best or worst airline that flys in or out of thailand

[yogavnture]

worst airline in thailand. domestic or foreign that flys and lands in thailand?  I put my vote in for Cebu pacific.  as worst airline.............anybody else have opinion or stories?   my favorite is vietnam airlines. as they don't hassle you at all.  I'm a bit sad that nok has deteriorated.   thai lion ate them

 

Edited March 1, 2017 by yogavnture
addditioon

[Chivas]

From personal worst experience and am not sure if they still connect to Bangkok but Uzbekistan Airways, Biman Bangladash (who certainly do) with the all time clear winner for worst experience easily Phuket Air

 

Best Cathay Pacific by country mile. Most of other airlines much of a likeness.

 

Have flown 28 airlines to or fro Bangkok from London so fair representation

Edited March 1, 2017 by Chivas

[bra]

Best: Singapore Airlines, with Thai International second.

 

Worst: Any Low Cost Carrier - take your pick. Worst because of low safety standards and records to match. Safe flying was never meant to be this cheap.

[maoro2013]

I prefer Thai. They have always given fantastic service for hundreds of trips.

 

One time I brought my young daughter here and she was sick on the plane. Two hostesses took her to the bathroom to clean her up, gave her a travel sickness pill, changed our seats, including for the unfortunate traveller in the next seat. I offered the girls money for their great service and they wouldn't accept it, said it is part of the job.

 

Thai gets my vote any day, although I used this airline only Singapore Thailand mostly.

[wump]

1 hour ago, bra said:

Best: Singapore Airlines, with Thai International second.

 

Worst: Any Low Cost Carrier - take your pick. Worst because of low safety standards and records to match. Safe flying was never meant to be this cheap.

 

Ah, because AirAsia had that many accidents, right? There was one plane going missing in 20 years of operations... not too bad, right?

Better get your facts straight. Low cost carriers RENT planes so in fact they normally have newer planes than flag carriers.

[1337markus]

Best consistently for me is Singapore Airlines

 

After last months trips ( 4 in total) Turkish Airlines; leave late, they dont honor code sharing with Thai at Swampy, and doesnt matter what seat you have confirmed you get bumped back to the rear of the plane. Dont know who voted them best European airline for 6 years.

 

[likeke]

Best: Korean Airlines. But prices are getting expensive. 

 

Worst: Philippine Airlines. It's a cattle call at check in. People are checking huge boxes which takes forever.  Never again. I cancelled my trip from Honolulu to BKK. This month I am taking ANA to try again. I have heard good things about this airline.

[ujayujay]

2 hours ago, bra said:

Best: Singapore Airlines, with Thai International second.

 

Worst: Any Low Cost Carrier - take your pick. Worst because of low safety standards and records to match. Safe flying was never meant to be this cheap.

Wrong. There are international Safety Standarts. A Company not agree to it, will be banned. Also low Cost Carriers. Show me some Facts about lc carriers in proportion to accident frequenty.

[GOLDBUGGY]

Interesting Topic.

 

For me and in choosing airlines, I don't just look at the seats, food onboard, and service. I look at everything including check in and there being on time, and their main airport, for layovers.

 

For me, my favorite airline is Lufthansa. I have travelled off and on with them for years, although not lately, and I have most times been very happy with them. Their seats and airplanes are comfortable and food is okay. They have a great air miles program and belong to Star Alliance, which is also the largest.

 

Frankfurt Airport is also very okay but you still have to do a lot of walking sometimes, which I am past the age of enjoying this long walk and carrying heavy bags with me. But they make up for this by having plenty of smoking areas and places to sit down along the way. I especially like there Business Class and Senator Lounges in Frankfurt. Perhaps the best I have been in with all things being considered. A nice place for a nice shower and a sleep room if you have a long stop over.

 

I like Singapore Airlines to and especially their airport. Customs there are also very friendly and helpful. But Lufthansa in my opinion was just a little better in there Lounge.

 

For me the worst is Ethiopian Airlines. Their Check in Gate is about as far always from the Domestic Arrivals that one can get and I need to get to Bangkok with Domestic Flight to catch this International Flight. Which means mowing over a thousand Chinese along the way, who will not get out of the way, and like to stand in the middle of the room or at a door way.

