Airline Trip Reports. Let Us Know About Your Flight!

[RabC]

Airline: Emirates

Ticket Price: 248,000

How Purchased (direct, agent, wholesaler, etc): Direct

Dates: 5/10/13

Class of Service: Business

Route: BKK-DXB-ACCRA

Aircraft Type: 777

Seat Configuration (i.e. 3/4/3) 2/3/2

Stopover City (If any): DXB

Check-in Location (good or bad?): Good check-in at BKK

Immigration (good or bad?): Fast track no problem

Excess Bag Fees (if any): Nil

Lounges Used: BKK was OK once the earlier flight had departed, DXB I am afraid I can only class as a cattle market.

Limo Service Provided: Not used

In-flight Entertainment: Very Good

In-flight Cabin Service (good or bad?): Good, saving grace

Seat Comfort: Poor for Business, very narrow and not very user friendly, see comments on 3 abreast seating below.

Food Quality: From BKK poor from DXB passable just

On Time Performance: Good

Comments: The 3 seat configuration in Business is poor to say the least, both aircraft were full and I do not appreciate being used as a climbing frame by someone's 7 yr old as Emirates split the family up. I will have to fly with Emirates on the return leg as there is no other carrier, but as an example of their service I will not willingly fly them again. I have been in premium economy that has been nearly as good as less than half the price. To me Emirates are over rated and over priced.

Forgot to update this on my return. What a difference a different aircraft makes. Accra-DXB was still 777 so same complaints from me. However I deliberately delayed my DXB-BKK flight by 45 minutes to try out the A380. What a difference, from a separate lounge (from where you board the aircraft), individual seat, no scrambling across people to access the aisle. It even seemed to make a difference to the crew who were all smiles and helpfulness. Food however was still mediocre.

Would this flight change my attitude towards Emirates? NO. As they get bigger and A380 becomes the standard so that standard will drop I believe and the Oasis that is the A380 terminal/lounge will just become another Mumbai Railway Station waiting room.

As a matter of interest would love to find out how many of the pax in the main terminal Business Class lounge are actually flying Business as opposed to FF Gold Card? (Singapore Airlines overcome this by having a separate lounge for FF Gold who are not flying Business)

Give it a rest with the racism.

Care to point out the racism. I could hardly refer to it as Grand Central Station waiting room when the majority of those sprawled across the place were Asians.

[nong38]

The A380 is the current state of the art, comfy and very quiet, once it becomes more common then other factors will come into play like service, food, IFE and the terminals you have to use will dictate which airline you decide to choose.

[Pattszero]

Airline: Emirates

Ticket Price: 248,000

How Purchased (direct, agent, wholesaler, etc): Direct

Dates: 5/10/13

Class of Service: Business

Route: BKK-DXB-ACCRA

Aircraft Type: 777

Seat Configuration (i.e. 3/4/3) 2/3/2

Stopover City (If any): DXB

Check-in Location (good or bad?): Good check-in at BKK

Immigration (good or bad?): Fast track no problem

Excess Bag Fees (if any): Nil

Lounges Used: BKK was OK once the earlier flight had departed, DXB I am afraid I can only class as a cattle market.

Limo Service Provided: Not used

In-flight Entertainment: Very Good

In-flight Cabin Service (good or bad?): Good, saving grace

Seat Comfort: Poor for Business, very narrow and not very user friendly, see comments on 3 abreast seating below.

Food Quality: From BKK poor from DXB passable just

On Time Performance: Good

Comments: The 3 seat configuration in Business is poor to say the least, both aircraft were full and I do not appreciate being used as a climbing frame by someone's 7 yr old as Emirates split the family up. I will have to fly with Emirates on the return leg as there is no other carrier, but as an example of their service I will not willingly fly them again. I have been in premium economy that has been nearly as good as less than half the price. To me Emirates are over rated and over priced.

Forgot to update this on my return. What a difference a different aircraft makes. Accra-DXB was still 777 so same complaints from me. However I deliberately delayed my DXB-BKK flight by 45 minutes to try out the A380. What a difference, from a separate lounge (from where you board the aircraft), individual seat, no scrambling across people to access the aisle. It even seemed to make a difference to the crew who were all smiles and helpfulness. Food however was still mediocre.

Would this flight change my attitude towards Emirates? NO. As they get bigger and A380 becomes the standard so that standard will drop I believe and the Oasis that is the A380 terminal/lounge will just become another Mumbai Railway Station waiting room.

As a matter of interest would love to find out how many of the pax in the main terminal Business Class lounge are actually flying Business as opposed to FF Gold Card? (Singapore Airlines overcome this by having a separate lounge for FF Gold who are not flying Business)

Give it a rest with the racism.

Care to point out the racism. I could hardly refer to it as Grand Central Station waiting room when the majority of those sprawled across the place were Asians.

If you can't see that even feeling the need to refer to the race of other people in the lounge is racist then you are beyond help.

Incidentally - I bit this time because it's not the first time I've seen you use that Delhi Bus Station line.

Give it a rest.

[nss70]

How about a comparison between two recent flights.

Airline: Swiss
Ticket Price: £676 including two short flights for complete journey. (AGP-ZRH Swiss, BKK-HKT Thai)
How Purchased (direct, agent, wholesaler, etc): agent
Dates: /> june 3; \<June 17
Class of Service: economy
Route: ZRH-BKK-ZRH
Aircraft Type: A343
Seat Configuration (i.e. 3/4/3) 2/4/2
Stopover City (If any):
Check-in Location (good or bad?): Transit area, fine
Immigration (good or bad?): no probs
Excess Bag Fees (if any):na
Lounges Used:na
Limo Service Provided:na
In-flight Entertainment:poor, broken equipment
In-flight Cabin Service (good or bad?): poor
Seat Comfort: 'ing awful!
Food Quality: inedible
On Time Performance: on time
Comments: This is the very worst long haul flight experience I have ever had. The seats were incredibly hard, narrow and very uncomfortable. The food? Tragic, I truly believe my dog would turn it down! The flight attendants were so so but the service they gave was very poor, any requests by passengers around me, e.g. for a drink of water, either forgotton or took ages to fulfil.

