Gonna Wanna Travel To Dunbarton

[tutsiwarrior]

anyone travel that route to Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh, etc)from SE Asia that has good suggestions?...maybe to go thru Amsterdam rather than LHR. I'll probably be departing from Hanoi and going business class...which airlines with expensive shitty business class to avoid?

There are train connections from the Glasgow airport to Dunbarton as I remember...any advice in this regard?...from Edinburgh?

thanks in advance...David Byrne also sends his regards ('anyone got a match?)

[roamer]

Rethink it Tutsi, as far as Hanoi is concerned anyway. Limited choices, take your selection from BKK instead. Emirates, Qatar especially great business class. One's to avoid are the usual suspects BA, Air France etc. I'd fly whoever from Hanoi and take it from there.

[smokie36]

Rethink it Tutsi, as far as Hanoi is concerned anyway. Limited choices, take your selection from BKK instead. Emirates, Qatar especially great business class. One's to avoid are the usual suspects BA, Air France etc. I'd fly whoever from Hanoi and take it from there.

Agreed and Emirates flight to Glasgow via Dubai is certainly the best bet.

Can't help out with Dumbarton as I've never been inclined to spend my holidays there....

[heathermclaren]

there is not direct train service from Glasgow airport. The nearest train station is Paisley Gilmour street which is about a mile away from the airport. You can take a taxi there or there is an arriva bus that serves there. Alternatively you can take a bus or a taxi to glasgow central and take your connecting train from there.

I would reccomend emirates but i have experienced long stop overs with them in dubai which was not fun at all. If you fly emirates you would fly in to glasgow and glasgow is your best option to go to Dumbarton as it is closer.

If by any chance you arrive in Edinburgh again there is not direct train link. You need to take the airport shuttle bus i think it is about 5 pounds about. Take the bus straight into the city centre and you can either get off at Haymarket or Waverly and you will be able to pick up connecting trains there.

Hope that helps

[tutsiwarrior]

thanks for the helpful advice...yeah, I sorta thought that I'd haveta get to BKK first to have a better selection of flights...I might try Emirates business class; they got Copenhagen snuff in the duty free in Dubai, and I once brought 60 cans (their entire stock) from there into Jeddah with me and the customs guy was alarmed...

thanks again...I'll haveta remember DUMbarton otherwise I might end up in the Highlands somewhere after asking directions from a local...

[NanLaew]

Booking online from KLM's Thailand website allows you to start your travel from several regional airports including Hanoi. They also have daily flights from Hamsterjam to Glasgow so that would be a decent connection; no checked bags to hassle with en-route. Even though they are still using older 747's on the BKK-AMS route, Business Class and the new Premium Economy (front of the bus with extra 6" seat pitch) have upgraded in-flight entertainment kit with LCD's in the seat backs, etc.

Avoid Air France and CDG if the flight search gives you that option.

Despite being Jockinese, I can't help you with the onward shuttle to Dumbarton but it seems that's been addressed earlier.

[tutsiwarrior]

KLM has had a lot of bad press on this forum on their BKK to UK route...what can folks advise regarding them compared with Emirates, Qatar, Ettihad, etc., in business class recently? also price wise?

[smokie36]

KLM has had a lot of bad press on this forum on their BKK to UK route...what can folks advise regarding them compared with Emirates, Qatar, Ettihad, etc., in business class recently? also price wise?

Ok I've flown all of these carriers biz calss LHR-BKK over the last three years. Of these Qatar is the best followed by Etihad then Emirates but the difference between the three is small....food is much better on Qatar hence the best.....good lounge in Dubai on Emirates.....Etihad these days are very expensive but the other two often have deals for around £1500 return.

KLM are on a par or worse than Lufthansa and around the same as Thai Airways in terms of old planes and service.

I hope this helps.

[tutsiwarrior]

"KLM are on a par or worse than Lufthansa and around the same as Thai Airways in terms of old planes and service."

yeah...but they offer a service outta Hanoi that the others don't...

what can folks advise regarding a 'one stop' online booking service from Hanoi? I'd like it to be seamless whatever the arrangement...was thinking about expedia.com...could always do Vietnam Airlines from Hanoi to BKK then Emirates, Qatar, etc., from BKK to the UK and then a UK internal flight from LHR to Glasgow?...

sheesh, life is complicated...wouldn't it be nice to throw the luggage into the back of a limo and then to instruct the driver: 'to Dumbarton in Scotland by the quickest route, please' then attend to the complimentary oysters and champagne as he motors away...?

[tutsiwarrior]

anyone ever tried Air France from Hanoi to Paris then onward to Scotland? They got daily flights from Hanoi to Paris from what I understand...Air France has been criticized here on the forum in the past...any update on their business class service?...I hear that the food is supposed to be OK...what about the business class lounge in Paris?

I like a bit of adventure so long as there's plenty of vodka an' it don't hurt too much...

[smokie36]

I'd only use KLM if I was planning to stop off in Amsterdam for a few days.....great city.

The most comfortable flight and best service will be Bangkok to Glasgow with Emirates....waiting around in London for a cramped flight to Glasgow is guaranteed to leave you feeling miserable.

[jocko]

anyone ever tried Air France from Hanoi to Paris then onward to Scotland? They got daily flights from Hanoi to Paris from what I understand...Air France has been criticized here on the forum in the past...any update on their business class service?...I hear that the food is supposed to be OK...what about the business class lounge in Paris?

I like a bit of adventure so long as there's plenty of vodka an' it don't hurt too much...

As soon as you leave your hoose start on the vodie and you wont care who you fly with.

SCOTLAND HERE I COME.

