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Bangkok-Washington DC & return


kansuwan

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Been invited to a conference in Washington DC next year, Springtime.  The organisers will pay air fares (biz class).  

Any recommendations on carriers/routes/in-flight service?

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I’m sure some of our American members will be able to report first hand experience of the route.

From a quick look, which I’m sure you’ve done anyway :), the 2 that stand out are Emirates and ANA. Both have excellent reputations in Biz.

Plus for Emirates is they have A380’s on both legs. Minus is the connections are a little tight if there’s any sort of delay.

Maybe a stopover would be possible with ANA if you fancy seeing Tokyo?

Obviously the choice could depend on whether the timings suit and on any price difference.

 

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

So remember to “Enjoy every sandwich”

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You will want to find a carrier that does it with only one stop (there are no non-stops).

Checking random dates in April, the following carriers came up:
 - Air China (a BIG NO from me on them!)
 - ANA (connecting via Tokyo; a very good choice)
 - Etihad (connecting in Abu Dhabi, good reviews)
 - Qatar (connecting in Doha, good reviews, but gotta check their equipment - to/from LAX, the seats were big, but not lie flat)
 - Korean Air (connecting in Incheon, I think their business class lags some of these others)
- Emirates (connecting in Dubai - pricey, but excellent reputation)
- Turkish (connecting in Istanbul - good reviews, but 2-3-2 seating in business class is a firm "no go" for me)

I think ANA is always a solid choice, but Etihad and Emirates have steller reputations.

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At the moment, all flights on Qatar are scheduled to have the newest QSuite product, which is truly outstanding (including LAX, which I recently flew).

ANA via Tokyo has a good business class from Tokyo to the US, but a lousy product within Asia.  Same as JAL.

 

I'd fly Qatar in a heartbeat

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2 minutes ago, basket case said:

At the moment, all flights on Qatar are scheduled to have the newest QSuite product, which is truly outstanding (including LAX, which I recently flew).

ANA via Tokyo has a good business class from Tokyo to the US, but a lousy product within Asia.  Same as JAL.

 

I'd fly Qatar in a heartbeat

I left Qatar off because when I checked it showed a 2-2-2 layout for the BKK legs with the suite only on the Washington legs. Otherwise, a good choice.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

So remember to “Enjoy every sandwich”

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There is at least 1 qsuite flight per day in and out of BKK, as I was on it.

The older 777 seats are still not bad.  Its a lot of space, though no privacy.

Frankly, a lot of the flights into and out of BKK have lousy business classes, because business class is not a big seller into and out of thailand, so airlines tend to use their worst products on this route.From the US west coast, I often fly Cathay.  Even if I get on a regional business class flight, its only a 3 hour flight and it doesnt matter so much.

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Cathay (CX) started flying HKG-IAD 15Sep2018 but only 4x/week.  Lots of CX connecting flights HKG-BKK.

 

CX860 HKG-IAD M,Tu,Th,Sa 1835/2220

CX861 IAD-HKG Tu,W,F,Su 0115/0510

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cathay-pacific-marco-polo-club/1883545-iad-launch-confirmed-schedule-filed.html

The 2019 Skytrax awards rates airlines based on best business class, seats, lounges, catering, lounge, and amenities.

https://www.worldairlineawards.com/worlds-best-business-class-airlines-2019/

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  • 4 weeks later...

 

On 26/06/2019 at 11:12, kansuwan said:

Been invited to a conference in Washington D.C.. The organizers will pay air fares (biz class). Any recommendations on carriers/routes/in-flight service?

You can make this trip in two legs with a single connection. In Thailand you’ll use BKK airport, and in Washington, D.C. you’ll use Dulles International Airport, which is IAD. Ignore other airports, and any trip with more than one connection. The best itineraries are 20 to 25 hours in length, including the layover. Shopping carefully and purchasing a restricted ticket months in advance, the roundtrip will cost USD $3,500 - $6,000.

There are three main variables: Where you connect; when you arrive/depart and the length of your layover. You’ll have to decide what’s important to you.

The best itineraries connect in northeast Asia, in Seoul or Tokyo; in the Middle East, in Doha or Abu Dhabi; or in the Bosporus Strait, in Istanbul. That’s KAL, ANA, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad and Turkish Airways. In my view, the connections in Europe are less convenient and result in longer travel times.

When it comes to departure and arrival times, you’ll find lots of trips that start around midnight and land around dawn. You can also finds trips that start around noon and arrive around midnight. You’ll have to decide what works best for your schedule, your professional commitments and how you prefer to deal with jet lag.

Personally, I like the trips that leave around midnight. If I skip dinner and avoid alcohol I can usually get five or six hours of sleep after takeoff, after which I have a little snack before finishing the first leg. Arriving at my destination around dawn the immigration lines are shorter and seeing the sun keeps me awake until late afternoon. But as they say on the Interwebs YMMV.

The layovers shouldn’t be more than 2-3 hours if you plan carefully. Flying business class you’ll have access to some really nice lounges. The business class lounges operated by the airlines in the Middle East are truly spectacular. But the lounges in Seoul, Tokyo and Istanbul don’t suck either.

The lounges at Dulles are nowhere near as nice. There is no lounge access for arriving passengers. Once you clear immigration and pick up your luggage you’ll be ground side. Plan accordingly. There are a handful of lounges available to departing business class passengers, but they are well and truly lame. Don’t plan on lingering there, or having a nice meal before your return to Thailand. Just get on the jet and eat the airline food.

MISCELLANEOUS: Public transit at Dulles is poor. The heavy rail system doesn’t extend that far. You have to ride to the end of the line and take a bus back and forth to the airport. Don’t even try it. Uber will pick up arriving passengers. Once you pick up your luggage on the lower level, go up one level to the arrival level. Step outside and request an Uber. Note the number of the door where you are standing and send that to the driver.  You’ll pay USD $50 - $70 for a ride into downtown D.C. or a nearby suburb.

There is a single taxi company (Washington Flyer) that has a monopoly on picking up arriving passengers but their fares are high. Figure USD $80 - $100 to downtown Washington, or nearby suburbs. They pick up on the lower level, at the curb near baggage claim.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One issue/question that I didn't mention -- and I haven't seen anyone else mention -- is whether you have a frequent flier membership with any airline(s)?

If so, figure out which other airlines in their alliance -- oneworld, Star Alliance, Sky Team -- will allow you to bank some miles off of this trip.

For instance, if you frequently fly Thai, you might want to look at Star Alliance carriers and see if you can credit the miles back to your Thai account.

I am flying one way from Bangkok to Tokyo to LAX in December.  It would have been the return of my annual November trip booked with miles, but I have to go to meetings in Tokyo so someone else is picking up the tab for business class.  Because of bonuses due to my status with AA, I am getting 2,906 AA EQDs (which is only 94 dollars short of the amount required annually for Gold status), 16,754 EQMs (over 67% of the way to Gold), but I am uncertain of how many actual award miles I will get.  

I wouldn't make that the deciding factor, but it could weigh into your decision.

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