 

Ethiopian also only open one gate, usually late, and then later on open 2 gates, when the lineup gets too long and we are running out of time. At Check In, you will get your Boarding Pass and Gate Number for Boarding, but this Gate Number tends to change after you get through Customs. So you constantly have to check the Boards for Check In Gates.

 

The last trip I took with them there Gate Number was about as far away as one could get in Bangkok Airport. But I managed to find a Smoking Room about 5 Gates away and was 30 minutes before Boarding, so I went for a smoke. But in the mean time they changed the Gate Number, which I had no idea of knowing.

 

I managed to get to this first gate with still time left, but discovered then the Gate Number Changed as lucky for me there was an Attendant still standing their. I had to walk back 5 Gates, and from where I just came from at the Smoking Room, but the Walkway their only goes in one direction. So I had to run back to barely catch my bus and flight. Of course when I got onboard there was no place for my Carryon as someone with the likes of Golf Clubs hogged the whole thing.

 

The Seats and Seating Arrangement was terrible to. I felt like I was sitting on a Board rather than a soft seat. For a long flight my legs were so numb I could hardly walk afterwards. What made matters worst is that they jammed me in like a Sardine. Three Big Guys sitting in my row and me at the window, while to row in front of me was empty. So better when somebody moved but on the way back I got stuck with this.

 

The food also sucked on this flight, and the next one I had to take later to a different city. They had Chicken or Fish. I chose Chicken but was disappointed as they put a bunch of crap on it that spoiled it totally. On my next flight to a different city I had the choice of Chicken or Fish again. This time I went with Fish only to discover that they put the same crap on that Fish to,

 

The Airport for Ethiopian Airlines is at Addis Ababa Ethiopia. This has got to be one of the worst International Airport I have ever been in, and I have been in many. I can't recall seeing a single Walkway there, but if there was there was very few. But plenty of stairs to go up and down in, carrying you Carryon Luggage.

 

This airport was also way overcrowded. People everywhere! But I bet there were not more than 50 seats in this whole airport, so most people were sitting on the floor. The shops looked okay and the prices seemed good. A Carton of Cigarettes there only cost $17, or about 600 Baht, and thus cheaper than Thailand. But you can only bring back one Carton, so not worth it.  

 

The one public toilet I found after walking for miles was a complete mess. I wish I had my Rubber Boots on instead of my sandals and socks as the sewage water was backed up onto the floor and my feet got wet taking a leak. The only other public toilet I could find was passed Customs, which had a mile long lineup for both male and female.

 

The only nice surprise for me there was their Cloud 9 Lounge, which I was able to go into. The furniture needs replacement as it is shabby, but at least you had a place you could sit down on. The 3 computers they had for free Internet didn't work either, but not such a big deal for me. You could get a snack to eat there also, but I never tried anything. They had alcoholic beverages, but nothing in the way of Wine I could see. So I stuck to coffee.

 

To me the best part of this lounge is that they had a smoking room, and toilets you could use where you didn't have to stand in a pool of water. No shower but a decent and clean toilet at least. I spent most of my time having a coffee and cigarette and watching the lineup going through Customs.

 

Which the Customs Officials were very rude also and making this trip even more unpleasant. Made me take my rubber watch off and sandals, where at least my feet were dry by then. Then yelled at me for having One Cigarette Lighter n my Carryon and demanded that I give it to him. You would have thought it was a Hand Gun. Any other Customs lets you keep one lighter, including Thailand, but not these guys. They were not even nice about it. But it wasn't just me as they were rude to everyone.  

 

Boarding your flight from there is also totally Chaos! No Seats! No Signs! No one you can hear when they do call for your flight. People blocking the way so even with Business Class you can't board the bus as you can't get past them all standing their. Sent us al downstairs for about 10 minutes then called us all back upstairs again because they made a mistake. Of course they was no elevator or anything like that, so it was walking up stairs again with all you Carryon. A Real Nightmare for sure! Coming back wasn't better either.    

 

 

[twizzian]

Air Asia for was the worst.

A flight from bkk to Chiangmai Mai, and they got the cabin pressure wrong.

The most excruciating ear pain I've experienced for 40 mins.

 

I guess you pay low fare ticket and get only a bus ride

[GOLDBUGGY]

For Domestic Flights I generally go with Thai Airways (Smile). Nothing special I could see on their flights, but they do go straight to the International Airport in Bangkok, which is why I go with them.