Both their own short haul flight and Thais were infinitely superior in every way.

If possible, I will NEVER fly long haul with Swiss again.

Airline: Air France
Ticket Price: £1,013, ouch! Caught by short notice and time of year (including AGP-CDG Air Europa, BKK-HKT Bangkok Air)
How Purchased (direct, agent, wholesaler, etc): Agent
Dates: />july 21; \< Aug 5
Class of Service: Economy
Route: CDG-BKK-CDG
Aircraft Type: 777-300ER

Seat Configuration (i.e. 3/4/3)
Stopover City (If any):
Check-in Location (good or bad?): Free run of airport?! Great
Immigration (good or bad?): no probs
Excess Bag Fees (if any):na
Lounges Used:na
Limo Service Provided:na
In-flight Entertainment:Very good.
In-flight Cabin Service (good or bad?): very friendly and cheerful, easy to get extras served.
Seat Comfort: Good for class
Food Quality: Quite reasonable, ate most of it. Even the wine and port were nice!
On Time Performance: 1:20 delay
Comments: Apart from the delay which caused us some inconvenience, pretty good for economy. I wasn't told the AGP-CDG leg was farmed out to Air Europa in advance. Two problems there, firstly they refused to give full luggage check-through to final destination and secondly there are no free drinks or snacks aboard. However, on return Bangkok Air happily arranged full check-through.

Both companies, if compared to other flights with Thai, Eva, Malaysia, Etihad etc. fall short of the mark in comfort and service.

[penco]

Airline: EVA Air
Ticket Price: 825GBP
How Purchased (direct, agent, wholesaler, etc): Skyscanner website
Dates: 21 July 2014 rtn 13 Aug 2014
Class of Service: Economy
Route: LHR-BKK BKK-LHR
$Aircraft Type: 777-300
Seat Configuration (i.e. 3/4/3) 3-3-3
Stopover City (If any):
Check-in Location (good or bad?): LHR T2 - fine
Immigration (good or bad?): No problems either end. UK exit asked me why I was going. And asked me again almost immediately as if checking my story
Excess Bag Fees (if any): None but EVA Air are pretty stingy 20Kg max
Lounges Used: None
Limo Service Provided:
In-flight Entertainment: Screens on the back of the all the headrests and On-Demand films and TV. Pretty good movies too.
In-flight Cabin Service (good or bad?): No problems. Good English. Courteous, helpful.
Seat Comfort: Pretty good, headrest was adjustable in height and this helped me sleep.
Food Quality: Great. No complaints. The Chinese style options were the tastiest.
On Time Performance: Left late on both flights but more than caught up at the end of the flight and arrived early both times
Comments: Great flight, I would use them again.

[NoshowJones]

Flew out last week with BA, World Explorer, booked through Trailfinders, return fare LHR-BKK-LHR was 665 sterling on a 777-300 seats mainly 3x3x3 and ok plenty of room. Food out was good chicken rice and sweetcorn in a spicy bbq sauce with assorted extras on the tray, South African and French red wine available. Breakfast was sausage, bacom scrambled eggs, mushrooms and very good it was too for a plane along with extra bits and bobs. The food was good and the service on board was excellent.

Left London at 1540 arrived Bangkok at 0910next day and was off the plane 5 minutes after it stopped, no immigration queue either.

Luggage was 23kg for the hold and nothing weighed for in the cabin, standard cabin size, not checked.

Non stop 11 hours 30 mins, scheduled 11.35 the best I have used so far. At the time of booking EVA were 800 gbp and Emarites 753 gbp.

Not impressed with the IFE.

You were lucky Dave (Nong38)The food I got was inedible by the time they got to me all that was left was a dried pasta dish (COLD) + a very Hard cake type thing But I did get a pat of butter alas nothing to spread it on bread wise all in all at best rubbish. Only redeeming factor was we arrived early. Not only that I had to walk right to the end of economy class to use the toilet as our section didn't have any. Like you I got a cheap price next time it's EVA business

Fred.

Just back from the UK with BA, journey and times good. service from cabin crew very good, leg room very poor, I'm not that tall, only 6ft, have travelled with most airlines over the years, but BAs food was by far the worst, apart from the chicken which was finished in two mouthfuls. So there you have it, the good and the bad.

Flying to Glasgow from Swampy, there are only two airlines, BA and Emirates, who are vastly overpriced, and very poor value as there is app two 6 hr journeys, no time for a decent sleep.

[smokie36]

Try routing through Amsterdam Possum...I find it a far better transit.

Edited August 25, 2014 by smokie36

[siam2007]

Air France ??? Emirates ??? it is stunning me that there are still people flying airlines that consider their passengers as sardines and squeeze in 10 seats a row into an aircraft that has been made for 9 seats only ( B 777 ).

I did that twice (didn't know about it until boarded the aircraft) on Austrian and Emirates, and one thing for sure is that I will never ever fly a B777 longhaul again if I can not be 100% sure that the seating is the appropriate 9 seats per row (like on THAI 3-3-3 or Malaysian 2-5-2)

[OMGImInPattaya]

Air France ??? Emirates ??? it is stunning me that there are still people flying airlines that consider their passengers as sardines and squeeze in 10 seats a row into an aircraft that has been made for 9 seats only ( B 777 ).

