New Flight Route

[scottish-guy]

Hainan Airlines of China has announced direct flights starting in June 2018 from Edinburgh or Dublin to Beijing.

There will be direct flights from both EDI and DUB to PEK and also "triangular" flights between the three

This opens up the possibility of EDI/DUB>PEK>BKK

No indication yet of pricing but Hainan Airlines are 5 star rated by Skytrax and there are very positive reviews.

Any increase in the options available should be a good thing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-43414727

[MiniMee]

Wow! Beijing is so convenient! Bangkok is just a mere 5 hour hop away!

Thanks for sharing....

[scottish-guy]

DXB/AUH/DOH which many of us use as a hub is a mere 7 hour hop - sometimes (but not always) with huge layovers on the cheaper tickets, so what's your fucking point ?

[arsenal]

Minimee is simply doing to you what you do to everyone else. It seems you don't like it.

[scottish-guy]

And what, pray, is your interpretation of what MiniMee is doing - you see I thought he had just made an ill-informed comment but are you suggesting he had another motivation?

[arsenal]

:mad:

[MiniMee]

Personally, I would choose to fly direct from BKK to UK in +/-11 hrs but:

EDI - DXB/AHU/DOH = +/- 7 hrs
DXB/AHU/DOH - BKK = +/- 6 hrs
Total flying time (excl transfers) = +/-13 hrs

EDI - PEK = +/- 11hrs
PEK - BKK = +/- 5hrs
Total flying time (excl transfers) = +/-16 hrs

EDI via PEK:
+23% compared to flights with transfer in UAE or
+45% compared to direct

Would you really take an 11 hour flight to Northern Asia (when you could fly direct to BKK in the same time) and then wait for another 5hr flight to your destination? No thanks.

[scottish-guy]

1. The "excluding transfers" (layover time) note on your timings ignores the fact that it can be 8 hours or more on the cheaper Emirates/Etihad/Qatar routes (or it can be as little as 2hrs on their more expensive tickets). Thus, depending on timings it's possible that EDI>PEK>BKK could be just as quick.

2. Since LHR to PEK is 9hrs 45 - struggling to see how you arrive at EDI to PEK at 11hrs. Agree it's 5hrs from PEK.BKK

But in any event, I'm just giving people information - whether they are interested or whether they disregard it, I leave up to them


...Would you really take an 11 hour flight to Northern Asia (when you could fly direct to BKK in the same time) and then wait for another 5hr flight to your destination?

I can't fly direct to BKK from anywhere north of London - nor can anybody who might be interested in this new service - so again, what's your point

[justaguy]

I always flew direct, which from ams or bru amounts to about 11/13 hours. The last three years or so ranging from 525-650 euro. This Songkran, it was over 800 ex Bru on Thai.

Now this is the first time in nine years I am going without my Lao boyfriend (work does not allow him to join) so only one ticket, I have however decided to try a non direct flight for the first time ever, BRU-DXB-BKK 550 euro, 15/15 hours, which seems very reasonable, and great arrival/departure times at BKk. If it would have been something like 18/18 would have gone direct, 2 hours lay over is ok, 6 is not.

To clarify, the 15/15 is including transfer time.

[gerefan2]

Out of interest I live near London and have tried everything, except Emirates via Dubai. So this last trip i flew Emirates returning to UK today. Im not sure I will use them again. Let me explain why.

On the way out the layover was 1.5 hours. I thought this a little short but it was in their timetable. Anyway they met the aircraft with a bus and transferred us directly to the BKK flight, but it was tight.

The return flight today was a 3 hour lay over so I thought no problem. Well it was really except...
a) they seem to use remote parking for all arrivals at Dubai and from landing to arriving in the terminal was an amazing 55 minutes! An A380 carries 500 odd people and this aircraft was full. Therefore, it needed no less than 10 buses to get everyone to the terminal, and the drive took 15 minutes.

b) The next flight departed from a different terminal and this required a lot of walking and then a 10 minute train journey.

c) we went through different security checks 3 times for some reason. Middle East?

