Thai Airlines - Hog Wash

[jimmym40]

Just a rant here. Just checked flights leaving in May for 23 days round trip.

I can fly business class on United Airlines 10,000 baht CHEAPER than Thai airlines for Economy Class. What's with Thai prices and they claim they are still loosing money.

[jimmym40]

Sorry, don't know why the second part of the headliner doesn't show up. The flights were from BKK to LAS (Las Vegas)

[MAJIC]

IMO Thai Airways is long past it's number 1 Thai carrier airline status,but that doesn't stop them from charging top dollar.

Don't expect any favours!

[impulse]

I've had times when I could book a United business class ticket cheaper than a United economy class ticket. It all depended on circumstances, seats available, the airline's obnoxious pricing structures and where I went looking for pricing.

To fully evaluate and properly respond to your rant, we'd need a lot more detail. Not that the responses would be any more meaningful... just that we'd have more fun with more detail.

[zabaleta]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

[WhizBang]

A couple years ago, when Thai first introduced it's direct service from Bangkok to New York, I looked into flying with them.

Back then I was flying Northwest Air business class to Bangkok. Thai air's price for business class was DOUBLE what I was paying on NW.

Needless to say, Thai air did not get my business.

[transam]

Perhaps, many fingers in the pie, me thinks.

[smokie36]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

[WilliaminBKK]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

Agreed however if you are comparing UA to TG then TG wins all the time.

I really wish TG would listen to travellers and improve inflight service, your comment about food J class is spot on almost the same as Y class and those stupid 1990 recling seats.

[trainman34014]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Thai's prices from LHR are fine,and I used to use them a lot, but if you're booking FROM Thailand forget them because there are many cheaper deals. It always amazes me that they are so un-competitive flying out of their own hub.

[phetphet]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

In my opinion, the best overall direct flight LHR - BKK is EVA. I'm pretty sure they also fly from some US cities.

Edited April 22, 2012 by phetphet

[smokie36]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

Agreed however if you are comparing UA to TG then TG wins all the time.

I really wish TG would listen to travellers and improve inflight service, your comment about food J class is spot on almost the same as Y class and those stupid 1990 recling seats.

And tiny little wine glasses....bing refill...bing refill....bing refill....you get the picture!

[smokie36]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

In my opinion, the best overall direct flight LHR - BKK is EVA. I'm pretty sure they also fly from some US cities.

I've done this twice now in Premium Economy and its good value for money. Food is a bit bland but plenty of it. I was satisfied with it.

[bangkok101]

Sorry, don't know why the second part of the headliner doesn't show up. The flights were from BKK to LAS (Las Vegas)

I would like to see proof that a Thai economy ticket costs more than a UA business class ticket as you claim...I highly doubt your claim! Prove it?

[el jefe]

A couple years ago, when Thai first introduced it's direct service from Bangkok to New York, I looked into flying with them.

Back then I was flying Northwest Air business class to Bangkok. Thai air's price for business class was DOUBLE what I was paying on NW.

Needless to say, Thai air did not get my business.

i flew the Thai air non-stop flight from JFK-BKK many times. Great prices, great service. I wouldn't even consider NW with it's one-stop flight. If TG brought that flight back, I'd gladly take it again.

[citizen33]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

I agree that Thai has gone downhill in recent years, but is this information up to date? As far as I can see Thai is mainly flying A340-600s out of LHR now (and a ticket I have for a forthcoming journey certainly says this). I think these do have individual TV screens but I am not sure whether the leg room in economy is as good as on the old 747s. Has anybody been on a Thai flight from LHR-BKK in the last few months?

[stoneyboy]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

I agree that Thai has gone downhill in recent years, but is this information up to date? As far as I can see Thai is mainly flying A340-600s out of LHR now (and a ticket I have for a forthcoming journey certainly says this). I think these do have individual TV screens but I am not sure whether the leg room in economy is as good as on the old 747s. Has anybody been on a Thai flight from LHR-BKK in the last few months?

