Thai Airways Takes 2nd Place In Airline Of The Year

[billp]

Frequent Traveler: Singapore, Thai and Cathay Pacific airlines named best in Skytrax survey

Singapore Airlines (up from seventh in 2006), was named Airline of the Year, is followed by Thai Airways (up from fourth), Cathay Pacific (same at third), Qatar Airways (up from sixth), Qantas (down from second)...

Qatar Airways won Best First Class, among the handful of carriers that has not subsumed first into premium business, followed by Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia and Thai Airways.

Thai Airways' Royal First Class lounge at Suvarnabhumi Bangkok Airport was voted Best First Class Lounge, followed by Qatar Airways premium lounge...

From today's International Herald Tribune. (Boldface is mine.)

[wileycoyote]

Is must have been based on business class !

Wiley Coyote

[terryp]

Most certainly has never been regarding any of the long haul flights I have with Thai over the past couple of years; they were and still are garbage

[khon kaen boy]

Yeah I travel on e-tickets from Thailand which my company issues to me, went to check-in after waiting 1.5 hours and the girl is looking at the print out for a while...tries doing a few things with computer....asks supervisor to help, Oh Sir you have to go to Thai Ticketing Office who will issue a paper ticket.

Hold on here there is e-ticket number and locator number why can't you find it ?

Sorry sir, but paper ticket.

Off I go to the ticket office and the lady there takes one look at my intenary and says this is e-ticket....mmmmm I know, I explain what happened at desk and she then gets on phone and by the tone of her voice was giving someone a bollocking....she came off the phone and apologised.

Trots back to the check in and somehow it was no problem with ticket now ??????

I can't figure out how they could not check me in, in the first place

KK boy

[londonthai]

I did immensely enjoyed flying with thai - easy to change booking, they even put me on the nearest flight when I missed my plane (my fault). Food and service is great.

unfortunately, for the last few years, they are too expensive for me

[tartempion]

From Skytrax website:

BEST ECONOMY CLASS

1 Korean Air

2 Malaysia Airlines

3 Singapore Airlines

4 Qatar Airways

5 Asiana Airlines

BEST BUSINESS CLASS

1 Singapore Airlines

2 Virgin Atlantic

3 Cathay Pacific

4 Malaysia Airlines

5 Air New Zealand

BEST FIRST CLASS

1 Qatar Airways

2 Singapore Airlines

3 Cathay Pacific

4 Malaysia Airlines

5 Thai Airways

[nonthaburial]

Interesting how Asian based airlines seem to have scooped the awards

[tuky]

The routes I take are all business class, I fly Emirates, Asiana, Thai, Royal Brunei and whilst I love the Thai hosties I don't think much of their equipment. I would say around 50% of the business seats I sit in have a broken (floppy) tv screen or broken headphone jack, the seats are 15 years + old sometimes without even leg rest or the head supports that you bend open, that really lets them down. Otherwise I find Thai service to great.

[Deserted]

Recently took a domestic flight with Thai airways. I fly to Chiang Mai from Bangkok once a year with them and don't recall the flight ever being on time. This time we were only 15 minutes late, definite improvement on last year. Prefer Bangkok Airways personally.

[englishoak]

Sorry Just another Promo statistic I think. I travel frequently and as other posters have mentioned Thai airways may have polite/helpful staff but the Airline is way out of date, and needs major investment to even bring it up to par with the other airlines listed.

Can't comment on 1st class but can't imagine more quality in 1'st when i'm sitting on a 15 + year old plane in business trying to get the headphones to work on both L & R.

All the other Airlines are top quality and I actually laughed out loud when I read this topic.

[tartempion]

I don't fly Thai and I don't fly first but two friends who used to fly first on Thai informed me that caviar and Dom Perigord is no more and no more wine list because some new Thai anti-booze law....not that I care for caviar and DP.

I flew biz on Thai 16 may 2000, that was the last time ever on Thai. Since then I fly biz on Qatar and will fly Ethihad next sept.

[Maigo6]

I have just recently flown Singapore Airlines Business Class, very Good.

Swiss Business Class also very good.

Cathay Pacific Business Class also very good.

Thai are way overpriced and the aircraft are too old to be considered amongst the top contenders in my opinion.

[skippybangkok]

I have just recently flown Singapore Airlines Business Class, very Good.

Swiss Business Class also very good.

Cathay Pacific Business Class also very good.

Thai are way overpriced and the aircraft are too old to be considered amongst the top contenders in my opinion.

second that motion ! Try the BKK - Hanoi or Ho Chi Min route. You could find better seats at a bus terminal

[chinthee]

I have just recently flown Singapore Airlines Business Class, very Good.

Swiss Business Class also very good.

Cathay Pacific Business Class also very good.

Thai are way overpriced and the aircraft are too old to be considered amongst the top contenders in my opinion.

I agree with this. There are some exceptions where Thai fly new planes, for example the BKK-LAX, or BKK-JFK routes. I've flown those royal silk class and they are worthy of top contention in the combined business/first category. Apart from that, most of the planes are old, as are the female flight attendants. And, I had a really snooty one this week coming back from Colombo in Royal silk class. It was a redeye and she asked me what I would like to eat. As usual, I replied in Thai that I would not be eating, and would go to sleep. She thought it was hilarious that a farang would dare speak Thai with her, and giggled as she aped my response back to me. Most of the time, though, the Thai flight attendants, both male and female are good.

Old planes means also vastly inferior IFE (In flight entertainment). Food is ok, but nothing to write home about.

IMO, Singapore, Cathay and Qatar win every category, with Virgin on their heels.

[tuky]

Can't comment on 1st class but can't imagine more quality in 1'st when i'm sitting on a 15 + year old plane in business trying to get the headphones to work on both L & R.

I flew 1st previously and I honestly couldn't tell the difference between that and business except for the extensive wine list.

The 1st equipment was not even Business standards of other airlines. I did have my own entertainment centre though, it was a portable mini vcr with screen that gots so hot it nearly burnt my leg.

Except for the wine I have had better economy class on SQ than that particular 1st class on TG...

[ovenman]

Just give it a shot - call their BKK call center to hear a greeting "Yes, what you want?" - which is an excellent indicator of their actual service level across the board.

About the same level of service that one receives from THAI's office in Los Angeles, assuming you have the patience to wait for an agent to actually take your call.

[Filer]

My wife and I used to be regular users of Thai business class BKK-LON until about three years ago. Their service, food, equipment, seats etc were adequate, that's all. We flew them because of price: they were the cheapest business class to London out of BKK with a daily service (and the air miles were useful for local trips on Thai in SE Asia).

Then Thai dramatically raised their discounted prices. So a lot of people like me left them for one or other of the airlines flying through an intermediate hub, which we pleasantly discovered were offering far better service, food, seats etc at prices not much more than Thai had previously been charging.

Judging by what members are saying, Thai still seems to be offering an inferior product.