Bid for an upgrade?

[joe552]

Just had an email from Etihad "inviting" me to bid for an upgrade to Business. I flew their business last year (Dublin to Abu Dhabi using miles) and liked it, but can't imagine paying full price for it. So, has anyone been successful with something like this and how much would you bid? :dontknow:

[Dani69]

I just fly Eithad from Uae to Bkok and Bkok to Uae . I bid for both legs but only the return was succesful- i bid the lowest amount for both legs тВм290... worth every euro . Mind you was 6 and half hour flight if your flight longer maybe cost more but I would bid the lowest and hope for the best.
Good luck.

I'd be interested to see the outcome of this promotion ? Are you actually intending to fly with them soon or was this a random offer that came in perhaps ? If the latter I would be inclined to bid them a very small amount as I'm guessing it more about keeping you as a customer than making a few quid extra on the economy ticket price.

I'm just sitting here looking at fares to Bkk ( or Bangkok for some of our grumpier members lol) and by a mixture of habit and laziness as I now know exactly where I'm going in the various airports etc I usually fly BA and rack up a few long haul miles, however on checking they are about 400 quid dearer than the cheapest other options and about 200 quid dearer than almost like for like options with other airlines, now usually as this point I convince myself "oh well at least you're racking up some miles for your next trip" but on trying to actually spend sopme for this trip I see they have just about ZERO flight options for BKK except a few days in September and on Christmas day !! So I'm sitting here thinking to hell with them and I'll try someone else for a change - so, anyone any suggestions from either the UK or Dublin to Bkk ( or just about any other SE Asian Country perhaps as I think I'll give somewhere else a try for a few weeks before hitting the usual flesh pits this time round.

[joe552]

I'm actually booked to fly with Etihad in 2 weeks :party

I've seen on Thaivisa that the going rate seems to be about тВм400 from LHR-BKK (airports, that is). I'm not sure it's worth that. Think I'd rather spend it on boys and booze.

NIrish Guy, both Etihad and Emirates now fly from Dublin (I've flown Etihad for a few years now and like them). If you don't mind a couple of hours in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, it can be a lot less than LHR - BKK direct. Once flew with Qatar from Manchester - similar deal.

[atri1666]

I also like their C class. Got my ticket for 1680 Euro for january 2013 to KL from Frankfurt. There was only one day with the low price - normally 2480 Euro. Superservice and only short stay in AUH in good C Lounge and you have 40kg luggage free and in most cities free limo transfer even in Bangkok.

[joe552]

wow, atri, how the other half live - that's almost my budget for the whole holiday. being a Frugal Freddie, I make it go a long way though. :party

[billy2bs]

Well just for comparisons....I have taken United to Bkk on many a trip and now just on economy it is costing 1600 US out of Boston 2t hr trip. That is a far cry from the 1200 a short year or so ago and the 1000 not too far back. I am glad I can still try to book with MILES at about 65000 for economy. I sure cant afford any direct Business or First Class. As for the food that is served, it just is not appealing in the long run. Just need a sleep pill I guess to get by it all.

[gaymandenmark]

I usually fly BA and rack up a few long haul miles, however on checking they are about 400 quid dearer than the cheapest other options and about 200 quid dearer than almost like for like options with other airlines, now usually as this point I convince myself "oh well at least you're racking up some miles for your next trip" but on trying to actually spend sopme for this trip I see they have just about ZERO flight options for BKK except a few days in September and on Christmas day !! So I'm sitting here thinking to hell with them and I'll try someone else for a change - so, anyone any suggestions from either the UK or Dublin to Bkk ( or just about any other SE Asian Country perhaps as I think I'll give somewhere else a try for a few weeks before hitting the usual flesh pits this time round.

Well since you collect miles on BA, have you tried to search Finnair flights, it is their partner in OneWorld. They have a big route network to Asia via their hub in Helsinki.
Also SAS (in Star Alliance) via Copenhagen is flying from both Dublin and several airports in the UK, to BKK.
With both you will fly in the "right" direction, but for me the most important is how long the stopover is.
Just some suggestions.

Thanks guys- some really good sugestions there, I'll certainly check them out.

