The Best Domestic Airline In Thailand

[chanchao]

As of yesterday I've now tried all domestic airlines in Thailand. HUGE differences. Let me do a rating, 1 to 6 with 1 being THE BEST DOMESTIC AIRLINE IN THAILAND. Feel free to disagree.

1. Nok Air

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Yes!! Numnber one also when NOT taking price into account. Yup, even if Nok was the very same price as Thai airways then I'd still prefer Nok. And with the prices as they are, it's a complete no-brainer. Note that if you add 400 baht to their already reasonable fares you get their business class.. Seating/leg room aside, that means you get to change flights without paying extra. And.. Nok Business is cheaper than Thai Air economy..

Other reasons why Nok comes first:

- Very, very friendly staff. Yes, pasty stalky wannabe hi-so TG dames, take notice. I fly with Nong Nok Anne, Nok Fern and Nok Yui anytime.

- Boeing 737 .. Small plane, fast boarding

- They mostly get a proper gate; no bus trips half way to Ayudhtaya to reach your plane

- Assigned seat numbers, bookable in advance. No mad rush to the gate.

- Coolest Paint Job on the Planet.

- Good web site / booking site

2. Thai Airways

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Well what can I say.. They're about as sexy as Delta, but they're punctual, unlimited free changing of flights/dates, even not showing up and flying another time is no problem. Pricey, of course. Do have a frequent flyer programme.. If you already have the Star Alliance gold status then there's some benefits the other airlines can't offer. Or if not, it's 30 domestic flights to get one free.

3. Air Asia

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No assigned seats.. Staff friendly enough.. Rock bottom prices if you can book and fly at exactly the right time.

4. Bangkok Airways

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Very, very pricey, especially on the routes where they have a monopoly. Hit you with hidden charges on airport tax on their own airports. Their airports do look incredible, perhaps you do get your money's worth.. Overall I can't loose the scammy feeling I have about them.. Package tourers being hauled to Samui obviously don't care if the flight is a thousand baht or so over the going rate for the distance. Like guests at 5 star hotels, they're mostly very happy with the service and price isn't even a consideration.

5. Phuket Air

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Some planes aren't exactly state of the art.. Safety issues on international routes.. One wonders about maintenance domestically. Cool 36 year old Y-11 prop planes on the upcountry routes.

6. 1-2-Go / Orient

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Whoa.. This is a drop down to the basement. Not very professionally run, doubts about plane maintenance, staff so-so.. It looks incredibly worn. Their planes leave from what seems like all the way to Rangsit and the buses they use to truck you there did not have aircon.. Jesus.. that made for a very sweaty, bug-ridden experience. They use Farang pilots.. burp. They were lucky that a 30 year old clunker of a 747-200 plane they already bought from China Airlines blew up while still in CA service, so before they took delivery.. Doesn't make me very excited about the rest fo their planes. Web site is a mess, have to use the call center.. Nuff said.

[Rinrada]

Nok,Nok,Noking on Heavens door

[sriracha john]

I also am a Nok convert. Having assigned seating is a HUGE plus. On top of that, their prices beat AirAsia on 3 out of 3 trips I've taken. Added incentive for not chosing AirAsia is their Thai partner's name.

[Steve2UK]

Also voted Nok for the same reasons as others have given. I've used them to continue to Chiang Mai after the long slog from London-BKK, so I've treated myself to Business (I think it also gives you a more sensible baggage allowance?).

Love the pre-booked seat assignment. On that point, can someone tell me if you can also always book online a specific assigned seat in Economy? Last time I booked, the Economy section was a solid block of "X's" - but then it was Chinese New Year......

[livermore]

I'd like to give a nod to Nok but canNok. I do love their internet booking system but in two flights they are 0 for 2. First flight delayed almost an hour (not too bad but this was coming off an 18 hour SFO - BKK flight. Second flight Chaing Mai - BKK was completly canceled. I even called the morning of the flight to try to get a friend a ticket, only to be told the flight was full! Upon arriving at the the check-in imagine my aggrevation to find out the flight was Nok full but Nok going and I was Nok pleased. To their credit they busted their collective asses and got me on to a very full Thai flight which got me into town a half hour earlier.

My advice, and this would probably go for all of the discount a carries, be extra cautious if you are using these flights to make expensive international connecting flights. Let the airline know where you are. Nok said they tried to contact me but had know information as to where I was staying. They told me they were able to get ahold of all but 4 passengers to tell them the flight was cancelled. I believe this as I didn't not see other passengers in my predicament. Also, Nok booked me on to a Thai flight automatically however this flight was later in the day and would have made me miss my connection.

[bino]

I can agree with all the positive Nok Air comments. I've flown with them several times and always been pleased. Good service, schedule, etc.

