Business Class Fares & Offers

[distantvoyeur]

14 hours ago, Bira said:

Only way i would fly Etihad is if I was in New York. One way JFK BKK is over $9,000 for Business (on a random date in May). Sorry i looked😧

From Toronto it was about $5,500 CAD return.  Prices fluctuated a bit over time but not significantly until the last couple of weeks. 2 legs in A380, one in 777 and one in A350 all business comfort.

Just don't ask how much they want you to bid to upgrade to First...  🤢

Mind you the Toronto A380 was a newly created route so may have been discounted to get interest.

[bangna]

Just completed Etihad trip, LHR - AUH - BKK and return. Planes were A380, B777, A350 and A380. Talking to the FA on the last leg, she confided that the 777 didn't quite meet the standard expected. 

[Snowbird99]

10 minutes ago, bangna said:

Just completed Etihad trip, LHR - AUH - BKK and return. Planes were A380, B777, A350 and A380. Talking to the FA on the last leg, she confided that the 777 didn't quite meet the standard expected. 

My last round trip on Etihad, which about six weeks ago, had one sector on a B777. Also discussed the quality of the B777 with a FA. He acknowledged it was well past  its ‘best before’ date. 
 

Free WiFi handed out to all (BC) passengers in what I assume was an acknowledgment of the quality of the plane. 
 

Doing the same trip again in beginning in ten days time. No B777 involved, although they are present on the BKK AUH sector for some dates and times. 
 

My LHR to AUH sector for my upcoming trip was an A380 when I booked.  It  has subsequently become a B787, which is disappointing as I’m a fan of the A380. No notification of this from Etihad, only noticed when I checked my flight details.  I did book directly with Etihad. 

[madmike]

2 hours ago, bangna said:

Just completed Etihad trip, LHR - AUH - BKK and return. Planes were A380, B777, A350 and A380. Talking to the FA on the last leg, she confided that the 777 didn't quite meet the standard expected. 

Having flown in all 3 of those I'd agree.  The 777 doesn't match those other two. Then again the 777 is much older.  A better comparison would be with the Boeing 787.  Introduction dates.

777 - 1995

380 - 2007

350 - 2015

787 - 2011

My preference is the 380.  My only experience with it is with I believe Asiana Air between LAX-ICN.  Upstairs is completely lie flat business class seating.  Smooth ride and quieter and fresher air.  The 787 is close but the ride of course isn't as smooth being a smaller jet.  

Pity airlines find filling 380s difficult and it is already discontinued.

 

[distantvoyeur]

8 hours ago, bangna said:

Just completed Etihad trip, LHR - AUH - BKK and return. Planes were A380, B777, A350 and A380. Talking to the FA on the last leg, she confided that the 777 didn't quite meet the standard expected. 

Yay, flight change.  777 is now a 787.  Hopefully better.

Edit:  Change was actually on an earlier revision, just hadn't noticed until now.  Still happy though.

Edited September 25, 2025 by distantvoyeur

[Bira]

23 hours ago, bangna said:

she confided that the 777 didn't quite meet the standard expected. 

What was your impression? Is the cabin layout behind the times? I have flown on some B777s that are not being updated, ex: Philippine Airlines that don’t have lie flat seats. Whereas on Japan Airlines they have Sky Suite Business class seats. 

[bangna]

6 hours ago, Bira said:

What was your impression? Is the cabin layout behind the times? I have flown on some B777s that are not being updated, ex: Philippine Airlines that don’t have lie flat seats. Whereas on Japan Airlines they have Sky Suite Business class seats. 

The cabin layout was not bad,  the general seat area and storage was poor compared to the other aircraft. 

[Yogi007]

Was looking for a cheaper option to fly Biz this time for my trip in March 2026. Came across Air India, now the devil is in the detail. Air India have refurbished some planes and also taken over the Vistara Airline fleet, so the Biz layout is 1-2-1 not the old crappy Air India 2-2-2 which was terrible. Also the leg from India to BKK is not a lie flat bed but rather the biz class you expect when you fly within Europe. i.e. a normal economy seat, with no one sitting in the middle seat and a meal served. 