[fountainhall]

BA is hopeless in all classes when it come to using miles between LHR and BKK. Not only do they have just one flight a day, BKK is a stopover on the kangaroo route to/from Sydney. I have tried getting miles tickets on the day booking opens, but BA offers miles seats on only a very small number of these flights. Finnair should be a much better bet and the transit times at Helsinki can be as low as 40 minutes.

You are ABSOLUTELY right there ! unfortuantely it's only now after racking up the miles that I've realised that very fact, I wouldn't care but I've now rang there call centre several times over the last two years and given them a mountain of suitable dates months apart and with almost a years notice in some cases and they have almost absolutely no availability as they obviously know with the Austrailia flight tagged on that flights always going to be full anyway - and I wouldn't care but if they would just TELL you that instead of implying it's all my fault for leaving it "so late" to try and book ( even with a YEARS notice !) - and I'm now in the annoying position of being on the cusp of getting one of two free flights with just "one way" purchase and it's been that way for about two years now and for various reasons I've had to use different airlines as BA were eitehr so dear or just had no seats - I think it's time perhaps to tell them to stick their miles and move elsewhere ( or at least just use them to GO somewhere else in the future perhaps - but knowing them just like before they'll use their time limit rule and wipe out my miles before I bother to do that - BA - which can only stand I think for BLOODY AWFUL as they still have the attitiude that YOU should be grateful to get flying with them - and at best they're average and at worst are CRAP! :-(

[Neal]

I have 600,000 miles on Continental/United and I was gonna sell them but now I hear you can only transfer 40,000 miles a year!? :crybaby:

I have 600,000 miles on Continental/United and I was gonna sell them but now I hear you can only transfer 40,000 miles a year!? :crybaby:

I'm sure they've covered the loop hole but I take it that is "in total" and not to one person as obviously then you could transfer 40k a year to several people who then transfer them all on to one person - just a thought ? But yeah you just gotta love airlines "loyalty" programmes as I don't think I have every availed of a free flight yet on ANY airline and everytime I try to use my points that I've racked up on several airlines due to others being full or not flying to the destination etc I never seem to have "just" quite enough or they've "just" gone out of date or "if only you'd this class of point and not that class - a shower of bastards that's what they all are ! lol - I think from now one I'm going to ignore all points offered and just book the damned cheapest and easiest as no matter what they say there's not a million miles between them all anyway, certainly not in economy anyway.

[gaymandenmark]

I have 600,000 miles on Continental/United and I was gonna sell them but now I hear you can only transfer 40,000 miles a year!? :crybaby:

Can't you use them for some hotel stays, or some intra-asia flights with Thai or some other CO/United Asian partners?

Or if like the BA Avois points perhaps you can use them to shop online in lots of everyday high street stores as if I keep on going the way I am I think that's what I'm going to just to blow mine so I never have to think about bloody points on useless airlines ever again :-(

Oh and using them for hotels etc I looked at that and needless to say they have that all sewn up as well as when you use points you only get the hotel "rack rate" which is about twice or more what you pay on Agoda and the likes :-(

[joe552]

as I mentioned earlier, I got a free upgrade to Business on Etihad last year, so really can't complain (I don't fly that often). I'd still fly them without the miles as long as the price was right, because I like the break in Abu Dhabi, rather than the long flight from LHR or Copenhagen, which I've done before. But for me, the price is crucial - unlike some on here, I know.

[gaymandenmark]

Well Nirish, I don't know about BA.
But in general, I think y├│u are a littlebit to harsh.?
Of course I can only speak for myself, but as a SAS Eurobonus member I have used my points to upgrade to Economy Premium CPH-BKK-CPH at check-in/gate several times, I have been flying to New York and back on a promotion discount, been to Amsterdam for a weekend with flight and stay at Raddison (promotion), but you have to look for this promotions with points, and I have even been flying CPH-BKK-CPH for my points. The last was a littlebit outside season.

[markie1]

Well i always use to fly BA to BKK,but the last couple years there air fares are too expencive yes about 300 more than EVa or Thai , so i tend to fly EVA now and never had a problem with them,infact i think there seats are more comfy than BA,and service is about the same,for a saving of 300 its well worth it .







I'd be interested to see the outcome of this promotion ? Are you actually intending to fly with them soon or was this a random offer that came in perhaps ? If the latter I would be inclined to bid them a very small amount as I'm guessing it more about keeping you as a customer than making a few quid extra on the economy ticket price.

