Thailand’s Medical Insurance Rules Confuse Tourists

[snoop1130]

 

In a move that’s set to soar to new heights, British Airways relaunched its direct flights from London Gatwick to the bustling city of Bangkok. The inaugural flight, BA 2231, took to the skies from Gatwick, yesterday, October 29, making a graceful touchdown at Suvarnabhumi Internationa Airport this afternoon, marking a triumphant return to the Land of Smiles.

 

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) chief Thapanee Kiatphaibool made known she is over the moon about bringing back this sky-high connection.

 

“British Airways’ spanking new direct flights between London Gatwick and Bangkok really underscore Thailand’s spot as a top-notch travel hotspot. This revival is a major lift for our tourism scene and cements the ties between us and the UK, offering jet-setters endless chances to soak up our rich culture and jaw-dropping landscapes.”

 

 

The TAT Governor didn’t jet off alone, she was joined by top tourism bigwigs from both public and private sectors, all ready to greet passengers with open arms and a warm Thai welcome at a special ceremony at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

 

The flight frenzy took off on October 28, with British Airways rolling out three weekly flights until March 30, 2025, and there’s even more on the horizon with plans to stretch services until April 26. And when things get busy? Expect a fourth and fifth weekly flight to keep those skies buzzing.

 

Flying high with the Boeing 777-200, BA is bringing luxury back. Choose from Club World, Premium Economy, and Economy, with a whopping total of 332 seats up for grabs.

 

 

More new routes

 

And there’s more! British Airways passengers can connect seamlessly with Bangkok Airways, spreading their wings to explore Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Koh Samui, and even hopping over to Cambodia’s gems, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

 

Back in early 2020, Britain’s flagship bird had to pause its direct London Heathrow-Bangkok flights due to the pesky pandemic, which clipped its wings and saw Thailand lose 7,700 seats every month – a hefty 18% slice off of 2019’s capacity.

 

With BA’s all-new direct routes from London Gatwick to Bangkok, air travel between the UK and Thailand is about to take off like never before.

 

 

Come November 2024 to March 2025, prepare for a staggering 552 flights and 174,864 seats ready to whisk you away on routes from London Heathrow-Bangkok, London Gatwick-Bangkok, and Manchester-Phuket, reported the TAT.

 

Joining the mighty BA on these routes are Thai Airways International, EVA Air, and TUI UK (Charter) – because when it comes to travelling, it’s plain sailing ahead.

 

By Bob Scott

Picture courtesy of British Airways

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2024-10-30

 

 

[goldenbrwn1]

Gatwick though is pain to get to and  from for me in the West Country . Shame Heathrow isn’t flying any 

Edited 8 hours ago by goldenbrwn1

[animalmagic]

Don't care where they fly from or to. Last time I flew with them the seat was broken and I spent over half the flight standing or resting on a crew seat. Still had to use the seat for landing but fortunately it didn't totally collapse. After emails offering, in order -

1. An apology.

2. 25 pound avios voucher.

3. 50 pound avios voucher.

4. Enough free avios points for a ONE way flight to London.

I see no point in flying with an airline that uses old and knackered seats and cannot offer adequate customer service. Simply upgrading my return flight from London would have cost nothing and solved the issue.

To quote them from their very first response to me, 'we realize the seat is a very important part of our service.'

[goldenbrwn1]

34 minutes ago, animalmagic said:

Don't care where they fly from or to. Last time I flew with them the seat was broken and I spent over half the flight standing or resting on a crew seat. Still had to use the seat for landing but fortunately it didn't totally collapse. After emails offering, in order -

1. An apology.

2. 25 pound avios voucher.

3. 50 pound avios voucher.

4. Enough free avios points for a ONE way flight to London.

I see no point in flying with an airline that uses old and knackered seats and cannot offer adequate customer service. Simply upgrading my return flight from London would have cost nothing and solved the issue.

To quote them from their very first response to me, 'we realize the seat is a very important part of our service.'

💯 they are 💩 but if they were at Heathrow competing , it may bring prices down with the likes of EVA

[hotchilli]

I wonder what their prices will be compared to the other direct route airlines?

[JoePai]

34 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

I wonder what their prices will be compared to the other direct route airlines?

