Do you stick with the same airline

[blue1878]

I now fly to Thailand two times a year and getting good flights is now very important.  I don't want to spend too many hours flying between England and Thailand.  And because I fly from Manchester airport I don't want to spend to much time in transit.

 

So for me I am made up with Etihad and there flight times.

 

Flying Out to Thailand

I can fly from Manchester in the morning and get to BKK airport at about 7am the following morning.  So this means that I can get to my hotel in Pattaya before 11am.  And I've usually been lucky at my hotel because my room as in most cases been available when I have arrived.  So if I am feeling tired I can have some rest before going out at night.  Plus I am only in Transit at Abu Dhabi for 2 hours.  So this time goes very quickly

 

Flying Home

Etihad have a flight that fly's out of BKK at about 8:30 at night.  This is great because this means that my last night partying in Pattaya can be a late night.  Plus taking this flight means I only spend about 2 hours 40 minutes in transit and I land back at Manchester airport at about 7am the next day.

 

Etihad Silver

Because I stick with the same airline I am a member of there frequent flyer club.  So I earn air miles with every trip.  So far I have managed 1 free flight(I only had to par airport tax) plus I've used my airmiles to bring the price of other flights to Thailand down.

Other benifit's of being a Silver member is that I get free access to business lounges at the airports. Plus when I check in at Manchester or BKK I get fast tracked through customs

 

MBNA Credit card

About 18 months ago I applied for and got MBNA's Etihad American Express and Visa cards.  So every time I use these cards I earn air miles.  So these air miles along with the other air miles I earn help me to get cheaper flights.

 

So I am happy to stick with the same airline

[jocky king]

Thanks for good information , I usually use Etihad most times but don't have a Etihad silver , not enough miles to earn them they said when I asked for silver membership . If I goes twice a year , maybe I would have got it .

[Stillearly]

When I first started travelling I stuck to Thai and a few times Eva , forgot to get a FF card back then though , then I started using EVA primarily because of their economy Deluxe seating , over the last seven years I've travelled business ( my treat for giving up smoking ) and have picked the Airline out of Thai , EVA , BA or Etihad - EVA or BA are my current favourites based on non-stop flights , price and service

 

I use the BA Amex card , all of my spending translates into miles , just recently during the BA sale I bought return Premium Economy flights for £1,180 and upgraded to Business using 30,000 miles , they will give me around 15,000 back when I have completed the trip

[sinbad5]

More or less stick to Qantas for Thailand trips, as I'm sort of locked into their FF program with my shopping, Amex CC, Internet bill etc anyway, and I get more points flying with them.

 

I would change based on $ or timing, but their costs and flight times generally suit me - their sale fares are very competitive for a full service airline and QF23 leaves after breakfast and get me to Pattaya in time for dinner, QF24 leaves at dinner, gets me home for breakfast. The food and service is okay and the entertainment selection is good.

[oschkosch]

I use Lufthansa or other Star Alliance airlines for as many flights within Europe as is possible (business related stuff). Plus I also have the LH credit card for earnig extra miles when spending money. Flights to Thailand I only do once per year currently, and I typically choose on a mix of travel time vs. price. No point in having a cheap flight and 8 hours stopover in Dubai or some place else. 

[blue1878]

Thanks for good information , I usually use Etihad most times but don't have a Etihad silver , not enough miles to earn them they said when I asked for silver membership . If I goes twice a year , maybe I would have got it .

Jocky as far as I can understand I only get silver status because I fly with them twice a year.  Another plus with having Silver status is that I earn extra air miles when I fly.

[vimto66]

No,i just get whats available at the time.When i normally go july/august flights are expensive so i just try and get the best priced one.I also fly from manchester and i`ve flown to Thailand with lots of different airlines over the years,some better than others,but i actually like the variation of flying with different ones,although if pushed i`d say etihad and emirates were the best.

