which carrier to BKK?

[Wohowbagger]

hey guys
I'm going to Thailand from 8th till 18th September, with a friend. Question is, which carrier do I take best?
I've made a little list already (lowest fare pp on top):

Emirates
CDG - DXB - BKK
556,25
remark: chance to fly the A380

Egyptair
BRU - CAI - BKK
608,66

KLM
AMS - BKK
639,29

Jet Airways
BRU - BOM - BKK
646,86

Qatar Airways
BRU - DOH - BKK
651,00

China Airlines
AMS - BKK
690,63

Eva Air
AMS - BKK
705,63

Air Berlin
DUS - BKK
714,98

Lufthansa
BRU - FRA - BKK
722,82

Gulf Air
CDG - BAH - BKK
748,00

KLM
BRU - AMS - BKK
763,44

Air France
CDG - BKK
771,00
remark: incl. Thalys to CDG

Austrian Airlines
BRU - VIE - BKK
792,08

Finnair
BRU - HEL - BKK
813,94

SAS
BRU - CPH - BKK
852,40

Brussels Airlines
BRU - BOM - BKK
877,55
remark: same flight as 9W, but more than 200EUR more expensive

Swiss International Air Lines
BRU - ZRH - BKK
915,24

maybe there are others I forgot (XL Airways perhaps?)...
thanks in advance!

[luchtzak]

Heard Etihad Airways via Abu Dabhi is also a nice option!

[Wohowbagger]

thanks luchtzak the quest is becoming even harder than it already was though...
EY BRU - AUH - BKK: 837,30
any idea which plane they fly? the website doesn't say. probably A330/A340/B777 ?

[regi]

