Advice Please - Best Business Class/Premier Econ Flights Bkk-Nyc-Bkk Star Alliance?

[steveromagnino]

Now that Thai no longer flies to NYC, for the first time in a while I am flying to US of A NYC in September, and would like to keep the miles on Thai I have been building.

Would want to fly business or premier economy, ideally avoiding long layovers in odd places if possible. Am renting a car at the other end, and have not flown there before so not sure whether La Guardia or JFK or Newark is best (going north).

I can do Thai to LAX then hop across on a US carrier, go via Turkish, SIA, ANA etc all of which have a single stop somewhere also; I don't need fully 180 degree reclining just decent seat so I can sleep and I don't drink or eat plane food (mostly) so that's not important to me.

Premier economy I have only flown once and wasn't so impressed, there is no interest to go economy this distance.

I know there are many of you doing this route, some advice would be greatly appreciated.

Other question is regarding car rental; would prefer to rent a decent car (i.e. luxury car) rather than a piece of junk; have got a price for a cadillac already, any suggestions on regional car rental firms in that part of USA would be appreciated; mostly i can only contact ones i know (AVIS, HERTZ, Alamo, etc) and only a few do decent cars.

[craigt3365]

As for what airport, if you are headed "true" north (i.e. upstate NY), then Newark is your best bet. Even if headed anywhere in New England, it would be my preferred airport as it's a bit out of the way of the mess that is NYC.

As for airlines, try kayak.com. You can sort by duration and there are some interesting combinations...going around the world. But they are the most expensive. I do Vegas quite a bit, so have to stop at a gateway like you will. I've found the best prices lately are on United...there are cheaper options, but don't like spending 8 hours in Seoul. I've also done a few Chinese airlines, and they were OK.

As for car rentals, you hit the big ones. National, Alamo, Enterprise are a few others. You might google luxury car rental new york and/or new jersey. I know you'll get a few hits, but am sure the rates will be quite expensive.

[steveromagnino]

thanks Craig.

[samran]

haha, you so hi-so Mr Sa-tevp....show oop.

Actually, in the process of booking a similar RTW ticket right now. Just as an FYI, got an email from star alliance on 15% off their RTW fares if you book in the next 2 weeks. If you are going to NYC, you might as well come back via Europe.

Back in BKK in July for a week or two...if you are about.

[bendix]

haha, you so hi-so Mr Sa-tevp....show oop.

Actually, in the process of booking a similar RTW ticket right now. Just as an FYI, got an email from star alliance on 15% off their RTW fares if you book in the next 2 weeks. If you are going to NYC, you might as well come back via Europe.

Back in BKK in July for a week or two...if you are about.

He was always a bit uppity, samran. Plus ca changes, and all that guff.

[steveromagnino]

ok let's line it up boys, I know that the three of us will need to help set up a blog about how much fun we can have setting up our own red shirt village in deepest Sukhumvit.

I have been doing a survey on economics in the Nana heartlands, and will be happy to share my findings.

"Yingluck her woman good good. I am like her especially she going to introduce Thai Amartaya Card again." (respondent A)

"Maew am is nice man. Him pay for sister get abendix out of stomach." (respondent

"Newin him have tiny Isaan nose. How him smell, very bad." (respondent C)

I saw the Star alliance offer; how exactly do you exercise it, I cannot open the staralliance website even....

[samran]

haha, you so hi-so Mr Sa-tevp....show oop.

Actually, in the process of booking a similar RTW ticket right now. Just as an FYI, got an email from star alliance on 15% off their RTW fares if you book in the next 2 weeks. If you are going to NYC, you might as well come back via Europe.

Back in BKK in July for a week or two...if you are about.

He was always a bit uppity, samran. Plus ca changes, and all that guff.

Tell me about it. Everytime we have lunch, he makes me go to Sizzler where the 99 baht cheese burger meal and Mc Donalds would do quite nicely (and withing the vicinity of my budget).

Can't do that local food. The street stall sellers want to rip me off, you know. They always try to charge me 5 baht more for 'pi-set' whatever that means.

[samran]

ok let's line it up boys, I know that the three of us will need to help set up a blog about how much fun we can have setting up our own red shirt village in deepest Sukhumvit.

I have been doing a survey on economics in the Nana heartlands, and will be happy to share my findings.