It seems to me that Emirates with its 100 A380s and 150 odd other aircraft has already outgrown the Airport in Dubai.

It all worked out but the hassle has made me think twice about them.

Next time I'm thinking of Qatar, who I have used before, but using their new route from London to Doha to U Tapao, which starts soon.

Id be interested to hear how you get on justaguy!

[justaguy]

Oh shit I am guessing a smoke is out of the question..

The layovers are 1.50 and 2.10 :)

Well in precisely three weeks from now, I will know how the first leg went.

[poshglasgow]

Out of interest I live near London and have tried everything, except Emirates via Dubai. So this last trip i flew Emirates returning to UK today. Im not sure I will use them again. Let me explain why.

On the way out the layover was 1.5 hours. I thought this a little short but it was in their timetable. Anyway they met the aircraft with a bus and transferred us directly to the BKK flight, but it was tight.

The return flight today was a 3 hour lay over so I thought no problem. Well it was really except...
a) they seem to use remote parking for all arrivals at Dubai and from landing to arriving in the terminal was an amazing 55 minutes! An A380 carries 500 odd people and this aircraft was full. Therefore, it needed no less than 10 buses to get everyone to the terminal, and the drive took 15 minutes.

b) The next flight departed from a different terminal and this required a lot of walking and then a 10 minute train journey.

c) we went through different security checks 3 times for some reason. Middle East?

It seems to me that Emirates with its 100 A380s and 150 odd other aircraft has already outgrown the Airport in Dubai.

It all worked out but the hassle has made me think twice about them.

Next time I'm thinking of Qatar, who I have used before, but using their new route from London to Doha to U Tapao, which starts soon.

Id be interested to hear how you get on justaguy!

I've never been consistent in my choice of airlines when flying to Thailand from London. One year I may choose to stay on the aircraft from London to Bangkok (Thai, Eva etc) and then the next year I may choose to break the journey (Emirates), which is useful if you have a screaming baby all the way from London to Dubai. I do find Dubai airport a real chore. One year I changed in Mumbai when flying JET - NEVER again!! Ghastly.

I am at an age now, in my prime, where I want to get on the plane and stay on the plane until I reach BKK. I usually get stuck into the pre-meal beers, have a couple of red wines with the meal, a brandy with the coffee, another beer or two to help me totally relax and dream of the pleasures that await. I begin to re-draft a novel to pass the time and, having failed to edit beyond five pages, I fall asleep for about four hours.

The only reason that I sought to jump ship in Dubai (you know, that gay-friendly country where the car park at the airport is awash with abandoned cars, the drivers having 'legged it' before they get nicked for sliding into debt) is to escape the token screaming baby (each flight is duty-bound to supply at least one).

Also on the radar of horrors is the 'last to board the plane' out of breath female backpacker (I like the aisle seat) who curls into the shape of an Easter egg on the seat beside me, her legs tucked under her fanny. She then seeks to wrap herself in a rug while sporting a 'nil by mouth - do not disturb' warning around her neck, announcing the fact that she's taken something marginally more potent than ketamine to while away the remaining hours. She surfaces as breakfast is placed on the trays of those who do not sport 'bugger off' signs. She blinks, smiles, looks around her, uncurls her legs and attempt to crawl across my tray, her bloody earphones still attached to the socket and her seat belt still around her waist with the gripping force of a hungry anaconda!
"Hi, sorry, may I, sorry, eh, I just need to, eh...."
"Look, I don't care if you pole vault me, just get into the bloody aisle without upsetting my breakfast or catching my neck in your earphone wires and you may want to unbuckle your seat belt if you want to make it to the 'lavvie'. "
"Ah, yeah, thanks, sorry, I just need to......"

And now .. I understand from my techie sister that I can buy earphones (with a universal adapter) that will cut out baby bawl and surrounding noise. Brilliant!!