Aw the best Jimmy

[NanLaew]

OK tutsi, seems like you are picking up some of the advice and missing others, so I will have another bash.

KLM get bad press from those here that also give Thai Air bad press. The biggest whinge they seem to have is old planes and lack of entertainment. I stated that KLM have upgraded their in-flight kit so that even premium economy now has seat-back screens for those that think that watching movies beats sleeping on a long-haul flights. You want to fly Business Class so it's all a moot point as KLM's is as gizmo'd, comfy and efficient as any other. Glad to see that you see the value in being able to book online all the way from Hanoi to Glasgow. Schiphol for all it's age has handled it's development quite well and is still a decent stopover airport IMHO... beats Kastrup anyway!

Thai Air has comfortable flights to London but that's where the fun stops and you would need to change terminals and airlines to get to Glasgow. Fuhgeddaboutit.

I flew SAS Business to Aberdeen via Copenhagen's Kastrup airport. Not sure about CPH to Glasgow but the long-haul sector to-from Bangkok was clean, quiet and comfy. Kastrup isn't up to Schiphol standards but not a bad transit unless you are a nationality that needs a Schengen visa and you don't have a Schengen visa!

Don't even think about Air France for the 'same' route. The booking convenience may be there but CDG looms slap bang in the middle and you really, really don't want to transit that sh!thole. Even the lounges are cack.

You can try BA via LHR and T5 but based on my recent one-time transit through T5, it's as bad as CDG.

I have flown Qatar once but not as a transit pax to Europe. However, my buddy swears by them and he flies Coach to London with them. The only drawback I have seen is lengthy stopovers in Qatar but once again, if you are flying the 'front of the bus', their lounge and facilities in Qatar are very, very, very good.

My call is KLM first, Qatar second but if I have to go through LHR, then Thai is the way.

[samtam]

Even though they are still using older 747's on the BKK-AMS route, Business Class and the new Premium Economy (front of the bus with extra 6" seat pitch) have upgraded in-flight entertainment kit with LCD's in the seat backs, etc.

Have KLM upgraded the seats in Business Class too, or are they still the Lazy-Boy type, (not 180 degrees flat)?

[samtam]

You want to fly Business Class so it's all a moot point as KLM's is as gizmo'd, comfy and efficient as any other.

You may have answered the seat arrangement here, but can you elaborate gizmo'd, comfy and efficient ?

On all the rest, I agree with your suggestion, and your criticism of Air France, only because of CDG, which is an armpit, and which they can't get right, even if you're travelling Business Class. Shame really, because inflight is actually OK.

[tutsiwarrior]

'My call is KLM first, Qatar second but if I have to go through LHR, then Thai is the way. '

That sounds cool as I wanted to avoid LHR as a transit point...Schiphol is a cool airport...so it ain't Air France so much as CDG as a shitty transit point? Sounds weird as the French take a lot of pride from their public institutions and one would presume that they would feel the same about international travelers stopping at their main airport...I guess not (tutsi gives a gallic shrug and lights up a Gauloise)

this may all come to nought as the ex-wife who is a main player in this scenario is now 'not sure about' me visiting Scotland and my ex mum-in-law...just wanted to say goodbye to someone that is special...let's hear it loud: 'TUTSI'S EX-WIFE IS A BITCH' and yadda, yadda...and I wanna hear it on the tannoy for the world to hear at Schiphol airport...

(I never intended this thread to be a vindictive subterfuge, honest )

[tutsiwarrior]

with regard to the lounge facilities with Qatar in Doha they are excellent...I useta fly first class with them from Jeddah to Doha as there was no business class available (you don't ever wanna fly cattle class on that route with the heaving south asian mob), then business from Doha to BKK...excellent buffet and service in the first class Doha lounge...

[PhilHarries]

The only time I ever came close to booking Air France I was told in no uncertain terms NEVER FLY AIR FRANCE...........................by a Frenchman.

Advice like that I don't question.

I must admit that whenever I fly back to the UK I go via Bangkok, mainly because it gives me an excuse to sink a few cold ones for a day or two in Thailand. But then I am going only some thirty miles from LHR so it's no big deal.

I did fly KLM from Kuala Lumpur to London via Schipol but this was about three years back. The planes were old but the seat was about the most comfy I'd sat in for a long while and that was cattle class. Schipol is a fine airport for a short stopover but expensive if you have a long wait and you like a glass or two of the amber nectar.

You thought of Lufthansa? I think they fly out of Ha Noi but I'm not sure they can get past the language barrier of Scots air traffic controllers.

Then there's always Aeroflot if you really want a white knuckle ride.

[tutsiwarrior]

'The only time I ever came close to booking Air France I was told in no uncertain terms NEVER FLY AIR FRANCE...........................by a Frenchman.

Advice like that I don't question.'

well, shedddd; I guess that means that the food's no good...looks like we're narrowed down to KLM and the Schipol connection...I would presume that the beer is free in the business class lounge? Payin' fer business class means that you don't haveta sleep in the passageway in the transit area with yer stuff underneath ye. I like helpin' meself to a vodka, stretchin' out an' maybe lookin' up de skoit of a business class lounge serving girl...beats hanging out wid de backpackers any day...

(a grumpy tutsiwarrior sitting on the floor in the transit lounge next to a dreadlocked cretin: 'say pops, yew don't look like yer havin' a nice time, HAW, HAW, HAW...')

Aeroflot to Glasgow? there is an appealing socialist continuity to the suggestion...they would probably have plenty of stoli voddy on board...to balalaika music:'hey bitch, get over here wid dat boddle' and then tutsi does a barefoot rendition of a cossack folk dance...