I'm just sitting here looking at fares to Bkk ( or Bangkok for some of our grumpier members lol) and by a mixture of habit and laziness as I now know exactly where I'm going in the various airports etc I usually fly BA and rack up a few long haul miles, however on checking they are about 400 quid dearer than the cheapest other options and about 200 quid dearer than almost like for like options with other airlines, now usually as this point I convince myself "oh well at least you're racking up some miles for your next trip" but on trying to actually spend sopme for this trip I see they have just about ZERO flight options for BKK except a few days in September and on Christmas day !! So I'm sitting here thinking to hell with them and I'll try someone else for a change - so, anyone any suggestions from either the UK or Dublin to Bkk ( or just about any other SE Asian Country perhaps as I think I'll give somewhere else a try for a few weeks before hitting the usual flesh pits this time round.

[joe552]

I flew Eva's Premium Economy a few years ago from LHR and really liked it - smaller cabin, bigger seat. I hate using LHR though so would avoid if I could.

Well Nirish, I don't know about BA. But in general, I think y├│u are a littlebit to harsh.?


Ha ha well you might be right but today as I've just spent the last hour or two frigging about trying to find some / ANY flight connection on which to use points and came up with nothing of use I'm not feeling too charitable - and as already mentioned by myself and others I also looked for ANYTHING right until the end of the year just in case "it was me" and they have next to nothing so as Markie has said I think from now on, Thai or whoever, who are equally as good ( better actually I think) and nearly always cheaper - so no, today BA and I have fallen out and that's that :-) Until I start to "actually" start looking at other flights on other airlines and then see the connection times don't work from Belfast or they are not direct or the lay over times are too long or like Jet airlines you get offered curry for Breakfast etc :-( and then I'll revert to my usual normal lazy sod mode, him and ha a bit about the extra price and then say "ah fuck it" and book BA anyway - and so it goes on - and I bet the buggers know it too and THAT's why they don't give a damn what people like me "really" think about their "loyality" programmes ! lol.

* Oh to be fair I should just add that apart from the curry and the odd annoying passenger the Jet airways flight was "ok" and very cheap - AND they upgraded me to business class complete with lie flat beds etc :-) on my very first flight with them which was very nice of them so I guess I should say something nice about them today to help my flight karma when I next fly :-)

[gaymandenmark]

as I mentioned earlier, I got a free upgrade to Business on Etihad last year, so really can't complain.

I am sure they thought you were Oscar Wilde :love4:

[joe552]

apart from the fact he's been dead a hundred years, the resemblance is remarkable. :glasses7:

...I am sure they thought you were Oscar Wilde...


apart from the fact he's been dead a hundred years, the resemblance is remarkable. :glasses7:

Some would say it's not apart from that fact sweetie, it's because of it.

But those people are unkind.

:jok:

[joe552]

oh, you are awful, but I like you :occasion9:

[Neal]

I used to fly Denver to BKK all the time. I would buy a mid range ticket that would allow me to upgrade and then use points to upgrade. I found that as a Platinum air customer, I would get 150% bonus miles for taking the flight and thus the upgrade would be almost nothing as I got almost all my miles back! Then I used my Amex card and Visa cards to buy goods for the business that I used to own and since they were all large purchases, I would transfer those points to air miles on the same carrier.
Now I don't fly anymore and I have 600,000 miles sitting there. :crybaby:

[christianpfc]

I happily accept a free upgrade (happened once), but I wouldn't pay for it. On the contrary, I would like to sell leg and arm space starting from 10 Euro per centimeter.

[joe552]

christian, I think you mean buy leg and arm space?

well, going back to the OP, I'm not going to bid for an upgrade - instead I'll spend some of the money in Neal's bar, while waiting for the wine promotion to start :party

Can you bid without going on through to actually book a ticket, it would be interesting just how low they go perhaps as I'm guessing if they have a free seat you get it no matter what just if if you checked in on their loyalty scheme they would probably upgrade you anyway?

