The Bangkok Airways Rant Thread

[BigC]

Bangkok airways. Over priced. aircrafts are under maintainec. Planes that are about 70 years old still being driven litturely into the ground for the highest fair possible.

How they can charge those prices for very old prepellor planes is un believable in the commsercial business.

I suppose they need to charge allot of money just to keep those antque planes maintained rarther than just scrapping them for air buses

[Boater]

Bangkok airways. Over priced. aircrafts are under maintainec. Planes that are about 70 years old still being driven litturely into the ground for the highest fair possible.

How they can charge those prices for very old prepellor planes is un believable in the commsercial business.

I suppose they need to charge allot of money just to keep those antque planes maintained rarther than just scrapping them for air buses

agree , i never fly the prop planes, wasnt the last crash in samui a prop plane? as with the one yesterday ?

they are budget aircrafts !, with the price BKK charge, they should be flying A380 's into samui !, ( with n extenable runway of course )

[Rooo]

Bangkok airways. Over priced. aircrafts are under maintainec. Planes that are about 70 years old still being driven litturely into the ground for the highest fair possible.

How they can charge those prices for very old prepellor planes is un believable in the commsercial business.

I suppose they need to charge allot of money just to keep those antque planes maintained rarther than just scrapping them for air buses

agree , i never fly the prop planes, wasnt the last crash in samui a prop plane? as with the one yesterday ?

they are budget aircrafts !, with the price BKK charge, they should be flying A380 's into samui !, ( with n extenable runway of course )

Boater, they can't manage an ATR72, you want them to fly a 380?

[southbot]

Just my five bahts worth.

I recently flew Bangkok Airways to Bangkok and later back to Samui again.

I was impressed with their service, attention to detail and the great care they paid to me, due to a missing leg.

The waiting lounges both on Samui and in Bangkok allowed me to have as much fresh coffee, cakes, sandwiches and Thai snacks as I could possibly eat and I ate a lot, all free and part of the service.

The flight crew were great, helpful and friendly. The in-flight food was OK, it was what it was - in-flight food on economy class.

The waiting lounge in Bangkok is great, even economy passengers get to hang in there, fresh food and tea and coffee. I do not remember getting that on economy for any other airline - ever.

I note that their airfares are a tad expensive, but even for me on very limited budget it did not kill me and I made up for it with gallons of coffee, tons of cakes and so many sandwiches I cannot count.

Samui airport is really nice if you ask me, Bkk Air has made it so.

They could do better, everybody could do better, but for what you pay them I think it is not such a bad deal.

Sure beats a trip on the ferry to Surat to get on some other airline and save a thousand baht or so, what saving is that really when you count in time and effort, eh?

Just my five bahts worth is all.

[BigC]

Just my five bahts worth.

I recently flew Bangkok Airways to Bangkok and later back to Samui again.

I was impressed with their service, attention to detail and the great care they paid to me, due to a missing leg.

The waiting lounges both on Samui and in Bangkok allowed me to have as much fresh coffee, cakes, sandwiches and Thai snacks as I could possibly eat and I ate a lot, all free and part of the service.

The flight crew were great, helpful and friendly. The in-flight food was OK, it was what it was - in-flight food on economy class.

The waiting lounge in Bangkok is great, even economy passengers get to hang in there, fresh food and tea and coffee. I do not remember getting that on economy for any other airline - ever.

I note that their airfares are a tad expensive, but even for me on very limited budget it did not kill me and I made up for it with gallons of coffee, tons of cakes and so many sandwiches I cannot count.

Samui airport is really nice if you ask me, Bkk Air has made it so.

They could do better, everybody could do better, but for what you pay them I think it is not such a bad deal.

Sure beats a trip on the ferry to Surat to get on some other airline and save a thousand baht or so, what saving is that really when you count in time and effort, eh?

Just my five bahts worth is all.

agreed apart from one thing. THe price of economy class when measured in air miles is a hell of allot cheaper everywhere else which would make the prices of these tickets business class with a normal airline flying the same air miles to another destination.

i flew nok air business class to chaingmai once .cost me 1600 thai baht!

[smokie36]

On a recent British Airways flight of similar duration I was served an even more disgusting sarnie than Bandit Airways. Amazing!

