]

Crackpot

 

What are you on about? Turn it in..

 

I make a comment about the THAI economy cabin being a little basic, in comparison to what should be it's peers and you come out with all this guff about the Malaysia planes being half full and how they(allegedly) treat their stewardesses.

 

Who should be upset if Malaysia Airlines spend money on their fleet? Me? You?

Malaysia Airlines will soon start upgrading it's First and Business Class cabins, further widening the gap.

 

Remeber, not everyone flies out of the UK.

Take for example THAI prices out of BKK. You could fly EVA Deluxe for around the same that THAI charge for their 'bog standard' service.

 

TG - Thai Airways  Y-RT  0-6 M  B THB 35,650

BR - Eva Airways  Y-RT  0-6 M  L THB 36,500

 

I've flown with Malaysia Airlines from LHR to Sydney in Economy. I wouldn't consider doing the same journey with THAI.

 

Losing a day travelling to Bkk? How's that then?

 

Sample timetable; MH: LHR 12:00  KL 07:30*  KL 08:30   BKK 09:40am  

 

A similar flight with Thai would land at 6am. Now where did I lose that day?

 

Leaving Bangkok in the evening instead of midnight?

 

Malaysia Airlines is not the only airline I travel with.

Incidentally, I have never been on one of these 40% full long haul flights that you speak of.

 

Again, my point is not how fantastic an airline Malaysia Airlines is, but how basic the THAI economy cabin is.

If you cannot accept this, never mind.

[Crackpot 2]

Like I said.

I'm not going to get involved in an on-line argument.

[valentinoxxx 4]

Hmmmm...Bit late to say that now.  ;D

[Crackpot 2]

No, I said it before, I only continued due to your misquoting me.

A BB is NOT the place for an online row.

If you want one Ill give you the full 2/6d row in the FL bar when I get there in October.

 

BTW the 2/6d row is valid for 3 months.

If you want an open row that will be 5/-

[Nightcrawler 0]

Damn right this is no place for a bust-up

 

Some poor sod tries to help someone then some old tosser like Valentino comes on spewing crap just trying to make himself look big and get some brownie points.

 

Whats your job Valentino or are you on an old age pension now ?

 

This is about airfares not scoring points.

I need to get there in Feb, Crack

What can ya do

[Crackpot 2]

Ignore it Nightcrawler

 

Life's too short 8)

[valentinoxxx 4]

Damn right this is no place for a bust-up

 

Some poor sod tries to help someone then some old tosser like Valentino comes on spewing crap just trying to make himself look big and get some brownie points.

 

Whats your job Valentino or are you on an old age pension now ?

 

This is about airfares not scoring points.

I need to get there in Feb, Crack

What can ya do

 

Hiya NightCrawler, you old Wanker.

 

If you look back on the thread, you will see that my posts are FULL of fare information.

 

Scoring points? I pointed out that the THAI cabin is basic. It's hardly my fault that Crackpot had taken it personally.

 

More importantly, you TWAT! What Crackpot and I are doing is nothing more than banter.

 

You may not have noticed, but it WAS a productive forum for information.

Just look at how much info has come out of the thread.

 

A summary; Thai prices, EVA prices, prices flying out of Thailand, seat pitches and comfort levels of flights out of Thailand and ex UK.

 

Also, in pressing Crackpot to post more info about this flight that he said he had booked for his 'friend' on the 19th, was for the benefit of the forum members.

 

I am SURE that many of them would like to take advantage of a flight leaving on the 19th December and coming back in early Jan for £431.

 

If the banter had gone on, a lot more info on flights may have come out as sometimes, until someone asks the question, the info is not posted.

 

So, before you shoot your mouth off again, go through the post to see what is actually happening.

 

Now go and crawl back under your stone.

 

Crackpot, I'm still waiting for info on that fare. You can PM me if you wish.

[sh7691 0]

Just got waitlist confirmation on Thai Air in October,

£407 incl taxes etc.

 

Cheapest I have ever paid for Thai Air I think!

 

sid

[Pieman 0]

I've come into this thread very late (rarely visit this section as it has no relevance given where I live) but I'll add my two bahts worth now I'm here.

 

In my experience there is simply no comparison between Thai (admittedly I haven't flown them for about 4 years now) economy and the equivalent of SIA and Cathay. By whatever standard u choose to compare/judge them Thai come up sadly lacking.