[joe552]

NIrish Guy, you have to provide your credit card details when you make a bid. If you're successful they charge your card 48 hours before the flight. I think it's also possible to pay for an upgrade at check-in if there's space, but I've no experience of that. As I said, I'm not that inclined to spend the money on the flight - I'd rather spend it in-country (as we old Asia hands refer to it).

[artic55]

I find the easiest way to get anything out of the "Miles", "Points" programs is to use them on https://www.points.com/

You can trade, exchange or redeem, or buy on-line with your miles or points. Check it out it works.

[billy2bs]

Hello Boss...what could I do for 600k miles? Well for one thing i know you can purchase a ticket for someone else by using miles. So lets say it was me for instance. It is 65k l miles on the best, lowest, available for Boston to Bkk. So you could book me a ticked and use your miles then I would pay you whatever was negotiated as a fee rtc. i know it can be done since i have bought such for my friend from USA just recently. He just had to reimburse me for the taxes. Unless they have changed im sure you could do that...pretty much.

So say that is true Boss, and since I travel United.. What would you charge me for such an Idea....ticket.Got to think ahead thats for sure.

Bill

[joe552]

billy, I like your style, but it's proved very difficult to get DaBoss to part with a glass of wine, so I think the chances of him buying you an airline ticket might be remote. But god loves a trier (or a tryer - never could spell that word!).

[Neal]

If it is only 65,000 miles and you think I can get them transferred to you, call them up and work it all out. We will go to PM and plan it and figure out a small amount you can pay and finished. What do I care, I can use the cash and of course anything I can do to make Joe look wrong! :evil4:

lol you SO know that we're all now awaiting the outcome with bated breath ! :-)

I would ask if they can be transferred to other airlines and do the same but knowing BA they wont have any flights anyway so there's little point ! lol

I find the easiest way to get anything out of the "Miles", "Points" programs is to use them on https://www.points.com/ You can trade, exchange or redeem, or buy on-line with your miles or points. Check it out it works.

Yeah it works - unless you're trying to use BA points as they're not even listed as being suitable for use on the site...GRRRRRR damn that BA bunch lol

I find the easiest way to get anything out of the "Miles", "Points" programs is to use them on https://www.points.com/ You can trade, exchange or redeem, or buy on-line with your miles or points. Check it out it works.

Yeah it works - unless you're trying to use BA points as they're not even listed as being suitable for use on the site...GRRRRRR damn that BA bunch lol

Avios points (formerly Airmiles) and now owned by IAG (BA & Iberia) aren't included either - and I have 60,000 of the buggers.

However I have lots of Emirates points which I can't see me using, so I might see how that goes.

:occasion9:

I'm in the same boat as I've a load of Emirates miles as well that I'm probably not going to use again as their outbound flight times don't work so well for me from LHR, but whilst I noticed their name was certainly on that site as an option once I went to the trade / sell page I see they had disappeared again :-( So, let me know am I missing something perhaps and if you were able to get rid of yours that way perhaps?

Yeah, well I managed to "import" my 60, 000 Emirates points into Points.com (together with about 10 other schemes including 50,000+ Eva points I'd forgotten about) - but the website seems almost exclusively designed for USA residents so anybody wanting to trade with you is offering USA airlines points or USA retail points in exchange that you probably can't ever use.

They also have the facility to redeem points into your PayPal account but it only applies to 1 out of my 10 schemes (Priority Points) and I don't have sufficient for even $10 :sign5:

It seems that, unless Points.com becomes more than a USA swap-shop it's no good to the rest of us.

However it does let you register many of your schemes and see all their balances in one place. That seems to be about the only advantage for me.

:dontknow: :dontknow:

[frequentflier]

I usually use Etihad from Dublin .I paid 780 euro in march and was charged 1300 euro for my flight to Bkk for dec.next..I know its the high season but at nearly doube the price its not worth it..

[fountainhall]

When Cathay Pacific started using Points.com I had a quick look at the site. It seemed to me that the conversion rates were pretty lousy. Probably points.com take a pretty large commission on each transaction. I decided not to bother using the site unless I have miles or hotel stay points that I know I'll never use unless I transfer them.

