Thai Air From Lax

[HarryLL76]

Has anyone used the Premium Economy Class on Thai Air A340-500 from LAX to Bangkok? If so, how would you rate the extra seat and leg space?

Harry

[Sam Drucker]

Premium Economy on THAI's A340-500 is probably the best in the world (for Premium Economy.)

These aircraft are already more generous in regular economy than most any airliner out there (36" seat pitch,) which is as much as 5" more knee room than most carriers have. This is because of weight restrictions on the payload this aircraft can carry over the ultra-long haul route from LAX to BKK, which can exceed 18 hours duration at times.

Premium Economy reduces the seat rows by one seat (7 seats/row in a 2-3-2 configuration vs. 8 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration in economy.) The seat pitch is 42" in Premium Economy, so if you're in a window seat, not only do you have plenty of leg room, but you can also get up without making your seat mate get up.

Premium Economy seating is superior to the seating and space available in practically all domestic USA First Class seats. What I enjoy most is that with the wider seat and spacing between me and my neighbor, my arms can hang freely. I'm not cramped in my shoulders to keep from touching my neighbor.

Usually they have promotions that you can upgrade to Premium Economy in Los Angeles for about $200 each way; well worth it. Make sure you upgrade both ways in LAX; the promotion is not available in Thailand. Premium Economy also gives you 110% of the normal mileage on this route in the Royal Orchid Plus program.

Here's a couple of photos:

Edited April 20, 2011 by Sam Drucker

[wildoates]

When I used to travel over here, twice yearly, I always used them. Great service and great seats, highly recommend.. I am flying from here and going to use Eva, but same type of seats, Thai was just to much money from here.....

[sbk]

moving to travel as this really doesn't have much to do with Bangkok

//MOVED//

[zzaa09]

When I used to travel over here, twice yearly, I always used them. Great service and great seats, highly recommend.. I am flying from here and going to use Eva, but same type of seats, Thai was just to much money from here.....

Thai Airways is much more expensive from anywhere.

[HarryLL76]

Thanks guys for the information. I will also consider using Eva. I need the extra space and leg room so I will keep loking for airlines that offer a Premium Economy Class .

Harry

When I used to travel over here, twice yearly, I always used them. Great service and great seats, highly recommend.. I am flying from here and going to use Eva, but same type of seats, Thai was just to much money from here.....

Thai Airways is much more expensive from anywhere.

[SinCityGr8One]

I did and it is the BEST way to get to BKK from LAX. As someone mentioned in their answer it is a $200 or so USD upgrade each way. I'm a big guy (6-2 & 270 lbs) and I was comfortable the entire flight. The most amazing part of the trip is the ability the A340-500 to fly nonstop for such a great distance. Get on in Los Angeles and step off in Bangkok. Awesome! Around 17 hours in the air. Act fast as there are only 42 Premium Economy seats per flight. You won't regret it.

[HarryLL76]

Thanks for the infoon Thai Air's premium class. Anon-stop flight from LAX to Bangkok on Thai Air using the Premium Economy seatsseems to be one of the best options. However, seventeen hours in the air withno break seem a bit long. In recent years, about nine hours has been my longestnonstop flight. For those of you who have flown the Thai Air nonstop toBangkok, what was your experience?

Overall, the Thai flight does not seem to be sufficiently shorter than the EvaAir flight (about 16 hours with one stop vs 17 hours nonstop). And, at the moment Eva air" Elite Class ispriced a little less than Thai Premium class.

Can anyone compare the two flights?

[bobo42]

Thanks for the infoon Thai Air's premium class. Anon-stop flight from LAX to Bangkok on Thai Air using the Premium Economy seatsseems to be one of the best options. However, seventeen hours in the air withno break seem a bit long. In recent years, about nine hours has been my longestnonstop flight. For those of you who have flown the Thai Air nonstop toBangkok, what was your experience?

Overall, the Thai flight does not seem to be sufficiently shorter than the EvaAir flight (about 16 hours with one stop vs 17 hours nonstop). And, at the moment Eva air" Elite Class ispriced a little less than Thai Premium class.

Can anyone compare the two flights?

Yes, have done both several times. Both good, both with positives and negatives. The Thai air flight is really, really long - but its probably the best premium econo I have flown. The EVA flight is also a good choice if the price is an issue, or if it fits your schedule better. The EVA seats are noticeably smaller and the legroom is much less than the Thai air planes on this route. Particularly the newer EVA planes (777s as I recall) have much more cramped premium seats than the older aircraft (the 747s, right in the front nose-section was nice). The EVA stopover in Taipei sucks, as it is usually long, usually in the early morning hours, and there is nothing to do in that airport. Prepare for 3 hours of boredom - but it does get you off the plane and breaks up the sitting-time nicely. Personally, if you won't flip-out for being on the plane for so long, and the price difference in negligible, I would take the Thai flight myself - that is usually my choice. I only go to the EVA flight if the Thai flight is booked, or the price is insane (which sometimes it is).

[geriatrickid]

One aspect you may wish to keep in mind is the on time performance of the airline. TG doesn't have the greatest of on time performance records out of LAX. If you are making a connection leave a cushion of 30-45 minutes, the average TG delay on this route. (EVA isn't that much better but the difference is that the conenction in TPE usually has a cushion built in.) The other factor you need to consider is the crew availability and flight frequencies. EVA can have 3 flights on any given day at 01:15, 01:35 and 14:25. This means that if there is a flight disruption, you are more likely to be rerouted quicker on EVA than on TG. LAX is a hub for EVA so it always has spare aircrew. There are limited worries about aircrews exceeding work hours or being shortstaffed because of sickness. When TG has a cancelation it can take some time to rebook you on another flight or star alliance partner.

I have flown both airlines on this route. TG's ok, Fortunately, the AB 340 fleet was delivered mostly in 2005 so its still fairly new.

[Sam Drucker]

Speaking for myself, prior to using the THAI nonstops I used to fly from middle America to Tokyo, then onto Bangkok. I thought at the time that breaking up the trip in Tokyo was a great option to get up and walk around a little. Truth is, it was considering the way I was transported for 12 hours to Tokyo on a US carrier in an economy seat with 31" pitch.

The first time I flew the THAI nonstop I opted for Premium Economy and wondered about that 17 hour flight time. It turned out to be no problem; it was so much more comfortable, and the entertainment system was great, so now I have no hesitations about it whatsoever. It's the only way I've been flying between the States and Thailand now for 5 years.

I'll also add that I've never had any significant delays on these THAI flights, and worry about a flight crew timing out seems to be a non-issue as these flights carry two complete crews (four people) that switch off mid-flight due to the long duration.