[smokie36]

Ok time for a quick update. The food at the biz lounge in Bangers is great. Sundried tomato quiche and as many Singha's as you can drink. Excellent. Food and drinks on board are still woefully short of even the economy class offerings of a few years ago. Bring back the chicken balls and noodles cheers!

[PoorSucker]

Ok time for a quick update. The food at the biz lounge in Bangers is great. Sundried tomato quiche and as many Singha's as you can drink. Excellent. Food and drinks on board are still woefully short of even the economy class offerings of a few years ago. Bring back the chicken balls and noodles cheers!

No Carlsberg?

[Rooo]

Ok time for a quick update. The food at the biz lounge in Bangers is great. Sundried tomato quiche and as many Singha's as you can drink. Excellent. Food and drinks on board are still woefully short of even the economy class offerings of a few years ago. Bring back the chicken balls and noodles cheers!

No Carlsberg?

They hide it when they see Smokie.

[maccaroni man]

i just bought tickets koh samui to bangkok and with my resident card discount paid 3,400 around $113.00 us dollars. I will be in the US so i bought a few domestic tickets i.e. fort lauderdale florida to KC price $131.00 US, KC to Denver $101.00 US and Denver to LAX for $121.80. none of these routes are as popular as bkk samui and they are all further in distance except KC/ Denver which is almost a push. IMO given the demand and high volume the fare from samui to Bkk can easly be priced closer to the 1k baht mark.

[itishothere]

i just bought tickets koh samui to bangkok and with my resident card discount paid 3,400 around $113.00 us dollars. I will be in the US so i bought a few domestic tickets i.e. fort lauderdale florida to KC price $131.00 US, KC to Denver $101.00 US and Denver to LAX for $121.80. none of these routes are as popular as bkk samui and they are all further in distance except KC/ Denver which is almost a push. IMO given the demand and high volume the fare from samui to Bkk can easly be priced closer to the 1k baht mark.

Much as I would like to see a price like that, I cannot see from what you have just said, how the economics would agree that the price should fall 70%.

[smokie36]

Economics?? You meant profits right?

[itishothere]

Economics?? You meant profits right?

I guess both. Air Asia from BKK to CNX is THB 1750, Thai 2425 and Bangkok Airways 2450. On this basis, I fail to see how PG can suddenly get their price down to 1000 on the USM route. Maybe around 2000 is the breakeven level (bearing in mind all the addtional services like lounge etc). 2500 - 3000 is the price it used to be only a couple of years back which included profit. The only reason we are up to the 5000 level today is because BKK-USM is subsidising the rest of their routes where it has to be competitive and at this price, it enables PG to remain profitable which is no mean achievement for any airline today.

[maccaroni man]

Economics?? You meant profits right?

I guess both. Air Asia from BKK to CNX is THB 1750, Thai 2425 and Bangkok Airways 2450. On this basis, I fail to see how PG can suddenly get their price down to 1000 on the USM route. Maybe around 2000 is the breakeven level (bearing in mind all the addtional services like lounge etc). 2500 - 3000 is the price it used to be only a couple of years back which included profit. The only reason we are up to the 5000 level today is because BKK-USM is subsidising the rest of their routes where it has to be competitive and at this price, it enables PG to remain profitable which is no mean achievement for any airline today.

well i am sure the rest of the samui business is thrilled to be subsidising bkk air profit margin.

[oldsailor35]

T shirt logo................. Forget Bangkok Air.

Fly from Surat for half the price.

[oldsailor35]

I recently read somewhere in TV that no one would employ a Thai trained pilot, or in fact most Asian pilots, due to the low standard of their training. This was stated by a senior international pilot.

[rod2011]

To buck the trend, I have flown with Bangkok Airways a few times and actually enjoyed it.

Each time was from Utapao so maybe they are better from there.

[oldsailor35]

Southbot ............a thousand bht or so ? try like half the price !

[smokie36]

Such happiness here on the Bangkok Airways thread. Over to you Gator....!

[Boater]

Such happiness here on the Bangkok Airways thread. Over to you Gator....!

thank god for the second airport...

[spidermike007]

Economics?? You meant profits right?

