Thai Air no longer nonstop LAX to BKK

[LoveGun]

Well this sucks balls!

 

I usually fly Thai from Los Angeles to Bangkok mainly because it was nonstop and had the perfect schedule , arrival was at 6:00am and when I returned departure was 7:00pm.

 

Now they have changed and it is 1 stop via Seoul-Incheon Korea with arrival at 11:00pm in BKK . Departures are now at 7:00am out of BKK . Service is no longer daily only Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday only .

 

Well I guess I'll have to switch to another airline!

Edited January 29, 2012 by LoveGun

[Crash]

And what other airline is going to fly LAX-BKK non-stop?

[LoveGun]

And what other airline is going to fly LAX-BKK non-stop?

 

None, But there are better schedules out there, getting into Thailand late at night and having to catch a flight out of thailand at 7:30 in the morning blows, also Thai might be doing away with the premium economy class which was another reason I flew Thai.

 

So it looks like probably EVA for me.

[fatjack1]

EVA is the best choice out there now. I considered Thai when they had non-stop. Going there was great, but the return got into LAX too late to assure me that I could catch a flight home. I didn't want a night in LA.

 

EVA is your best bet. Leaves LAX around midnight which is perfect. You get to sleep much of the way to Taipei. Arrive there and the layover is just long enough for a shower and some internet catchup. Then on to BKK arriving around 11:30 AM. Get into Pattaya around 2-2:30 PM.

 

Return is nice. Noon departure and arrive LAX mid afternoon.

 

Can't beat that with a stick. But make SURE which flights they put you on. I've been flying them business for the last 8 years twice a year and their waiting lounge in BKK is excellent as is the taipei lounge with excellent showers. I don't think you get access with coach or deluxe class.

 

I think EVA is the best "value" out there. Business/First is still around $3500. No one else is even close.

[jim2k]

this was my favorite flight i would fly out of newark around 1:00 pm hangout at the USO then jump on the flight to LOS my body got used to premium economy so i had very little jetlag. hopefully they will bring back the jfk direct to bkk now but i doubt it. anyone know of any other good flights from the east coast

[ratchada]

EVA out of SFO is perfect...they leave at 1 am, and arrive in Taipei at 6 am...very easy, if you can sleep at least 5 hours on the 13 hour flight, to convince yourself that only one night has passed! I arrive in BKK at 11 am...as long as I can force myself to stay awake until 10 pm or so that night, the next day I'm 100% on Thai time, no jet lag whatsoever...

[crumbs]

When did they change the flight? They still have a big billborad in the middle of Hollywood advertising "daily non-stop" to BKK. They only put it up there less than 2 months ago.

[Richmond72]

I wonder why they're changing to a Seoul layover. The Thai direct flight was always really popular. So much so that you couldn't book it in high season because it was packed and the fares were outrageously high.

 

I agree with the other posters that EVA has a pretty nice flight with good departure times. Usually one of the cheapest and they also have a premium economy class.

 

The other one I really like out of LA is Cathay Pacific. Again, good departure times and great service.

 

I always see low fares from Korean and Asiana, but they have idiotic arrival times and/or crazy long layovers in Seoul.

[Sexyfarangman]

Thai Air has always been far more expensive than all the other airlines. Their only advantage was that it was a direct flight. Since that it advantage is gone, I don't see any point in flying Thai Air to LOS.

[crumbs]

The change looks legit based on other sources. Thai Air will now have to compete on price with other 7-8 carriers that fly this route out of LAX with a stopover, since their non-stop advantage will be lost. Stupid move IMHO since they will now compete with dirt cheap carriers like China Air, China Southern, etc. and better flight times and connecting options with Cathay

[BigVenz]

This all takes place May 1st, they are changing the plane from the Airbus to the 777 which does not have the premium economy seats.

At my 6'4" 300lb, those seats were great, also got 1.5 elite miles for that choice. Between the seat size and 7000 extra elite miles it was well worth the extra cost for me.

That 27,000 elite mile flight made it easy to maitain Platinum Elite status with Continental.

Flying out of Houston, Continental is your only choice to build all your miles in one program.

The Airbus they were using was the only plane in their fleet that had the premium seats.

We can only hope that when they get some of the A380's in that are on order, they re-establish the route.

Now i'm stuck with the Houston-Tokyo-BKK on Cont/United.

[iluvasians/latins]

This all takes place May 1st, they are changing the plane from the Airbus to the 777 which does not have the premium economy seats.