From now on, I am not changing planes: it's just too bloody stressful.

[arsenal]

Yes. Changing planes at Mumbai airport ranks as one of my worst ever travelling experiences.

[MiniMee]

An A380 carries 500 odd people and this aircraft was full. You’d probably find they were all very nice really, if you’d got to know them.

[poshglasgow]

Yes. Changing planes at Mumbai airport ranks as one of my worst ever travelling experiences.

On that flight, Arsenal, there was a medical emergency: a lady with asthma. I will never forget it. There are some doctors who, for fear of being sued inflating Lady Fandermere with the wrong kind of wind, will sit quite still and not respond to a medical emergency. On this flight? Not a bloody chance. Do you know that a doctor on a JET Airways flight who responds to a call for assistance is richly rewarded by JET?

When the lights came up and people awoke to a call for medical assistance, there must have been about fifty seat belts speedily unbuckled before a stampede of - I presume - doctors rushing to the back of the aircraft. What a scrum! The only thing that was missing was the Haka!!

I hated Mumbai airport with its primeval toilets and hostile cops, sporting machine guns.

The lady, thankfully, survived and left the plane at Mumbai - with a pair of dentures attached to her nose.

[Blacktouch]

I too had flown with JET via Mumbai to Bangkok, and the change over was not very nice with police or Amy with machine guns right up near your faces. Not a very pleasant experience.

[scottish-guy]

I've flown with Jet - the flight was ok - I don't remember the airport being especially unpleasant (I'd probably consumed enough complimentary booze on the flight to make anything seem acceptable) but I do remember the army with the machine guns. On your way back, they do not even let you enter the airport building until you have shown them your flight confirmation.

My worst ever experience was LHR to BKK via VIE with Austrian. The seats seemed tiny, the food was awful, the entertainment system was broken on one of the flights, and on the other sector we were seated right next to the shithouse with the associated smells. Spent a fortnight dreading the return, and it was just as unpleasant

[justaguy]

I actually contemplated going Jet-air to mumbai and bangkok, back with Ethihad. Nice price, 540 euro, until I got to checkout, and all of a sudden the price went up to 850 euro, yeah right, fuck that :)

Again, I Always went direct, but since my Lao boyfriend didn't at first want to go, and now cannot go due to work, I just booked my ticket three days ago, otherwise, I'm sure booking Thai ex BRU in december, would have cost me a mere 600 euro, but now, that ticket cost around 800.

[Moses]

Turkish offers very nice price for London-Bangkok in April: $521 round-trip via Istanbul, 16 hours including layover .

[scottish-guy]

Nice - but given that the thread was about flying from EDINBURGH or DUBLIN, I await MiniMee's appearance to ask why you would depart from London

[Moses]

Nice - but given that the thread was about flying from EDINBURGH or DUBLIN, I await MiniMee's appearance to ask why you would depart from London

Again Turkish

6716

almost whole April - May they are cheapest

6717

[scottish-guy]

Hi Moses

I use the ITA Matrix software too - but the problem with it is that you can not book via ITA and it sometimes quotes unattainable prices especially I've found with China Air and Turkish.

For the particular flights you mention - enter them into the Turkish Airlines and you get a fare that's DOUBLE the price quoted on ITA, though still acceptable in the scheme of things:

6718

[justaguy]

wow 16 hours + for that price ? That's expensive, unless the GBP is worth nothing these days.

[Moses]

Hi Moses

I use the ITA Matrix software too - but the problem with it is that you can not book via ITA and it sometimes quotes unattainable prices especially I've found with China Air and Turkish.

For the particular flights you mention - enter them into the Turkish Airlines and you get a fare that's DOUBLE the price quoted on ITA, though still acceptable in the scheme of things:

6718

You are right - most good prices are unreachable by private person, but you still can get tickets by this price - it is enough to have friend in big touristic agency: copy fare construction (2 lines almost at the bottom of the first picture), send to friend, and you will have ticket.