Has anyone flown with Ukraine Airlines recently? UK to BKK.

[sellingmystuff]

Has anyone flown with Ukraine Airlines recently?

They're currently offering a great one way flight price of around £200 from London to BKK, via Ukraine. I've read that they have NO inflight entertainment, which actually doesn't bother me, but I am concerned about reliability, safety, etc.

My previous flight FROM Thailand back to the UK was with Air India, and that plane didn't even turn up, so I don't want to be in that situation again as it was pretty stressful and unpleasant.

If anyone has any recent flight experience with Ukraine Airlines on the London to BKK route, I'd be grateful if you could advise me.

Thanks very much in advance.

[trd]

I wouldn't mind the no flight entertainment. I'd just mind it flying over Ukraine.

[spidermike007]

Malaysian Airlines is offering good deals too. Do you really want to take those kinds of risks with your life?

[cornishcarlos]

I just booked with Malaysia airlines, cost me 14,000 baht one way to London from Bangkok. Just booked a one way back from Amsterdam for £170, good prices....

[Xircal]

They have four Boeing 767-300 aircraft. One of them dates from 1991, two from 1992 and the other one from 1993. All of them are ex other carrier aircraft. Two of them were previously operated by Royal Brunei Airlines and another one by Vietnam Airlines. The remaining aircraft was operated by a Russian airline called Aerosvit Airlines.

For opinions about comfort, travel etc., it's best to check passenger reviews which aren't too bad: http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/ukraine.htm

[Chivas]

I just booked with Malaysia airlines, cost me 14,000 baht one way to London from Bangkok. Just booked a one way back from Amsterdam for £170, good prices....

Good luck on that one !! I did the same trip same price in January 2015..............Goes down as the worst flight of my life............truly shocking from top to bottom

[Chivas]

To OP I had a look only few weeks ago at Ukraine and they have an accident free unblemished record........ No inflight entertainment on the Kiev Bangkok sector although there was from London

[StasD]

You have a good choice: money or life

[cornishcarlos]

I just booked with Malaysia airlines, cost me 14,000 baht one way to London from Bangkok. Just booked a one way back from Amsterdam for £170, good prices....

Good luck on that one !! I did the same trip same price in January 2015..............Goes down as the worst flight of my life............truly shocking from top to bottom

Why ?

Flight over to U.K was fine.. Airbus A380, aisle seat in the exit row, good movies and ok food. Couldn't really fault it.

[Briggsy]

Ukraine Airlines are the cheapest to London and have been for quite some time.

Go on, I dares you. You will have a tale to tell in the pub for 5 minutes. Do a Hilary and embellish a little about "landing under fire".

[Chivas]

I just booked with Malaysia airlines, cost me 14,000 baht one way to London from Bangkok. Just booked a one way back from Amsterdam for £170, good prices....

Good luck on that one !! I did the same trip same price in January 2015..............Goes down as the worst flight of my life............truly shocking from top to bottom

Why ?

Flight over to U.K was fine.. Airbus A380, aisle seat in the exit row, good movies and ok food. Couldn't really fault it.

Couldn't even begin to start to tell you what it was like that day, from surly flight crew mincing around, filthy aircraft, stinking passengers, repulsive food IFe not working, small seats, not even salt and pepper with food.......I could go on and on.......There's a reason they were 13,700 Baht.......They are shight

Before anyone says try the shight airlines I've flown 26 different carriers to fro Thailand including Biman, Aeroflot, Tarom, Balken, Uzbekistan, Polish as well as every top rated airline and Malaysian go down as the worst ever

You can add the 16 hours in the air as well albeit I was aware of scheduled 15 hours 45 minutes in advance

Edited March 16, 2015 by Chivas

[hawksway]

I had a Tenant here in Krabi up until a Month ago. Although not London he flew Kiev/Bangkok/Kiev and said the flight was very good. I also flew Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur/London. on Malaysian. Oh that new Airbus A380 of theirs was perfect in every way. It was a full aircraft with many passengers originating from Melbourne. Wonderful food and service taking economy to a new high level!

[bobinkolat]

Malaysian Airlines is offering good deals too. Do you really want to take those kinds of risks with your life?

Yes is the answer, Feel gutted about the recent news & feel Sorry for Malaysian Airlines. have flown with them on many occasions & can not Fault them, you take risks in all walks of life, before making any more statements have a look worldwide at plane accidents YOU WILL BE SUPPRISED

[bobinkolat]

I just booked with Malaysia airlines, cost me 14,000 baht one way to London from Bangkok. Just booked a one way back from Amsterdam for £170, good prices....