[joe552]

We will go to PM and plan it and figure out a small amount you can pay and finished. What do I care, I can use the cash and of course anything I can do to make Joe look wrong! :evil4:

I hadn't realised you had such a nasty streak, Neal. I'm hurt, but if you're giving out plane tickets, that might help me get over it. :occasion9:

[Neal]

If you can use the miles and get a ticket, I will sell you some. :laughing3:

[joe552]

you're all heart :occasion9:

I have often seen upgrades for sale on Ebay - well, more correctly, upgrade POINTS for sale, and the deal is along the lines that Neal suggests.

You buy the ticket, then buy the required points from the seller - and he upgrades your ticket using his points.

It only works, obviously, if the Airline scheme allows you to transfer your points to a 3rd party - Emirates is one, but many don't

:occasion9:

[joe552]

NIrish Guy, Emirates now fly from Dublin, so you might be able to use your miles flying from here. :dontknow:

NIrish Guy, Emirates now fly from Dublin, so you might be able to use your miles flying from here. :dontknow:

It's the schedule though - you can be 10hrs+ waiting on a connection at Dubai.

I use Emirates from Glasgow - if you can get the right connection it's good with only 2/3 hrs layover, but if you can't get that flight then your stuck in Dubai Airport for hours on end. Nice airport - but all geared to shopping really, which is not top of my agenda when I'm trying to get to Thailand. Very few places to sit down, relax, and wait for connection. I use the Business lounge (by using Skywards Silver status or literally paying a fee to get in) but if you're not actually travelling Business Class (which I don't) you're allowed limited time in the lounge.

:glasses7:

[joe552]

well with flights from Dublin, wait times at Dubai are around a couple of hours - I've not really researched it, as I'm building up miles with Etihad, but thought it might be worth NIrish Guy looking at for using up his miles.

I don't want to argue Joe but I just chose random dates out 8th September back 22nd

On the way out theres a 9hour wait in Dubai for the BKK flight 00.25 - 09.40.
On the way back its reasonable though as you say.

[joe552]

I was really just pointing out to NIrish Guy that Emirates fly from Dublin which might be better for him, since he has Emirates miles to use. It's all academic really. We make our own decisions based on different wants and needs.

Just for the record and on checking I can confirm that the Emirates flight from Dublin out 28th June back 31st July with just a 2 hour lay over on each flight (approx) is showing up at around ┬г720 GBP - which isn't too bad actually at all !

The BA flight from LHR to Bkk (direct) costs around about ┬г820 GBP - but I then would also have to get a further connecting flight from belfast to LHR at a cost of approx ┬г100 on top of that figure. So it seems you were spot on Joe and that's certainly one worth considering, actually I wasn't even aware that Emirates flew from Dublin to Bkk so that's a bonus !

I ( and just for comparison sakes I see that the Ethiad flight from Dublin comes in around the ┬г1000 GBP mark with a 3 hour layover or less each way ( or a really shitty long lay over if you book the wrong flight option by mistake !).

Also ( and again just for comparison sakes whilst I was checking) I see that both Jet, Air India and Emirates all have flights from LHR from at around the ┬г620 GBP mark, again all with a 3 hour or less layover.

I really will have to shake myself and make up my mind to hit "book" one of these days !

[Dani69]

Eva Air run a direct flight from LHR to BKK @ around the 700 pound mark as well - and use all new Boeing 777 jets .
No stop over is a blessing . :party

yeah I noticed that Dani thanks. Although re the stop over whilst I ALWAYS would have agreed with you and hence why I always booked BA direct etc no matter what the cost almost when I got that last Jet flight which had a two hour stop over I think I actually found it better in some ways !

On the direct flight, you're stuck sitting there for 11/ 12 hours or whatever and bored shitless no matter how many movies you watch etc ( although I'm just starting to learn about the pleasure of sleeping pills on flights !! :-) Whereas on the split flight I managed to arrive quite refreshed as it didn't really feel like one long haul flight but two normal business type flights AND I still managed to get a good sleep on the second flight and you get fed twice :-) - greedy git that I am :-) So I think assuming that it's not a crazy long lay over and there was a considerable price difference I between the two I would have no qualms about going non direct again in the future perhaps as the 300 or 400 quid saved is a weeks hotel bill somewhere - or 20 go go boys depending how you look at life :-)

[anonone]

Getting a touch envious of you Europeans/Brits/Irish et al
Flights from the USA cost almost twice as much and it takes about 20 hours in the air....
And there is NO direct option to even consider.