"Yingluck her woman good good. I am like her especially she going to introduce Thai Amartaya Card again." (respondent A)

"Maew am is nice man. Him pay for sister get abendix out of stomach." (respondent

"Newin him have tiny Isaan nose. How him smell, very bad." (respondent C)

I saw the Star alliance offer; how exactly do you exercise it, I cannot open the staralliance website even....

The star alliance site is a <deleted> of a site to book. You can probably go via Thai to book it (phone, ticketing office).

Star alliance are good to the extent where you can upgrade individual legs. Eco to Premium eco from Auckland to LA is an extra $400 for example, on Ear Nuiew Zulund.

[dddave]

I can do Thai to LAX then hop across on a US carrier.

TG 794/795: BKK-LAX direct has been cancelled as of this May. There are no more direct TG flights to the US. It may be reinstated when the 787 Dreamliner becomes operational.

[steveromagnino]

ddave thanks for that, interesting to know. The last time I was flying biz class stateside, the entire cabin was full of TRT/Puea Thai MPs, so I know that it had to be losing them a fortune.

Samran will go to Thai Airways and book.

Ear Niew Zuland now has 5 across seating, and must be some of the smallest seats known to man woman or child ever to prance across the skies above the land of the long white cloud. There is no way I am attempting to shoehorn my legs and khraahm into that tiny space. Prem economy on the other hand might be worth checking out.

"Ludies und Gentlemun you are probably hungry as, so brukfust is now surved." No thanks.

[bendix]

Can't do that local food. The street stall sellers want to rip me off, you know. They always try to charge me 5 baht more for 'pi-set' whatever that means.

I distinctly recall sharing a bowl of soup and noodles with you on Sukhumvit soi 8 a few years ago. Of course, that was when you were a mod and I was trying to curry favour.

I was impressed with how you spurned the chilli and fish sauce in favour of your own supply of Watties ketchup.

Classy.

[bendix]

ddave thanks for that, interesting to know. The last time I was flying biz class stateside, the entire cabin was full of TRT/Puea Thai MPs, so I know that it had to be losing them a fortune.

Samran will go to Thai Airways and book.

Ear Niew Zuland now has 5 across seating, and must be some of the smallest seats known to man woman or child ever to prance across the skies above the land of the long white cloud. There is no way I am attempting to shoehorn my legs and khraahm into that tiny space. Prem economy on the other hand might be worth checking out.

"Ludies und Gentlemun you are probably hungry as, so brukfust is now surved." No thanks.

What happened to you? You've changed.

[yermanee]

Qatar Airways do BKK/JFK via DOHA.

Not cheap though in business class abt 160.000 Baht return, but B777-300 all the way with full flatbed seats.

I know it's not Star Alliance but I'm a Qatar Airways fan and can vouch for their business class product.

Hope to have helped.

Yermanee

[dddave]

Korean Airlines flies direct to JFK from Seoul and is one of the best I've flown. Some pretty good deals on their own website.

JAL has just begun flying direct to Boston from Narita using the 787 Dreamliner if that's of any interest.

Economy on the JAL Dreamliner is said to be almost on a par with premium econ. on other carriers.

Edited May 16, 2012 by dddave

[osten]

I fly to USA on Star Alliance business class (using miles) once or twice per year. For me, I try to avoid Thai and opt for the much better service, nicer seats, and newer aircraft of Royal Jordanian or Cathay (if you're lucky).

I always end up on East Coast as well, but no need to fly to NYC. As you mentioned, flying to LA and then transferring to another carrier works.

As for car rentals, i personally opt for midsize and always find best prices on hotwire.com or kayak.com.

Hope that helps.

Sent from my HTC ChaCha A810e using Thaivisa Connect App

[RabC]

I fly to USA on Star Alliance business class (using miles) once or twice per year. For me, I try to avoid Thai and opt for the much better service, nicer seats, and newer aircraft of Royal Jordanian or Cathay (if you're lucky).

I always end up on East Coast as well, but no need to fly to NYC. As you mentioned, flying to LA and then transferring to another carrier works.

As for car rentals, i personally opt for midsize and always find best prices on hotwire.com or kayak.com.

Hope that helps.

Sent from my HTC ChaCha A810e using Thaivisa Connect App

Neither of those 2 airlines are Star Alliance?