I did that twice (didn't know about it until boarded the aircraft) on Austrian and Emirates, and one thing for sure is that I will never ever fly a B777 longhaul again if I can not be 100% sure that the seating is the appropriate 9 seats per row (like on THAI 3-3-3 or Malaysian 2-5-2)

Try to get routes where Emirates flies their A380s, where it's 1-2-1 in business class.

[OMGImInPattaya]

EMIRATES AIRLINES...FIRST TIME TRIP REPORT...BANGKOK TO HONG KONG RETURN...BUSINESS CLASS ON AIRBUS A380

Airline: Emirates

Route: BKK-HKG Return

Flight: EK384 and EK385

Aircraft: Airbus A380

Price: About 15,000 baht
Purchase Channel: Direct...Emirates website
Dates: 13-12-2014
Class: Business
Seat Configuration: 1-2-1, upper-deck of Emirates is all premium class...First and Business, with direct gate-ramp access (never even saw a cow while onboard)
Check-In and Immigration: Separate premium check-in line, two minute wait. Premium immigration line pass (both ways) provided...no line at premium immigration passport check.
Baggage Fees: 40 kg. No bag limit.
Lounges: Dedicated Emirates business lounges (both BKK and HKG)

Lounge Quality: Superlative...the best this reviewer has ever experienced.
Limousine Service: Generally yes, however, on this short "third-leg" flight, it is not offered.
In-flight Entertainment: Unknown. Traveler provides own IFE via iPad tablet and downloaded movies, TV, books, and newspapers. However, the screens are large 20-22".

In-flight Internet: Yes; promotion of free for first 10 mb download and then US$ 1.00 for rest of the flight. Speed slow but web browsing and email check possible.
In-flight Cabin Crew: Mix of youngish 20-30 year-olds from around the world - primarily European. Announced that 15 languages spoken by cabin crew.

In-flight Service: Casual friendly...like many servers at restaurants these days. They seem to want to be your friend.
Seat Comfort: Good but not very wide but comfortable. Window seats very private "cubicle," 180 lie flat. Seat-side mini-bar.
Food Quality: Lounge...Aroy maak maak; In-flight...unknown (see comments below).

Misc: Open bar and lounge area at the back of the upper deck to accommodate around 10-12 people at a time.

Comments:

So to start, let me say that this was a same-day visa run for me...fly outta Bangkok in the afternoon to Hong Kong...and then fly back to Thailand on the "same" flight later that evening. I had a couple reasons for taking this rather extravagant visa-run (the other more typical run is a mini-van ride to an adjacent country border exit/entry post): 1: I have heard and read about the supposedly great service (in all respects) of the business class products of many of the Arabian Gulf airlines, including Emirates, who started it all, and wanted to see try it for myself and 2: I wanted to fly on an Airbus A380, the worlds largest and newest jumbo class jet. The Emirates flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong gave me a chance to do both at a relatively affordable price, as it is offered for a little less than 15,000 baht and the aircraft used is an A380.

As with any business class flight, airport check-in and immigration was a breeze. Separate check-in lines and premium immigration passes are provided. (Just a note - the Premium Immigration "lane" is separate from the general immigration area, with it's own separate entrance (basically it's the VIP and crew immigration area.) Emirates has their own dedicated airport lounges in both Bangkok and Hong Kong. Both lounges are large and spacious, with large comfortable lounging and separate eating areas, along with large bathroom and shower facilities at both locations. Full shower kits are available at the lounge front desk. One interesting note in the shower was a dedicated "ablution" station. Being an atheist, I had the urge to perform ablution of my own at this station but managed to control this in the interests of inter-cultural harmony. The lounge food offerings were over the top...both in terms of quantity and quality and I can best describe them similar to dining at the lunch buffet at one of Bangkok's 5-star hotel buffets...only on a slightly smaller scale (but not by much). In a word, the food was DELICIOUS. The lounge food offerings were so extensive and good such that I gorged myself before each flight to such an extent that consequently I didn't have the room to actually avail myself of any of the in-flight food service offerings (other than beverages). However, as I anticipated doing this review, I did photograph the menus for the flights so you readers can at least see the food that was served.

The entire upper-deck of the Emirates A380 is given over to First and Business class passengers. As previously noted, the business seating configuration is 1-2-1. The seats are comfortable but not terribly wide. This is due to the rather bulky cabinetry that is adjacent to the actual seat itself. Therefore, one feels like they are in a little cocoon, especially with the window seats, which are very private. The seats recline 180 degrees and there is an extra padded mattress provided to lay on the seat when it is in bed mode to provide extra comfort. The IFE screens are very large (maybe 20 or 22 inches) and bright. One highlight for flight geeks are the three outside camera views taken from various points on the aircraft. One can even observe the entire take-off with a Captain's eye view from the nose-cone camera. Just a note, if you are traveling as a couple, the middle aisle seats are the ones you want...also note that there is two configurations for the middle seats that alternate by row. One has the seats themselves adjacent to each other for easy communication (this is the one you want) while the other configuration has them widely separated. I also note the these center aisle business class seats, while the same size as the window seats, they way they are configured makes them seem much more close together and much less spacious and private. Also, seat 21 A and K (I think...the window seats anyway) are bad seats...they are much shorter than all the others only one window to the 2 for all the other seats. Also, keep in mind the bar/lounge area at the back of the deck...if you're a light sleeper you want to avoid the first 405 rows in front of the lounge if possible on sleeping flights.

