Qantas or Eva

[Steptoe 429]

Agree with Woody re Westeast's efficient service ( Once when using another agency, who better be nameless, as I've forgotten their name anyway, I didn't get my tickets delivered until Iwas queuing at check-in...a nightmare! )

 

I think Westeast was one of Tom's many useful tips on the airline industry, used them twice now for Thai, they've always found me a seat on my preferred date.

 

I try never to countdown like some board members, but I'm afraid the whole point of this post was to be able to  mention that that I will be checking out Ricky's allegations this evening....Sorry ;D  

[eltib 54]

Just made my reservations on EVA's Evergreen Deluxe. Cost me $856.80 U.S.D. That's less than 100 more that I paid to fly in the cheap seats of economy.

[RayW 1]

Thanks for all the great input guys, very much appreciated particualrly Tom's website links.  That Air Whorehouse   ;D  , ehh sorry Warehouse, company looks quite good from their website though of course all that glitters is not gold.  Been established 28 years with good looking credentials, and they just have a good professional feel about them from the impression their website gives.  If I do use them I will let you all know if they are good or not,  as they could be a useful additional ticket supplier for us UK based members.

 

Will get a quote from WestEast as well I think at the point of booking, several of you have recommended them strongly so if their price is comparible then I will use them.   As I said I am not yet quite ready to fix the firm date but working hard at getting to this stage  :) :)

[RICK69 0]

Gerald.

Check out cheapflights.com.

But you have to hunt around on the site.If you have the time it does turn up cheap deals in cattle & biz.

[Guest]

Rick69,

 

Cheapflights isn't even a travel agency for chrissake.  Their scheduled bookings are done through the Travel Select search engine.  They make their money by linking you to the Travel Select search engine.

 

A quote from their website:

 

This booking engine searches the Travelselect database of scheduled flights. It does not search flights advertised on Cheapflights.co.uk.

All bookings made through the online booking engine are made with Travelselect, who are responsible for all aspects of the service.

If you have any questions regarding your booking, please telephone Travelselect.com on 0870 444 7224 8am-8pm weekdays, 9am - 6pm Saturday and 10am - 4pm Sunday. Or you can email them at customerservices@travelselect.com.

Cheapflights is not a travel agent and cannot quote for tickets or help with your Travelselect booking. But do let us know if you encounter problems: we always appreciate your feedback.

 

You really must try harder.

 

Regards,

 

Tom

[RICK69 0]

You are not getting my point they put the best deals that link you to  others sites like netflights.co,uk or benz.co.uk.Then you have to hunt around like looking for a TG in a beer bar.

 

Worth it in the end if you want to save your pennies.

 

You could also try priceline.co.uk.

I got to BKK for £192.00 in a high season a few years ago on Alitalia but never again.

You do not know what airline you are going on till your bid is accepted.

[Guest]

Rick69,

 

Do they provide the links to flights with TG at £460?  What are the dates and availability?

 

I'm sure most guys want to search sites that will show them both price and availability rather than "prices from".  

 

I do agree that Priceline is a good option if your primary concern is cash and you aren't too worried about the carrier.  Anybody who is contemplating using Priceline should, first of all, read up on the tactics and tricks to avoid the many pitfalls and ensure that you get the best deal for yourself.

 

Regards,

 

Tom

[Guest]

i booked for a flight last november.

eva air £480 all in.

thai air was £20 more at £500.

west east travel.

i have used these many times and found they beat travelbag and ebookers and the other usual suspects every time.

[RICK69 0]

Tom,

 

They do not.You look for a cheap price & take it from there.

It is a lot of hasssle & if you are not flexible on dates it is not for you.

But if you are willing to waste a whole day on the net & ringing around you can save money.

 

I have got seats on TG for £460.00 & £1,875 in biz in high season doing this.

[Guest]

Rick69,

 

Or you can just buy the Sunday Times and scan the Travel Section.  At least if you don't find a flight you can always read up on the footie.

 

I have to agree with Baz that if you find yourself a good agent, be it West East, Ours Travel, Travelbag or whoever, who are willing to do the donkey work for you sourcing the best deals that are available (rather than just advertised "prices from") and you are happy with their service then it saves a lot of hassles and uncertainty that you could otherwise do without.