[JayBee]

I do this a couple times a year. I recommend you try ANA. It is just one stop in Tokyo and not too long a layover. You will fly into Newark or JFK. Last I checked TG was no longer going to fly to lax direct, but would now stop first in Korea. That's the deal breaker for me considering how bad the service is on tg now and their seats are lumpy compared to other B-class seats. I loved the direct flights to NYC and put up with the direct ones to LAX, but now that they no longer have any direct flights to North America means I am done with them for now. Basically they spend a ton on advertising but are just a second rate airline .

ANA has nice new seats, 180 degrees flat and nice service. It is also one of the cheaper options in star alliance. Cheaper still will be some of the Chinese airlines but I avoid those. Some of the middle east airlines have crazy 12 hour stop overs, so check that.

[osten]

Oops...I got the OneWorld and StarAlliance airlines confused...I apologize for any confusion.

Anyway, with StarAlliance, my preferred choices are ANA or Asiana, both great airlines, especially in business class. The rest I said about flying to LA and then carrying on to NYC is still the same deal.

Osten

I fly to USA on Star Alliance business class (using miles) once or twice per year. For me, I try to avoid Thai and opt for the much better service, nicer seats, and newer aircraft of Royal Jordanian or Cathay (if you're lucky).

I always end up on East Coast as well, but no need to fly to NYC. As you mentioned, flying to LA and then transferring to another carrier works.

As for car rentals, i personally opt for midsize and always find best prices on hotwire.com or kayak.com.

Hope that helps.

Sent from my HTC ChaCha A810e using Thaivisa Connect App

Neither of those 2 airlines are Star Alliance?

[WilliaminBKK]

ANA would be my first choice, but I also love Swiss via Zurich for business class. Too bad your not flying next year EVA will be joining Star Alliance and they just upgraded their business class to NYC, I think they'll do very well. Air Canada often has some decent seat sales and you would pre-clear US customs/immigration in Toronto and their Y class is pretty good.

Check out the pinned article for some booking engines to explore - I like Vayama for J class and direct for almost everything else.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/527870-airline-information-and-flight-deals-for-expats/

[Sam Drucker]

If I were going to the east coast of the USA (especially in Business Class), I would not consider flying to the west coast and then taking a domestic flight across the country. Even flying domestically in first class, the experience would be way lower than flying international business class into the east coast. Thus, I'd take whatever international connection was necessary to get to the east coast on an international flight.

For all you guys who are saying THAI has dropped their direct flights to Los Angeles, you need to brush up on your airline-speak. THAI dropped their nonstop flights to Los Angeles, and replaced them with direct flights via Seoul. Since it is the same flight number all the way through Bangkok-Seoul-Los Angeles, airlines call this direct service. If the flights changed flight numbers in Seoul, it would be considered connecting service.

Obviously, not much difference between a direct flight and a connection. Both involve at least one stop. Historically, direct service was considered better than a connection because you didn't have to go to a different gate at the airport to continue on a direct flight (and sometimes could even stay on the plane during the stop.) Also, in the pre hub-and-spoke days, before flight banks were timed for connections, you probably waited much longer to make a connection than you would to make a stop on a direct flight.

Today, the term direct and it's meaning (a flight that stops along the way) seems illogical. But if you understand the difference in the terms direct and nonstop in the context of the airline industry and advertising, you'll avoid confusion and disappointment later in your travel experience.

[RabC]

Asiana are Star Alliance and get consistently good reviews on Skytrax. I believe they fly to New York

[osten]

Definitely agree that First class domestically is muc worse quality than Business out of Asia. However, i believe the OP was referencing a free ticket using miles. If this is the case, there are many more flights to West Coast with award availability.

If I were going to the east coast of the USA (especially in Business Class), I would not consider flying to the west coast and then taking a domestic flight across the country. Even flying domestically in first class, the experience would be way lower than flying international business class into the east coast. Thus, I'd take whatever international connection was necessary to get to the east coast on an international flight.

For all you guys who are saying THAI has dropped their direct flights to Los Angeles, you need to brush up on your airline-speak. THAI dropped their nonstop flights to Los Angeles, and replaced them with direct flights via Seoul. Since it is the same flight number all the way through Bangkok-Seoul-Los Angeles, airlines call this direct service. If the flights changed flight numbers in Seoul, it would be considered connecting service.