Having considered all this and the price being offered of £1420, lie flat bed from LHR to India (9 hours) and India to BKK in a normal seat (4 hours). I bit the bullet and booked the flights. 

Inbound is via Mumbai and outbound is via Delhi - wish me luck! 

[davidge]

28 minutes ago, Yogi007 said:

Was looking for a cheaper option to fly Biz this time for my trip in March 2026. Came across Air India, now the devil is in the detail. Air India have refurbished some planes and also taken over the Vistara Airline fleet, so the Biz layout is 1-2-1 not the old crappy Air India 2-2-2 which was terrible. Also the leg from India to BKK is not a lie flat bed but rather the biz class you expect when you fly within Europe. i.e. a normal economy seat, with no one sitting in the middle seat and a meal served. 

Having considered all this and the price being offered of £1420, lie flat bed from LHR to India (9 hours) and India to BKK in a normal seat (4 hours). I bit the bullet and booked the flights. 

Inbound is via Mumbai and outbound is via Delhi - wish me luck! 

I used them last summer. I posted a review somewhere. 
Worst part was the transit. Delhi might be a new shiny airport but organisation, security staff and boarding staff were all dismal. For the London legs Staff on board were great and food was ‘ok’ but nothing worked. Not IFE, not chargers nothing. The seats on the Bangkok legs were bigger but not much recline and paper headrests and pillow covers. Very tatty plane as well. 

I wouldn’t fly them again. Life’s too short.

 

Edit: might have been two summer’s ago but my memory is shot.

 

[Yogi007]

9 minutes ago, davidge said:

I used them last summer. I posted a review somewhere. 
Worst part was the transit. Delhi might be a new shiny airport but organisation, security staff and boarding staff were all dismal. For the London legs Staff on board were great and food was ‘ok’ but nothing worked. Not IFE, not chargers nothing. The seats on the Bangkok legs were bigger but not much recline and paper headrests and pillow covers. Very tatty plane as well. 

I wouldn’t fly them again. Life’s too short.

 

Thanks I am a British born Indian so can somewhat speak the language and up to extent I am familiar with the cultural anomalies, which helps I think navigating my way through. I have checked out the planes I will be on, the seats you are talking about seem to be 2-2-2 layout which I hated. Let's see... I know it won't be perfect. 

[LoneCelt]

 

I scored 2 x business class tickets to Dublin over christmas for €1900 with Hainan via Bejing (4 hour layover), total 20 hours, modern A330's. Used this route many times. Inflight service right up there with most of the gulf airlines, staff amazing even had a birthday card for me on the last flight. 
There ground handling is pants but that's more to do with the security staff and the lounge staff could do with some manners training but the food (good) cooked to order and private rest cubicles.
Handy for me because Dublin is home but it's home to Ryanair and they go everywhere. Tons of T/A flights with preclearance.

I found this very useful, thought I knew it all used google flights so many times. The hack about putting the continent in as the destination was how I found the €1900 fare.

 

[NewbinPattaya1]

Will travel to BKK late November from Dubai via Singapore with Singapore Airlines. I have a 2 hours connection and the flight takes off from terminal 2. is it worth going to the better SilverKris Lounge in terminal 3 or stick with the one in terminal 2?

[davidge]

All flights to Thailand are likely to get a little more expensive next year:

A new international departure fee of 1,120 baht will take effect at Thailand's six major AOT airports in early 2026, a 390 baht increase from the current 730 baht. The change is expected to generate an estimated 10 billion baht in annual revenue to fund airport service improvements, including a new terminal at Suvarnabhumi.

Higher aircraft service charges were also approved for airports managed by the Department of Airports, to be implemented once upgraded systems are operational.

 

[Jan D]

Last time flew Qatarbusiness  and skipped the lounge in Brussels and Qatar  on the return flight as there was only a real short relay.

 

 

It brings the price down a lot.

[Rolandos]

Flying Cathay Pacific from the states with a decent layover in Hong Kong. Looking forward to taking advantage of the Pier Lounge in the HKG after the long flight.