The flight crew on my flight was professional in a friendly sort of way. They were predominantly youngish European lads and lasses and they reminded me of the servers one finds in many restaurants these days who introduce themselves by their first names and it's like we're friends. It's definitely not the deferential service you get (and get used to on Asian airlines) but one gets used to to it. I also noticed that being a non-Asian airline, some of the ladies were definitely on the plus side, while funny enough, the stewards were all slender handsome blokes; so at least on my flight, score one for the women and gay male passengers In some ways, especially as the flights were not especially full, it was more of a "party" atmosphere, with many of the passengers seemingly being Emirates regulars chatting with the crew and many others walking up and down the aisles shooting videos undoubtedly for their airline YouTube video channels.

The Emirates business class lounges, in both Bangkok and Hong Kong were some of the best I've ever been in; and this is really saying something as these are not "home base" lounges but network lounges. However, they put to shame all the other network business lounges I've used at Swampy and other airports in Asia as well as most Asian carrier home base lounges as well. In Bangkok, this includes the lounges of Thai, United/ANA, Cathay Pacific, and EVA. Either lounge is also better than the EVA home base business lounge in Taipei, the HB lounge of Cathay in Hong Kong, and United lounge at Narita. What I really like about the Emirates lounge food selection is that just about all the offerings are western food. Yes, being a big-nosed farang, that's what I like to eat...as opposed to the more Asian food offerings found with all the Asian carriers in the region. This also applies to the in-flight meals and snacks as well. Both the Emirates lounges serve a wide variety of stater, main, hot, and cold food offerings...like I said before, the variety and quality rivaled what one finds at a high-end bangkok lunch buffet...only on a smaller scale. The service is also exemplary, with empty dishes being whisked away quickly and food servings taken from the selections quickly replaced with more. All this of course is washed down with premium wines and spirits, along with coffee and espressos.

Final thoughts...I throughly enjoyed my first flight on Emirates Airline. The business class product is exemplary. Would I take Emirates again...in a heart-beat. If it were not for the fact that I'll be 50 in a few months and can say goodbye for good to visa runs, i would take all my runs on this Hong Kong flight. As it is, I may just take this flight once or twice a year just for the fun of it. What I do know is that in the future, I will be taking Emirates for my annual trips Stateside, even though it's a much longer flight than the Asian carriers across the Pacific...but what do I care, it just gives me more time to eat...and if the network lounges in BKK and HKG are this good, what must the home base lounge in Dubai be like!

The Pictures:

1. Bangkok Lounge

Pick a seat.

Don't forget your ablution!

And shower.

Have a drink (one of two bar set-ups).

Dessert anyone...lemon meringue pie, Christmas log, fruit plate, coconut tart, strawberry tart, almond cake anyone...

Asian duck salad with mango.

or maybe prawn cocktail with papaya and hearts of palm.

Indian curries.

Stuffed pasta rolls, potatoes, and your veggies.

Something to wash it down with...

or maybe something from the second bar station...

or a cappuccino?

My selections: Cheese plate, dates with pita bread and hummus, duck salad, chicken and beef satay (tender and moist...even the beef), and lemon meringue pie.

The Plane

Aisle seat.

Window seat.

Seat mini-bar.

Open bar and lounge.

Meal Service (What I would have eaten if I could!)

Hong Kong Lounge

Cheese selection and fruit plate.

Octopus and prawn salad, goat cheese.

Beef salad.

Grilled lamb chops.

Chinese stir-fry beef, chicken satay, chicken pie, veggies.

Chocolate moose and fruit berry tart.

My selections.

Return Flight Menu...again, what I would have eaten if i wasn't so full!

[Diplomatico]

Awesome and detailed trip report, OMG. The burled wood accents of the seating area are similar to the decor in QR Business Class. You'll need to exercise for a week to work off the food and drink. Thanks for sharing the experience.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Awesome and detailed trip report, OMG. The burled wood accents of the seating area are similar to the decor in QR Business Class. You'll need to exercise for a week to work off the food and drink. Thanks for sharing the experience.

I was gonna mention it but didn't want to be too picky but actually the wood is plastic and kinda tacky. In fact, the whole cabin interior, with that burled plastic wood, flower wall sconces, and gold trim accents here and there is kinda over the top. I guess it's some Arab sheiks idea of chic I actually prefer the more muted luxury of the soft muted tones and accents found in the new Qatar Air and Etihad premium cabins.

But no reason not to fly Emirates...and you're right about the food. I'm fasting the day before my next Emirates flight so I can enjoy the in-flight meals as well!

[yermanee]

Just returned from a short trip to Europe (Belgium via CDG – Paris airport) with mixed feelings for the airline used. As many of you know I used to fly Oman Air almost exclusively but their schedule changes and price policies made me look somewhere else, in this case Srilankan Airlines, based on glowing reviews from some members of Thaivisa.

So here it goes :

Airline: Srilankan Airlines
Ticket Price: Baht 53.200,- (promotion)
How Purchased (direct, agent, wholesaler, etc): direct
Dates: 26.05.2015 return 30.05.2015
Class of Service: business
Route: BKK – CMB – CDG – CMB - BKK
Aircraft Type: 3 times A330-200 and 1 flight A330-300
Seat Configuration (i.e. 3/4/3) on A330-200 : 2/2/2 on A330-300 1/2/1
Stopover City (If any): Colombo
Check-in Location (good or bad?): BKK excellent – CDG good
Immigration (good or bad?): BKK excellent – CDG good
Excess Bag Fees (if any): No
Lounges Used: BKK – CIP lounge and CDG One World lounge (Salon Icare)
Limo Service Provided: no
In-flight Entertainment: poor
In-flight Cabin Service (good or bad?): excellent
Seat Comfort: on A330-200 good – on A33-300 very uncomfortable.
Food Quality: taste not to my liking so cannot judge the quality.
On Time Performance: good
Comments: plenty.