555 do you need you ask

[bradiston]

Skyscanner is showing I think 2 direct flights a week from LGW, November and December. The rest are codeshare with Qatar. This guy Bob Scott has got the AI hyperbole switch set to MAX.

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, JoePai said:

555 do you need you ask

Yep...

[josephbloggs]

My eyes hurt.

 

In a move that’s set to soar to new heights.....

.....made known she is over the moon about bringing back this sky-high connection.

The flight frenzy took off on October 28.....

Expect a fourth and fifth weekly flight to keep those skies buzzing.

......with a whopping total of 332 seats up for grabs.
....spreading their wings to explore Chiang Mai

.... due to the pesky pandemic, which clipped its wings

....air travel between the UK and Thailand is about to take off like never before
....prepare for a staggering 552 flights and 174,864 seats ready to whisk you away
...Joining the mighty BA on these routes are Thai Airways International, EVA Air, and TUI UK (Charter) – because when it comes to travelling, it’s plain sailing ahead.

I know we're not allowed to criticise these articles and I'll probably get told off, but seriously can a human not just read these first and go "ooh, AI has gone a bit over the top with dreadful cliches and nonsensical phrases on this one (I mean "the flight frenzy took off" doesn't even make sense!), let me just tone it down a bit".

I just can't read their articles any more - surely they lose readers because of it.

 

 

 

[josephbloggs]

1 hour ago, bradiston said:

This guy Bob Scott has got the AI hyperbole switch set to MAX.

Yep! It is dreadful, I don't know how this is allowed to go out.

And pretty sure Bob Scott doesn't even exist.

[blazes]

8 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

My eyes hurt.

 

In a move that’s set to soar to new heights.....

.....made known she is over the moon about bringing back this sky-high connection.

The flight frenzy took off on October 28.....

Expect a fourth and fifth weekly flight to keep those skies buzzing.

......with a whopping total of 332 seats up for grabs.
....spreading their wings to explore Chiang Mai

.... due to the pesky pandemic, which clipped its wings

....air travel between the UK and Thailand is about to take off like never before
....prepare for a staggering 552 flights and 174,864 seats ready to whisk you away
...Joining the mighty BA on these routes are Thai Airways International, EVA Air, and TUI UK (Charter) – because when it comes to travelling, it’s plain sailing ahead.

I know we're not allowed to criticise these articles and I'll probably get told off, but seriously can a human not just read these first and go "ooh, AI has gone a bit over the top with dreadful cliches and nonsensical phrases on this one (I mean "the flight frenzy took off" doesn't even make sense!), let me just tone it down a bit".

I just can't read their articles any more - surely they lose readers because of it.

 

 

 

 

You're absolutely right, and I'm glad you took the trouble to highlight this utter drivel.

Reminds me of Peter Sellers (circa 1964?) satirising travel documentaries with his  fake American accent.  It was a doc  about travelling to Balham (Gateway to the South) pronounced BAL-HAM.....

Edited 4 hours ago by blazes

[blazes]

I suppose flights from Gatwick indicate that BA regards Bangkok as a bucket-and-spade destination.

[Andrew Dwyer]

10 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Yep! It is dreadful, I don't know how this is allowed to go out.

And pretty sure Bob Scott doesn't even exist.

Bob Scott was chief editor on the Sunday Sport but got sacked for exaggerating ……… allegedly !

[brewsterbudgen]

Why only until March 2025?  Doesn't show as much confidence in the route as the hyperbolic article suggests!

[Will B Good]

Just looked mid Jan, return mid Feb....LGW to BKK direct, hand luggage only.....BKK to LGW one connection......with luggage??

 

Cheapest around £890.....so not much different to Emirates or Qatar

[brewsterbudgen]

1 minute ago, Will B Good said:

Just looked mid Jan, return mid Feb....LGW to BKK direct, hand luggage only.....BKK to LGW one connection......with luggage??

 

Cheapest around £890.....so not much different to Emirates or Qatar

Why isn't the return flight direct?

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Why isn't the return flight direct?

 

Looks like they might fly direct to LHR, but use Qatar for LGW....???

[MalcolmB]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

I wonder what their prices will be compared to the other direct route airlines?

After all the incidents that we are causing as it is the last thing we need here is cheap flights bringing even more of us. 