 

Other than that my favorite is Nok. I used to hate all low cost airlines in Thailand because of the old airport they use. But it is much better now and even have walkways, which is new for these places.

 

When I travel with Nok for a weekend in Bangkok, I also always go Premium Class. It cost a bit more but for me it is worth it and still cheaper than Thai Airways. The seat is more comfortable, you get a cup of coffee, and if I have to be jammed in with somebody, it might as well be my Thai Wife. Always room for Carryon and the first to go.  

[ChangMaiSausage]

Most of the carriers out of the Middle East are on par with each other (exception Oman and Gulf)  Out of the three big players Emirates/Etihad and Qatar there is not difference.  Service in business class is excellent (Thai airways the few times I've flow business class with them could learn a thing or two)  Flew with China Airways many times and have been impressed (not to be confused with Air China)

 

Worse was a Bangkok airways international flight many years ago.  I've had a couple of scary moments with Air Asia though not their fault (landing at Krabi airport just as a plane was taking off, pull up, pull up /serious winds landing at Chiang Mai coming in sideways)    

[novo58]

For me ...its not so much which airline I chose ----the most important thing for me is the timings. Travelling from Australia ( regularly) I DO NOT want to arrive in Swampy at 1AM. So I usually use Thai...it might leave Aust at midnight - oz time - ( that is no issue as I have to travel to get to my departure point anyway)....but it arrives early morning in swampy( thai time)......so have full day for onward travel to final destination.

Also ...is direct flight with no stopover................I hate long stopovers on the way. and I find their in flight service to be as good as many other airlines.

 

 

 

 

[hugh2121]

Worst in my experience is Jet. 

[richusa]

all the Indian Airlines are at the bottom of the safety lists......

[mike324]

1 hour ago, likeke said:

Best: Korean Airlines. But prices are getting expensive. 

 

Worst: Philippine Airlines. It's a cattle call at check in. People are checking huge boxes which takes forever.  Never again. I cancelled my trip from Honolulu to BKK. This month I am taking ANA to try again. I have heard good things about this airline.

 

Korean Air is also my favorite by far, genuine service and not fake like Thai airways. Flight attendants are trained very very well in terms of everything. Japanese airline services use to be good, haven't flown any in the past 10 years so can't comment to much, but I'm guessing it can't deviate too much.

[paddyfield7]

I fly Chiang Mai to Zurich a few times per year. Shortest and best connection is THAI, but expensive. SWISS is a no-go as their flight BKK to ZRH is a day flight. My choice is usually Silk Air / Singapore Airlines when they have promotions, despite 3 hours more flying time and 3.5 hours transit time in Changi. I never fly low cost carriers.

[Destiny1990]

Worst KLM if your bags are one gram overweight u be severly charged and always crappy arogant hot air service based on nothing.Flying emirats have decent standard and in general asian airlines are pleasant to travel with.

[dddave]

I've flown almost 700,000 miles over the last 6 years as a courier and have flown a lot of different airlines, usually in coach though I do occasionally get an upgrade to business.  Singapore is consistently the best: once flew them Houston to Bangkok via Moscow and Changi and was given a full route upgrade...sorry when the flight ended.

As for the for the others, I've had great flights and not so great flights on Cathay Pacific, ANA, Korean and the Gulf airlines, it really depends on the destination, aircraft and especially, passenger load.  A full flight; and most flights these days have few empty seats, can mean a stressed cabin crew and that usually means you'll be having to ask for things that used to be provided automatically...like a pre dinner drink.  It is not unusual these days on full flights with even the best carriers to have beverage service completely omitted. Also more frequent these days to have your meal tray still sitting in front of you thirty minutes after you finished eating.

 

I think the massive change in the demographic of the travelling public has also had a massive affect on quality, especially in Asia. Passengers that act like cattle get treated like cattle. I think most of the gloss has disappeared from the occupation of flight attendant and it shows, sometimes even on the best airlines. The Gulf carriers seem to have a higher proportion of travelling families with the attendant screaming babies and seatback kicking kids.

 

Anyway, given a choice out of BKK?  

#1: Singapore, #2: Cathay Pacific, #3: Eva, #4: Thai,  #5: Korean

Beyond that in no special order: Qatar/Emirates/Etihad,  Lufthansa, ANA, JAL, Asaina.