Worth both the time and money to me, but always wish it was easier.

Good luck with the planning NIrish. Do not stay away too long. Not good for your morale.

[joe552]

Getting a touch envious of you Europeans/Brits/Irish et al
Flights from the USA cost almost twice as much and it takes about 20 hours in the air....
And there is NO direct option to even consider.

Worth both the time and money to me, but always wish it was easier.

Good luck with the planning NIrish. Do not stay away too long. Not good for your morale.

ah, but everyone knows you Americans are at least TWICE as rich as us poor Europeans :occasion9:

I can recommend the EVA flight - used to always use them - I think it's about 12 hours.

However, the non-stop can only be a blessing if you live within commuting distance of London - otherwise you effectively have a stop-over anyway with a flight to get to London in the first place (which isn't cheap or convenient as BA have the monopoly into LHR from where I am).

Far better (and cheaper) for me to go GLA-DXB-BKK than GLA-LHR-BKK - the stop over in DXB is shorter (if I get the right connection) and I actually quite like the short break in DXB (although I don't like the 9hr one!).

[colmx]

My 2 experiences of stopping off in the Arabian Peninsula(Doha and Abu Dhabi) would put me off stopping over in any Arabian airport ever again
The airports were prehistoric in terms of skybridges, toilet facilities, staff attitudes, smokers etc

Standing on a bus in the blaring sun for 20 minutes waiting for 500 passengers to board a plane on a narrow flight of stairs is not my idea of fun either... And the male flight attendants are not a pretty site

From what i hear... the Emirates changeover on the dublin-dubai-Bkk route is not very pleasant either, long security queues leading to frequent missed connections are common complaints on some of the irish based boards that i read...

I will stick to SAS or Air France for all my flights Dub-BKK

[Wesley]

Cathay Pacific bumps people up on a regular basis, of course you buy their Marco Polo Club Ced and you get lots of perks $50 for a life time card and you get Asia miles with that and also, quite often if there is a free seat they will upgrade you if there is a surplus of free space up front.

[christianpfc]

Oh yeah, the busses at the arabic airports are not nice, first I thought: "What the fuck?" but I got used to them.

What annoys me most is the second security check.

But for saving around 200 Euro in comparison to a direct flight, I am happy to endure all this.

I once talked to a smoker who told me that he cannot fly directly from Europe to Thailand because he needs to smoke a cigarette during that time.

I don't travel anymore and have everything I want. Just want to sell some if I can.

[joe552]

I don't travel anymore and have everything I want. Just want to sell some if I can.

maybe we can talk about this when I'm there? don't know how you work out the value of miles in cash terms, but worth chatting about. :dontknow:

[anonone]

Just a note of caution for DaBoss and anyone wishing to use his United miles....

It is against the terms and conditions of the mileage program to "sell" miles or "sell" any travel that the miles are used to procure.

I am not saying it cannot be done, but don't get United on the phone and ask about it... :violent1:

If United finds out, they can empty out DaBoss's miles from the account.... Just be careful out there. Sometimes the skies are not all that friendly.

[Hmmm]

I'm just sitting here looking at fares to Bkk ( or Bangkok for some of our grumpier members lol) and by a mixture of habit and laziness as I now know exactly where I'm going in the various airports etc I usually fly BA and rack up a few long haul miles, however on checking they are about 400 quid dearer than the cheapest other options and about 200 quid dearer than almost like for like options with other airlines, now usually as this point I convince myself "oh well at least you're racking up some miles for your next trip" but on trying to actually spend sopme for this trip I see they have just about ZERO flight options for BKK except a few days in September and on Christmas day !! So I'm sitting here thinking to hell with them and I'll try someone else for a change - so, anyone any suggestions from either the UK or Dublin to Bkk ( or just about any other SE Asian Country perhaps as I think I'll give somewhere else a try for a few weeks before hitting the usual flesh pits this time round.

The situation with BA from LHR to BKK is changing drastically. Together with Qantas (with whom they have a long-standing joint services agreement on the routes to Australia via SE Asia), they have effectively halved their services via BKK.

