British Airways snubs Bangkok in favour of elite travellers to Singapore as Thai Airways rises

[Andrew65]

4 hours ago, Bim Smith said:

The proposed charter flight for Thai out of London can only be done through Gatwick as they have only two slots at Heathrow both of which they currently use (Phuket and BKK). As Heathrow and Gatwick is asking for airlines to cut passenger numbers because they cannot cope, there is more to this story than meets the eye. They can only hope Eva ( if they haven't already) schedule their direct London BKK route and that middle Eastern airlines who also offer a far superior service, do so also. Having recently flown Thai on the LHR BKK route the service was appalling. Food inedible. Cut backs on inflight entertainment was a joke. They think we don't notice but we do. 

Over the years I flew Eva Air BKK-LHR maybe 7 times, and can confirm that they're nicer than Thai, the best direct flight.

[MrMuddle]

5 hours ago, Orinoco said:

More like a Fistful of Viagra and Boner destination. 

 

 

I thought I'd seen all of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns, must have missed that one!

[samtam]

3 hours ago, Fairynuff said:

I’ve flown every class except first. Dismal. Broken seats, broke the entertainment system, inedible food….. I have a list too long to go through here.

Just wish they could change the name to reflect its Spanish ownership.

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

This announcement during the week comes with reports that Thai Airways which has increased its daily passenger rate by over 600% since the beginning of the year

Really?

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, bristolgeoff said:

BA lose and Thai airways get  the fares and people on their flights.They win 

Possibly not, fare prices will dictate who gets what.

Thai are not the only UK-Bangkok carrier, Thai could price themselves out of the market.

[Laughing Gravy]

4 hours ago, arithai12 said:

Do you really need an answer to that, or are you just fishing for likes?

If I was after an answer I would have put a question mark. As for likes, please. You need to get over yourself.

 

4 hours ago, arithai12 said:

If you want to pick at TAT go ahead, try something better though.

I guess you are a TAT apologist. I criticise them quite often on here and you can check through my posts if you like . Oops shouldn't use that word

[Burma Bill]

27 minutes ago, chilly07 said:

Can't beat Eva- LHR to BKK direct.

Thank you, I totally agree. During my 20 years living in Thailand, EVA AIR became my favored "direct" flight choice. Never flown to/from BKK with BA - always too expensive! On one occasion, my EVA flight to LHR was full and I was asked to "step down" being offered 1,000 baht cash, a hotel for the night in Bangkok and a seat on the next day's flight. As it turned out, this was not necessary as EVA re-booked me with THAI Business Class at no extra cost - I was a happy bunny!!

Edited July 28, 2022 by Burma Bill
additional information

[crazykopite]

7 hours ago, bristolgeoff said:

BA lose and Thai airways get  the fares and people on their flights.They win 

Not necessarily I live on the islands so I would be okay going via Singapore great place for an overnight stop and then a direct flight to Samui 

[Andrew65]

15 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Possibly not, fare prices will dictate who gets what.

Thai are not the only UK-Bangkok carrier, Thai could price themselves out of the market.

Only Thai, BA and Eva fly direct, and Eva are almost certainly the best.

[Photoguy21]

5 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

The Middle Eastern airlines, (Emirates, etihad, Etc) quality of service is far superior to Bloody Awful airlines. 

Couldnt agree with you more. I never fly BA unless there is no other choice.

[BusyB]

6 hours ago, pops1 said:

In my experience trying to do business or even just work with Thai people is incredibly difficult. Always late and never prepared. Never taking responsibility for errors. Constant lying about business related issues such as customer feedback on performance. Worst and most difficult to deal with is never saying how they actually feel and drawing a curtain over their emotions so that you never know where you stand. It has always amazed me how companies can function profitably here.

555 Same as you and me - they get used to it and adapt. It's quite a challenging learning experience but worthwhile. I try not to judge but there's no doubt I've taken many deep breaths - and learned.

[eastendanto]

7 hours ago, pops1 said:

In my experience trying to do business or even just work with Thai people is incredibly difficult. Always late and never prepared. Never taking responsibility for errors. Constant lying about business related issues such as customer feedback on performance. Worst and most difficult to deal with is never saying how they actually feel and drawing a curtain over their emotions so that you never know where you stand. It has always amazed me how companies can function profitably here.

Ok so thats the good part, whats the bad part of doing business with Thai people ????

 

[Tubulat]

3 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

Air France uses 3-4-3 seating on the 777 they fly to BKK. Also, per seatguru.com some BA 777's use 3-4-3 seating. Most airlines are moving to it as they refresh interiors. 

 

And if that wasn't bad enough Airbus is now offering 3-4-3 seating in the narrower A350 ????

"And if that wasn't bad enough Airbus is now offering 3-4-3 seating in the narrower A350 "

Cattle Krung-Beens.

[The Hammer2021]

8 hours ago, blazes said:

Probably a lot of business class fares to rake in on the Singapore route.

Bangkok becoming a bucket and spade destination.