First of all I’m a wheelchair (WCHR) passenger and I have to say that the service at Suvarnabhumi is second to none, the service at CDG was very good on arrival less so on departure.

The service at Colombo was shambolic to say the least, ground staff is rude and unorganized, the lounge although recently refurbished is dismal, I had to remind the staff 2 times I was waiting for my wheelchair, and nearly missed the flight (doors closed immediately after I boarded).

And regarding the food, I dislike overly spiced food, I like to know and taste exactly what’s on my plate and the lamb curry and Tajine that I tried failed miserably. But that’s purely my personal tastebuds.

All in all notwithstanding the excellent service on board I will not fly with Srilankan ever again.

Yermanee

p.s. I don't understand what so many members here have against Suvarnabhumi. My experience tells me it outshines nearly all the airports that I know.

[golfer1111]

Airline: China Airlines

Route: BKK - SFO

Flight: 836/004 - 003/833

Aircraft: 747 on all routes BKK -TPE sector had 1st class seating

Price: 96000
Purchase Channel: Vayama (fare found with Google Flights) - much cheaper than others

Dates: 7 - 5 - 2015
Class: Business
Seat Configuration: 2-3-2
Check-In and Immigration: Separate premium check-in line, 1 minute wait. Premium immigration line pass (both ways) provided...no line at premium immigration passport check.
Baggage Fees: 32k 2 bag limit
Lounges: BKK, SFO & Taipei

Lounge Quality: BKK & SFO - decent, Taipei, very nice
Limousine Service: none
In-flight Entertainment: Primitive for modern business class, small screens, poor selection

In-flight Internet: Not sure but don't think so
In-flight Service: Very good on all flights

Seat Comfort: Not ok on TPE - SFO, ok on rest of flights, good only when put in 1st class section due to change of plane (from seat plan with no 1st class to one with 1st class - that was nice)
Food Quality: Ok, not special

Overall, somewhere between Eva deluxe and other business class offerings, not terrible for the price but not great either - it is a good schedule, but EVA is as well

[nong38]

Have just returned to Thailand from London Heathrow ( 14th June ) with British Airways, aircraft was Boeing 777-300 with GE 90 engines.

Excellent flight, some turbulence over eastern Europe but otherwise smooth, 100mph tailwind for a time as well. altitude mainly 37000 feet with then a rse to 39000 feet and finshing at 41000 feet towards the end, perfect landing.

Plenty of room in the seat and comfortable seat as well in World Traveller ( sounds better then economy). Food was good for airlines, evening was chicken strips in coconut milk with rice and vegetables with the usual add ons and no restrictions on drinks, further snacks available at the back of the plane if required as well as drinks. Veggie option available. Both come with the usual other plate fillers. Morning English breakfast. bacon, sausage, scrambled egg, tomato and mushrooms, it smelt good and was good as well.

On board crew were not youngsters, just very good at their job, excellent service, time for the flight, non-stop was 11 hours 55 minutes we got in 20 minutes early, then had to walk the usual 3 sides the block to Immigration, usual high speed job and a lot of empty desks and even then the luggage took 45 minutes after landing to arrive.

Cost of flight was 484 GBP. Booked direct with BA.com

Just a small point of possible information to look out for the future.

I was told that the Arbus A380 was to be scheduled for this flight BA009 and BA010 from July this year but when I asked the cabin crew were not aware although they did say there was a rumour that this flight might be moving to London Gatwick in the future, if that is proved correct then whether there will be any flights from Heathrow to Bangkok by BA in the future may be in doubt.

All in all apart from the poor inflight entertainment ( this is subjective and I took a book and a newspaper ) the flight was excellent from the front desk checking in to touching down, thoroughly recommend British Airways and I would have said that 2 years ago.

Edited June 16, 2015 by nong38

[RabC]

Airline: British Airways

Ticket Price: 99,000฿

How Purchased (direct, agent, wholesaler, etc): direct

Dates: 2 July

Class of Service: Business

Route:vBKK-LHR

Aircraft Type: 777

Seat Configuration (i.e. 3/4/3) 2/4/2

Stopover City (If any): Nil

Check-in Location (good or bad?): Good

Immigration (good or bad?): Fast track Good

Excess Bag Fees (if any): Nil

Lounges Used: BA now use Cathay Lounge which was recently renovated and is very nice.

Limo Service Provided: No

In-flight Entertainment: Outdated, small screen and not great quality. Large selection of film and TV

In-flight Cabin Service (good or bad?): Good

Seat Comfort: just OK

Food Quality: just OK

On Time Performance: 2 hours late departing and 1 hour late landing.

Comments: I have been spoilt using Asian carriers. The BA product is very dated and just OK. Nothing to really complain about but just not up to the levels of comfort, service and food on Asian carries. 8 abreast and having to look the person next to you in the face as well as lack of direct aisle access date the product.

Edited July 5, 2015 by RabC

[arkom]

Airline: Etihad

Ticket Price: 150,000
How Purchased (direct, agent, wholesaler, etc): Agent
Dates: May 2015
Class of Service: Business and First
Route: BKK-LHR-BKK
Aircraft Type: 777 and A380
Seat Configuration (i.e. 3/4/3) 2/2/2 and 1/1
Stopover City (If any): AUH
Check-in Location (good or bad?): good
Immigration (good or bad?): good
Excess Bag Fees (if any): nil
Lounges Used: BKK, AUH, LHR
Limo Service Provided: yes
In-flight Entertainment: average
In-flight Cabin Service (good or bad?): Business average First excellent
Seat Comfort: Business poor, First excellent
Food Quality: good
On Time Performance: good
Comments: First off, I got a special price thru my credit card. Business on 777 from BKK-AUH-BKK average at best, old aircraft with uncomfortable seats. From BKK-AUH my seat didn't recline all the way, had to mess with the seat for about 10 mins to finally get it to properly recline. The in flight entertainment system along with headsets did not working properly. Service is just average, nothing spectacular.