Obviously, not much difference between a direct flight and a connection. Both involve at least one stop. Historically, direct service was considered better than a connection because you didn't have to go to a different gate at the airport to continue on a direct flight (and sometimes could even stay on the plane during the stop.) Also, in the pre hub-and-spoke days, before flight banks were timed for connections, you probably waited much longer to make a connection than you would to make a stop on a direct flight.

Today, the term direct and it's meaning (a flight that stops along the way) seems illogical. But if you understand the difference in the terms direct and nonstop in the context of the airline industry and advertising, you'll avoid confusion and disappointment later in your travel experience.

Sent from my HTC ChaCha A810e using Thaivisa Connect App

[phetphet]

Have you had a look at EVA Air? I believe they have just joined the Star Alliance, and are doing a new Royal Premium class from JFK to Taipei.

[steveromagnino]

actually, I have other plans for my pot of 200,000 miles I have stashed; this is a paid for flight as I intend to mix some business into it and thus why get it free when I can pay. Also, I need to maintain higher status as well, hence the need to do the trip on staralliance; Quatas have shafted me enough times domestically and with ticket bookings in the past to say 'sayonara' to them and British Airways if I can ever avoid them again in my life, but each person's experience will vary of course. Cathay I like a lot and would work well....except for the group.

I will definitely check out ANA, Asiana; no interest in China Airlines; I do agree that flying in any class domestically in USA is pretty second rate vs. business out of Asia. I'm not flying Thai to go via Korea then via LA, one stop is more than enough; from a personal perspective I do tend to get more spoilt on Thai than any other airline even in coach, so there is some sense of loyalty, but not enough to stop twice.

The car is a selfish desire to take probably my only chance to drive a caddy, since they are not available in any of the countries I normally live/work, but who knows, mid size (by USA standards) may end up being the ticket.

From what I can tell the prices are fairly standardised.

Some indian carrier with a lengthy stop in Mumbai 100,000b

Turkish and other 2nd tier type airlines with odd routing 125,000b

Emirates 150,000b

ANA 150,000b

SIA 190,000b

United 160,000b

I can personally vouch in the past that Singapore girl is indeed a great way to fly, but this trip may not be able to enjoy such ancilliary benefits post flight.

Asiana's website is a bit weird, you need to book to Korea, then book Korea to NYC.....hmmmm way to make it easy for me to understand your price doufas.

[Sam Drucker]

A couple of pointers . . .

I faced the same problem with the Asiana website last year. It absolutely wouldn't let you get a quote/booking from Bangkok through Seoul and onto the USA. How many bookings between SE Asia and North America have they lost over the months (and possibly years!) because their website won't even allow the routing? As good as their in-flight experience is, their pre-flight booking, ticket purchasing, and seat assignment experiences are among the worst in the industry. Star Alliance should bust them for this!

Booking/quoting BKK-Seoul and Seoul-USA (separately) will probably get you a higher fare than you should be paying. I booked Asiana last year using Trravelocity or Expedia (don't remember which?) I remember one or both let's you even limit searches to favorite airlines (like Asiana) so you have a less-cluttered search result.

About the car: I've had some success on car rentals using Priceline and getting substantial discounts.You kind of have to study the market where you want to rent, look at past rental prices, and consider other things (like holidays, and day of week.) If you bid with Priceline, be sure you narrow the parameters of your bid (like car type, location, etc.) to try and get the car you want. If you bid and win, you pay up front, non-refundable. And if they company that accepted your bid doesn't have Cadillacs (specifically), you don't get a Cadillac. So be careful! In general I would say that a Cadillac on Priceline would probably go fairly cheap on weekends; it's more of a car rented on business trips, and business travelers usually get home on weekends at almost any cost. The benefit of Priceline bidding is that I have easily saved 50% or more on car rentals in some cases.

Edited May 18, 2012 by Sam Drucker

[osten]

Actually, Asiana is about the only site that allows you to check Award availabilit for the ENTIRE Star Alliance fleet, including flights to buy. Yes, you can check routings from bkk to lax via ANY connection as well.

The trick is yoy first need to sing up for their free frequent flyer program, then log in before searching. After doing intl. Flight seacrh with Asiana, then click on blue button on bottom of site that says "INCLUDE STAR ALLIANCE PARTNERS." Then, you can search all routing. Weird and inefficient, but it works.

Osten

Sent from my HTC ChaCha A810e using Thaivisa Connect App