Orient Thai / 1 2 go is indeed a scary experience. The plane I flew on was from a country that still allows smoking on flights, and the plane smelled really bad. They were morethan one hour late, and I thought the plane was going to shake into pieces on takeoff and landing. I wrote off the return portion of my ticket to Phuket on that trip! Flew home with Thai instead.

I never tried Phuket Air.... and don't suppose I will.

[Joey Boy]

flew with Nok for the first time yesterday, very impressed, they beat all the other domestic carriers hands down

[Flysiam]

As of yesterday I've now tried all domestic airlines in Thailand.  HUGE differences.  Let me do a rating, 1 to 6 with 1 being THE BEST DOMESTIC AIRLINE IN THAILAND.  Feel free to disagree.

1. Nok Air

----------

Yes!!  Numnber one also when NOT taking price into account. Yup, even if Nok was the very same price as Thai airways then I'd still prefer Nok.  And with the prices as they are, it's a complete no-brainer.  Note that if you add 400 baht to their already reasonable fares you get their business class.. Seating/leg room aside, that means you get to change flights without paying extra.  And.. Nok Business is cheaper than Thai Air economy..

Other reasons why Nok comes first:

- Very, very friendly staff.  Yes, pasty stalky wannabe hi-so TG dames, take notice. I fly with Nong Nok Anne, Nok Fern and Nok Yui anytime.

- Boeing 737 .. Small plane, fast boarding

- They mostly get a proper gate; no bus trips half way to Ayudhtaya to reach your plane

- Assigned seat numbers, bookable in advance. No mad rush to the gate.

- Coolest Paint Job on the Planet.

- Good web site / booking site

2. Thai Airways

---------------

Well what can I say.. They're about as sexy as Delta, but they're punctual, unlimited free changing of flights/dates, even not showing up and flying another time is no problem.  Pricey, of course.  Do have a frequent flyer programme.. If you already have the Star Alliance gold status then there's some benefits the other airlines can't offer.  Or if not, it's 30 domestic flights to get one free.

3. Air Asia

-----------

No assigned seats.. Staff friendly enough.. Rock bottom prices if you can book and fly at exactly the right time.

4. Bangkok Airways

------------------

Very, very pricey, especially on the routes where they have a monopoly. Hit you with hidden charges on airport tax on their own airports.  Their airports do look incredible, perhaps you do get your money's worth.. Overall I can't loose the scammy feeling I have about them..  Package tourers being hauled to Samui obviously don't care if the flight is a thousand baht or so over the going rate for the distance.  Like guests at 5 star hotels, they're mostly very happy with the service and price isn't even a consideration.

5. Phuket Air

-------------

Some planes aren't exactly state of the art..  Safety issues on international routes.. One wonders about maintenance domestically.  Cool 36 year old Y-11 prop planes on the upcountry routes.

6. 1-2-Go / Orient

------------------

Whoa.. This is a drop down to the basement. Not very professionally run, doubts about plane maintenance, staff so-so.. It looks incredibly worn.  Their planes leave from what seems like all the way to Rangsit and the buses they use to truck you there did not have aircon.. Jesus.. that made for a very sweaty, bug-ridden experience. They use Farang pilots.. burp.   They were lucky that a 30 year old clunker of a 747-200 plane they already bought from China Airlines blew up while still in CA service, so before they took delivery.. Doesn't make me very excited about the rest fo their planes.  Web site is a mess, have to use the call center.. Nuff said.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yup I have flown them all as well. I will agree that with most of the comments though I do have myown opinions. I have 'flown' as a pilot in the LOS in the past and I will fly with any of the 'Farang pilots' of 1-2-Go over any of the Thai pilots - even in their old delapidated airplanes. Note - I said FARANG - noting that some are from other Asian countries and I just as soon not fly with them if given the choice. Great people I am sure but maybe their training leaves a lot to be desired. I have had good and bad experiences with all of the airlines - with the exception of Phuket - all bad. So you roll your dice and takes your chances. Nok is a mere subsidiary of Thai Airways - the typical lower paid and less experienced crews. Phuket? Need ANYONE say more? Bangkok Air... 2 thumbs up! 1-2-Go suffers from the worst management on the earth but mostly experienced crews and friendly staff - poor fools. Air Asia ... ok pilots and hey ... most of the money goes to Herr Taksin.

[SeaVisionBurma]

chanchao - nice summary. I'm sure some folks will find this useful.

I didnt vote as I only ever fly Thai, apart from when I used to take the Phuket Air service from Phuket up to Ranong to cross the border in to Myanmar.

That was the good ol' days for Phuket Air!! They had just started then.

[thymode91]

Avoid PB AIRLINE..