18 hours ago, ChangMaiSausage said:

Qatar Airways takes some beating most of the planes have now been upgraded even on the DOH <-> BKK flights (+ they have the youngest fleet of airlines)  First / Business Classes are excellent though I have had issues with food once or twice, Economy is okay same standard as most of the carriers in UAE/Gulf (apart from Gulf Air, you get what you pay for)

 

 

In addition to Qater, you may also want to consider Etihad with a stopover in Abu Dhabi. I flew business class with them last year and will probably be doing the same next year. They fly to a number of regional airports in addition to London.

 

Etihad business class has proper lie flat seats in a 1 - 2 - 1 configuration. I had a window seat as I was travelling alone but I don't think anyone in the middle would have had problems talking to their neighbour if they wanted to.

 

Alan

Edited December 13, 20169 yr by Eneukman

 

 

Stopover ???

 

what a complete Hastle and waste of time...

 

Fly Direct its easy only way....especially in Business Class..

 

 

3 hours ago, robertthebruce said:

 

 

Stopover ???

 

what a complete Hastle and waste of time...

 

Fly Direct its easy only way....especially in Business Class..

 

 

 

Notwithstanding the valid argument per sé for breaking up the journey with a stopover, it's only a direct flight for those whose end point is near London. What's the pleasure in transiting Heathrow to a short-haul flight, or a long car/train/bus journey, after a twelve hour flight? Bloody nightmare, as far as I'm concerned.

I do prefer a break on long haul, I agree if in B-class then direct would not be an issue but I remember years ago doing Man-Spore with Singapore in e class and was a 13 half hour flight, service etc was good but I would never personally want to be stuck on an aircraft more than 9hrs again, can take blooming days to recover these types of flights. 7 or 8 hrs with a 2/3 hr break is fine by me, stretch my legs freshen up in lounges and proper duty free shopping in Gulf states airports

54 minutes ago, Lokie said:

I do prefer a break on long haul, I agree if in B-class then direct would not be an issue but I remember years ago doing Man-Spore with Singapore in e class and was a 13 half hour flight, service etc was good but I would never personally want to be stuck on an aircraft more than 9hrs again, can take blooming days to recover these types of flights. 7 or 8 hrs with a 2/3 hr break is fine by me, stretch my legs freshen up in lounges and proper duty free shopping in Gulf states airports

 

A non-stop in economy has to be absolutely the worst case scenario. I've done it twice, and won't do it again unless I have to. I was almost crawling up the airplane walls after eight hours, and it took me days to recover at each end after the flights!

Same goes for me, and the stopover at mid-flight in AUH, DXB or DOH when flying between Europe and Thailand is just great because it almost never lasts more than 2 hours 1/2 on the ground. Just enough to do what Lokie said.

The only inconvenience is the security check that can be really messy at AUH and DXB, but with a priority pass it's a really short one.

 

I did fly TG non-stop in cattle class a couple of times and I almost went nuts, stuck in an aluminium tube for 11 hours. Flying in business would certainly have made it more bearable, but still...

OTOH, I strongly dislike the late or early stopovers on some flights, like e.g. AMS, KUL or HKG.

Edited December 14, 20169 yr by Lannig

EVA for me.  TG service is pretty good, I just can't get past flying on an airline in financial difficulty (same principle as avoiding seafood restaurants in the red) unless I have to.      BA okay as well, but the EVA biz configuration wins out here.