[Jarrod2518]

I am a very frequent flyer, partly work as well as recreation. I am a member of many FF clubs. On balance I have found it is the luck of the draw. Largely depending on the crew and time of year,etc.   I turn the question around - are there any airlines that I am reluctant to use.  Not many other than the buget airlines operating out of UK. A real pain to book and travel with them

[thinkingallowed]

I'd love to but every time I reach silver status with an airline something goes wrong. This year I got to silver with Qatar and KLM but my rotations changed and I'll miss KLM gold by two flights and my next two flights to Thailand would have got me Qatar gold but they have gone from being very reasonable to expensive with worse connections.

[hoopbhoy]

My preference is Emirates. I prefer my journey as two medium length hops, Glasgow Dubai then BKK  rather one short, one long. Sometimes the fares via Schipol an KLM are too good to pass up though. Much prefer the Emirates standard of service, meals and in flight entertainment.

[Franky Bear]

Boobs

[QuotaMan]

I try to stick with Delta because I am a member of their Skymiles program, but it depends on prices.

 

I also like China Airlines.

 

I usually stick with those two but am open to others depending on pricing/schedule.

[bpchook]

If they do a direct flight they have my business. The more legroom they offer wins my booking.

[THAJEC]

I keep Emirates via Dubai with regard to good service, price, and good times.
Sometimes I use Austrian Airlines via Vienna, as the total years is the segment length only about thirteen hours, which is great.

[manarak]

I'm silver with Oman Air, that's great for hauling 45 Kg and use their lounges.

Their planes, staff and service are excellent.

 

When Oman is sometimes too expensive, I check Etihad, then Emirates.

[MikeLFC]

I'm silver with Oman Air, that's great for hauling 45 Kg and use their lounges.

Their planes, staff and service are excellent.

 

When Oman is sometimes too expensive, I check Etihad, then Emirates.

Good to Hear i plan my First flights with oman air

 

So i can compare to emirates etihad

[filibuster]

I wouldn't touch Etihad economy from Manchester to Bangkok.  Both legs are serviced by their high-density 777s - an absolute deal-breaker for me.

 

Long-haul - I use Qatar biz class to/from Edinburgh from Bangkok.  Domestic or regional - whoever has the best deal/timings when I'm booking. 

[jamduf]

Yes I do. Best way to build rewards.

[Judge Dredd]

Etihad would have to be exceptionally cheap for me to use them. I tend not to stick with one airline. I look at the layovers and price of the airlines I am prepared to fly with and take it from there

[Rainsberger]

Flew with Etihad 4 times in a row now London Heathrow to Bangkok, May 2014 and October 2013.

 

I fly out to Bangkok in 8 days times with them and also have a booking for May 2015 to come to.

 

Never paid more than £480 for all flghts and all short stopovers.

[samaus]

I stick with Thai Airways. They fly direct from Brisbane. Usually costs $800 - $900.

 

Quantas occasionally has good deals but I don't fancy the layover in Sydney.

[geezerrb]

My first few flights I flew with Oman, Etihad and Qatar based on price and always flying from LHR, I then found,one trip that Eva direct was only a little more and that spoiled me, since then I normally fly Thai at around £600.I did fall for an extremely cheap Air India price a few trips back and what a horrific experience, never that airline ever again and definitely endorsed why I prefer to pay extra to fly direct.

[GtotheM]

I flew Etihad 1 stop from Manchester so 4 flights total there and back.

 

I always chose isle seat on the last row (nobody behind). Lucky for me on 2 of those flights I had a whole row of 3 seats to myself and was laying down.

[Bitchslap]

Stuck with Virgin Australia frequent flyer so always fly Singapore airlines so I pay nothing for flights including taxes. Stop over a pain but on 2hrs so not too bad.

[geezerrb]

Yea, I forgot to mention the majority of my Thai flights I have been able to engineer seat placement where I get a row of 4 seats to myself  to "flatbed" between some of the best inflight meals I have experienced, which I have to say the standard in "cattle class" is never outstanding but Thai has to be one of the best.