Which airlines have the least risk of cancellation

[abidismaili]

After more than 2 years I am looking at a ticket and going for the Test&Go approach now that the government has lifted quarentaine.

I used to fly with KLM but their tickets have gone up a lot. Now looking for cheaper options from Amsterdam to Bangkok

Which airlines have reliable connections? I don't want to risk that my flight gets cancelled.

[gerefan]

I would recommend Emirates or Swiss. Have used both recently.
You should watch Departure and Arrival boards for your selected airline and flights. That will give you an indication of cancellations before booking.

[pong2]

use google.flights for a general overview also of prices.

In fact not that many airlines are prone to cancel, in fact in the past in the busy season OVERbooking was more something to fear of! You get bumped, will be booked on another airline and maybe even get a few €€€€€ as compensation. Cancellation is mostly in the superlow season, for Th in general that is from april till summer hols start. The hot+nasty wheather over there, just before the refreshing rains come.

Agree with above, I prefer Swiss, they codeshare with Thai from ZURi, as the halfway break in the mid-east=on none of the 2 flites you get enough time to sleep. From Züri its about 10 hrs flighttime. They are since it is Swiss (and not Swissair! anymore) part of the big LH=Lufthansa/STAR-alliance/miles and more group, you can usually combine flites on all of these. Have not flown them since march ´20 (I got back on them exactly on 15/3=the day that everything closed down in EUR), but the BKK-flites mostly have also Thai crew, so you can get in the mood already!

[Guest]

I agree with Gerefan's recommendations.  

Swiss Air were still operating with just 37 people on the plane when I left in March 2021.  Certain other airlines would show less commitment to customers.

Check which flights actually operate on Flightradar24 or something similar

Airlines that operate during the pandemic tend to carry on operating.  Those who promise restarting operations next month tend to take bookings and then cancel the flights.

[Guest]

Update:

Apparently people transiting through Dubai now require a PCR test taken 48 hours before departure, if departing from certain countries, which includes the UK.  That is far more inconvenient than needing a result issued within 72 hours of departure, as needed for getting into Thailand.  This was not a requirement when I used them in November.

As far as I can tell, no PCR test is needed if transiting through Dubai from Thailand to the UK.  But the Emirates website is as clear as mud.

[Midguy1]

This raises an important point of also checking any requirements the transiting country needs as well as the final destination.

I very nearly got out last year by not doing my checks.  I naively thought I had everything in order (PCR tests, entry requirements for final destination etc.) only to discover a couple of days before that the transiting country also needed me to complete an additional locator form online in advance, even though I didn't enter the country and remained airside in transit.

Ive so far found the Lufthansa website to have the best tool for finding out about entry requirements for various countries.  It can only be used per leg, but I've found (in most cases) it does give both entry and transit requirements for the destination.  Simply enter departure airport and arrival airport.  Link here: https://lufthansa.travel-regulations.com/?language=en&apptarget=external

 

[Londoner]

After a perusal of EVA's website today, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that EVA will recommence its LHR-BKK flights in June. Having had two such bookings annulled, I'm not getting too excited but  these flights are now available to book. And Business Class can be chosen at less than £3000; that's cheaper than Thai. The times are more convenient than Thai Air's and the air-time shorter with no stops on the way

[gerefan]

Londoner.

Your post promoted me to look at Emirates website. In Mid June they have flights departing LHR at various times in the evening surrounding the usual Eva departure time of 2130. Agreed there is a stopover enroute but it is only about 1.30 hour
 

However a few things to think of:

If you want to go business class fares are currently £2455 return (assuming a one month stay) and secondly all legs are on the A380. If, you have not flown on it I would highly recommend it is Business. You’ll never look back!

You can even leave your seat and sit in the bar for as long as you like!

And don’t forget Emirates sends a car to collect you from home and take you to LHR. Same or arrival at BKK and same on return flights to LHR.

I don’t think you’ll get that in business on Eva.

Finally, they have an excellent track record of keeping to their schedule, unlike Eva.

 

[Londoner]

 Thanks; I'll keep that in mind. Is the Emirates stop  a change of plane? The taxi service is a big plus, too. 

I've been an EVA customer since 1995.... that's nearly eighty return flights and have had no complaints. Good lounges at BKK and LHR, too.

However, the two cancellations have made me wary; it's a nuisance when you've booked-up everything else (including the quarantine night)  and then to be told that you have to change your flight and some of those arrangements.

[gerefan]

Yes it is a change of aircraft. It might be some distance to the next gate so check when you arrive.

[Guest]

With Emirates, I had to disembark, walk a while, do a security check, walk a bit further, take a train and then a long walk to catch the second flight.

This is not ideal, but when the airline actually runs flights that get me to Thailand, it offsets the inconvenience.

I'd like to get back to EVA, but they need to be already running the service by the time I book my next ticket.   Promises of flights in a few months time have frequently been broken by airlines during this pandemic.

[thaiophilus]

36 minutes ago, z909 said:

With Emirates, I had to disembark, walk a while, do a security check, walk a bit further, take a train and then a long walk to catch the second flight.

 

That's unusual if your flights were both on Emirates but to be expected if you arrived on another carrier.  At Dubai, Emirates use Terminal 3, other major airlines use T1, low-cost carriers like FlyDubai use T2. T1 is a train ride away from T3, T2 is a long bus ride.

When I've travelled LGW - DXB- BKK it's been a short walk and security check, no train required.

I'd second Gerefan's comments on the A380 business class experience. The only caveat is that there is a distance limit on the business class free limo service, with rules that differ from country to country. Unfortunately Pattaya is just out of range.

[Londoner]

4 hours ago, z909 said:

 

 

[Londoner]

I agree with z909. The only positive I can say is that I received a full refund from EVA.  

[gerefan]

After several years using Emirates I stopped using them due to the great distances transferring.

However as Eva has stopped operating LHR to BKK I went back with them.

Last month I flew Emirates LHR to BKK and can conform there was a huge trek between terminals.