Not enough flights on BA, KLM, Air France or Finnair to rate high or low.

My heart sinks when my itinerary reads Malaysian, Air India, Turkish, Philippine, China Air (though they have improved) or Delta. 

[khunPer]

Best in my humble opinion is Thai Airways, but I've also been extremely happy with service etc. from both Lauda (Austrian Airline; which was also a very cheap ticket) and Finnair.

 

My two worst experiences was Aeroflot (first time flight via Moscow to BKK, last-and-never-ever-again returning from BKK via Moscow to Copenhagen), second in comes KLM.

 

Some years I made 7 return-trip from Europe to Thailand, and actually benefit from using Star Alliance partners and a Thai Airways bonus card, earning enough miles to a free annual trip and often free upgrades. I also gladly pay little extra for direct flights from home country to BKK, often in the range $150 return, as it more-or-less equaled out with Star Alliance bonus points, instead of sometime too long stops somewhere, with discount offers. Now I have moved to Thailand and is happy not commuting anymore to Europe, and if I do, I fly Thai Airways for the direct flight and a little better service.

 

I shall admit to say, that I never tried Singapore, that is supposed to be outstanding; nor the Emirates and Quater, but I have friends very satisfied with these two airlines, apart from the stop i the Golf.

[Ace of Pop]

Never had Bad Airline,I'd say Air New Zealand has been the best in all departments


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[SpeakeasyThai]

I would never fly Air France again. The cabin crew are so abhorrantly arrogant, and the food they served up was appauling.

Eva air flies direct Heathrow to Bangkok and are a good airline.

Edited March 2, 2017 by SpeakeasyThai

[SpeakeasyThai]

2 hours ago, vsigrist said:

I fly Chiang Mai to Zurich a few times per year. Shortest and best connection is THAI, but expensive. SWISS is a no-go as their flight BKK to ZRH is a day flight. My choice is usually Silk Air / Singapore Airlines when they have promotions, despite 3 hours more flying time and 3.5 hours transit time in Changi. I never fly low cost carriers.

Lucky for you then as you must be weathy.

[Shaunduhpostman]

If you fly cheap as I do, there is always going to be something. A Vietnam air flight I took in 2007, Bangkok to Seoul was semi-traumatic. From the get go, the ticket already had an 8 hour wait in Hanoi which at the end of it all ended up being a 20 hour wait. Of course I am not complaining about having to wait 8 hours, and It wasn't so much the 12 hour delay as their trying to fix the problem and continually failing again and again. They apparently tried to get other airlines to help out to no avail. We had to constantly every few hours run to some other corner of the airport and queue for seats on other airlines they had switched us over to only to be told, sorry, no go, this is all cancelled as well, please listen for announcements for the new course of action. So you could not just take a nap or sleep, we had to stay up all night listening to announcements queuing in front of various flight gates and all for naught, 4-5 times we got a "No, sorry, cancelled again." .

 

The finale after a sleepless night running around and queuing at various counters was at sunrise when they boarded us, this time on one of their own planes.The prelude was a "we are so sorry here is a free box lunch style breakfast for you," there was an angry mob of shouting Koreans for several hours prior, so when the free food came out there was a mad push to grab food, people were shouting and pushing and grabbing and punching others a few emerged from the fray with 5,6,7 breakfasts, and most of us, those who wanted to wait calmly for food got nothing. The same pushing shoving angry style mob scene ensued at the boarding gate. I was grabbed by staff and told to wait and allow the angry Koreans to get on first. We boarded the plane, got going down the runway and the cabin soon became filled with the smell of fumes and exhaust. Next thing you knew we were back at the gate and were told that we had to get off the plane again. No explanation given. It was another 5 hours before we were on a Korean Air flight and finally arrived in Seoul where, probably needless to say, the people who were supposed to meet me for a pick up had long since given up, leaving me to my own devices.

Edited March 2, 2017 by Shaunduhpostman

[Belzybob]

I'd put Thai close to top if it wasn't for being bussed to and from remote stands on every flight in the past eighteen months or so. Some of the food offerings aren't too flash lately either.

