best route/airline from west coast USA

[bouncewithme]

I have always used points on Star Alliance using United and Thai Airways to get to BKK. My points have run out so I need to purchase a ticket now. What's the most convenient route out of the west coast to get to BKK? Ive always connected via NRT or ICN out of SFO. thanks.

[Richmond72]

Don't know about SFO, but I fly out of LAX.  Generally the best cheap flights to BKK from LAX are on China Air or Eva connecting in Taipei.  Sometimes you see some Cathay Pacific flights(connecting in HK).  Cathay has awesome service, but I don't see their flights as often on the bottom end of the fare range as I used to.  All 3(China Air, Eva, and Cathay) have red-eye flights that leave late at night and get into BKK noon-ish or earlier.  Those are perfect for me because you get into BKK/Pattaya right around check-in time and have a whole day to get settled in.

 

Lots of cheap flights on the Korean airlines(Korean Air and Asiana), but they have weird times and usually include some ungodly layover in ICN.

 

I personally would rather not try out any of the Chinese airlines.

[QuotaMan]

I used to regularly fly out of SFO, also LAX and San Diego.

 

I've only flown two airlines for most of my past Thai trips, Delta and China Airlines.

 

I think both are comparable in prices for round trip economy class to BKK, but with Delta you have the option of economy comfort for a little bit more money and worth it.

 

In terms of times, I kind of like China Airlines better because you can leave really early morning around 1:00 AM and then arrive in Pattaya at around noon or so and have an 'extra' day. And when returning, departure is around afternoon, so you can have full last night. Whereas with Delta, you lose a day because you arrive late around midnight, and when you leave it's early around 5:00 AM.

[Luv2Phuket]

Can only speak about flights from/to LAX, but a disadvantage with Air China is the return flight, which typically features a 6 to 9 hour layover in Beijing.

 

If I were forced to buy a ticket again (I'm a miles whore so luckily that day is pretty far off), I would look at the airlines with premium economy options, like EVA or Cathay.

 

Thai probably has the most "convenient" flight, with a direct (you stop, but no change of planes) in Seoul (ICN).  Their prices seem to run on the high side, though.

 

I also agree with QuotaMan that flights leaving in the midnight to 1 a.m. range are best, as it's easier to sleep (though I'm usually so F*CKING excited to be going to Thailand that sleep is impossible!) and you get in during the afternoon (instead of at 11 p.m.)

[Richmond72]

Can only speak about flights from/to LAX, but a disadvantage with China Air is the return flight, which typically features a 6 to 9 hour layover in Beijing.

 

If I were forced to buy a ticket again (I'm a miles whore so luckily that day is pretty far off), I would look at the airlines with premium economy options, like EVA or Cathay.

 

Thai probably has the most "convenient" flight, with a direct (you stop, but no change of planes) in Seoul (ICN).  Their prices seem to run on the high side, though.

 

I also agree with QuotaMan that flights leaving in the midnight to 1 a.m. range are best, as it's easier to sleep (though I'm usually so F*CKING excited to be going to Thailand that sleep is impossible!) and you get in during the afternoon (instead of at 11 p.m.)

 

 

I think you're thinking of Air China and not China Air.  Confusing, I know.  China Air is a Taiwanese airline and connects in Taipei, and Air China is a Chinese airline and connects in Beijing.

[jennings]

I've used both Eva(Taipei) & Cathay Pacific(HK) out of SFO. The late departures out of SFO gets you into BKK around noon. Eva is also in the Star Alliance group. I prefer CP's service(online boarding pass e.g.), but Eva prices are usually a few hundred dollars cheaper. Which means a couple of more nights on the ground.

[Rocketboy]

Come up to Seattle and fly on the best!! My company Delta....

[flaboy]

Flying out of LAX in March on China Southern. First time using them but the price is right and they use the new 380 airbus which I love. Gets into BKK at 10:50 am which is nice also.

[Luv2Phuket]

I think you're thinking of Air China and not China Air.  Confusing, I know.  China Air is a Taiwanese airline and connects in Taipei, and Air China is a Chinese airline and connects in Beijing.

 

You are absolutely correct!  I will edit my post and fix that -- thanks!

[Stlakid]

Flying out of LAX in March on China Southern. First time using them but the price is right and they use the new 380 airbus which I love. Gets into BKK at 10:50 am which is nice also.

Flew this flight in November.  Yea, big plane, smooth flying, but don't expect any extra room because of it in coach!  If you take an isle seat 'Expect' the waitress/stewardess to RAM your arm every time she passes with that dam cart moving down the isle.  Sometimes she hits you with her ass, (bonus I guess) but I never got a single 'sorry or excuse me' on the entire flight!  Not blaming her the isle is only about 18" wide!  Seats are listed as 32" wide. BS! Must be a Typo!  Try 22" is closer to reality!  Seating is 3-5-3 and there is a second floor which in the old days was for lounging with cocktails and room to stretch out at least a little.  Ah, the good old days!  Now the upper level is MORE coach seats and you are not even allowed up to look!  Remember this flight if full can carry almost 600 passengers! (maximum on plane is 853!! But so far no carrier had done an 'All Coach' seat setup.)  And the way most of these idiots 'must' bring more shit than they will ever really need on board (venting a bit) it takes a fair bit of time to load up.  So in some respects I prefer the smaller flights now!

