Business Class Fares & Offers

[davidge]

Finnair. One way. 26500 baht.

[socrates]

5 minutes ago, davidge said:

Finnair. One way. 26500 baht.

I saw that - no checked in luggage no access to Lounge - the better option is 32500 baht odd

[davidge]

1 minute ago, socrates said:

I saw that - no checked in luggage no access to Lounge - the better option is 32500 baht odd

Next best I can see is Gulf. Return better value than single.

[davidge]

7 minutes ago, socrates said:

I saw that - no checked in luggage no access to Lounge - the better option is 32500 baht odd

Also, you can book Qatar via the BA website and get money off by using Avios.

[socrates]

2 minutes ago, davidge said:

Also, you can book Qatar via the BA website and get money off by using Avios.

Cannot find any Business Class Options though - I tried that first - only Economy

[davidge]

1 minute ago, socrates said:

Cannot find any Business Class Options though - I tried that first - only Economy

I found it first search. Not searching for award flights but signing in and searching for flights. Biz was about 78000 baht but I was given the option of taking money off using Avios. It might be there’s a limit so it’s no good for you - I’m new to Avios so haven’t tried booking with them!

[davidge]

12 minutes ago, socrates said:

Cannot find any Business Class Options though - I tried that first - only Economy

Using ‘pay with Avios’ I do get Royal Jordanian available (longer stopover) and JAL (even longer journey time) on some dates.

RJ is 116000 Avios plus £172

[socrates]

2 minutes ago, davidge said:

Using ‘pay with Avios’ I do get Royal Jordanian available (longer stopover) and JAL (even longer journey time) on some dates.

RJ is 116000 Avios plus £172

I found a flight 10th December

 

Total amount debited from your PayPal account

£ 442.90

Total Avios debited from account

112000

 

Not great - but uses up Avios - of which I have loads

 

Thanks for your input

[penboy]

I'm looking at Man - BKK with KLM. Does anyone have any experience of taking a large golf travel bag on the hopper flight to Schipol from the UK. I'm paying BC all the way (I assume) but have heard people say that the feeder flights are not really BC.

[davidge]

51 minutes ago, penboy said:

I'm looking at Man - BKK with KLM. Does anyone have any experience of taking a large golf travel bag on the hopper flight to Schipol from the UK. I'm paying BC all the way (I assume) but have heard people say that the feeder flights are not really BC.

From KLM Website:

You can bring a set of golfing equipment instead of an item of checked luggage without having to make a reservation. It can be up to 300 cm (length + width + height) and up to 23 kg in Economy Class or 32 kg in Business Class. Please make sure that the golf set consists only of clubs, balls, and a pair of golf shoes.

When flying Business Class, you can bring 2 items of checked luggage. Each bag can be up to 158 cm (length + width + height) including handles and wheels, with a maximum weight of 32 kg

putting MAN-BKK into their baggage allowance search also confirms this.

https://www.klm.co.uk/baggage-allowance

 

The seat from MAN to AMS won’t be proper Biz.

Be aware that KLM check in staff are notorious for being difficult over Thailand entry rules, not knowing what they are and wrongly trying to tell people they can’t fly. This has happened a lot at Heathrow.

[penboy]

11 minutes ago, davidge said:

 

Be aware that KLM check in staff are notorious for being difficult over Thailand entry RULES, not knowing what they are and wrongly trying to tell people they can’t fly. This has happened a lot at Heathrow.

I'd go for just under 90 days and get a SETV for 60 and then extend by another 30. I'm guessing that is the sort of thing that they would not understand or accept.

[davidge]

4 minutes ago, penboy said:

I'd go for just under 90 days and get a SETV for 60 and then extend by another 30. I'm guessing that is the sort of thing that they would not understand or accept.

You ‘might’ need to book a flight for 59 days then change once you’re there. I don’t know if KLM allow free changes or not?

There could be no problem but sometimes the Embassy insist on that before issuing a visa and CofE. Some KLM staff have been misunderstanding the rules on who’s allowed to enter and trying to stop tourists! Asking for marriage certificate etc. They must have rules from last year!

[davidge]

Looks like direct options are going to be very limited for a while.

Neither Eva nor BA are likely to be operating LHR-BKK until well into next year, so Thai is the only direct option. They’ve just announced an increase in flights from the end of this month.