[Homburg]

BA = Best Avoided.  A Cheap Charlie airline charging premium carrier prices. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Homburg

[Keeps]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

I wonder what their prices will be compared to the other direct route airlines?

My friend looked recently for flights leaving end of November returning to UK near the end of January.

 

Economy both ways. BA from Gatwick was nearly £500 more expensive than similar flight with Thai Air from Heathrow.

 

I always use EVA from Heathrow myself. Flew from London last Friday night and actually got a free upgrade at the boarding gate as the flight was full. That hasn't happened for a long time. Have EVA gold card though and travelling alone so that was probably why. Was a pleasant surprise.

[bradiston]

2 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Yep! It is dreadful, I don't know how this is allowed to go out.

And pretty sure Bob Scott doesn't even exist.

His photo accompanying his authorship is of a young boy. Most peculiar.

[KhunBENQ]

1 hour ago, Will B Good said:

BKK to LGW one connection......with luggage??

 

1 hour ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Why isn't the return flight direct?

 

From the article:

Quote

three weekly flights until March 30

It's not a daily service. Seems one plane exactly.

(daily service requires more than one plane active)

So if you select an arbitrary date you might not get the nonstop flight and the price will usually be higher.

Edited 2 hours ago by KhunBENQ

[KhunBENQ]

If I got it finally right 🙄

 

LGW to BKK goes on Monday, Thursday and Saturday

At 9:15 PM, scheduled flight time 11h 55m

 

BKK to LGW goes Sunday, Tuesday and Friday

At 10:55 PM, scheduled flight time 13h 35m

Edited 2 hours ago by KhunBENQ
mixed up everything :>)

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Why only until March 2025?  Doesn't show as much confidence in the route as the hyperbolic article suggests!

Typical "winter/high" season offer like a holiday flyer and only three flights weekly.

Indeed a "soft opening".

[KhunBENQ]

48 minutes ago, Keeps said:

My friend looked recently for flights leaving end of November returning to UK near the end of January.

Just used Matrix to check a smiliar schedule.

Cheapest I got for BA is: Nov 30 to Jan 27 for 1069 GBP.

How is that compared?

 

EVA from Heathrow comes at 865 (Nov 27 to Jan 25).

Edited 1 hour ago by KhunBENQ

[Keeps]

8 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Just used Matrix to check a smiliar schedule.

Cheapest I got for BA is: Nov 30 to Jan 27 for 1069 GBP.

How is that compared?

I believe that has come down in price from when my friend looked around 6 weeks ago. He has paid £740 return with Thai Air (which seemed a good deal).

 

Not sure of his exact dates but has slightly more flexibility with Thai as they fly twice per day, every day from Heathrow. BA are only one flight, 3 days per week?

 

Did you happen to notice the departure time from Gatwick? My friend likes a morning departure UK time, I prefer the evening personally.

Edited 1 hour ago by Keeps
Typo

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, Homburg said:

BA = Best Avoided.  A Cheap Charlie airline charging premium carrier prices. 

No airline compares with KLM where bad service is concerned. I paid extra for a seat with extra legroom, I was told to vacate it just before the plane took off. I refused, then one of the cabin crew started getting a bit nasty, so not wanting to cause any trouble I let them move me to another seat.

[bradiston]

Just now, NoshowJones said:

No airline compares with KLM where bad service is concerned. I paid extra for a seat with extra legroom, I was told to vacate it just before the plane took off. I refused, then one of the cabin crew started getting a bit nasty, so not wanting to cause any trouble I let them move me to another seat.

If you want to change seats, just wet the one you've been allocated and loudly suggest it's pee.

[Keeps]

33 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

If I got it finally right 🙄

 

LGW to BKK goes on Monday, Thursday and Saturday

At 9:15 PM, scheduled flight time 11h 55m

 

BKK to LGW goes Sunday, Tuesday and Friday

At 10:55 PM, scheduled flight time 13h 35m

Sorry, just saw your post quoting the flight times 👍

[Nick Carter icp]

5 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

No airline compares with KLM where bad service is concerned. I paid extra for a seat with extra legroom, I was told to vacate it just before the plane took off. I refused, then one of the cabin crew started getting a bit nasty, so not wanting to cause any trouble I let them move me to another seat.

 

   You really should do what the airline staff ask you  to do