Good luck on that one !! I did the same trip same price in January 2015..............Goes down as the worst flight of my life............truly shocking from top to bottom

Why ?

Flight over to U.K was fine.. Airbus A380, aisle seat in the exit row, good movies and ok food. Couldn't really fault it.

Couldn't even begin to start to tell you what it was like that day, from surly flight crew mincing around, filthy aircraft, stinking passengers, repulsive food IFe not working, small seats, not even salt and pepper with food.......I could go on and on.......There's a reason they were 13,700 Baht.......They are shight

Before anyone says try the shight airlines I've flown 26 different carriers to fro Thailand including Biman, Aeroflot, Tarom, Balken, Uzbekistan, Polish as well as every top rated airline and Malaysian go down as the worst ever

You can add the 16 hours in the air as well albeit I was aware of scheduled 15 hours 45 minutes in advance

or over

you lot are talking absolute <deleted> I have almost flown around the World inclusive South America North America Europe & Asia for over 40 Years, you who made that statement should be banned from all Carriers worldwide, check out on the net to find out the worst airlines you will get a big surprise

[sellingmystuff]

Thanks for the replies so far.

For a bit of context, Ukraine is around £210, with the next cheapest being Cathays Pacific, Jet and Air India, which are around the £280 - 310 range. I've flown with Jet before and found them to be fine, but their timings aren't very practical, Air India didn't turn up for my flight with them and I don't know about Cathays Pacific.

Malaysia aren't really an option, so if we could steer away from their merits or lack thereof...

Thanks!

[balo]

I would never consider flying with an Ukrainian airliner but thats just me.

[PeCeDe]

Malaysian Airlines is offering good deals too. Do you really want to take those kinds of risks with your life?

Don't think it's a risk to his life, anymore than any airline, it's the balance between cost and convenience that's all. Malaysian airlines has lost two craft in the last year, but I'd fly them in a second if the price was right. I always used to like flying American airlines (not the company but any american United, AA etc) because most of the pilots were ex Vietnam and could barrel roll a 747 if they had too. . sadly most of them are retired now. Actually some of them are good friends of mine.

Edited March 16, 2015 by PeCeDe

[BKKdreaming]

Who is servicing the aircraft ?

if it is in Ukraine , I might think twice

but if they are allowed to land in the EU they must be decent.....

[Chivas]

Who is servicing the aircraft ?

if it is in Ukraine , I might think twice

but if they are allowed to land in the EU they must be decent.....

As before they have a 100% safety record since inception around about 1991 I believe

[Gjk7777]

Flew with them last October, Gatwick to Bangkok. I live 30 mins from Gatwick, and Heathrow is 90 mins, away so that was a no brainer. I paid £332 for the flight, that was £150 cheaper than the next cheapest. The plane left on time, no entertainment, so bring your own, I took my tablet with movies on. I did notice the seats are smaller than the average seat, I am not a fat bastard so it wasn't a problem for me, no free food, I knew about this so i brought my own. Beer can be bought but pricey..I think about 4 euros for a small can. Kiev is a modern airport,with some duty free shops, waited 2 hours and boarded the next flight.

The seats where still small, but ok for me, the staff where friendly, and dished out free juice and water for the duration of the flight. One big screen entertainment with crap movies, so I highly recommend you bring a tablet or laptop. My personal experience was an ok one, but the £150 cheaper was a big pull for me.If you fly Emirates or Etihad Airlines all the time you will be disappointed, they started at £500 from Gatwick last October. Saving £150 was the done deal for me as it paid for my hotel stay in Koh Chang. So to sum it all up, cheap, slightly smaller seats, no free food or alcohol,can be purchased with euros or dollars, no entertainment first flight, second flight yes...if these things are very important to you book elsewhere! I have booked them again for my flight in 3 weeks time £348 return,

[technologybytes]

I'm very surprised to hear people suggesting bad service on Malaysian. I'd rate them amongst the best from my experiences of BKK-KL-LON. But to be fair, I probably wasn't on the same planes on the same days as the people saying they are crap.

Just surprised thats all.

Stop worrying about safety record, there are so many things that are 1000's of times more likely to kill you than even the worst planes flying in and out of London.

[steve187]

Cathay are a top class airline, they are doing returns Manchester to Bangkok £403 at the moment, i have looked at Ukraine, but have always decided against it, flights at the moment are as cheap as 10 years ago why try and save a few quid, fly the best as cheap as you can, don't fly the cheapest, and make do.

