What is the best airline to use for travel from BKK to Raliegh Durham ?

[BuPattaya]

16 minutes ago, petesc55 said:

Qatar to ATL for 52685 baht would be the deal.      

 

I'd jump on that,  looks like the seats are limited.

Thank you PeteSC. You guys are a great help!!!

[observer90210]

If you can, avoid americain carriers as much as you can....even if you need to take a slightly longer route...

(no offence please to my american friends here, thank you)

Edited July 16, 2017 by observer90210

[BuPattaya]

6 minutes ago, CNXBKKMAN said:

If you go to the qatarairways.com website put in BKK Atlanta 21 August  return 13 Sep, there is departure from BKK at 02:05 in the morning meaning you are checking in Sunday evening the 20th and heading to the business class lounge. You arrive at ATL at 17:00 the same day 21 Aug .  52685 baht for this business class return.  Delta have a direct flight to RDU at 21:12 and 22:29 for $246-317 for comfort / first class. 

         JFK is an option also for 61030 bahtand lots of direct Delta options to RDU for $146 upwards in comfort or first. More options on Monday than the Sunday though.   Depending on the departure time you may arrive JFK the same day or the following day. 

WOW! I don't know how you found that so fast. I have looked for 2 weeks now and found nothing. I gave you a click on reputation, not that you need it. Looks like you have a awesome reputation already. I am going to check it out right now. Thanks again. I will let you know the result as soon as I know if I get the booking.I was hoping to get first class since my last trip home. 

[BuPattaya]

Just now, BuPattaya said:

WOW! I don't know how you found that so fast. I have looked for 2 weeks now and found nothing. I gave you a click on reputation, not that you need it. Looks like you have a awesome reputation already. I am going to check it out right now. Thanks again. I will let you know the result as soon as I know if I get the booking.I was hoping to get first class since my last trip home. 

I keep getting no matching city for BKK to ATL. Is the destination ATL?

 

[BuPattaya]

5 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

If you can, avoid americain carriers as much as you can....even if you need to take a slightly longer route...

(no offence please to my american friends here, thank you)

I never fly American Airlines or United anymore. Had to many bad experiences. Never again. No offence taken. I am from USA, but will never fly those 2 airlines again.

[observer90210]

5 minutes ago, BuPattaya said:

I never fly American Airlines or United anymore. Had to many bad experiences. Never again. No offence taken. I am from USA, but will never fly those 2 airlines again.

Indeed a pity....I recall when I was a kid and when we took PanAm from Europe with my parents for a first time visit to the US ....a memorable experience....times change and not for the best unfortunately...

Edited July 16, 2017 by observer90210

[petesc55]

The Qatar site was a bit balky for me when selecting airports.

Give it some time to come up with the full 'descriptor' when you enter BKK or ATL, then click on the full description.

(Atlanta Hartfield whatever airport.

Do the search dates like mentioned,, and there is an option  to open a two week window of dates, or 15 days.

 

Due to your situation, remember the cheapest fares are non-refundable without a fee.

 

Edited July 16, 2017 by petesc55

[CNXBKKMAN]

1 minute ago, petesc55 said:

The Qatar site was a bit balky for me when selecting airports.

Give it some time to come up with the full 'descriptor' when you enter BKK or ATL, then click on the full description.

(Atlanta Hartfield whatever airport.

Do the search dates like mentioned,, and there is an option  to open a two week window of dates, or 15 days.

 

Yes the Qatar Website doesn't work well on my IPad but works very well on my laptop.

[petesc55]

[CNXBKKMAN]

25 minutes ago, BuPattaya said:

WOW! I don't know how you found that so fast. I have looked for 2 weeks now and found nothing. I gave you a click on reputation, not that you need it. Looks like you have a awesome reputation already. I am going to check it out right now. Thanks again. I will let you know the result as soon as I know if I get the booking.I was hoping to get first class since my last trip home. 

Not all airlines are doing first class anymore and as you have noticed it will costs a lot more than 52k baht! The Qatar business class is excellent though so is a very good option. 

The delta flight, you want to book that on delta.com , not some third party website.

Edited July 16, 2017 by CNXBKKMAN
Improvement

[petesc55]

You've got options.  :)

[BuPattaya]

7 minutes ago, CNXBKKMAN said:

Yes the Qatar Website doesn't work well on my IPad but works very well on my laptop.

I cannot get a quote for this route. It keeps telling me no matching city when I type in ATL.

[CNXBKKMAN]

ATL is Atlanta. Type in Atlanta. I was just abbreviating with airport codes. 

 

[petesc55]

Not sure what to tell you?   ATL was slow to come up the first time I tried it.

Maybe wait, clear your cache, reboot, or something?

 

[BuPattaya]

2 minutes ago, petesc55 said:

You've got options.  :)

this is from Qatar Airway? I can't get this page. 

[BuPattaya]

Just now, BuPattaya said:

this is from Qatar Airway? I can't get this page. 

I will keep trying

 

[petesc55]

Yes

 

You may want to reboot your computer  

 

 

Not sure what you are using, or how to help?

 

 

It's worth the effort.

 

 

:)

[KhonKaenKowboy]

IAD will likely be the shortest.  I am doing Charlottesville to Chiang Mai with only stops at IAD and PEK...try to shoot for less than 26 hours.  Connect in Seoul, Tokyo, or Beijing....and have a look at Emirates or Qatar to Dulles.  I am also doing BKK to Hong Kong to ORD on Cathay Pacific, then a commuter to Richmond....not the quickest, but wanted to use AA miles and not use AA.  Heck, you can even go Ethipian, through Addis Ababa and it might work out.  Unlikely that you would come into LA or SF, but it may be offered, but not efficient.  JFK and Newark suck....IAD is bad enough.