Destination	Frequency	Days of operation from BKK
Brussels	2 x weekly	Wed, Fri
Copenhagen	2 x weekly	Wed, Sun
Frankfurt	4 x weekly	Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun
London (Heathrow)	4 x weekly	Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun
Milan (Malpensa)	2 x weekly (from Jan 1)	Thu, Sat
Munich	1 x weekly (from Jan 1)	Sun
Paris (CDG)	1 x weekly	Sun
Stockholm	2 x weekly	Tue, Thu
Zürich	1 x weekly (then 2 x weekly from Jan 1)	Mon (from Jan 1), Wed

Route	Frequency	Days of operation from BKK
Bangkok–Phuket–Copenhagen	1 x weekly	Thu
Bangkok–Phuket–Frankfurt	3 x weekly	Tue, Thu, Sat
Bangkok–Phuket–London Heathrow	3 x weekly	Wed, Fri, Sun
Bangkok–Munich–Phuket–Bangkok	1 x weekly (from Jan 1)	Fri
Bangkok–Phuket–Paris CDG	2 x weekly	Tue, Thu
Bangkok–Phuket–Stockholm	1 x weekly	Fri
Bangkok–Zürich–Phuket–Bangkok	1 x weekly	Fri

 

[davidge]

Destination	Frequency	Days of operation from BKK
Hong Kong	3 x weekly	Wed, Fri, Sun
Jakarta	1 x weekly	Wed
Manila	5 x weekly	Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat
Nagoya	4 x weekly	Wed, Thu, Fri, Sun
Osaka	4 x weekly	Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Seoul	7 x weekly	Every day
Singapore	4 x weekly	Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
Sydney	2 x weekly	Wed, Sun
Taipei	4 x weekly	Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat
Tokyo Haneda	3 x weekly (from Jan 1)	Tue, Thu, Sat
Tokyo Narita	4 x weekly	Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat

[socrates]

Can anyone advise me on how to upgrade an Economy flight  - (LHR - BKK one way) to Business Class - I have 75000 miles expiring end of the year

https://www.thaiairways.com/app/rop/awards/air_awards/inter?next=2

I tried here but this seems to be using miles against an Economy flight - quoted me 42000 miles + £175 odd

 

TIA

 

[davidge]

Thai introducing new 777-300s on London route from the end of April which will have First, Business and 3-3-3 Economy seating.

https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2022/04/13/thai-airways-restores-first-class/

[davidge]

With the dropping of arrival tests imminent and a faint possibility of my being able to travel for my usual June/July trip, I checked flights today.

BLOODY HELL!!!

Extortionate fares from most airlines that I might use. I much prefer direct but BA and Eva haven’t started up again yet (though I guess might by July) so Thai is the only direct option at around £3k, though I’ve seen at 2600-2700 recently (usually via Phuket)

Indirect, there are reasonable fares from Swiss/Austrian/Lufthansa group (around £1500) but it’s an Economy seat on the LHR leg and I can’t manage that even for a couple of hours (as a first visit to the theatre for 3 years recently proved!). Finnair about £1650 but again an Economy seat. Egypt under £1500 but - NO! One visit to Cairo airport more than enough.

Turkish at about £2200 is a possibility.

ME Airlines pretty horrendous. Qatar £2900, Emirates £3200, Gulf £3300, Oman £3500 etc

Singapore £3400.

 

 

I’ve just got to hope things change in the next couple of months.

[Luv2Phuket]

That's the bad news that people are not talking about -- yet -- with restrictions being lifted: the demand for air travel is soaring (pun intended) and major airlines are all starting to report a return to profitability.

United Airline's stock jumped almost 10% yesterday on profit forecasts, and their CEO said that the demand for air travel is the strongest it has been in 30 years.

Hopefully the opening of Asian travel hubs like Taiwan (still closed to transit passengers) and Hong Kong (I think opened) will help, but expect to be bent over in the short term on ticket prices.

[tt2008]

I've been looking at Business Class prices from London in July and at the moment they seem crazy. I've no idea if they will come down a bit but as Davidge says above some of the indirect options aren't great. At the moment it looks like only Thai are flying direct and they seem to be taking full advantage of their monopoly.

I'm holding off until things get better, or maybe I will have to push back my trip.

[Just Browsing]

10 hours ago, davidge said:

Turkish at about £2200 is a possibility.

Have flown Turkish in Business Class a few times & I would definitely fly with them again 

 

Edit: Just checked dates in June & Thai are coming up at around 2,200... e.g. https://matrix.itasoftware.com/flights?search=eyJ0eXBlIjoicm91bmQtdHJpcCIsInNsaWNlcyI6W3sib3JpZ2luIjpbIkxIUiJdLCJkZXN0IjpbIkJLSyJdLCJkYXRlcyI6eyJzZWFyY2hEYXRlVHlwZSI6ImNhbGVuZGFyIiwiZGVwYXJ0dXJlRGF0ZSI6IjIwMjItMDYtMDEiLCJkdXJhdGlvbiI6IjE0LTIxIn19XSwib3B0aW9ucyI6eyJjYWJpbiI6IkJVU0lORVNTIiwic3RvcHMiOiIxIiwiZXh0cmFTdG9wcyI6IjEiLCJhbGxvd0FpcnBvcnRDaGFuZ2VzIjoidHJ1ZSIsInNob3dPbmx5QXZhaWxhYmxlIjoidHJ1ZSJ9LCJwYXgiOnsiYWR1bHRzIjoiMSJ9fQ%3D%3D