Yes in January and sadly it was one of those tatty old 747s with no seat back tv.

[Questador]

Yes, this month, 747 both ways. Outbound had no personal TVs, but the inbound did.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

[smokie36]

Well there you have it. Its 2012 not 1985. Thai Airways are a disgrace.

[RabC]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

You need to get out more all the LHR aircraft are now converted to seat back TV in economy.

[smokie36]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

You need to get out more all the LHR aircraft are now converted to seat back TV in economy.

Maybe you should read the posts here a bit more carefully. Or are you saying these posters are lying?

[RabC]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

You need to get out more all the LHR aircraft are now converted to seat back TV in economy.

Maybe you should read the posts here a bit more carefully. Or are you saying these posters are lying?

I tend to trust personal experience to the comments of the majority on here.

[Bangkokhatter]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

You need to get out more all the LHR aircraft are now converted to seat back TV in economy.

Since when did this happen ? no seat back TV on either flight last time I did it

[RabC]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Best service? You must be joking! No seat back TV's....crap food....even in biz class the food was awful!

Old tatty 747's?

You really should get out more!!

You need to get out more all the LHR aircraft are now converted to seat back TV in economy.

Since when did this happen ? no seat back TV on either flight last time I did it

Out in March back in April.

[Briggsy]

Thai Airways is the Thai equivalent of the generous welfare systems of Scandinavia. Health care, housing, money for doing very little, they are all thrown in, even free flights. That's great as long as you or a close family member are working for them and can access it.

Most of this comes from the taxpayer but the paying passengers also have to share the cost.

[tw25rw]

Since when did this happen ? no seat back TV on either flight last time I did it

They've been updating since late last year.

[h90]

Thai Airways is the Thai equivalent of the generous welfare systems of Scandinavia. Health care, housing, money for doing very little, they are all thrown in, even free flights. That's great as long as you or a close family member are working for them and can access it.

Most of this comes from the taxpayer but the paying passengers also have to share the cost.

I can't recall the details but something like everyone who was ever on the board of management can fly for free forever (maybe together with relatives). Every government try to change the people there so there must be a huge amount of people.

There were reports that on some flights the business class was almost full with these non paying guests.

And they tell that is just the most visible problem.....

[Skywalker69]

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Agreed.

[oldsailor35]

I have been using Thai Air for a number of years, am a Royal Orchid member, but will not be using them much more as they are too expensive now. Looking for a one way tkt Bkk-Brisbane i found Qantas Bht 10000 cheaper than Thai Air (Qantas Bht 19000- Thai Bht 29000) thats for the end of may.

[CDB]

My Thai doctor flew on THAI return to London on THAI last week. He had previously flown on the upgraded THAI to NY/LA. Says he was shocked that there were no personal TVs inbound or outbound, food was shockingly bad, and the on screen projector was faded/fuzzy and impossible to watch. He'll go EVA next time.

I have over 200 K air miles on THAI, and have no complaints at all about their (now cancelled) direct flights to NY and LA. Using airmiles to upgrade business class was a great experience, using the lounges was good, service was fine and direct flights beat the opposition. Sadly that is becoming the exception not the rule. I've avoided flying THAI to Europe, because it's luck of the draw what you'll get.

On shorter haul flights around Asia, you get better service and prices on Cathay, Singapore Airlines and Korean Air. THAI is worth using if you got the airmiles (and they do great promotions with AMEX and Citibank credit cards), but unless you feel patriotic or have air miles, THAI is not first choice.

As others have mentioned, that fact that every THAI board member gets free flights for himself and his family for LIFE, is the number one of many corruption/poor business practices that affects their ability to make a profit and to charge reasonable prices.

I did once also bid for services for THAI and was shocked at the blatancy of the corruption involved and sheer wastefulness of what they spent -- which never related to value but merely divvying up the budget....