Flight upgrades to Thailand

[vinapu]

. The rationale for that...... but to squeeze in more seats at the same legroom. Still helps.

as long as it helps to keep prices low.

 

Going to Bangkok I can suffer any indignities other than delayed flight , return flight  to slavery is where problems start showing and depression kicks in me

[vinapu]

And then there are those who can afford it and do not see value in it. No one is right or wrong. Personal choice.

 

I like your way of thinking

[Guest anonone]

for seat info on any given flight www.seatguru.com is very helpful.

 

 

 

Be wary of seatguru.  I have found some very erroneous information.

 

No site is better then Flyertalk for flight stuff.  There is usually great information on seats for various airlines but you have to dig a little bit for it.  It is not as easy to find at seatguru, but the information is much better.

 

Example of a web page detailing seats on all Thai airways plane types, including embedded links to pics and videos.

 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thai-airways-royal-orchid-plus/1567856-thai-airways-international-seat-configuration-overview.html

 

May be over-kill for some, but I want to be as comfortable on long plane rides as possible.  Good information helps.

[biguyby]

I used my Emirates Skywards miles to upgrade to business class on the DXB - BKK leg of my journey a couple of trips ago.

 

The business class seating on the upper deck cabin of the Emirates Airbus A380-800 is awesome with lots of leg room and seats recline almost horizontal and the service is probably the best I have ever experienced or will ever experience again (I doubt I'll save enough miles again) it was my first and only experience of upgrades.

[Jasper]

Emirate's A380-800 is much better than Thai Air's A380-800.

I was upgraded to business class on BKK-DXB earlier this year. The seat was great but I found the service pretty average.

[vinapu]

 

for me up to 8 hours , after that I suffer silently no matter comfort level, "end is near" thought being my consolation 

[Guest]

No site is better then Flyertalk for flight stuff.  There is usually great information on seats for various airlines but you have to dig a little bit for it.  It is not as easy to find at seatguru, but the information is much better.

 

You are right about having to dig for it.   The site might be packed with information, but finding what I want takes time.

There are a large number of threads about points schemes and the like, which are of no interest to me.

 

I''m more interested in topics like how to get the emergency exit row seat (I usually manage it) or possibly getting a sensibly priced premium economy fare. Searching for that on Flyer Talk takes some time. 

In fact, considering the way emergency exit row seats are allocated differs from airline to airline, this topic needs airline specific information. I frequently cannot find anything for my preferred airline.

[forky123]

Hmm. I've booked British Airways for my next trip, Premium Economy and paid to book my seats on the exit row in advance. I've just gone to check my booking tonight and it seems I have been moved to poorer seats. Not chuffed in the slightest since I paid to book good ones.

[Guest]

Time to demand  your money back there. Then threaten them with the small claims court.

 

As far as I'm concerned, BA stands for Bloody Awful and I choose to fly other airlines.

[firecat69]

For European visitors there are some Low Business Class Fares with 1 stop Amsterdam- BKK for at least the next 6 months. As low as 1300 Euros.  I'm sure there are other departure points besides Amsterdam for those of you who hate Economy.

[biguyby]

Economy doesn't bother me too much, for me flying from the UK on Emirates it is only a 6.5 hour flight to Dubai plus a 6.00 hour flight onward to BKK.

 

I have just booked with Emirates for next month return flight £429.00 (around $650.00 US) or (€580.00)

[firecat69]

For me it is 24 hours worth of traveling , so I am constantly on the outlook for deals in Business which I can combine with miles.

[paulsf]

From Europe also look at Finnair. They do a lot of discounted business fares thru Helsinky. I've done it twice and was very happy.

Also happy with a 9 hour flight. Tomorrow I'm doing Boston-Bangkok. The 24 hours of flying day . I envy the European flyers.

[Up2u]

Living in Thailand has its advantages when booking flights to USA. I use EVA and can now book a business class ticket to SFO for Xmas for less than $3,500 (BKK<=>SFO). My friends in San Francisco would pay $4,600-5,700 for this same flight (SFO<=>BKK). Also, the Elite class tickets are costing $600 less than last year for the Xmas holiday period. Nice thing about EVA is it avoids Japan (Taipei).

[Jasper]

Up2u,

Why do you want to avoid Japan?

