20 minutes ago, BrandonJT said:

They are certainly allowed to accept gifts. Hell, some of the US airlines now ask for tips on the handheld payment device during service payment.

Only in America I guess 😁

44 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Thanks this is really helpful for me - I use them for tinnitus masking. But as I mentioned the last Firmware update on A20 virtually destroyed the built in batteries/charging so they last only a few hours. Do you know if the A30 still have the built in 'cricket' masking sound? That worked well for me. I might need to buy the A30s. I alos have Ozlo that everyone raved about. Not that great.

Just checked on the Soundcore App and for Tinnitus they have:

Pink Wolves

Soft Rain

Gray Stream

Cove Drip

Purple Shower

White Dawn

Bell Chime

Sonic Butterfly

Cicada Noise (Am assuming this is the cricket one you were looking for).

I didn't know they had these so it was an unexpected bonus for me as I also have spells of tinnitus.

Edited June 14Jun 14 by SamSpade

2 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Listen to audio books on the in-flight system.

Duh, never thought to see if they had them..........noted....

Fly A380 if available, seat 63D, aisle seat, only one person to disturb you for loo breaks and bulkhead behind (no moron swinging on the back of your seat), near the toilets and exits.

A380 seat width is excellent and legroom is ample......and for some reason they serve the last three rows first before moving to the front of the cabin section?

Fly A380 if available, seat 63D, aisle seat, only one person to disturb you for loo breaks and bulkhead behind (no moron swinging on the back of your seat), near the toilets and exits.

A380 seat width is excellent and legroom is ample......and for some reason they serve the last three rows first before moving to the front of the cabin section?

1 hour ago, SamSpade said:

Cicada Noise (Am assuming this is the cricket one you were looking for).

Great! Thanks - yes that's the one.

Cheers

R.

3 hours ago, SamSpade said:

I use an AirFly Pro 2 bluetooth adaptor coupled with the Soundcore A30 Sleep buds so I can sleep on my side whilst wearing them.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F3QZYBM7?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

https://www.soundcore.com/uk/products/d1301-sleep-a30-smart-anc-earbuds-for-sleeping?variant=57473068007811

I bought my BT in-flight audio adapter at MAN departures at the last minute a couple of years ago. It wasn't cheap but way less than sixty quid. You can also get those earbuds cheaper on amazon as well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/soundcore-Ultra%E2%80%91Comfortable-Dedicated-Monitoring-Technology-Moonlit-White/dp/B0FCLJD9M4/

I think you can get comparable gadgets a lot cheaper on lazada, shopee or temu. Just make sure you are getting value, read any reviews and avoid anything without any reviews.

Edited June 14Jun 14 by NanLaew

5 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

I bought my BT in-flight audio adapter at MAN departures at the last minute.

I think you can get comparable gadgets a lot cheaper on lazada, shopee or temu.

I did try a cheap one from Lazada (168 THB with P&P)...

5.1ตัวรับสัญญาณบลูทูธ（3 in1）อะแดปเตอร์เสียงเสริม ตัวรับสั...

5.1ตัวรับสัญญาณบลูทูธ 3 in1 อะแดปเตอร์เสียงเสริม ตัวรับสัญญาณบลูทูธแฮนด์ฟรีในรถยนต์เครื่องส่งสัญญาณ

but I couldn't get my headphones to pair with it so after a bit of research the Airfly Pros seemed to be the most recommended & ended up paying £59.99 (2,600 THB) from Amazon...

Worth it if you regularly fly long haul plus you can have 2 sets of headphones connected at the same time for when you want to watch a movie on your laptop/tablet with somebody.

Edited June 14Jun 14 by SamSpade

6 hours ago, SamSpade said:

I use an AirFly Pro 2 bluetooth adaptor coupled with the Soundcore A30 Sleep buds so I can sleep on my side whilst wearing them.

I also own the Soundcore A30s, but I've found the active noise cancellation to be fairly underwhelming - and certainly nowhere near the level of Apple AirPods Pro or Sony's WH-1000 series.

To be honest, I expected much better ANC performance. As for side-sleeping, that's probably a very personal thing, but I don't find them comfortable enough for it. They still protrude a little too much and tend to press into my ear when lying on my side.

That said, they're perfectly serviceable as a backup set of earbuds. With ANC enabled, they do a reasonable job of taking the edge off airport and travel noise, making the world a little quieter. They help, but they're not in the same league as the noise-cancelling performance offered by Apple or Sony.

