Best or worse of your travel to thailand

[bucknaway]

I'm flying coach on Qatar airways. I prefer flying I to doha rather than Tokyo.
The movie selection is expansive and I can sleep in the seats with little discomfort and their food is okay.

If you want a full can of coke, forget it. They use to give me a full can but not anymore.

I also like that they get me into thailand with enough time to shower, change and to hit the streets.

My second favorite airline... Korean air.

[Smiles]

My second favorite airline... Korean air.
Great choice ... my favourite airline. Korean makes sense if one departs from the west coast (as I do). Incheon puts many others ~ mostly western airports ~ to shame. Free showers too.

[francois]

Korean Air the worst airline. Slop for food, ancient entertainment console and antiquated 747 and that was in Biz Class from Incheon to BKK. The airport at Incheon was great. Just luck of the draw?
Best airline was Delta Biz Class upper deck on 747 in the good old days.

[Maxxy]

I always fly Thai from either Australia or if I fly from Indonesia, I always get good service

[Smiles]

Korean Air the worst airline. Slop for food, ancient entertainment console and antiquated 747 and that was in Biz Class from Incheon to BKK.
What decade was that? Perhaps just after the Russians shot a Korean 747 out of the stratosphere? They were probably a bit nervous for a few years after.
For the last 4 years Korean has flown Airbus 330's on the Incheon/BKK leg and they are terrific with tons of leg room in economy. The food is perfectly acceptable.
Didn't Delta get an award for Worst Airline in Existence sometime in the not-so-distant past? Perhaps that was NorthWest (now united with United), with Delta taking second worst.

[francois]

My flight from Korea to Bangkok on Korean Air was 3 or so years ago and it was on a 747 that had seen better times. As for the food, maybe if one likes Korean cuisine, an oxymoron, then perfectly acceptable. :p

[egel]

Worst by far British Airways. Old aircraft, lousy food, rip off prices for seat allocation even in Business Class.
Best Qatar Business. All the opposite of BA
For safety (who here seems to care?) obviously not Korean.

[latintopxxx]

when I'm paying...all I care about is the most direct route and price...luckily I can sleep just about anywhere and as far as I'm concerned ALL plane food is crap. The food, service, movie selection plays no role in my decision making process. I just wanna get there fast and cheap.

[Dodger]

The food on Korean Air sucks.

[Gaybutton]

Northwest Airlines - I went to Thailand. My luggage went to Philadelphia.

[bucknaway]

I kinda miss northwest airlines. They had a deal where you pay for 3 flights and you could use the mlles earned for a free flight or an upgrade to first class.....

I kinda miss northwest airlines. They had a deal where you pay for 3 flights and you could use the mlles earned for a free flight or an upgrade to first class.....That's the reason they're MIA right there

[christianpfc]

when I'm paying...all I care about is the most direct route and price...luckily I can sleep just about anywhere and as far as I'm concerned ALL plane food is crap. The food, service, movie selection plays no role in my decision making process. I just wanna get there fast and cheap.
Same for me. I have flown on various airlines with stops anywhere between Europe and Thailand, but all I remember that they all got me to Bangkok or back on time.

[bruce_nyc]

Best: Qatar Airlines..... both business class and economy. Both are a great value for the money.... just depending on your budget. Great or Fantastic.

Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific are tied for second place.

[Jellybean]

Best: Qatar Airlines..... both business class and economy. Both are a great value for the money.... just depending on your budget. Great or Fantastic . . .
I second the comments made above by bruce_nyc. Sadly, since 2002 I have not travelled to any other countries other than Thailand and Qatar (transit only). So I have limited recent experience of airlines. IтАЩve used Qatar Airlines on the London Heathrow-Doha-Bangkok route for around 10 years. Qatar seems to regularly win awards for the best airline, best business class and best on-time performance. To date, IтАЩve never had a problem with the airline. I have nothing but praise for the quality of their service, their in-flight entertainment, their seating arrangements and their in-flight food. I especially like their Airbus A380 service, where I can book a single pod row seat. Such is the hi-tech look it almost feels like I am on the USS Enterprise (the Star Trek spaceship not the US warship!) 555!

I am very happy with Qatar Airlines, both Business Class and Economy. I particularly enjoy using their business class lounge at London Heathrow and frequently turn up a little bit earlier to enable me to experience the delights of their high quality restaurant facilities. I find it a great way to set off on the long journey to Thailand. And I also enjoy the facilities offered at DohaтАЩs new Hamad Airport. In many instances my transit time is an hour and, sometimes, it just involves walking from one gate to another, not something I like. I prefer at least an hour at Doha to stretch my legs and use the toilet facilities. I am also very happy with their frequent flyer programme. The only downside I can think of is the poor quality of their shared business class lounges with Thai Airlines at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Prior to flying with Qatar I used Thai Airlines direct to Bangkok, but did not like the very long direct flight. And when they changed their frequent flyer programme to a less generous system, I jumped ship on the advice of a friend and moved to Qatar Airlines.

And finally Bucky, the only other airlines I use are, Air Asia and Nok Air for internal flights within Thailand. The journey times are usually no more than an hour. To date, IтАЩve had no problems with these two airlines.

[francois]

Not sure how "great" or "good" can be used to describe flying in Economy Class on any airline. Bearable to unbearable would be my assessment.

[egel]

I usually travel Business with Qatar so you get off first and your baggage gets priority. You don't usually have to wait very long at the Carousel.