 

https://matrix.itasoftware.com/calendar?search=eyJ0eXBlIjoicm91bmQtdHJpcCIsInNsaWNlcyI6W3sib3JpZ2luIjpbIkxIUiJdLCJkZXN0IjpbIkJLSyJdLCJkYXRlcyI6eyJzZWFyY2hEYXRlVHlwZSI6ImNhbGVuZGFyIiwiZGVwYXJ0dXJlRGF0ZSI6IjIwMjItMDYtMDEiLCJkdXJhdGlvbiI6IjE0LTIxIn19XSwib3B0aW9ucyI6eyJjYWJpbiI6IkJVU0lORVNTIiwic3RvcHMiOiIxIiwiZXh0cmFTdG9wcyI6IjEiLCJhbGxvd0FpcnBvcnRDaGFuZ2VzIjoidHJ1ZSIsInNob3dPbmx5QXZhaWxhYmxlIjoidHJ1ZSJ9LCJwYXgiOnsiYWR1bHRzIjoiMSJ9fQ%3D%3D

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by Just Browsing

[Bazle]

11 hours ago, davidge said:

Indirect, there are reasonable fares from Swiss/Austrian/Lufthansa group (around £1500) but it’s an Economy seat on the LHR leg ........ 

Are you 100% certain about that? 

[penboy]

1 hour ago, Bazle said:

Are you 100% certain about that? 

I booked last week and got it for £1,550.

The first (short) leg appears to be a feeder/hopper type flight. I don't think that the seat will recline very much as it does on the 2nd leg (A350). I'm sure Davidge will explain when he comes online.

[davidge]

5 hours ago, Bazle said:

Are you 100% certain about that? 

 

4 hours ago, penboy said:

I booked last week and got it for £1,550.

The first (short) leg appears to be a feeder/hopper type flight. I don't think that the seat will recline very much as it does on the 2nd leg (A350). I'm sure Davidge will explain when he comes online.

It’s a standard Economy seat (with slightly more legroom) but they leave the middle seat of the 3 empty. It will be Business Class meals and service but the seat itself is an Economy seat.

Seat width in both classes is 18”. Seat pitch in Economy is 31-32”, in Biz it’s 31-34”.

 

[davidge]

7 hours ago, Just Browsing said:

Have flown Turkish in Business Class a few times & I would definitely fly with them again 

 

Edit: Just checked dates in June & Thai are coming up at around 2,200... e.g. https://matrix.itasoftware.com/flights?search=eyJ0eXBlIjoicm91bmQtdHJpcCIsInNsaWNlcyI6W3sib3JpZ2luIjpbIkxIUiJdLCJkZXN0IjpbIkJLSyJdLCJkYXRlcyI6eyJzZWFyY2hEYXRlVHlwZSI6ImNhbGVuZGFyIiwiZGVwYXJ0dXJlRGF0ZSI6IjIwMjItMDYtMDEiLCJkdXJhdGlvbiI6IjE0LTIxIn19XSwib3B0aW9ucyI6eyJjYWJpbiI6IkJVU0lORVNTIiwic3RvcHMiOiIxIiwiZXh0cmFTdG9wcyI6IjEiLCJhbGxvd0FpcnBvcnRDaGFuZ2VzIjoidHJ1ZSIsInNob3dPbmx5QXZhaWxhYmxlIjoidHJ1ZSJ9LCJwYXgiOnsiYWR1bHRzIjoiMSJ9fQ%3D%3D

 

https://matrix.itasoftware.com/calendar?search=eyJ0eXBlIjoicm91bmQtdHJpcCIsInNsaWNlcyI6W3sib3JpZ2luIjpbIkxIUiJdLCJkZXN0IjpbIkJLSyJdLCJkYXRlcyI6eyJzZWFyY2hEYXRlVHlwZSI6ImNhbGVuZGFyIiwiZGVwYXJ0dXJlRGF0ZSI6IjIwMjItMDYtMDEiLCJkdXJhdGlvbiI6IjE0LTIxIn19XSwib3B0aW9ucyI6eyJjYWJpbiI6IkJVU0lORVNTIiwic3RvcHMiOiIxIiwiZXh0cmFTdG9wcyI6IjEiLCJhbGxvd0FpcnBvcnRDaGFuZ2VzIjoidHJ1ZSIsInNob3dPbmx5QXZhaWxhYmxlIjoidHJ1ZSJ9LCJwYXgiOnsiYWR1bHRzIjoiMSJ9fQ%3D%3D

 

They have a good reputation, though I think it’s the ‘old fashioned’ 2-2-2 layout.

If I ‘had’ to book today with the options I found then it would probably be with Turkish.

[davidge]

Just had a look at flights from Birmingham and Turkish showing at just under £2000.

BHX actually slightly closer to me than LHR but I’ve never flown from there.