 

Oh yes, a P.S.        The food on China Southern is 'Dismal'!  Bring some with you!  It was the first flight in my life where I refused a meal altogether!  On one leg of the flight they served fish and rice 'to the entire plane!  No other option!  That was wonderful in a 'Closed environment' with recycled air!  Yes, that was the meal I refused!  Just trying to do my part for 'Air Quality'!

[flaboy]

Flew this flight in November.  Yea, big plane, smooth flying, but don't expect any extra room because of it in coach!  If you take an isle seat 'Expect' the waitress/stewardess to RAM your arm every time she passes with that dam cart moving down the isle.  Sometimes she hits you with her ass, (bonus I guess) but I never got a single 'sorry or excuse me' on the entire flight!  Not blaming her the isle is only about 18" wide!  Seats are listed as 32" wide. BS! Must be a Typo!  Try 22" is closer to reality!  Seating is 3-5-3 and there is a second floor which in the old days was for lounging with cocktails and room to stretch out at least a little.  Ah, the good old days!  Now the upper level is MORE coach seats and you are not even allowed up to look!  Remember this flight if full can carry almost 600 passengers! (maximum on plane is 853!! But so far no carrier had done an 'All Coach' seat setup.)  And the way most of these idiots 'must' bring more shit than they will ever really need on board (venting a bit) it takes a fair bit of time to load up.  So in some respects I prefer the smaller flights now!

 

Oh yes, a P.S.        The food on China Southern is 'Dismal'!  Bring some with you!  It was the first flight in my life where I refused a meal altogether!  On one leg of the flight they served fish and rice 'to the entire plane!  No other option!  That was wonderful in a 'Closed environment' with recycled air!  Yes, that was the meal I refused!  Just trying to do my part for 'Air Quality'!

Damn brother thanks for the very detailed heads up on that one! I was kind of hoping it wasn't the case. I wanted Emirates, my usual, couldn't justify the extra 400. Going one way this time so at least only have to do this flight once. Thanks again bro, much appreciated.

[Luv2Phuket]

Flew this flight in November.  Yea, big plane, smooth flying, but don't expect any extra room because of it in coach!  If you take an isle seat 'Expect' the waitress/stewardess to RAM your arm every time she passes with that dam cart moving down the isle.  Sometimes she hits you with her ass, (bonus I guess) but I never got a single 'sorry or excuse me' on the entire flight!  Not blaming her the isle is only about 18" wide!  Seats are listed as 32" wide. BS! Must be a Typo!  Try 22" is closer to reality!  Seating is 3-5-3 and there is a second floor which in the old days was for lounging with cocktails and room to stretch out at least a little.  Ah, the good old days!  Now the upper level is MORE coach seats and you are not even allowed up to look!  Remember this flight if full can carry almost 600 passengers! (maximum on plane is 853!! But so far no carrier had done an 'All Coach' seat setup.)  And the way most of these idiots 'must' bring more shit than they will ever really need on board (venting a bit) it takes a fair bit of time to load up.  So in some respects I prefer the smaller flights now!

 

Oh yes, a P.S.        The food on China Southern is 'Dismal'!  Bring some with you!  It was the first flight in my life where I refused a meal altogether!  On one leg of the flight they served fish and rice 'to the entire plane!  No other option!  That was wonderful in a 'Closed environment' with recycled air!  Yes, that was the meal I refused!  Just trying to do my part for 'Air Quality'!

 

 

I think you were looking at the pitch, not the width.  "Pitch" is the distance from any point on one seat to the exact same point on the seat in front or behind it -- technically, it doesn't measure leg room, but it does provide a measuring stick for comparison purposes.

 

When I pulled up the layout for a China Southern A380 on SeatGuru, it listed the economy seats as being only 17.2 inches wide, but the pitch was listed as 32 inches.  

 

To put that into perspective, it's VERY close to the typical layout on a Southwest Airlines flight, with a seat width of 17 inches and pitch of 31 inches....

[bgtp]

Come up to Seattle and fly on the best!! My company Delta....

 

Richard Anderson is that you? here on PA?  ... cool

[LAgamer]

My daughter just booked on Eva from LAX to BKK via Taipei - $1,095 return.

[wackyjacky]

Why don't you just compare flight duration & price on Skyscanner or Kayak ? Coach sucks with everybody, so I'd read reviews & make sure the airline has decent IFE, before booking. Try Skytrax or maybe Seat Guru. ICN gets props for it's showers all things being equal.