First class on the A380 apartments is a whole different story, everything top notch with excellent over the top service. Nothing bad to say.

Had limo service in BKK they were very professional and punctual, but he cars where old early 2000's 5 series and E-Class but clean and water was provided, however I did see another passenger arrive in a brand new E-Class. Limo in London was a new model 7 Series no refreshments provided and the car was bit dirty. Driver kept reaching down to grab a bag and was snacking most of the time, which felt unprofessional.

Etihad does not have a lounge in BKK and used Thai Airways lounge which I thought was not that great. Lounge in AUH and LHR were good.

Inflight entertainment felt very limited compared to Thai and Emirates.

Overall had better experience flying Business with Emirates, don't think I would fly Etihad again.

[fish fingers]

Just a small point of possible information to look out for the future.

I was told that the Arbus A380 was to be scheduled for this flight BA009 and BA010 from July this year but when I asked the cabin crew were not aware although they did say there was a rumour that this flight might be moving to London Gatwick in the future, if that is proved correct then whether there will be any flights from Heathrow to Bangkok by BA in the future may be in doubt.

If they use the A380 from Gatwick I'll def try BA. I much prefer Gatwick and its a little easier to travel there from East London

EVA still offer the convenient night flight but the B777 is quite noisy and the cabins are just starting to look a little bit tired.

Also worth checking out Finnair from europe to Bangkok. From London the journey time seems to be the shortest one stop there is. Helsinki airport is also very pleasant. This year i flew 2 relatives with Finnair on business class from Paris, amazing prices, around 1400 euros each and great service/flight.

Plus they will have the new A350's on theses routes by next year.

Edited July 15, 2015 by fish fingers

[triffid]

Just a small point of possible information to look out for the future.

I was told that the Arbus A380 was to be scheduled for this flight BA009 and BA010 from July this year but when I asked the cabin crew were not aware although they did say there was a rumour that this flight might be moving to London Gatwick in the future, if that is proved correct then whether there will be any flights from Heathrow to Bangkok by BA in the future may be in doubt.

If they use the A380 from Gatwick I'll def try BA. I much prefer Gatwick and its a little easier to travel there from East London

EVA still offer the convenient night flight but the B777 is quite noisy and the cabins are just starting to look a little bit tired.

Also worth checking out Finnair from europe to Bangkok. From London the journey time seems to be the shortest one stop there is. Helsinki airport is also very pleasant. This year i flew 2 relatives with Finnair on business class from Paris, amazing prices, around 1400 euros each and great service/flight.

Plus they will have the new A350's on theses routes by next year.

I looked several times for a good price bkk-paris-bkk and saw nothing anything like as low as 1400€ (equivalent in baht). I like Finnair too but looks like you were lucky with the fare.

[triffid]

Just returned from a short trip to Europe (Belgium via CDG – Paris airport) with mixed feelings for the airline used. As many of you know I used to fly Oman Air almost exclusively but their schedule changes and price policies made me look somewhere else, in this case Srilankan Airlines, based on glowing reviews from some members of Thaivisa.

So here it goes :

Airline: Srilankan Airlines

Ticket Price: Baht 53.200,- (promotion)

How Purchased (direct, agent, wholesaler, etc): direct

Dates: 26.05.2015 return 30.05.2015

Class of Service: business

Route: BKK – CMB – CDG – CMB - BKK

Aircraft Type: 3 times A330-200 and 1 flight A330-300

Seat Configuration (i.e. 3/4/3) on A330-200 : 2/2/2 on A330-300 1/2/1

Stopover City (If any): Colombo

Check-in Location (good or bad?): BKK excellent – CDG good

Immigration (good or bad?): BKK excellent – CDG good

Excess Bag Fees (if any): No

Lounges Used: BKK – CIP lounge and CDG One World lounge (Salon Icare)

Limo Service Provided: no

In-flight Entertainment: poor

In-flight Cabin Service (good or bad?): excellent

Seat Comfort: on A330-200 good – on A33-300 very uncomfortable.

Food Quality: taste not to my liking so cannot judge the quality.

On Time Performance: good

Comments: plenty.

First of all I’m a wheelchair (WCHR) passenger and I have to say that the service at Suvarnabhumi is second to none, the service at CDG was very good on arrival less so on departure.

The service at Colombo was shambolic to say the least, ground staff is rude and unorganized, the lounge although recently refurbished is dismal, I had to remind the staff 2 times I was waiting for my wheelchair, and nearly missed the flight (doors closed immediately after I boarded).

And regarding the food, I dislike overly spiced food, I like to know and taste exactly what’s on my plate and the lamb curry and Tajine that I tried failed miserably. But that’s purely my personal tastebuds.

All in all notwithstanding the excellent service on board I will not fly with Srilankan ever again.

Yermanee

p.s. I don't understand what so many members here have against Suvarnabhumi. My experience tells me it outshines nearly all the airports that I know.

Could you elaborate just a little on a) the extreme discomfort of the seat on a330-300, and were all seats converted to flat beds? Thanks.

[oldsailor35]

AIR ASIA looks after its passengers unlike SCOOT !