BA no longer flies LHR-BKK-SYD - it now stops in BKK and pax are transferred to Qantas for BKK-SYD (soon on a smaller QF plane too ... no longer a 747). Qantas on the other hand now only fly SYD-BKK in the other direction - they no longer continue to LHR from BKK. They transfer their pax to BA for that (with a longer transit than when it was the same QF or BA plane all the way).

BA and Qantas have done the same thing in HKG. SIN is now the only SE Asia port where both airlines fly the whole route from London to Australia. So they presumably want pax to only fly all the way between Europe and Australia via SIN.

In the short term since this was announced last year, my impression is that it may have actually been easier to get seats via points or pay on the BKK flights, despite the lower capacity, because the same old flights were no longer there to book for people wanting to fly all the way. Once the market adjusts, this may not continue. This may already have happened.

As Thailand is a popular destination from both directions, and BA and QF flights were generally full in the past, the reasons for the cutback are not clear unless they were unprofitable on a cost per passegenger basis. Qantas is transitioning from 747s to the bigger A380s, but as the 747s are retired and some A380s delayed, they are using smaller A330s on some routes, such as SYD-BKK.

[fountainhall]

The decline of BA and its narrow-minded concentration on the US market therefore continues. Not so long ago, within Asia it flew the HKG/Taipei, HKG/Manila and HKG/Seoul routes as extensions of its LHR/HKG flights. These made use of crews on forced layovers and offered very competitive rates. It used to fly non-stop London/Kuala Lumpur and on to Jakarta. It also used to fly to several cities in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Now it's only 1 daily flight to Sydney via Singapore - and that won't last!

Look on BA's website and it tells you it flies to dozens of cities in 13 Asian countries. That's utter baloney! Mind you, because they do not print a route map, it's takes time to find out exactly where they fly. From memory, it's only Tokyo in Japan, Beijing and Hong Kong in China, Bangkok and Singapore. The rest are code shares on One World (mostly Cathay Pacific) involving stop-overs. But who's going to bother flying BA London to Hong Kong, change to CX and on to Seoul, when the better Korean airlines do it cheaper and non-stop? And with CX having the better service on the LHR/HKG route!

BA's concentration on the US to the exclusion of the rapidly growing markets in Asia is utterly incomprehensible to me. The more so when other European airlines, as well as the Gulf airlines, are expanding rapidly in the region. Look at the much smaller, friendlier (and cheaper) Finnair. In recent years, it has opened up non-stops to Nagoya and Osaka, in addition to Tokyo; Shanghai and Chongqing, in addition to Beijing; and Singapore (which was previously via BKK).

It also pisses me off a great deal. I have been top tier member of the Executive Club for 12 years. Now, because the mileage accrual is much less on code-share flights and because the only way to get the minimum 4 BA flights required annually is to fly twice to Europe annually. it's a B(loody) A(wful) waste of time!

[martin911]

Colmx -- yes thats a very good point re Emitates -- the short connecting times in Dubai can be very short indeed with the queues at security before you get into the actual terminal building opun disembarking !!!!---
Having said that the terminal is very bright and modern --and you can pay to access one of the business lounges
I get a free Priority Pass card(replaced yearly ) with my Visa card --this card will allow you access to a business lounge in almost every airport in the world (abs nothing to do with what airline /ticket you fly with ) ---
I believe you can just purchase one of those PP cards for 100 euro odd i think --
With the upgrade in standards nowadays in economy (esp in the Middle eastern airlines like Emirates/Etihad ) and with the PP card i only ever travel in economy nowadays --its far superior to the business class service of China Airlines(AMS ) which i used for years to travel to and from Thailand

You were just unlucky re the airports Colmx --Doha is a kip yes ( when i was there 3 odd years ago) and i guess you were in the old part of Abu Dhabi airport also (but now the new terminal building is open ) --

[joe552]

I agree, martin, the new terminal 3 in Abu Dhabi is a huge improvement on the old one.

[vnman]

well, going back to the OP, I'm not going to bid for an upgrade

I love it when you refer to yourself in third person.

Did you embark on your journey yet? Always sucks to get news of a plane crash just before entering one, right? :help: I'm sure you'll be OK. I'm jumping on mine come Sunday.

Don't be selfish and leave us in suspense of your adventures at the Boss' I really wanna know if that wine turned out to be bottles water :occasion9: I'm bringing my laptop so I promise a daily report.

