Ricardo Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 (edited) I used to enjoy Jet Airways' B-777-300s with 3-3-3 in Economy, then they squeezed-in an extra seat per row, making them cramped & no-longer such a joy to fly. I gather that Emirates also pack them in ! I was reminded of those good-old-days recently, when flying across the Pacific on Korean Air & Cathay Pacific, both were 3-3-3 which on a 13-hour flight (the latter west-bound) made quite a difference. I've heard that THAI have also maintained the roomier layout. But who else is still 3-3-3 on a B772/773 ? Who should I try to fly with, to/from Thailand, where the fares are similar ? Edited January 27, 2015 by Ricardo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chwooly Posted January 27, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 27, 2015 Find a fare you like and then head over to Seatguru.com, It gives you the seat configuration for a specific flight or at the least the aircraft and airline. That way you can make a more informed decision. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Crossy Posted January 27, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 27, 2015 http://www.seatguru.com/ has the cabin layouts of all the major players. Check your proposed carrier before booking. EDIT Great minds think alike, older brains type slower Chwooly 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveAustin Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Not BA -- and they're also tight on legroom -- but are often the cheapest and are direct. Just gulp down some dramamine and the mild annoyance of cramped seating for a few hours won't be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxthai Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Qatar airways are a nice option. Flying A380 into Bangkok now too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bender92 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I've been flying Philippine Air, Business class. It is worth the cost, the seat folds flat for sleeping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerryd Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I've been flying Philippine Air, Business class. It is worth the cost, the seat folds flat for sleeping. Agreed. For me it's usually a toss-up between China Air (out of Taiwan) or Philippines Air to/from Vancouver. I've flown Business class on both and usually it comes down to which one has the schedule that better suits my needs. In any event, chose an aisle seat, preferably on the left side of the plane as close to the first row as possible. I find it easier to have to get out of my seat once in awhile to let someone else out, rather than to have to try and crawl over people that try and guilt you into not even trying. Join the Frequent Flyer program of every airline you fly on. Sometimes just being a basic member gives you an additional baggage allowance. It can (possibly) also lead to being bumped up to a higher class once in awhile (but not a guarantee, even at their highest levels). Of course, collecting the frequent flyer points/miles can lead to cheap (or even free) flights and upgrades. In some cases you can also get access to their lounge(s). If they have a Customer Satisfaction Survey card, fill it out and hand it to an attendant. I did that once on China Air and on my next flight (business class) I got bumped to first for the Vancouver-Taipei leg. If you use a travel agent, check the price they quote you and then try booking the flight yourself, either using an online service (Expedia, Kayak, etc) or directly from the airline site. One advantage to booking your own ticket is they usually let you pick your seat during the process. Some travel agents/companies have deals with some, but not all, airlines. As a result they will try to push you onto those carriers, even if their schedule/prices aren't the best for you. I found that out years ago when a travel agent quoted a price that seemed ridiculously high. By booking through the airline direct I saved hundreds of dollars. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvavin Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 You always have a choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve187 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 B777 Emirates, Etihad, Aeroflot 3-4-3, Qatar, Cathay pacific, BA, Eva, Thai, Singapore 3-3-3, from memory, as i prefer the 3-3-3 for the extra room, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yaudah Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 check out Finnair Business Class. Great Value for money, well under 3'ooo USD round trip and excellent Flight via Helsinki to practically any major destination in Europe . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornishcarlos Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Not BA -- and they're also tight on legroom -- but are often the cheapest and are direct. Just gulp down some dramamine and the mild annoyance of cramped seating for a few hours won't be a problem. But the annoyance of a DVT might ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiteman Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Really all this depends where you fly to and from and alot of those airlines do not fly via BANGKOK TO Auckland New Zealand unless you want to go half way around the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael8511 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Most airlines today have 3-4-3 in economy class incl Cathay. In Premium Economy it's 2-4-2. Cathay from US to BKK from $900.00 Eco. $2,272.00 Premium & 7,000.00 business. If you fly 2 times per year in Eco or Premium Eco and sign up for Marco Polo or Asia Miles you will have Silver status (30.000 miles) and can use there Business class lounge before in us and in HKG during transfer. Business Class on Finnair from US starts at $5,000.00 depend on when you book. You can get a business from US to BKK from $3,000.00 with Aeroflot or a mix of airlines. You may not be able to receive miles in these flights. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve187 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Most airlines today have 3-4-3 in economy class incl Cathay. In Premium Economy it's 2-4-2. Cathay from US to BKK from $900.00 Eco. $2,272.00 Premium & 7,000.00 business. If you fly 2 times per year in Eco or Premium Eco and sign up for Marco Polo or Asia Miles you will have Silver status (30.000 miles) and can use there Business class lounge before in us and in HKG during transfer. Business Class on Finnair from US starts at $5,000.00 depend on when you book. You can get a business from US to BKK from $3,000.00 with Aeroflot or a mix of airlines. You may not be able to receive miles in these flights. Cathay B747 have 3-4-3 but B777 have 3-3-3 both have 2-4-2 in ecnomy plus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdome Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 For those suggesting Philippine Airlines, while they are no longer banned from Europe, they currently do not fly to a single EU airport. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentmartin Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 For those suggesting Philippine Airlines, while they are no longer banned from Europe, they currently do not fly to a single EU airport. ..........apart from London.