 

However, they DO have the virtue of flying direct from LHR to BKK so for the Brits that is a huge advantage and were it not for a personal disinclination to fly Thai again then I'd take the lower level of service for the convenience of not having to change planes (and a further 2hrs or so in the air) and an unnecessary stopover - even if it meant paying more, which largely, it will not.

 

If you are American and reading this then I strongly suggest u fly just about any other Asian carrier than Thai btw.

 

A while ago Crackot mentioned (and I'm not having a go at u china  :) )..........

 

Its also worth looking at passengers-per-mile carried. Thai consistently carried more passengers than Malaysian. That in itself says a lot

 

Well there is another reason for that and that is why I refuse to give the bastards another cent of my "hard earned". They cancel flights without any regard to their customers, thus it is no surprise that their load factors are good on some sectors. (I know they are not alone in doing what I am about to describe but few reputable airlines are as willy-nilly about it as the Thais as I now understand that my experience is far from unique)

 

About 4 years ago I checked into BKK for my flight back to LHR on Thai (business) only to find it had been cancelled for "operational reasons" - I was shunted onto the Stockholm flight, which wud then carry on to LHR. This was not what I had in mind when I paid them a lliving fortune for my ticket and NEEDED to be on the ground at Heathrow at the time originally agreed to.

That the plane was further delayed at Stockholm (for 3.5 hours due to fog) did little to help things.

 

Through contacts I was able to confirm that they had indeed simply merged two flights as the passenger levels of the two flights enabled them to do so. I wrote to them and they intially told me to fuck off (or thereabouts). I persisted and eventually got compensation but without the evidence that I was able to present would have been given short shrift. I have not flown on an international Thai flight since and would rather swim than do so - purely on principle.

 

Cheers

Pie

[bangkokbutcher 0]

Amazing!!

[torrenova 644]

Just got waitlist confirmation on Thai Air in October,

£407 incl taxes etc.

 

Cheapest I have ever paid for Thai Air I think!

 

sid

Where did you get that from ?

[BigDUSA 71]

I've flown on a fair number of international airlines. Generally speaking back in the cheap seats the service is the same. I try and fly United as they have more legroom about 5 inches more in what they call premier economy IMHO SQ has the best looking aircrew.

[Crackpot 2]

Torrenova

Its just the same flight thats being advertised from between £405 to £470 which some of us got for £412.

[vegaheart 0]

BIGDUSA, you are right United is the best for economy travel as they have Economy Plus. They took out a couple of rows of seats and spread the extra room between the first 7 or so rows. Plus United's frequent flyer programme 'Mileage Plus' is the best, plus you can earn miles on any Star Alliance airline, which includes Thai, Singapore, Lufthansa, SAS, Air Canada, British Midland, ANA, Mexicana, Varig, Asiana, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines and a few others I can't recall right now. Plus you can use miles for upgrades, which you cannot do on airlines like British Airways (who IMHO are s**t!) - I should mention that I do work for United, so maybe I am a bit biased, but I have worked for other airlines too, and United is the best of the ones I have worked for, that's for sure. Plus United has won a lot of travel industry awards for its frequent flyer programme. Also, in 2002, United was the no.1 on time domestic airline. But enough about airlines, lets talk women -

 

The hottest looking flight attendents are usually found on Singapore, you are right. Although I have seen a couple of real honeys on Air Jamaica, plus United has one of the most sexiest women i have ever seen working as a flight attendant. She is about 28-30, hispanic-looking, very pretty with long dark hair. We were having a long, long chat a few months ago as there was a delay to boarding of her flight. She was telling me all about her boob op she had recently had, and even showed me photos of before and after so I could compare! Wow, what a sexy lady! I think she carried the photos around to show people because she was so proud of them, which she should be! 34EE, very nice indeed. I said the real test is not in how they look but how they feel. She grinned and said maybe next time, but I have not seen her since, never mind. Perhaps one of you guys will be lucky enough to have her serving you one day.

[sh7691 0]

Torranova,

I booked through WestEast Travel in London.

 

sid

[pattayamad 0]

Do west east travel.......have a website???........cheers

[Crackpot 2]

http://www.westeasttravel.com

 

 

0870 220 1001

0870 220 1039

 

 

HTH

[pattayamad 0]

Cheers crackpot.......also when does your travel company start???