[BuPattaya]

1 hour ago, BuPattaya said:

WOW! I don't know how you found that so fast. I have looked for 2 weeks now and found nothing. I gave you a click on reputation, not that you need it. Looks like you have a awesome reputation already. I am going to check it out right now. Thanks again. I will let you know the result as soon as I know if I get the booking.I was hoping to get first class since my last trip home. 

 

1 hour ago, CNXBKKMAN said:

ATL is Atlanta. Type in Atlanta. I was just abbreviating with airport codes. 

 

OK. I finally got on and into the right screen, but the fare you told me 52000 baht is for the outbound, then if book return another 52000 total is just over 140,000baht. If I book one way 88000+. Does this sound correct?  This is a bit pricey for me. Unfortunately...

[BuPattaya]

I want to thank you for your time and effort for trying to assist me. I know you spent a lot of you time searching for me and I am greatful for the help.

[BuPattaya]

I need to get some sleep been at this all day and I am wiped out. I will try to check again tomorrow. If anyone sees anything that looks good. Please let me know and I will check it out tomorrow. Thanks again to all of you for your help, especially CNXBKKMAN and PeteSC. 

[CNXBKKMAN]

7 minutes ago, BuPattaya said:

 

OK. I finally got on and into the right screen, but the fare you told me 52000 baht is for the outbound, then if book return another 52000 total is just over 140,000baht. If I book one way 88000+. Does this sound correct?  This is a bit pricey for me. Unfortunately...

Damn. My apologies, I didn't click all the way through. I just had a quick search. If the one way is 88k yes that would be better than the 104k return but if that's too much hang fire and me and others will have another look. 

    

[BuPattaya]

1 minute ago, CNXBKKMAN said:

Damn. My apologies, I didn't click all the way through. I just had a quick search. If the one way is 88k yes that would be better than the 104k return but if that's too much hang fire and me and others will have another look. 

    

OK. Thank you! I need to get some rest. I will catch up with you guys again tomorrow. Have a great evening!

[CNXBKKMAN]

It still looks like Qatar may be the best choice. Flight time is good and it's a quality choice. Cheapest is a Norwegian but it's not comparable really. Ukraine International, Egypt Air to be avoided. 88k on Qatar is $2609 . About $1000 cheaper on Norwegian but that's business class on a low cost airline. 

[petesc55]

Norwegian is only ok for the big seat, the rest of the stuff is getting close to coach services.     JFK is also worth avoiding.   I'm in my early 60's, tall, not slim, and getting stiff.       I'm not messing with coach.  :)   I just need the room and comfort.

 

I see one way to IAD from Bangkok on Air India with a long layover for $2236, business class.  

 

I wouldn't worry about being able to book business/first class via one airline all the way to RDU.  

 

 

Just get the best seat/price'flight times/airline for the money to get you to major airport in the eastern half of the US, then do a search for a first class seat from there,  to RDU before you book the long flight.

[petesc55]

I flew Hainan in February, and they were ok.    Service and seats better then Norwegian, comparable to other airlines I have flown business class in.   Flying to BKK again with them in September.

The lounge you get to use in PEK is ok, no showers, bathrooms outside the lounge area, but ok food and comfy seats.

They have business to Boston from BKK on August 14, which includes a coach seat to RDU from boston.   

(2 hours, if you can tolerate that)

 

84850 baht  Price is about the same without  including the RDU leg from Boston.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2017 by petesc55

[KhonKaenKowboy]

32 hours?  Glad you're not my travel agent.

[petesc55]

I am too.   ^^^^

 

:)

 

He could probably arrive in RDU 5 hours quicker, for twice the price, or more.

 

The Air India option into Dulles has a 13 hour layover in Delhi,  but the last long leg is in a big seat that may go flat, and you arrive at IAD at 7 am,  plenty of time to get a $200 or less first class seat to RDU.   I know nothing about air india, or the airport you'd be stuck at, or options to hit a hotel nearby for 8-10 hours.

(Just found this)

Onetravel (Via Kayak) is showing Gulf Air business class, BKK, to Bahrain, Heathrow, to RDU,  $2204, on 8/21.

Shows Biz class seat on each leg.   

Not sure how bad Gulf is?   American Airlines on LHR to RDU leg which just started up a few months ago.

 

This may be 'the deal'

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2017 by petesc55

[CNXBKKMAN]

For ease and quality I still think the Qatar option is the best at 88k . It's one of the top airlines in the world. If have been upgraded a few times on Qatar and it's the best business class I have flown on. If there is a delay or missed connection you know Qatar will sort it out as best they can with a nice hotel or whatever. 

[BuPattaya]

10 hours ago, petesc55 said:

I flew Hainan in February, and they were ok.    Service and seats better then Norwegian, comparable to other airlines I have flown business class in.   Flying to BKK again with them in September.

The lounge you get to use in PEK is ok, no showers, bathrooms outside the lounge area, but ok food and comfy seats.

They have business to Boston from BKK on August 14, which includes a coach seat to RDU from boston.   

(2 hours, if you can tolerate that)

 

84850 baht  Price is about the same without  including the RDU leg from Boston.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am also tall and have problems with my back, hips and knees. I am about the same age as you, so I fully agree. I cannot sit coach for any period of time it is quite painful. I think this would be a last choice, but I won't rule it out. Thanks for the info Pete.