United Airlines resumes Bangkok flights after 11-year hiatus

[tokyojoe2010]

Quote

 

United Airlines has resumed flights to Thailand after more than a decade, launching a new daily service from Los Angeles to Bangkok via Hong Kong.

The inaugural flight landed at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Saturday, October 25, marking the airline’s first return to the kingdom since 2014. The route aims to enhance connectivity between Thailand and North America, while reaffirming Bangkok’s status as a key gateway to Asia.

 

United Airlines resumes Bangkok flights after 11-year hiatus | Thaiger

[jaynewcastle]

I thought this would have been posted in the Transportation sub-forum by now, as must be great news for North Americans

[Luv2Phuket]

It has been discussed.  It is good news, but not great news -- the flights are not non-stop, but have a layover in Hong Kong.

Also, thus far, the mileage requirements to book them as an award flight are very high (too high for me).

[28templarknight]

I'd fly Eva over United any day.

[Rocketboy]

On 27/10/2025 at 22:52, jaynewcastle said:

I thought this would have been posted in the Transportation sub-forum by now, as must be great news for North Americans

Not that I live there any longer, but it would only be great news to me if it were nonstop!

 

All of my flights when coming here on holiday 2010-2018 from Seattle had layovers.

[Rainman09]

On 27/10/2025 at 11:57, Luv2Phuket said:

It has been discussed.  It is good news, but not great news -- the flights are not non-stop, but have a layover in Hong Kong.

Also, thus far, the mileage requirements to book them as an award flight are very high (too high for me).

I was able to book one way for 35K points on an economy BKK-LAX . Also this route was announced right after I cancelled my United credit card and now I regret it 😞

Edited October 31 by Rainman09

[discrete]

37 minutes ago, Rocketboy said:

Not that I live there any longer, but it would only be great news to me if it were nonstop!

 

All of my flights when coming here on holiday 2010-2018 from Seattle had layovers.

Fortunately for me, airline schedules are no longer important .. I am planning to never leave Thailand.  So no more airport hassles or jetlag 

[bgtp]

8 hours ago, Rainman09 said:

I was able to book one way for 35K points on an economy BKK-LAX . Also this route was announced right after I cancelled my United credit card and now I regret it 😞

Don’t regret it. Get it again after it’s been 2 years since your last bonus and you will get a new sign-up bonus. I canceled 2 of my 4 United cards in the last six months. I’ll get them again later. Been doing this for years.

[Luv2Phuket]

10 hours ago, Rainman09 said:

I was able to book one way for 35K points on an economy BKK-LAX . Also this route was announced right after I cancelled my United credit card and now I regret it 😞

35K is a great deal for this flight.  Business is routinely going for 170k each way!

[pattayadog]

There was never a UA non-stop flight to LA or the U.S. The flight took you from BKK to Narita and then you had a broad choice of options for moving on to the U.S.

It is good that the flight is back. It was a real loss when the airline cancelled it, I felt bad for the friendly staff on wireless road in BKK.

[Luv2Phuket]

2 hours ago, pattayadog said:

There was never a UA non-stop flight to LA or the U.S.
 

Yep - the nonstop was on Thai.  They had nonstops from JFK (ended June 2008) and LAX (ended 2015).

Currently, the only nonstop from North America to BKK is Air Canada from Vancouver.

[bgtp]

1 hour ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Yep - the nonstop was on Thai.  They had nonstops from JFK (ended June 2008) and LAX (ended 2015).

The LAX nonstop actually ended in 2012 and the route then became one-stop via ICN until 2015.

[Luv2Phuket]

1 minute ago, bgtp said:

The LAX nonstop actually ended in 2012 and the route then became one-stop via ICN until 2015.

Thanks!  The 2015 date didn't seem right to me.  (I foolishly trusted Google! 555)

[bgtp]

1 minute ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Thanks!  The 2015 date didn't seem right to me.  (I foolishly trusted Google! 555)

I find those Google ‘AI Overview’ results to be wrong a lot. It seems to think something must be true just because it’s on the internet.

[Maia Papaya]

Why would one bother if there is Singapore Airlines, Thai International, EVA etc? What United considers First class is barely Business class on the aforementioned. 

To bad Thai only offers Royal First on very few flights. 

Edited November 2 by Maia Papaya

[Luv2Phuket]

1 hour ago, Maia Papaya said:

Why would one bother if there is Singapore Airlines, Thai International, EVA etc? What United considers First class is barely Business class on the aforementioned. 

To bad Thai only offers Royal First on very few flights. 

There are distinct advantages of the United one-stop flight:
 - no delay/connection issues -- you are on the plane that goes from Tokyo to Bangkok, so zero chance of a missed connection;
 - saves time -- with a separately connecting flight, you are generally looking at 2+ hours, possibly more.  I usually have a 3+ hour layover, because I want to avoid the first issue;
 - if you check bags, lower risk of lost luggage -- the bags should not come off of the plane until you are in Bangkok.

I agree that Singapore and EVA are both better than United, but I don't know if I would go that far with Thai.  Everyone's experiences can differ wildly from flight to flight, but my last few Thai flights were far less than impressive (old planes). 

[FLEngineer]

I'd gladly take a nonstop if Seattle had one. But as it stands it's not worth it for me to go SEA to LAX just to get a nonstop flight (except maybe to avoid a second walk through security in Korea).

Not even worth it to get the Vancouver flight, to be fair. The time savings is completely offset by the fact that I still have to get to Vancouver (and get from Vancouver to Seattle on the way back).

[Rocketboy]

8 hours ago, FLEngineer said:

SEA to LAX just to get a nonstop flight

Maybe I'm reading this wrong...nonstop to where? The only nonstop to here is from Vancouver.

Edited November 7 by Rocketboy

[Guyh12]

6 minutes ago, Rocketboy said:

I'm confused....nonstop to where?

thailand

[forcebwithu]

21 minutes ago, Rocketboy said:

Nonstop to where? The only nonstop to here is from Vancouver.

As a retired Delta employee, any insight as to why Delta flights to here have been so expensive compared to United?

[Rocketboy]

21 minutes ago, Guyh12 said:

thailand

Ok got that. But, he wrote SEA to LAX just to get a nonstop flight. There is no nonstop LAX-BKK.

[vivid2]

25 minutes ago, Guyh12 said:

thailand

It’s not nonstop.  It’s a direct flight with a layover in HKG.

Edited November 7 by vivid2

[Guyh12]

1 minute ago, Rocketboy said:

Ok got that. But, he wrote SEA to LAX just to get a nonstop flight. There is no nonstop LAX-BKK.

you're right. my bad 🥲

[Rocketboy]

39 minutes ago, vivid2 said:

It’s not nonstop.  It’s a direct flight with a layover in HKG.

Yes that I know!

[Rocketboy]

On 03/11/2025 at 03:58, bgtp said:

The LAX nonstop actually ended in 2012 and the route then became one-stop via ICN until 2015.

Yes and I was on that flight once before they discontinued service.