[96tehtarp]

They have four Boeing 767-300 aircraft. One of them dates from 1991, two from 1992 and the other one from 1993. All of them are ex other carrier aircraft. Two of them were previously operated by Royal Brunei Airlines and another one by Vietnam Airlines. The remaining aircraft was operated by a Russian airline called Aerosvit Airlines.

For opinions about comfort, travel etc., it's best to check passenger reviews which aren't too bad: http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/ukraine.htm

I've flown with Aerosvit on their 767. They were old planes but clean. They were on par with something like Egypt Air, no worse no better. If I ever want to save a lot of money again, I'd fly them once more.

[steve187]

They have four Boeing 767-300 aircraft. One of them dates from 1991, two from 1992 and the other one from 1993. All of them are ex other carrier aircraft. Two of them were previously operated by Royal Brunei Airlines and another one by Vietnam Airlines. The remaining aircraft was operated by a Russian airline called Aerosvit Airlines.

For opinions about comfort, travel etc., it's best to check passenger reviews which aren't too bad: http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/ukraine.htm

I've flown with Aerosvit on their 767. They were old planes but clean. They were on par with something like Egypt Air, no worse no better. If I ever want to save a lot of money again, I'd fly them once more.

I don't think you will, they bankrupted in 2013, that's why Ukraine now have some of their old planes

[Eneukman]

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I had a Tenant here in Krabi up until a Month ago. Although not London he flew Kiev/Bangkok/Kiev and said the flight was very good. I also flew Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur/London. on Malaysian. Oh that new Airbus A380 of theirs was perfect in every way. It was a full aircraft with many passengers originating from Melbourne. Wonderful food and service taking economy to a new high level!

I flew Malaysian to Amsterdam via Kuala Lumpur a few years ago and they were very good. Granted, I was flying business class (my knees can't take being cramped in economy on long haul flights). The only downside was flying between Amsterdam and Edinburgh with KLM. Both flights were delayed - a regular occurrence whenever I've flown between the two cities!

Alan

[sellingmystuff]

Thanks, Gjk7777. That's exactly the information I'm looking for.

[sellingmystuff]

Thanks also to Xircal for the informative post and link.

[cornishcarlos]

Just got back into BKK on my 2nd flight this week with Malaysia Air. Couldn't fault them.. Friendly, professional cabin crew, good food and ok seats. £170 Amsterdam to Bangkok

[jesterone]

I fly with UIA on Sunday - LGW - BKK. You may have booked or changed your mind already but I'll be happy to share my experience.

I have little concern about the flight, safety wise I understand that planes flying within the EU must conform to certain standards to even be allowed access to airports. Reliability wise I've frequently checked their flight status from Gatwick and only rarely seen delays of up to 15 minutes.

It was a no brainer for me, Gatwick is just round the corner, the price (£369 Return) was far cheaper than anyone else and the total travel time, even with the transfer, was considerably quicker than the more expensive flights (apart from directs).

I was prepared to pay £620 for a direct flight with BA but I'm not a fan of long haul flying whomever name is on the side of the plane. Why not save £250 (a decent amount of Baht) on a journey I wouldn't enjoy anyway.

[CNXBKKMAN]

I fly with UIA on Sunday - LGW - BKK. You may have booked or changed your mind already but I'll be happy to share my experience.

I have little concern about the flight, safety wise I understand that planes flying within the EU must conform to certain standards to even be allowed access to airports. Reliability wise I've frequently checked their flight status from Gatwick and only rarely seen delays of up to 15 minutes.

It was a no brainer for me, Gatwick is just round the corner, the price (£369 Return) was far cheaper than anyone else and the total travel time, even with the transfer, was considerably quicker than the more expensive flights (apart from directs).

I was prepared to pay £620 for a direct flight with BA but I'm not a fan of long haul flying whomever name is on the side of the plane. Why not save £250 (a decent amount of Baht) on a journey I wouldn't enjoy anyway.

Jesterone after you get here next week you will have to let us all know how it was. I am normally up for any airline but if UIA and Malaysian had similar airfares I would be one MAS every time. My worst flight ever to Thailand was a Monarch 757 in 1994. High density seating . GBP230 return although I used it as a one way. MAnchester -Bahrain-Bangkok and it went on to Phuket. I got off in BKK after 16 hours of flying! Awful experience, really rammed in and I am only 5 foot 11.