I spent 400 baht on mine, via Shopee/Lazada.

More here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/116008010411

On 3/21/2026 at 5:50 AM, gargamon said:

Strong sleeping pills.

Sure,

but I always book flights departing at midnight or later (both ways) so that most of the flight is in the night time hours. And I take sleeping pills>

Years earlier I booke

d flights departing at normal day time hours and took 1 or 2 sleeping pills but I never got any sleep at now.

Now (as above) I always book flights departing midnight or later and take 1 or 2 pills. Puts me to sleep quickly and I stay asleep.

10 hours ago, NanLaew said:

I have used this option infrequently and usually when I don't have checked baggage. Sometimes the travel to/from the off-airport hotel is time consuming and at some airports the choices can be limited to expensive on-airport hotels. With ground transportation and airport security, a layover of ~12 hours can result in only 8 hours actually at the hotel. Many hotels offer day rooms, or early check in/late check out, but usually at exorbitant rates.

If you do have baggage checked through to the final destination, there is a time limit on the layover where your bags can remain 'air side' but this can vary by airline.

I usually use Qatar airlines. There are an abundance of hotels 10 mins from the airport that are around $50 a night. Souq Waqif is a good place to spend an evening and as long as the layover is under 24 hours then the airport will transfer your bags to the next flight automatically. As long as you're not in a rush it makes sense. Well to me anyway.

22 hours ago, Kananga said:

You don't need to endure 10 hour flights flying from Bangkok to Europe. Just book a flight with a Middle Eastern airline and stay overnight en route. No sleeping in chairs involved. Two 6 hour day time flights. Jet lag reduced as well.

I did this last week. Bangkok - Dubai 4 nights - Rome. It works well for time rich retirees. Dubai’s a great place to visit, and hotels are cheap. It’s a much cheaper solution for a more comfortable flight than flying business class.

55 minutes ago, CygnusX1 said:

I did this last week. Bangkok - Dubai 4 nights - Rome. It works well for time rich retirees. Dubai’s a great place to visit, and hotels are cheap. It’s a much cheaper solution for a more comfortable flight than flying business class.

Premium Economy not mentioned, is that a good option?

2 hours ago, CygnusX1 said:

I did this last week. Bangkok - Dubai 4 nights - Rome. It works well for time rich retirees. Dubai’s a great place to visit, and hotels are cheap. It’s a much cheaper solution for a more comfortable flight than flying business class.

You dont even need to be time rich. You can do an 18 hour layover. I used to do this when travelling between Singapore and Sweden for work. Two economy 6 hour day flights including booking a bulk head seat and a stop over night was 25% of paying for business class.

1 hour ago, Kananga said:

You dont even need to be time rich. You can do an 18 hour layover. I used to do this when travelling between Singapore and Sweden for work. Two economy 6 hour day flights including booking a bulk head seat and a stop over night was 25% of paying for business class.

Your “work“ doesn't pay for business class for long haul? You need a better job.

8 hours ago, scorecard said:

Premium Economy not mentioned, is that a good option?

Maybe, but I wouldn’t be interested in any upgrade that didn’t have a seat that you could lie flat.

Something to consider is getting your seat at the very back of the plane. A lot of people don't want to sit there so if there are more seats than people it's likely this is where a lot of the empties would be. You may get a whole row to yourself, or at least the middle seat will be vacant.

When it comes time to deplane, though, you'll be among the last off. But with a little boldness and agility . . .

Anyway, I broke up a flight from BKK to NYC with a few weeks in Egypt, did the seat in the back for both legs, no regrets.

2 hours ago, bendejo said:

Something to consider is getting your seat at the very back of the plane. A lot of people don't want to sit there so if there are more seats than people it's likely this is where a lot of the empties would be. You may get a whole row to yourself, or at least the middle seat will be vacant.

When it comes time to deplane, though, you'll be among the last off. But with a little boldness and agility . . .

Anyway, I broke up a flight from BKK to NYC with a few weeks in Egypt, did the seat in the back for both legs, no regrets.

I always select a seat towards the back, but that’s because I’m one of the few people who like to look out the window, so I need to be behind the wing. The increased chance of having a vacant seat next to me is a bonus.

On 6/15/2026 at 1:56 AM, gargamon said:

Your “work“ doesn't pay for business class for long haul? You need a better job.

No, this company didn't. Didn't really bother me, I enjoyed the job and gained some great experience when I was there. Take care and hope you have a better attitude tomorrow.