I tried to contact Thai Airways ..

[xerostar]

I needed to change my return flight to Perth from 22nd March to 9th April.

About 10 days ago I sent an email with all relevant details requesting the changes.

5 days later I get a reply saying I can't do that because my type of ticket doesn't allow it.

I replied asking that they tell me what I can do to ensure a flight on the 9th April.

4 days later no reply.

As today was Friday and my original flight was on Sunday I decided I had to contact them by telephone

just to make sure they didn't list me as a "no show" and thus force me to buy a new ticket.

So I went to the Thai Airways website to find the contact details.

First drop down menu you choose Feedback or Thai Worldwide offices.

Then you have to look up the office with a scroll-down menu of all countries to choose from.

Naturally I scroll down to the bottom - Thailand - amazing.

Then I have to choose the city among about 12 choices around Thailand.

I chose Bangkok - then they ask you to choose Ticketing & reservations or Royal orchid holidays - I chose ticketing.

You then get a screen with 3 Bangkok offices.

I chose the Silom office since I know where to find it- in case I had to go there later.

I rang the number posted there .(66-2) 288-7000 and told them I have to change my booking.

The recorded young lady told me to call another number (66-2) 356-1111 - she only said it once and I didn't have pen ready,

so I had to call again to be sure.

When I rang that number (66-2) 356-1111 the young lady said "can I hell you?

I explained what I needed. She asked my destination - Perth,

She said "you have called the Thai Smile booking center and we only deal with domestic flights ...!?"

She gave me the number (66-2) 288-7000. I said I've already called that number and they told me to call the 356 number ..!

She apologized for any inconvenience. ... Grrrr.

So I rang that number again and listened to the same directions,(66-2) 356-1111 followed by .....

a recorded message from some sleepy Thai chap giving me a range of choices on "who to call".

You know the "for information about Thai Airlines please press 1" " for information about blah blah and eventually ....please press 9"

my hearing is not very good, so apparently I missed the correct number the first time.

So I had to call again and listen very carefully for the correct cue.

At last I was able to speak to a lovely Filapina lady who was very helpful and she got my problem straightened out in no time.

I complemented her on her excellent English and her good service. She sounded very happy anyway.

But why do Thai airways make it so hard?

Luckily I had all day to get this done.

Imagine the stress trying to get this done on a public phone in a noisy area close to 5.00pm?

[trainman34014]

They have no time for the likes of me and you. They are too busy processing free flights for High So's, their families, friends and 75 kilo's of free luggage for each freebie.

Farang no unerstan' that Thai people most important because from '' The Greatest Nation On Earth '' !!

[uptheos]

I only use Thai if I have to.

I've never needed to change bookings though, sounds horrendous!

[dragonfly94]

Never used them for 8 years since they refused to answer emails or the phone

[DogNo1]

I have used my friendly local (Bangkok) travel agent to change my flights when necessary. Even she had trouble doing it. She had to call multiple times and hold the line for quite a while and she knows the correct number to call. It seems that Thai reservations is understaffed.

[MickeyM]

Just this week I called the '1111' number and was on hold for 40 minutes - they kept suggesting to use e-mail as an alternative. I eventually gave up and tried the email approach. Took 3 days to get a reply, at which time the reply was irrelevant as I had cancelled the flight in question and booked another airline.

[dragonfly94]

and they wonder why flights are half full!

[CNXBKKMAN]

General rule of travel but not very well known is email is not a good way to organize your flights. Talking on the phone or face to face is how you get things done. A couple of minutes of talking is the equivalent of weeks of emails back and forth and time wasted typing them. That is why airlines don't always respond. Too many passengers, too many fare rules, too many options, too many different passenger requirements. Talking gets straight to the point with simple questions and answers. If the op had a decent travel agent they would have sorted it all out easy.

[bkkbarnstormer]

023561111 is the number to call. Hit and miss. Sometimes connect straight away. Others can be on hold for 30mins.

Do not use email. Waste of time.

Thai ticketing is much more flexible than most airlines. Many class of tickets can simply be rebooked for no charge of you don't take the flight

[Familyonthemove]

General rule of travel but not very well known is email is not a good way to organize your flights. Talking on the phone or face to face is how you get things done. A couple of minutes of talking is the equivalent of weeks of emails back and forth and time wasted typing them. That is why airlines don't always respond. Too many passengers, too many fare rules, too many options, too many different passenger requirements. Talking gets straight to the point with simple questions and answers. If the op had a decent travel agent they would have sorted it all out easy.

True - but talking to someone at Thai is not simple. I avoid Thai now. Too expensive and I'd rather use a skybridge to walk to my plane rather than go on a tour of the airport in a rickety bus.

[slightlychilled]

I needed to change my return flight to Perth from 22nd March to 9th April.

About 10 days ago I sent an email with all relevant details requesting the changes.

5 days later I get a reply saying I can't do that because my type of ticket doesn't allow it.

So what was the solution ? Did your ticket allow a change of date or did you have to buy a new ticket ?

If your ticket was rebookable then the advice in the email was rubbish and you should complain. You have it all in writing after all.

[CNXBKKMAN]

You might want to call the airline and ask them. There may be many reasons, options and choices but the staff didn't have the time to write a huge email taking 1 hour or longer.

Your ticket has specific fare rules. If you can check those( printed on the booking? Ask the agent? On some booking confirmation blurb?) you may find something like this.....

You booked the cheapest ticket possible and it's Fixed Dated. You can't change anything.

The ticket is valid for 1 , 2 , 6 months maximum and the date you requested is outside validity?

Or you can make date changes for a fee USDxx but the date you have asked for has no seats to change into. The flight is busy at the end of the Easter holidays? There may be other date options or fare upgrade which will allow you to make the change into a more expensive seat.

To find out you need to speak to the agent or the airline or have a good read of the fare rules yourself. If it says fixed dated no changes allowed, you know you can't change anything