At my 6'4" 300lb, those seats were great, also got 1.5 elite miles for that choice. Between the seat size and 7000 extra elite miles it was well worth the extra cost for me.

That 27,000 elite mile flight made it easy to maitain Platinum Elite status with Continental.

Flying out of Houston, Continental is your only choice to build all your miles in one program.

The Airbus they were using was the only plane in their fleet that had the premium seats.

We can only hope that when they get some of the A380's in that are on order, they re-establish the route.

Now i'm stuck with the Houston-Tokyo-BKK on Cont/United.

This route has been fine for me. They now charge more. The cheapest route is through Seattle now.

[rolln]

EVA out of SFO is perfect...they leave at 1 am, and arrive in Taipei at 6 am...very easy, if you can sleep at least 5 hours on the 13 hour flight, to convince yourself that only one night has passed! I arrive in BKK at 11 am...as long as I can force myself to stay awake until 10 pm or so that night, the next day I'm 100% on Thai time, no jet lag whatsoever...

 

I'm on this sched too...

[LoveGun]

They are doing away

When did they change the flight? They still have a big billborad in the middle of Hollywood advertising "daily non-stop" to BKK. They only put it up there less than 2 months ago.

I wonder why they're changing to a Seoul layover. The Thai direct flight was always really popular. So much so that you couldn't book it in high season because it was packed and the fares were outrageously high.

 

I agree with the other posters that EVA has a pretty nice flight with good departure times. Usually one of the cheapest and they also have a premium economy class.

 

The other one I really like out of LA is Cathay Pacific. Again, good departure times and great service.

 

I always see low fares from Korean and Asiana, but they have idiotic arrival times and/or crazy long layovers in Seoul.

 

Thai have fazed out the A340, They are now flying the 777 which requires refueling stop.

[Luv2Phuket]

That ABSOLUTELY sucks!

 

I just ran a a check on August, and all Mon, Wed and Fri flights show as "Sold Out" going either way. Since I like to return on Mondays, that completely sucks ass! The flights always appeared very full to me.

 

Here's a link to a short article about it: http://www.examiner.com/asia-travel-in-national/thai-airways-canceling-non-stop-flight-from-bangkok-to-los-angeles-lax

 

Gotta say, I think they've just lost my business. Not a big deal to them, since I generally only make 1 flight a year and that's on points (thru Star Alliance). What sucks is all of the time and effort I put into building a bunch of US Air and United points solely to use on the Thai non-stop from LAX-BKK (have two business class tickets worth of points).

 

I have been satisfied with Thai in the past, but Cathay (booked for my next flight) and Asiana both rank higher (albeit slightly) in the polls of 10 best.

[patman]

That sucks. This was always the flight I took. LAX to BKK Premium Economy non-stop, cant beat it. Looked at the alternatives, EVA looks good. Is their Elite class equivelent to Premium econony? Looks cheaper too $1,600 vs $1,900 for Thai. The only downside is the 1:30am departure. Is there and better alternatives?

[Thaihot]

Thanks for the info.

 

When I have my gap year I will fly to USA from Thailand.

 

I never had a gap year when I was a young man so I will have one some time in the future.

 

It will be a gap year but a crack year with some side trips.

[Sexyfarangman]

That sucks. This was always the flight I took. LAX to BKK Premium Economy non-stop, cant beat it. Looked at the alternatives, EVA looks good. Is their Elite class equivelent to Premium econony? Looks cheaper too $1,600 vs $1,900 for Thai. The only downside is the 1:30am departure. Is there and better alternatives?

 

How much for the EVA cheap seats?

[altec123]

I think that Thai has been trying to eliminate the non stop route from LAX to BKK for a couple of years now. I believe that when they originally were planning to do it they could not find a buyer for the A340s because of their high operating costs, so they just left the route alone.

[patman]

Why would they want to change? They had a full plane every trip and were charging 20 to 30% more than their competition..

[Harlequin]

Shit - I didn't know they stopped it! I used to catch that flight 4 times a year. A very long flight (return leg) - but at least with the help of a little pill I could crash-out for most of it

[farcanal]

Interesting......in the past me and my mates have enjoyed Thai airways non-stop from Perth (Western Australia) to Bangkok. WE've just booked for next month and could not get a direct flight. We now have to sit on our arses for about an hour in Phuket. So, 5 hours to Phuket, 1 hour sitting, then another 1 1/2 hours to Bangkok. Pain in the butt.

[Sexyfarangman]

How much for the EVA cheap seats?

 

Only China Air has cheap seats, comparatively speaking.