Certainly Signapore is not a tourist destination

[Grahamlil]

You wouldn't want to fly BA anyway. worst airline i have ever used

[herfiehandbag]

38 minutes ago, Grahamlil said:

You wouldn't want to fly BA anyway. worst airline i have ever used

I have only used them once - and they were pretty poor. However, compared to Biman Bangladesh, Royal Jordanian, Kuwaiti, Aeroflot...

 

I used Emirates a lot, they (and Etihad) were unfailingly excellent. I had a silver card, and was upgraded to business class a couple of times. 

 

Eva were good, I even used Air Asia a couple of times when they flew Stansted - Kuala Lumpur!

[Phil1964]

9 hours ago, Archie Baker said:

Central,  north & north east UK can travel to Thailand via Dubai.  Cuts out a hectic and expensive trip to Heathrow. BA are not stupid they will have done the research.

Plus the old 747's that BA ran on the BKK - LHR route were the oldest planes in the BA fleet and were in constant need of repairs. Delays caused by technical problems was a routine occurence on that route. Have a work colleague whose son was on a BA flight LHR to BKK and he was marooned for 48 hrs in Athens, 2019, waiting for the plane to be repaired and declared fit to fly after an emergency landing there due to a fault!

 

[Phil1964]

9 hours ago, pops1 said:

In my experience trying to do business or even just work with Thai people is incredibly difficult. Always late and never prepared. Never taking responsibility for errors. Constant lying about business related issues such as customer feedback on performance. Worst and most difficult to deal with is never saying how they actually feel and drawing a curtain over their emotions so that you never know where you stand. It has always amazed me how companies can function profitably here.

"Always late and lying"?

Just like the women then! ????????

[Greenwich Boy]

I used to think chosing between BA and Thai from LHR was a bit like asking if you would prefer to walk or swim to Thailand. I will take a break in the Middle East any time 

[Mavideol]

10 hours ago, pops1 said:

In my experience trying to do business or even just work with Thai people is incredibly difficult. Always late and never prepared. Never taking responsibility for errors. Constant lying about business related issues such as customer feedback on performance. Worst and most difficult to deal with is never saying how they actually feel and drawing a curtain over their emotions so that you never know where you stand. It has always amazed me how companies can function profitably here.

they learn from their big brothers in China.... it's all about face or not loosing it  555

[ukrules]

I recall a few years back Thai immigration were notorious for randomly rejecting passengers who arrive on long haul flights for no apparent reason other than some made up rule about being in Thailand too long - there is no such rule but I believe if you look at the consequences of such an action there is a reason...

 

The airlines were not happy about this, when a passenger is denied entry the airline is fined the equivalent of thousands of dollars per passenger denied entry - it's always about the money.

The passenger is not fined or even made aware that this fine exists but the airline is still fined and there's nothing they can do about it - it's always about money on some level - and this is where it is.

 

I heard this pre-pandemic scenario was creating some serious concern for airlines. Add to that the mostly nonsense restrictions introduced at the airport and it makes Bangkok a toxic destination which is worth avoiding at all cost.

 

Chickens are now coming home to roost.

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by ukrules

[pepi2005]

Thai tourist insurance charge hassle and

visa hassle and

"farang price" hassle and

business operation hassle (4 employees req, no self-employment) and

mask wearing hassle and

'u cheap tourist, we only want rich tourist' hassle and

quite a few other hassles paying off big time! ????

[Black Angus]

I had a Gold card with THAI AIR, then they were good, gave up on them as the service kept going downhill. Same with BA just hated the curled up sandwiches etc. Never use either of them now. If I travel. use Eva which go direct or stopover for 1-2 hours midway with Emirate. Jet etc, found them pretty good. 

  But did you stop to think that the powers to be have got together so as to Revive Thai Air????

.

[The Old Bull]

Last time I flew from Heathrow to Bangkok I'm sure the flight went on to Australia. Maybe Singapore gives them a better deal on landing fees and fuel?

[jacko45k]

18 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

Only Thai, BA and Eva fly direct, and Eva are almost certainly the best.

Well strictly speaking BA don't right now. 

[overherebc]

12 hours ago, Black Angus said:

I had a Gold card with THAI AIR, then they were good, gave up on them as the service kept going downhill. Same with BA just hated the curled up sandwiches etc. Never use either of them now. If I travel. use Eva which go direct or stopover for 1-2 hours midway with Emirate. Jet etc, found them pretty good. 

  But did you stop to think that the powers to be have got together so as to Revive Thai Air????

.

The reason for the curled up sandwich is it makes it easy to see/find the filling.

[overherebc]

Where does the 'snub' come into it??

[Henryford]

BA doesn't want a load of potheads on their flights. Can't say i blame them.

[Andrew65]

One thing to bear in mind is that many people travelling from Europe to Australia don't actually stop over for a few days, so it doesn't make much difference where they change planes.

[smutcakes]

I did the Thai Airways Heathrow route last month and was pleasantly surprised. New plane, clean, good service and kept my glass topped up. Last few times i have gone the middle east route. Like Emirates, Qatar a lot but one flight is far better for me.