 

[Brer Fox]

Worst airline between Vietnam to Thailand and domestic in Vietnam and Thailand  - Vietjet Airlines. Famous for never being on time and have even been know to fly to the wrong destination. Be warned!

Interesting read  (story and comments) on what can go wrong with Vietjet.

http://avherald.com/h?article=47623856

[TerrylSky]

For me KLM because they bumped me up to business class going to see the Stones, similar experiences with Thai ;), but Singapore airlines in standard economy class wins my first prize. Life can be good.

[joecoolfrog]

1 hour ago, Shaunduhpostman said:

If you fly cheap as I do, there is always going to be something. A Vietnam air flight I took in 2007, Bangkok to Seoul was semi-traumatic. From the get go, the ticket already had an 8 hour wait in Hanoi which at the end of it all ended up being a 20 hour wait. Of course I am not complaining about having to wait 8 hours, and It wasn't so much the 12 hour delay as their trying to fix the problem and continually failing again and again. They apparently tried to get other airlines to help out to no avail. We had to constantly every few hours run to some other corner of the airport and queue for seats on other airlines they had switched us over to only to be told, sorry, no go, this is all cancelled as well, please listen for announcements for the new course of action. So you could not just take a nap or sleep, we had to stay up all night listening to announcements queuing in front of various flight gates and all for naught, 4-5 times we got a "No, sorry, cancelled again." .

 

The finale after a sleepless night running around and queuing at various counters was at sunrise when they boarded us, this time on one of their own planes.The prelude was a "we are so sorry here is a free box lunch style breakfast for you," there was an angry mob of shouting Koreans for several hours prior, so when the free food came out there was a mad push to grab food, people were shouting and pushing and grabbing and punching others a few emerged from the fray with 5,6,7 breakfasts, and most of us, those who wanted to wait calmly for food got nothing. The same pushing shoving angry style mob scene ensued at the boarding gate. I was grabbed by staff and told to wait and allow the angry Koreans to get on first. We boarded the plane, got going down the runway and the cabin soon became filled with the smell of fumes and exhaust. Next thing you knew we were back at the gate and were told that we had to get off the plane again. No explanation given. It was another 5 hours before we were on a Korean Air flight and finally arrived in Seoul where, probably needless to say, the people who were supposed to meet me for a pick up had long since given up, leaving me to my own devices.

Im not particularly fussy or demanding so I find most airlines fine , always enjoyed Oman and cant understand why they get such poor reviews. The worst experience I ever had was with Emirates , delayed flight led to missed connection and eventual 28 hour journey time from London to Bangkok.

What irritated me was the awful customer service which amounted to little more than a series of shrugs , it took a near riot to actually get anything resolved.

To me the mark of a good airline ( or any other business ) is how they react when things go wrong , Emirates was a huge fail in that respect.

[eddysmit]

As pointed out by Destiny 1990 KLM are  rip-off merchants,I have travelled with many airlines and they always allow a few kilos over, I was two kilos over it cost me seventy pounds in excess baggage, their staff are arrogant also, I will never travel with them again, I did complain at check in but people were waiting to check in and the gate was opened very late so I paid up and sent in a complaint to their head office and give them their due they did call me back and offered to reimburse me off the next ticket I bought, I said how about reimbursing my cash and he said no can do, I said the same back, best non-direct airline for me was Etihad, but now with the pain in the rear security checks, that have to be done now and connecting flights sometimes delayed, I have now been getting direct flights and pay just a bit extra at the right time of the year, I did hear a lot of bad things about BA but I gave them a go last year for the price I was really impressed,timings were perfect the staff great and  for airplane food excellent, for my return I did pay extra for the bit bigger seat and it was worth the extra plus the ease of checking in and extra baggage allowance, I'm not saying I will not go for a non-direct flight again if the price is right, Jet, are okay when leaving Bangkok and the change over but pretty miserable when changing flights coming back and their food is terrible even for plane food, never ever attempt Biman unless you are a Bangladeshi that would probably appreciate being treated worse than an animal or if it's the last flight out of a war torn area, you have been warned.

[Gonefortea]

Worst I have ever flown with is British Airways.

Dirty planes food is at best 1 out of 5. Cabin crew are so not bothered and flounce around with the I know you want something but you can wait till I decide to come to you. 

Internal then the worst is most definitely NOK air. They say cheap and cheerful not there case cheap an glum.