Last year i flew with SCOOT from Coolangatta (Aust) to Bangkok via Singapore. I arrived at the airport at 5am to catch the 0850 am flight. On checking in i was told "the flight will be 7 hours late" not so bad for me, but several passengers would arrive in Singapore too late to catch connecting flights to Europe, UK etc. The Scoot staff at Cool were not interesting in talking to anyone except to say that we would be looked after on arrival in Singapore, and then just disappeared until the flight arrived. On arrival at Singapore SCOOT told me that my flight to BKK had left and that i was booked on the next morning's flight. That was it ! i had to get a taxi into Singapore and find a hotel at my own expense, next morning another taxi back to the airport for the morning flight On arrival i found my suitcase missing, once again SCOOT was not interested, telling me to ring back tomorrow ! This went on for 4 days when they found my baggage at Singapore, told me to pick it up at 1pm.

No help or consideration whatsoever from SCOOT

Recently i flew AIR ASIA from Coolangatta to Bangkok via KL The flight was delayed by 3 hours. AA gave all passengers a breakfast voucher to be used any cafe of choice at the airport. On arrival at KL twenty passengers for BKK found that their connecting flight had left. AIR ASIA put us all into mini busses and took us to a 5 star Golf resort for the night including a smorgasboard dinner, breakfast at 0530 the next morning and busses back to the airport. On arrival at BKK i found once again that my baggage was missing, consequently i missed my 1140 am flight to Suratthani. AIR ASIA once again came to my rescue by re -issuing me a ticket on the 230pm flight

AIR ASIA did all this for us because it was not our fault

SCOOT had the temerity to offer me $50 off my next flight, however sadly i told them to "Stick it"

[55Jay]

Mrs and I did BKK>LAX return, my first time on Cathay Pacific. Tried the Premium Eco (PE) class, $3,700 US all in for both. Eco was running about 2,300 for two of us at the time. Went 1st week of June and that was the ragged edge before the higher summer prices kicked in.

Hong Kong transit was a breeze, and what a nice airport. Liked it more than last year KE / Seoul.

Bit of a gaggle at the gate then announcement our aircraft hadn't even shown up yet. They called my name and said I had been upgraded to business (B777), but I declined to abandon the wife in PE. After a few minutes, they returned and said she could go too. Meals, wine, IFE good and the tail wind put us into LA a bit early, despite the 1 hour delay leaving.

During our holiday, received email saying our return between HKG and BKK had aircraft change, no PE available... stand by for new booking. I thought sure our luck coming over was up and we would get ejected into Economy. 2 days later, got an email showing we were both upgraded to Business. Nice on, CX!

Return, no queue for PE check in at LAX but as both PE and J counters were engaged, I was escorted over to the 1st class check in counter. They let me slide on a couple extra KGs weight, which was nice, and due to the business upgrade out of HK, got the priority luggage service and invitation to Cathay lounges at HK.

Note: At LAX, if you are eligible, give the Bob Hope USO a look. It's between Terminal 1 and 2, arrival levels across the street. ID check to get in then everything is free of charge, good wifi, comfortable way to pass the time and avoid being gouged for a cup of coffee in the terminal. http://www.bobhopeuso.org/our-locations/bob-hope-hollywood-uso-at-lax.html

1hr delay leaving LA which was made up again on the way over. Flight in PE was fine, food ok, IFE no issues. When PE is priced right, sure is worth the expense for long haul.

Tried 2 Cathay lounges in HK, good breakfast offerings, good wifi.

Pulled an A330 to BKK. The J class was herring bone config but were these narrow slots. Anyone with any upper body build would find it uncomfortable as did I. Glad it was an upgrade not a paid seat. I wouldn't want to go anywhere very far in that seat, and was glad to get out of it in BKK.

Hit the Fast Track Immigration, and priority tag luggage was already on the belt when I walked up.

Overall for my first CX experience. Looking at Japan this winter and would certainly give them a go again.

[slerickson]

Nice idea but without some sort of summary or hierarchy, how does someone make use of this? I might be missing something. ?

[golfer1111]

Airline: China Airlines

Route: BKK - SFO

Flight: 836/004 - 003/833

Aircraft: 747 on BKK -TPE sector. 777 on TPE-SFO

Price: 80000
Purchase Channel: China Airlines website

Dates: Oct 2015
Class: Business
Seat Configuration: 747 was 2-3-2, 777 was 1-2-1
Check-In and Immigration: Separate premium check-in line, 1 minute wait. Premium immigration line pass (both ways) provided...no line at premium immigration passport check.
Baggage Fees: 32k 2 bag limit, no fee
Lounges: BKK, SFO & Taipei

Lounge Quality: BKK - ok
Limousine Service: none
In-flight Entertainment: 747 didn't work, 777 was brand new, large screens, noise cancelling headphones

In-flight Internet: 747 - no, 777 - yes
In-flight Service: Very good on all flights

Seat Comfort: ok on BKK-TPE, great on the 777
Food Quality: Very good

Overall, 747 was poor, 777 was great. They are phasing out the 747's. China air has long been the pits but the new 777's are great. They are adding A350-900's for flights to Europe next year designed by the same guy who did the 777.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Airline: China Airlines

Route: BKK - SFO

Flight: 836/004 - 003/833

Aircraft: 747 on BKK -TPE sector. 777 on TPE-SFO

Price: 80000

Purchase Channel: China Airlines website

Dates: Oct 2015

Class: Business

Seat Configuration: 747 was 2-3-2, 777 was 1-2-1

Check-In and Immigration: Separate premium check-in line, 1 minute wait. Premium immigration line pass (both ways) provided...no line at premium immigration passport check.