[mr21]

Flying out of LAX in March on China Southern. First time using them but the price is right and they use the new 380 airbus which I love. Gets into BKK at 10:50 am which is nice also.

I'm taking this exact flight on Tues - good price and short layovers in CAN. Flew the 380 last year with Singapore Airlines and loved it also

[Daddee]

Don't know about SFO, but I fly out of LAX.  Generally the best cheap flights to BKK from LAX are on China Air or Eva connecting in Taipei.  Sometimes you see some Cathay Pacific flights(connecting in HK).  Cathay has awesome service, but I don't see their flights as often on the bottom end of the fare range as I used to.  All 3(China Air, Eva, and Cathay) have red-eye flights that leave late at night and get into BKK noon-ish or earlier.  Those are perfect for me because you get into BKK/Pattaya right around check-in time and have a whole day to get settled in.

 

Lots of cheap flights on the Korean airlines(Korean Air and Asiana), but they have weird times and usually include some ungodly layover in ICN.

 

I personally would rather not try out any of the Chinese airlines.

I just used China Air.  been back a week.  would not fly with them again, they changed my return twice...  also the whole plane on the return from Beijing was full of, gasp, Chinese!  seriously, I had an interesting layover of 34 hours in Beijing, and got to see the great wall, but the entire experience was not that great... and there was some sort of extended family around me on the return, the folks insisted on standing in the aisle next to me almost the entire time, making people squeeze by and jostling me constantly...  

 

flew in an air china 777 from bkk to beijing, was ok but there were no personal entertainment systems, just a big screen on the front bulkhead, so that was totally useless, same with the outdated 747's they were using on the other legs...  as of Feb they are using 777's on the sfo/beijing route i believe.

 

Live at Lake Tahoe, so fly out of Reno which routes me through SFO mostly...

 

have flown out of SFO with United and ANA and EVA, with some flights to bkk then being code shares with Thai... EVA I flew business class on miles and was delighted, but had a long layover in Taipei.  United and ANA goes through Narita, which makes for a longer flight than from Taipei or Beijing...

 

looking at my next trip, will be looking through the united system and looking for the shortest overall time from point to point.

 

coach on ANA 777's used a pod type seat which I found more comfortable (although others don't agree), they also had USB ports for charging, even in coach...  

[Daddee]

I'm taking this exact flight on Tues - good price and short layovers in CAN. Flew the 380 last year with Singapore Airlines and loved it also

I will have to consider this... but it's not on the star alliance mileage plan is it? 

[Luv2Phuket]

I will have to consider this... but it's not on the star alliance mileage plan is it? 

 

Nope - China Southern is on Sky Team (along with Delta, Korean Air and a host of others)

 

BTW, an easy way to check is to go to Kayak, enter your route, then choose the options at the bottom of the airlines for Star Alliance, Sky Team or Oneworld -- it then checks all applicable airlines in that group

[sam diego]

I have found Japan airlines to be the best. From the time the plane lifts off the grounds, you are being served tea, drinks, & snacks. The meals are good.

[thebigh]

I'm taking this exact flight on Tues - good price and short layovers in CAN. Flew the 380 last year with Singapore Airlines and loved it also

the short haul from china to BKK is an old 737....

[flaboy]

the short haul from china to BKK is an old 737....

Actually my itinerary says its an airbus 320. Don't know if it is any better

[southsidebruce]

In April 2012 I flew United from Dulles/Virginia to Narita (think it flies nonstop that way) and then up to BKK and the flight was relatively empty (before Songkran - was in Pattaya for Songkran)... On the way back the flight went through HongKong - BIG MISTAKE - flight totally filled up and I had this very big and overweight, Chinese guy who was sleeping and leaning into me the entire flight (I usually have isle seats but I had the window seat somehow)... was the most miserable flight I had EVER flew on... It stopped in LA, I think - forget... wherever - couldn't wait to get the fuque off that plane... horrible, especially compared to the flight out... I figure that stopping through China on the way to the States is a mistake - I am sure that most of their flights fill up... just the law of numbers and their burgeoning middle class and all... 

[Daddee]

Nope - China Southern is on Sky Team (along with Delta, Korean Air and a host of others)

 

BTW, an easy way to check is to go to Kayak, enter your route, then choose the options at the bottom of the airlines for Star Alliance, Sky Team or Oneworld -- it then checks all applicable airlines in that group

thanks, did not know that!!!

[kash buc]

I've been using EVA out of LAX the last couple of years. Ever since THAI dropped their non-stop LAX-BKK flight.  These days I'd rather pay extra for a flight with a decent schedule and short layover time rather than looking for the cheapest flight.

 

EVA meets all these requirements for me with their early AM departure out of LAX (2 flights bet. 1 & 2AM) and a 3 hour layover in Taipei. With an arrival in BKK around 11AM.

 

EVA leaves BKK around 5:30PM for Taipei, which is also a good time with the 3 HR layover in Taipei.

 

I believe EVA has the same basic schedule flying out of SFO