Samui To Uk With A Child Under 10

[Rooo]

This is a member's contribution:

Flying to UK from Samui with a child under 10

Having previously reported my experiences re obtaining UK & Thai Passports I thought I should follow up with details of the actual visit:

1. After looking extensively online I eventually opted to fly with QATAR airways at an overall cost of THB 94k/£2,200. Returns as cheap as THB 28k per person were available elsewhere but didn’t inc the domestic flight & would involve 8 hrs in Delhi (2200hrs-0600hrs local via Air India) or slightly less in Moscow via Airoflot. I found their (Qatar) schedule user friendly for an adult with a child. Checking in online is possible up to 36hrs beforehand for the non-dyslexic:)

2. Outbound: We left Samui airport just after 6pm & had sufficient time to board the flight to DOHA which left Bkk just before 9pm. We changed planes & left for Heathrow (LHR) in less than 2 hrs. We reached LHR @0715hrs the following morning.

3. Inbound: Our return flight from LHR commenced @2130hrs with a similar stop in Doha. The internal flight to Samui was delayed by an hour but we were home by 2300hrs local time the following day.

4. Travel time: Both journeys were timed @ around 24hrs door to door. The longest leg was under 8hrs. Qatar Airways extensive entertainment programme kept my son busy; indeed I was impressed at what was on offer too.

5. Points for and against:

i) Immigration: Outbound immigration was conducted @Samui Airport. Their reputation is well deserved but all that needs to be said here is that an attempt at ridicule backfiredJ Inbound immigration was conducted airside @ Bkk without incident. As far as I am aware it is no longer possible to conduct immigration formalities @ Samui if you first land in Bkk. Neither desk was busy. UK immigration was straightforward too although rather more pleasant than here. I did not encounter any problems as a lone (male) parent travelling with a child.

ii) Water & Toilet breaks: I had overlooked this aspect on the outbound journey & found myself dehydrated while walking between planes. On the return leg a bottle was confiscated @ LHR, causing me (us) to buy two more “airside” at a cost of £2.50 which in turn were confiscated @ Bkk! Fortunately drinking fonts were available there…

iii) Luggage: We were allowed 23kgs per person. Our luggage was collected @ final destination on both journeys.

6. Overall Opinion: I was overall very happy with the above & hope others find it useful.

[Tropicalevo]

I am surprised on your point 5 i)

I think that the problem might be with the ailine or the check-in people and not the immigration people.

My wife flies regularly from Samui/Bkk/LHR/Bkk?Samui.

On her return to Samui, at LHR she is told EVERY time that she cannot check through all of the way to Samui. This is not true. She has an argument with the check-in people every time and eventualy they call for a supervisor who works out how to do it. (It helps if you tell the check-in people USM for Samui.)

If you cannot check your bags to Samui - then you must clear immigration where your bags land!

I do know that BA did not do a through check-in to Samui - poor security at our airfield was the reason. Some airlines do, some do not. BUT even the ones that do require a bit of knowledge and extra work by the check-in staff. It is easer for them to just put passengers through to Bangkok and make you jump through hoops.

Thanks for the update

[phetphet]

I am surprised on your point 5 i)

I think that the problem might be with the ailine or the check-in people and not the immigration people.

My wife flies regularly from Samui/Bkk/LHR/Bkk?Samui.

On her return to Samui, at LHR she is told EVERY time that she cannot check through all of the way to Samui. This is not true. She has an argument with the check-in people every time and eventualy they call for a supervisor who works out how to do it. (It helps if you tell the check-in people USM for Samui.)

If you cannot check your bags to Samui - then you must clear immigration where your bags land!

I do know that BA did not do a through check-in to Samui - poor security at our airfield was the reason. Some airlines do, some do not. BUT even the ones that do require a bit of knowledge and extra work by the check-in staff. It is easer for them to just put passengers through to Bangkok and make you jump through hoops.

Thanks for the update

It may depend on whether or not the airline has a code share with Bangkok Airways. I always travel with EVA, and always ask for my luggage to go straight through to Samui, (unless I want to try and squeeze onto an earlier connection from BKK).

Never a problem so far, touch wood, but I still have to go through Immigration at BKK. Luggage must be collected from a separate conveyor belt at Samui Airport to those who have cleared Customs in BKK though.