Baggage Fees: 32k 2 bag limit, no fee

Lounges: BKK, SFO & Taipei

Lounge Quality: BKK - ok

Limousine Service: none

In-flight Entertainment: 747 didn't work, 777 was brand new, large screens, noise cancelling headphones

In-flight Internet: 747 - no, 777 - yes

In-flight Service: Very good on all flights

Seat Comfort: ok on BKK-TPE, great on the 777

Food Quality: Very good

Overall, 747 was poor, 777 was great. They are phasing out the 747's. China air has long been the pits but the new 777's are great. They are adding A350-900's for flights to Europe next year designed by the same guy who did the 777.

Nice report. Yes China Air is stepping g up its game with the new triple-7s. I saw some promo vids for the new plane's business class product and they did a good job with the design. At that price, it's gonna give EVA a real run for their money.

Too bad the regional business class is somewhat lagging.

Edited November 15, 2015 by OMGImInPattaya

[Ireland32]

Took a Flight from BKK to San Francisco, Asiana , Nov11, 0210,Airbus 380,100 or so people on it, everybody in Economy got a row to himself, about 6 people in the first 20 rows,the connection to SFO after Seoul, they used a 777 usually crowded flight with a lot of Indian Passengers, who walk the pathways like Nomads all night, I saw one who went into every bathroom on one trip every time he got up, well they do give Free toothbrushes, idk,Asiana Staff Very Accommodating and Smiley, not like those American Horses,about $700 RT,also two bags allowed.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Ireland32

[gk10002000]

Airline: EVA
Ticket Price: 1540 using 25k of my miles
How Purchased (direct, agent, wholesaler, etc): Direct from EVA air
Dates: 2014
Class of Service: Premium Elite
Route: LAX to BKK and return. Short 2 hour transfer in Taipei
Aircraft Type:777
Seat Configuration (i.e. 3/4/3) 2 4 3 in the elite section
Stopover City (If any): taipei
Check-in Location (good or bad?): great. Dedicated counter for Elite class. zero wait time
Immigration (good or bad?): no issues. Just me, visa exempt, usa citizen, carry on bag only
Excess Bag Fees (if any):0
Lounges Used:EVA evergreen on a promo, but normally elite ticket not enough for entry
Limo Service Provided: na
In-flight Entertainment: usual personal display. very good selection of movie, music, etc.
In-flight Cabin Service (good or bad?): great.
Seat Comfort: Very good. Elite class seats are bigger and recline more than coach. Never bumped elbows with neighbor. No crying babies.
Food Quality: good
On Time Performance: Great. Never missed a connection with EVA
Comments: Try and combine your flights and always use the same airline. In the long run as you accumulate miles you likely will get better deals than trying to always book the cheapest flight on various airlines

[Aussieroaming]

Airline: Qatar

Destination: BKK-Doha-heathrow and return.

Paid: 104k baht for return trip.

Seat: business.

Aircraft-380.

Lounge: good except Bangkok where the Thai lounge is used. Doha lounge good, Heathrow lounge good. I didn't think that food choices were as good as emirates, either on the flight or in the lounge. Reasonable wine choices.

Chauffeur drive: not offered, points go to Emirates and Etihad for this.

Seat: excellent 1:2:1 configuration and I found the seat layout and comfort much better than Emirates.

Schedule: ahead of schedule on each sector.

Staff: polite service

In flight bar: similar quality to Emirates. One tip if you like wine is to make the effort to walk to the bar to get your re-fills as the bar wine list is better as it has to cater to first and business class passengers. If you order from your seat you don't get the same quality as at the bar unless of course you are in first class.

I would rate these two airlines as very similar in regards to service and product.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Airline: Qatar

Destination: BKK-Doha-heathrow and return.

Paid: 104k baht for return trip.

Seat: business.

Aircraft-380.

Lounge: good except Bangkok where the Thai lounge is used. Doha lounge good, Heathrow lounge good. I didn't think that food choices were as good as emirates, either on the flight or in the lounge. Reasonable wine choices.

Chauffeur drive: not offered, points go to Emirates and Etihad for this.

Seat: excellent 1:2:1 configuration and I found the seat layout and comfort much better than Emirates.

Schedule: ahead of schedule on each sector.

Staff: polite service

In flight bar: similar quality to Emirates. One tip if you like wine is to make the effort to walk to the bar to get your re-fills as the bar wine list is better as it has to cater to first and business class passengers. If you order from your seat you don't get the same quality as at the bar unless of course you are in first class.

I would rate these two airlines as very similar in regards to service and product.

Nice report...hard to choose between the ME3...better lounges and f&b on EK...better seating on QR. Agree that EK business seats are really showing their age...would really only fly First on EK for this reason.

[RabC]

Airline: Qatar

Destination: BKK-Doha-heathrow and return.

Paid: 104k baht for return trip.

Seat: business.

Aircraft-380.

Lounge: good except Bangkok where the Thai lounge is used. Doha lounge good, Heathrow lounge good. I didn't think that food choices were as good as emirates, either on the flight or in the lounge. Reasonable wine choices.

Chauffeur drive: not offered, points go to Emirates and Etihad for this.

Seat: excellent 1:2:1 configuration and I found the seat layout and comfort much better than Emirates.

Schedule: ahead of schedule on each sector.

Staff: polite service

In flight bar: similar quality to Emirates. One tip if you like wine is to make the effort to walk to the bar to get your re-fills as the bar wine list is better as it has to cater to first and business class passengers. If you order from your seat you don't get the same quality as at the bar unless of course you are in first class.

I would rate these two airlines as very similar in regards to service and product.

Very serious question with no sarcasm, I have flown with the three major ME carriers in business but now use EVA to LHR, the service/food is just as good, the seats are great and it's direct, why do a stopover when EVA is no more expensive? (I understand the smokers reason)