[vinapu]

I'm curious too about Japan's avoidance

[Up2u]

The Delta and United terminals, lounges are lacking and often forced to use bus gates. Japan is cold, rainy in the winter months. All flight delays for me and my friends have been through Narita and weather related. The Japan <=> BKK leg is excessively long (9 hours) vs 3-1/4 using Taipei. Taipei is the EVA hub and lounges are quite nice, never a bus gate.

[firecat69]

Wow.  Hard to believe anyone could get so many things wrong about Narita. Sorry!

 

1. In the last 15 years I have flown DL , UA and ANA in and out of Narita from and to BKK. Only 1 time have I ever used a Bus Gate because of weather causing delays.

 

2 .The longest leg ever Tokyo- BKK is 7 hours and depending on winds can be as short as 5 1/2 hours.

 

3. I have had 1 missed connection in all those flight and other then that normal 30-60 minute delays at the most

 

4.  I agree Lounges lack interesting snacks but honestly there is too much food on the planes . DL lounges are really quite nice with a 100 Apple Computers for use , I never even take out my laptop.

 

5. I used EVA last time through Taipei and it was fine but I found the Lounge chaotic but if you want to eat there are lots of choices.  Unfortunately it was a much longer walk from the Lounge to the Gate then I have ever had in Narita. But it is only 1 experience.

 

6.  Most of my connections through Narita were 2- 2/12 hours which I like .  I like being out of the silver tube for a little bit and those kind of connections reduce the need to run to catch your next flight and no relax time.

 

My 1 connection with Eva was about an hour I believe which leaves no time to enjoy the Lounges etc. I will be going back through Taipei in a week so I will take notice.

 

Of course the shorter leg to and from Taipei just means the other leg is 3-4 hours longer. Either way you have to take your poison!

[Up2u]

Yes, I was a bit harsh on Narita as my issues with the bus gates were mostly prior to the the airport expansion. And yes the Narita to BKK leg was often around seven hours and not nine. My problem with Narita has less to do with the airport and more to do with the American airlines that use it. DL and UA that use it as their Asian hub and can simply not match the competition when it comes to schedule, price and service (as just about every customer survey shows). My friends (million mile UA club) will throw in the towel since UA has screwed them and dropped their BKK service. I have tried unsuccessfully to do an upgrade with DL for five years now. I fly EVA now and couldn't be happier. Think back to the days when TWA and PanAm were the industry leaders and compare to what DL and UA offer today. Excuse the rant.

[firecat69]

I complete my first RT on EVA soon and I thought they were great. Excellent cheeseburgers for snacks .

 

Next 2 years I will be using miles for my trip so whatever I can find on UA and DL using their partners.

 

My return on upcoming trip will be on CI China Airlines which gets great reviews and goes through Taipei. I refuse to go through China because everyone complains about their connections.

 

Have a trip through Europe and on to BKK via UA and Thai Air on their A380 next year.

[Guest]

Odd how we have different expectations.   If I'm about to spend 7~12 hours cooped up on a plane, I will often deliberately walk to the wrong end of the terminal and back just to get some exercise in before boarding.   Proximity of lounge to gate is not a factor.

[Up2u]

I get plenty of exercise and stretch the legs just walking to the lounge at Taipei (btw, EVA has three different levels based on your ticket and club membership). Some people like to snack, take a shower, use the Internet, etc.

[vinapu]

   Proximity of lounge to gate is not a factor.

don't you have any compassion? Rich people have their own set of problems LOL

[steveboy]

Will you share you experience as to why you feel this way?   I am considering a routing that includes this flight segment on ANA.

 

I am also curious.  I fly this segment often since I mostly fly United and they stopped covering this segment. 

In my opinion, ANA is not great, but it is better than United  (this is not a great recommendation).  At least ANA still serves free alcoholic beverages while shabby cheepy United charges for them.  And the slim flight attendants of ANA are nicer to look at than the fat ugly ones of United.

[vinapu]

  At least ANA still serves free alcoholic beverages while shabby cheepy United charges for them.  And the slim flight attendants of ANA are nicer to look at than the fat ugly ones of United.

For the same length of flight including connection time I'd fly cheaper line , saving 50$ would be worth indignity of alcohol deprivation and visual indignity of well fed attendants.