 

Tom

[adrian 0]

hi tom,

you could get a job at qf p.r. with that total entertainment system paste. my recent flight QF1/QF2 were outstanding, the total entertainment system was brilliant. plenty of service also and some thai based hostesses, nice touch there.

i'm a bit miffed with eunicman's post though, sounds a bit unfair mate. water service in bkk will be done by thai's and that sort of shit can always happen, if you want to label qantas incompetant, a better pick would be the QF1 flight back in 1999. and qantas has done that once... check eva air's air incidents record, another magnitude from qf.

 

and i've never seen an aircraft that took 2 hours to fill the water system. an empty water system on a 747-400 takes about 30 minutes maximum to top off with shit local pressure. more to the delay than topping off the water me thinks.

[Guest]

Adrian,

 

I actually had quite a good flight with Qantas the only time I used them from HKG to BKK.  It was the first time I had seen the FlightPath map system on screen and the captain came into the cabin, stared intently at the screen for about 10 seconds and then starts turning a map round and round whilst shaking his head! :-/  The only downer I have with them is the seat pitch.  If one of the airlines could do the 34 inch seat pitch and a decent seat back system I would almost certainly give them serious consideration for my business.  For the time being it seems (certainly from the UK) that we are stuck with one or the other unless you go with Malaysia or upgrade to business or premium economy.  I can't see BA/Qantas increasing their seat pitch whilst they are still able to fill their aircraft in a 31 inch configuration and BA has to justify its outrageous prices in World Traveller Plus.

 

Regards,

 

Tom

[Eneukman 1]

Adrian,

 

I'm afraid in my book that if a plane pushes back from the stand without ensuring that there is enough water on board for the whole flight, then that is down to incompetence. It should have been checked well beforehand. This actually happened at Heathrow rather than Bangkok. To be fair to QANTAS, the flight was good and I did enjoy the luxury of the free upgrade to Business Class.

 

The previous time I flew QANTAS they were a bit late pushing back from the stand (not by much by airline standards) and the captain came on the intercom to apologise for this blaming congestion at the gate. The real reason they were late pushing back was that they were very late starting to board the plane and there was no way any airline could have boarded a full 747 in the time available in the time available. Virtually all of the time was made up in the air and I think they did land more or less on time. That time, they did not have seat back tv's though I am pleased to learn that they have now been installed for the Bangkok flights.

 

I also find the BA flights a bit more convenient for me than other airlines such as EVA as I live in Edinburgh and flying BA (or QANTAS for that matter) avoids the hassle of having to check in a second time. Personally, I prefer BA to QANTAS but that's only my opinion.

 

;D ;D ;D

 

Alan

[Guest Fatboyfat]

Alan/Eunekman

 

You seem fairly happy with your lot, but have you looked into the  Amsterdam hub for EVA flights. In fact from Edinburgh and most of the Northern airports, this is actually the cheapest/recommended link. I actually ask for the LHR link due to late evening departure, and arrival just (barely) connects with the last connection to Manchester.

[Eneukman 1]

Haven't tried that before but I'll look at that for my next trip. Fatboy. So long as there isn't too long a wait between flights, I won't mind too much. One bonus I get with BA though is that as a shareholder, I get a 10% discount on my flight and holidays in the BA brochure.

 

The discounts I've had over the last 5 or 6 years since i bought the shares now amount to more than the shares themselves are worth these days.  ;D ;D ;D

 

Alan

[Guest]

Alan,

 

I think the link below provides fair comment on the pros and cons of in-flight entertainment v seat pitch.  Whilst the comments are primarily directed at BA they would apply equally to any airline that is providing entertainment at the expense of passenger comfort (and health).

 

http://www.airlinequality.com/Product/BA_Y_Seat.htm

 

Poor RayW must be as confused as hell now considering his original post. :-/

 

Regards,

 

Tom

[RayW 1]

Yep Tom, very confused now and not sure whether to buy shares in BA or In-Flight Entertainment Systems or the Deep Heat Back Pain Relief Company   ;D  ;D  I have about 1000 Airmiles, some Boots Rewards points and my Tescos Clubcard is looking healthy not to mention a slowly buiilding up store of Nectar, so will these help  ???  ;D

 

Seriously though, there is now a chance that my nephew may not be able to make it in late April /early May but he will know for sure in about a week's time.  If I am going out on my own then I will definitely go EVA Evergreen Deluxe and take some DVD films with my Laptop to make up for EVA's shortage of films.  Anyone know if EVA offer a laptop battery recharge service  ???