I guess both. Air Asia from BKK to CNX is THB 1750, Thai 2425 and Bangkok Airways 2450. On this basis, I fail to see how PG can suddenly get their price down to 1000 on the USM route. Maybe around 2000 is the breakeven level (bearing in mind all the addtional services like lounge etc). 2500 - 3000 is the price it used to be only a couple of years back which included profit. The only reason we are up to the 5000 level today is because BKK-USM is subsidising the rest of their routes where it has to be competitive and at this price, it enables PG to remain profitable which is no mean achievement for any airline today.

well i am sure the rest of the samui business is thrilled to be subsidising bkk air profit margin.

The point trying to be made is that Bangkok Air has been taking advantage of their monopoly of Samui for a very long time. It has been to the tremendous detriment of Samui tourism, and the Thai government is either unwilling, unable, or just too apathetic or uninformed to do anything about it. Their monopoly should be removed effective immediately, for fair compensation and the TOT should take over that airport as they do all other airport in the Kingdom. What is happening in Samui is sickening. Bangkok Airways is a good airline in many regards, but what they have done with Samui is nothing short of Mafia tactics, and it is dreadful situation. I have heard this from countless people in the tourism industry here. The CEO of Bangkok Airways should be arrested, and jailed.

[PoorSucker]

Checked prices for a trip in late august.

19.000 baht for me and the wife not included the lap baby that will be 25% of adult price.

Rant over.

[BigC]

Checked prices for a trip in late august.

19.000 baht for me and the wife not included the lap baby that will be 25% of adult price.

Rant over.

i take it that is one way?

[smokie36]

Checked prices for a trip in late august.

19.000 baht for me and the wife not included the lap baby that will be 25% of adult price.

Rant over.

i take it that is one way?

[BigC]

sometimes the prices are nearly the same as flying to the UK

[Rooo]

Sometimes you have to stop & think. Is it that bad that tourism is restricted? Why are more hotels, restaurants , bars opening, knowing full well the restricted air capacity to Samui.

I have seen more & more tourists arriving via alternative methods, Surat, buses etc........................................

Is a free for all airport with unrestricted tourist arrivals that good at the end of the day? Could it spell the end to Samui as we know it?

[smokie36]

Better champagne in biz class....maybe some smoked salmon sarnies and pistachio ice cream please.

[carmine]

Sometimes you have to stop & think. Is it that bad that tourism is restricted? Why are more hotels, restaurants , bars opening, knowing full well the restricted air capacity to Samui.

I have seen more & more tourists arriving via alternative methods, Surat, buses etc........................................

Is a free for all airport with unrestricted tourist arrivals that good at the end of the day? Could it spell the end to Samui as we know it?

Restriction in tourism works well for some, ie the retired and i don't blame them.

Howvever you have to feel sorry for hotels and all the other businesses who have invested on the island when they read about the thousands of chinese tourists spending shed loads in Phucket.

[Rooo]

Sometimes you have to stop & think. Is it that bad that tourism is restricted? Why are more hotels, restaurants , bars opening, knowing full well the restricted air capacity to Samui.

I have seen more & more tourists arriving via alternative methods, Surat, buses etc........................................

Is a free for all airport with unrestricted tourist arrivals that good at the end of the day? Could it spell the end to Samui as we know it?

Restriction in tourism works well for some, ie the retired and i don't blame them.

Howvever you have to feel sorry for hotels and all the other businesses who have invested on the island when they read about the thousands of chinese tourists spending shed loads in Phucket.

This is what I'm trying to say carmine. They invest knowing fully well that there are restrictions. Just doesn't make sense, Every one getting a smaller slice of the pie. Perhaps more effort should be aimed at reducing these new developments to maintain whatever nature this island has left.

[samuijimmy]

Well perhaps Phuket has done a better marketing job on the Chinese market???

Perhaps too there are more Chinese speaking Thai's or Burmese to cater to the Chinese in Phuket.... ?

I know one Burmese who gets paid a better than average salary because he is the only one in the tour company who has learned Chinese, rarely gets a day off.... because of that.....

But too, when I chat with tourists and ask the question how did you get here, some will say they flew.... with an all inclusive fare and hotel package... happy with the price they paid....

Zeer are a lot of Germans and Austrians in Maenam area right now... on zee "all inclusive" package.... . Probably a lot of Chinese too?