However, I went cattle class on the A380 a few months ago. As a card holder I was allowed to sit upstairs at the back (probably Premium economy). But I didn't see much difference to economy downstairs.

Problem1...at some airports they only have gangways downstairs and so you have to go down the rear stairway, and use the lower gangways. This meant I had to wait for 400 odd pax to get off downstairs before I could even move! 20+ minutes...They wouldn't let us go thu Business class.
Problem 2... aircraft was full with 500+ pax. Assuming 2 or 3 bags each that's 1500, yes 1500 bags to go through one carousel. Waited 45 mins for mine.

So Qatar, yes, but maybe choose a flight that isnt an A380....

Another odd thing Ive noticed is that they are very liberal with the alcohol (even in Economy) and this form a middle east country!!

[francois]

The alcohol is used to sedate the cattle while being transported.

Qatar has no Premium Economy on any of its planes but the upper deck on A380 has 2-4-2 seating which would be better than the 3-4-3 seating on lower level. Also the Economy section on upper deck is quite small and looks to be quite exclusive; maybe reserved for upper class cattle?

[dinagam]

By the way, do you get complementary fresh milk flying cattle class?

[francois]

Now don't be udderly ridiculous! Cattle class, aka, Steerage, is only for beef cattle, not milk cows!

[Andaman!]

Agree with all the positive comments about Qatar. Superb business class, about on a par with BA First Class. Worth checking the aircraft type when booking. The Qatar A380, 787 and new A350 have the new business class layout. Last year I did one sector on the A340 with less good but comfortable seating, and the A319, A330 and 737 also have older seating too. With careful planning you can book LHR BKK all on A380 with good connection times. LHR SIN on the A380 or 787 and then the A350 for Doha SIN sector.Qatar is a One Wold Partner. A QR return business class flight to Asia counts as 4 sectors and harvests 560 BA Executive Club tier points which is just 40 short of Silver Status with lounge access etc.

Best: Qatar Airlines..... both business class and economy. Both are a great value for the money.... just depending on your budget. Great or Fantastic.Provided you realise your money contributes to the Qatari treasury, and we all know where some of that money ends up (http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2015/05/26/Al-Jazeera-poll-shows-alarming-levels-of-support-for-ISIS.aspx)

[bruce_nyc]

If you think economy cannot be anything better than bearable, I'd be willing to bet that you've never flown economy on Qatar Airways.

The government of Qatar subsidizes the airline ---- not the other way around. Qatar is very very very rich. They use the airline just to "show off" their prestige to the world.... as do many oil rich mideast countries. .....which is why the quality is so excellent / the best in the world.

I should also mention that Qatar Airways often has the very cheapest fare of all airlines between the US and Thailand.

As for intra-Thailand domestic flights. I found no airline that can compare to Nok Air. I've seen fares as cheap as $21. The aircraft are quite new. The one we flew to Chiang Mai a couple days ago had free Wi-Fi on board. Their service and comfort is quite exceptional... Considering the crazy low prices. I book it on NokAir.com ---- which is quite a good website. Then 5 minutes later I I'm finished and I can't even pay cash for the flight at 7-11.... across the street... without needing to use a credit card.

Air Asia, on the other hand, is quite a horrible experience. You definitely get what you pay for on Air Asia. Nothing.

I just checked.... Exciting to see several new international destinations served by NokAir.com. I'd definitely prefer them to other airlines... for the quality vs price.

[bruce_nyc]

Wow!! 675 baht from Bangkok to China! NokAir.com

[francois]

If you think economy cannot be anything better than bearable, I'd be willing to bet that you've never flown economy on Qatar Airways.



Quite right bruce nyc. Have not flown Qatar although it would be my choice if......

Their seating is no better, if not worse, than other airlines in Economy Class. About 32"pitch and 17.5" width. From my perspective that is cramped. Maybe their food is better and other amenities? But still cramped.
There are other options with other airlines that provide more leg room, which to me, is worth the difference.

And yes, the seating they offer is, for me unbearable. If they offered Premium Economy or premium seating I would fly with them.

[christianpfc]

I have flown several times with AirAsia and can't really complain.

The might use a bus to get you to the plain, and on my flight from DMK to PNH I was wondering if they go to PNH by bus. But you have these buses at other airports as well, it might even be the airline has no influence on this.

When booking, it goes something like:
"Are you sure you don't want to chose your seat for an extra 500 Baht?"
(search for the box to tick Yes)
"Are you really sure don't want to chose your seat for an extra 500 Baht?"
(search for the box to tick Yes)
"We now ask you for the last time ..."
(search for the box to tick Yes)

Repeat the above for other options.

[Wim888]

I think that Cathay Pacific offers the best services to Thailand--and various places around the world.
On a recent flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong and then to Beijing, the flight was delayed 12 hours in Hong Kong because on issues at the Beijing Airport [These issues were never fully explained.] Cathay Pacific effectively arranged meals and accommodations at a near-by 4 star {5 star?] hotel. A major problem occurred because some passengers had passports that did not allow them to enter Hong Kong without a visa [certain Middle Eastern and African countries]. The Cathay staff provided blankets and food for them to stay in the airport transit area.

[fedssocr]

Cathay First class is amazing. Incredible service. Good food. lots of personal space.

I could never fly economy on a trip that far.

[a447]

because on issues at the Beijing Airport

Probably the Great Pall of China was to blame.