If I get horny enough I just might take the bus next Monday for a surprise PTY visit. I urge you to wear some clean underwear cause we might be live on stage!

[Neal]

Re the wine. Check out the wine thread.

[joe552]

Leave Dublin tomorrow (5th) so arrive Pattaya evening of 6th. Promise to post reports of my quiet evenings plus a wine review from Happy Place :party

[fountainhall]

Cathay Pacific bumps people up on a regular basis, of course you buy their Marco Polo Club Ced and you get lots of perks $50 for a life time card and you get Asia miles with that and also, quite often if there is a free seat they will upgrade you if there is a surplus of free space up front.
I've never heard about this! I've been a member of the MPC since 1986, for most of that time at Gold level (although I'm now back down to the basic Green Tier since I've been concentrating on using BA'a points scheme). What is a Ced? And what perks do you get for a one-off US$50? I've had a few upgrades over the years, but I also know several of the pursers and one of the top managers is an old friend. They tell me that upgrades just because there are free seats at the front of the plane are a total no-no! The front-line and on-board staff are instructed not to upgrade unless the passenger's class of travel is full.

So, after my previous post in this thread about B.A. etc and their flight costs / total lack of any points tickets / upgrades etc and just to wrap up re how my booking actually ended up- in the end as I was having such a rant at BA I did actually stick to my guns this time and thought "screw them" this time round and looked about elsewhere and decided to go "cheap" this time - and I'm glad I did as based on me flying to Bkk ( that's the airport not the City for those pedants out there lol) on the 28th June and returning 30th July, from Belfast, via London Heathrow on to direct to Bkk return cost - and INCLUDING the Belfast connection flight from my local airport ┬г730 ALL IN ! :-) Whereas with BA the same basic direct flight and connection would have cost a minumum of ┬г1231, so I'm now booked on a straight through ticket on a BMI connection and then an EVA air flight ( and yes I know they are not a top notch airline etc but actually on reading them their reviews on the LDN - BKK route are actually very good for a lower cost airline) and with it being a direct LHR - BKK flight as well I'm no worse off than I would have been time wise with BA in face the connection time is much shorter (2 hours or so approx) ! - so all in all I'm quite happy about all of that :-)

So now I just hope that EVA don't let me down now ! lol :-) But as I'll have my trusty Ipad on my lap with a few of my favourite movies loaded on to it and a sleeping tablet or two in my pocket as long as they get me there in one piece they'll do me just fine and screw BA and their never ending "flights/upgrades that just somehow never seem to be available on the london - bkk route buillshit" and the ┬г500 I've just saved will go very nicely towards my overall shagging fund ....sorry I meant there re my overall hotel costs of course .....cough cough ! lol :-)

[ceejay]

whereas I was able to find an EVA air flight ( and yes I know they are not top notch but actually their reviews on the LDN - BKK route are actually quite good for a lower cost airline) so FROM Belfast ( via Lhr) to Bkk all in ┬г730 ! and that's a direct Lhr - Bkk flight as well - so all in all I'm, quite happy about that and I just hope that EVA don't let me down now !
I think that you will be very pleasantly surprised. I have tried all of the four (three, really, now that Qantas only code share) airlines that fly direct from London to Bangkok and EVA are actually my airline of choice. The fact that they are almost always cheaper than the others really is one of life's bonuses. They fly very new, modern, aircraft, having replaced their 747's with 777's about 2 years ago. Good service and in flight entertainment and decent food. They also (in my opinion) have the most comfortable economy class seats.

Thanks Ceejay - you've just confirmed my own thoughts as nearly all the reviews I read before booking said exactly that !! :-) And for every mile I fly I'll take great pleasure in knowing that I'm not going to be at the mercy of BA and the likes fixing their loyalty system to 100% suit THEM and will relish spending the DIRECT and IMMEDIATE saving I've made by taking my custom elsewhere :-)

[vnman]

I used to fly BKK/AMS with Eva. That bitch still isn't over Adam.

I must say that it's excellent value. I never flown economy but I understand that evergreen deluxe has the same service as economy. Deluxe has only bigger chairs. With eva I always felt rested after arrival.

ps "Adam" is how we dutch call Amsterdam.