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdome Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 For those suggesting Philippine Airlines, while they are no longer banned from Europe, they currently do not fly to a single EU airport. ..........apart from London.............. Thanks. Went to their website and scanned through their "From" airports, as I didn't find a route map and missed London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggt Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I have not flown since I was packed into a seat like a sardine and they didn't even provide mustard/tomato sauce... The seats only went back a few inches...my knees where constantly coming into contact with the seat in front of me...I am only 6' tall... There was no way to get comfortable and one of the most miserable flights I have ever had because of the airlines trying to pack more passengers into cramped seating... They should do a better job at creature comfort for those longer flights... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleyclarkey Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 (edited) Just back after 18 hour flight...broken into two segments. I've taken to business with Etihad.I added up all the extras like a limo at each end, the lounges, great food/drinks, champagne, all the fast tracks from check in to security, immigration, boarding, disembarking, fast luggage not to mention the lie flat bed, entertainment console, etc, etc. It worked out that it is actually good value..... I know.....not everyone can afford business but my point is it is not a rip off. Edited January 27, 2015 by harleyclarkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xircal Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Singapore airlines are all 3-3-3 except their A380s, but even those don't have any extra rows squeezed in.Malaysia Airlines has a peculiar layout which is 2-5-2 on their 777-200ERs. But it equates to the standard 3-3-3 layout. They also have a 34" seat pitch which is very generous these days in economy. Here's a pix of what the cabin looks like in that configuration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartempion Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 (edited) Even in business class you need to be careful. Emirates business class configuration on their B777/300 is 2-3-2! I want aisle access in business, thus no Emirates B777 for me. I booked my two next 2015 trips to Europe with Qatar flying A380 out of Bangkok and B787 to BRU. Paid a promo price of around 80k Baht a few weeks ago(2000 euro), but with the actual euro rate at 36B that would cost me 2222 euro. I understand Qatar and Thai have still 3-3-3 config in their B777/300 unlike Etihad and Emirates. Edited January 27, 2015 by tartempion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMWPACIFIC Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Most airlines today have 3-4-3 in economy class incl Cathay. In Premium Economy it's 2-4-2. Cathay from US to BKK from $900.00 Eco. $2,272.00 Premium & 7,000.00 business. If you fly 2 times per year in Eco or Premium Eco and sign up for Marco Polo or Asia Miles you will have Silver status (30.000 miles) and can use there Business class lounge before in us and in HKG during transfer. Business Class on Finnair from US starts at $5,000.00 depend on when you book. You can get a business from US to BKK from $3,000.00 with Aeroflot or a mix of airlines. You may not be able to receive miles in these flights. Booked Business Class on JAL to LAX 2 months ago for April departure---$3,000---dramatically below most including EVA on which I usually find the cheapest Business Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerryd Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 http://www.seatguru.com/browseairlines/browseairlines.php Of course you have to know which particular aircraft will be used on which flight (and assume it doesn't get changed at the last minute). Usually you can find the scheduled aircraft either in the details on the Expedia/Kayak page, or on the airline page itself during the booking process - but those are not always up to date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loonodingle Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 One thing to remember with cheap tickets you do not always get the mileage. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdome Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I've been flying Philippine Air, Business class. It is worth the cost, the seat folds flat for sleeping. I looked at their biz fares from London just out of curiosity, since I booked myself in biz on Swiss TXL - SIN (hundreds cheaper than BKK) in July/Aug and I was shocked at the prices. While I do understand that it adds another 3 hour flight from Manila to BKK (SIN costs the same), it priced out at almost double compared to what I paid (OK, July & August is the time to book biz as that's when the deals are to be had and I certainly got one). Add to that that PAL's business class won't match that of Swiss's anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogandave Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loonodingle Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I've been flying Philippine Air, Business class. It is worth the cost, the seat folds flat for sleeping. I looked at their biz fares from London just out of curiosity, since I booked myself in biz on Swiss TXL - SIN (hundreds cheaper than BKK) in July/Aug and I was shocked at the prices. While I do understand that it adds another 3 hour flight from Manila to BKK (SIN costs the same), it priced out at almost double compared to what I paid (OK, July & August is the time to book biz as that's when the deals are to be had and I certainly got one). Add to that that PAL's business class won't match that of Swiss's anytime soon. I went on Phillipine air 20 odd years ago. London-Frankfurt-Karachi-Bkk. Never done it again. On the way back cockroaches where crawling up the big tv screen. the worst ever in my life. I've always swore by EVA Air for years. Great service. Gr8 staff in LHR and BKK. Diamond card holder, so upgrades regularly. Couldn't fault them if you tried. I did prefer the 747 combi's 4 class though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 (edited) I know people who select air travel based solely on price-point. Who insist business class in ridiculously over priced, they fail to realize it's simply a matter of real estate. The foot print a business class lay-flat seat occupies you could fit two to three economy seats. Add goumet food and beverages and other perks and you'll find it's reasonably priced. It's all about one's comfort threshold and what they're willing to pay for it. Edited January 28, 2015 by cobra 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogandave Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Add goumet food... Seriously? I like business class, but the idea that the food is gourmet might be a stretch. What I don't get is people that will spend hours online looking and more hours in airports waiting and put up crazy schedules and extra stops to save a little money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve187 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) http://www.seatguru.com/browseairlines/browseairlines.php Of course you have to know which particular aircraft will be used on which flight (and assume it doesn't get changed at the last minute). Usually you can find the scheduled aircraft either in the details on the Expedia/Kayak page, or on the airline page itself during the booking process - but those are not always up to date. seatguru tells you which plane will fly on which flight, use date and flight number here - http://www.seatguru.com/findseatmap/findseatmap.php Edited January 29, 2015 by steve187 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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