 

Just had a bad week.  Was off on leave and rest days all week and hardly got anything done due to a nasty cold/flu like bug which has really laid me up  :'(   I need a nice friendly Thai night nurse to rub my chest and other bits  ;D ;D

[Eneukman 1]

  "I need a nice friendly Thai night nurse to rub my chest and other bits"

 

Don't we all, Ray?    ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

Alan  

[Eneukman 1]

Thanks for the link, Tom.

 

As I'm not tall - a mere 5ft 6in, seat pitch isn't of that great importance to me PROVIDED I can get an aisle seat as my knees tend to seize up quite easily and I need to get up and walk about on a regular basis. Getting an aisle seat is normally not a problem as checking in at Edinburgh means I beat all the queues at Heathrow. Also by buying my ticket at BA's travel shop in Edinburgh allows me to reserve an aisle seat there and then.

 

Additionally, as i don't sleep particularly well on long haul flights, I do like to have a decent in-flight entertainment system.

 

One thing that does puzzle me a bit is that when flying down to Heathrow from Edinburgh, BA uses 757's (or 737's) and the seats on the 757's seem to be more comfortable and spacious than those on the 747. Just an illusion, I know!

 

Given a choice, I would fly Business Class all the rime but unless the lottery comes up, I can't afford that - unless it's a free upgrade.  

 

Alan

[andy 0]

It's no illusion that the seats are better on BA. domestic flights. They are generally leather, wider, and even though I have not checked the seat pitch, it seems to be greater.

There are other factors in BA's favour. The main ones are, punctuality, onward baggage forwarding to other airlines and finally no need to get onto a train, or drive down to Heathrow from Manchester.

I don't like BA. international service, but as a way of getting around the UK., they are probably the best.

Regards,

Andy  

[RayW 1]

Alan, another short a*se like me  ::)  I am also only just a fraction over 5ft 6ins "tall" .  Funny I used to be almost 5ft 8ins but you seem to lose height as you get older  :'(   So a good point that, do I really need the extra seat pitch offered by some airlines?  

 

But much like you I have knee problems too (in fact my left one is a partially steel and plastic replacement one), so this does dictate needing more room, especially as I always love a window seat as I never cease to lose the enjoyment of admiring this beautiful planet we live on from 30,000 feet.  Taking price, seat pitch, IFE etc into account it looks like Eva Evergreen is the best choice as long as you take a lap top and some DVD's and plenty of MP3 files on your hard disk to top up the restricted IFE offered.

 

Look forward to meeting you Alan in FLB one day, we should see each other if we find the tallest barstools they have  ;D  Well at least we are taller than the BG's, though not the Katoeys but I don't expect we will meet in one of "those" bars anyway.    ;D  

[Guest]

RayW,

 

Are you sure now?  

 

What about Malaysia - 34" seat pitch, seat-back TV, lovely hostesses ........ and cheap at the moment! :-/

 

Regards,

 

Tom

[RayW 1]

Tom you b*stard, you are just trying to confuse a poor old senile pensioner again   ::) ::) ;D

 

Decision time will be very soon now so I am keeping in touch with prices and offers. Until I get the yes or no answer from my nephew I will not know where the goal posts exactly are.  :-/

[Gordon 0]

Perhaps this latest offering from Eva Air will help with your decision of airline  ;D :

 

 

Gordon

[pod 0]

IMHO EVA wins hands down everytime.

From reading the previous posts I must be one of the lucky ones. I have never had a delay with EVA and the service has always been excellent. you will find it difficult to try open your eyes and not finding a cabin attendant standing in the cabin with a tray of drinks.

I fly the LN/BK return route 5 times a year and have used EVA for the last 4 years. Qantas since joining with BA have slipped in their standard of service, mainly because they use BA cabin crew on that route.

I have only used EVA economy once when I needed a last minute seat but if your budget will stretch to Evergreen Deluxe it is certainly worth the extra.

Also if you join the Evergreen club (free) you do earn points towards an upgrade.

Luckily I am now able to fly Business Class which beats BA/Qantas/Thai Business Class hands downs each time.