First of all: it seems that you did not go in persona to a Joker Ticket office. They offer this for 560 € Bru-LHR-BKK with Qantas ( to London by BA )
Secondly: where do you depart from Flanders? Meaning: if you live in Maasmechelen it is obvious you take Air Berlin ( non stop) to BKK from DUS. ( if you want it cheaper, take Mahan air for 500 € from DUS ). But if you are from Kortrijk, it is better to take a TGV from Lille to CDG.
But I will try to answer accordingly.
Emirates: why would you travel to CDG, make a stop ( how long?!) at DUB for the chance to take the A380 ? Add the travel time and cost to CDG and it looks already much bleaker.
Egyptair is the normal price cracker for BKK. Friends ( retired 70 year old) have returned this week and were happy, enough seating pitch, 3 hours at Cairo and...you depart from BRU !
Jet Airways: a bit outsider. But friends who booked it from Thailand outbound ( different price structure compared to Europe ) were extremely happy about the service, goodies, food, space. One issue: strange procedures at Mumbai or Delhi when changing planes. Very confusing and wrong gate information.
Qatar: this is the thing to take. From BRU. A stop in the middle, ideal against DVT ( google it ), not expensive and great flights. Just like Etihad - before those did the wrong step of ...
Etihad: nice new planes, short and fluid plane change at Abu Dhabi, a bit cheaper than Qatar. But...they have 10 abreast in the new B777 Abu Dhabi- BKK, just as Emirates does. This spoils the entire trip.
KLM: here you have an offer with the transport to AMS, by KLM Cityhopper. Good for the non stop flight if you like/want that, just as EVA, China and Air Berlin. But I dislike the attitude at AMS: security can sometimes be a PITA ( google it 2 ) and after several long haul flights with KLM I would avoid the arrogant FA's.
Eva and China Air. Have a very comparable product, with a slight preference by myself for EVA. But again: the trip to AMS has to be paid. If you are around Antwerp, ask at Dewi Tours and Wabi Travel. They have sometimes special promotions to the Land of Fake Smile with Asian carriers. Sometimes 1 free hotel night at BKK. ( good because you get than a free transfer from the airport ) Extra note: Eva Air has the possebility of Evergreen Deluxe. This is economy PLUS. Bigger seat and other goodies. Most important: you can really sleep during the 11-12 hour trip. Costs 250-300 € more.
Gulf: what should I say? Trip to CDG. If you take the TGV, you arrive at Terminal 2 and you have to go to Term 1 ( the run down UFO building ) with your luggage. The planes can be a mix between rather old or brand new. Good food. Stop at Bahrein is OK. ( they serve beer at the tip of the terminal ) But sometimes the return flights get a second stop at Abu Dhabi, unanounced. So you will have to change planes 2 times. Total travel time will be the same. But you are exhausted arriving at CDG. Check out the real shedules, it changes quite frequently.
AF with including Thalys ticket: good, because AF departs from the same terminal where the Thalys arrives. Service is OK. Be careful with those Thalys tickets: they are sheduled, meaning if your flight is delayed, your ticket is not valuable anymore. Depends how/where you book it. Ask about it. And hope there is no strike
Finnair: great with the new airplanes replacing the thundering MD-11. Good and swift transfer at a easy airport.
Austrian: many good replies, sometimes complaints about attitude of FA, boring food and ...little seat pitch. Some friends like it anyway, good coonection at Vienna.
Swiss: nice, good food, the famous ice cream on board. But a bit ennoying plane transfer ( underground rail) and small seat pitch.
SAS: aha! Is silently coming back as a good alternative after being ignored for years. Fluent transfer, no hassle.
Brussels Airline: no reason to book it, just take the Jet Airways flight. Or even the Hainan flight over Bejing.
Lufthansa: good because they are so big. ( in case of over booking you could end on a partner flight from Star Alliance ) Bad because of seat pitch, transfer at over crowded FRA, and I pressume some flights still have no private TV.
Conclusion:
go for the Qatar flight. Easy from Brussels, low price, great product. Don't bother about the 50 € price difference
if you are a cheap charlie ( as me ) , ask the price at Joker with Qantas. If they have a promotion, take that one. The renovated B747 is OK.
The high prices of Austrian, SAS, Finnair and Austrian are not correct for this hyper low season. They will be corrected I think within some weeks or what. Read my lips, within some time you will see adds for direct airline bookings.
And Thai Airways? From CDG, straight flight. Generous seat pitch, great service. Depends on travel agent (some offer TG via Zurich, Munich or FRA but don't step in that trap because you have great chance to end up in a Star alliance partner airplane) See if you get the TGV ticket included. TG can be bought for September flights for about 650 €. Not yet, wait a month.
And if you are fixated on the A380, well, take the Emirates deal. And tell us how long boarding for economy passengers took...
I hope you got some usefull tips. Oh, most importantly: don't stare blind at the rather small price differences. Take what you like. Because that 50 € to 100 € price difference will vaporate in the total spending during your trip in LOS.

[regi]

Btw: I took most of these flights the last > 20 years, except of Finnair, SAS, Jet Airways and Egypt Air.
I also did the trip with others such as BA ( not more offered) , Biman ( no more over BRU, thank God!) , Phillipines (wonder which destinations they still do ) , Qantas and Alitalia ( I get a accute nervous breakdown ) .

[Desert Rat]

I'm using Lufthansa, because I have a miles & more card, the service is great and the cabin crew are very professional, but sometimes because of star Alliance I fly as well THA wich is very good too...the connecting time in either Munich or Frankfurt is quite short, therefore when it's Christmas Holiday (Snow)time I'm taking a longer transit time.

Also, when you fly always with the same alliance, your chance to be upgraded to business are much higher, it happened to me last month.......

p.s.: what you forgot to mention in your mail is the total flying time, it is a big factor as well (personally speaking), If I do remember well Jet Airways had a very long transit time!

[Wohowbagger]

@ regi, you're an angel. that must've been the most thorough reply I've ever seen.
I'll try to stop by a joker office to get some fares.
@ Desert Rat, the transit times of most of them are between 1 and 3 hours. as long as we don't have to wait a day for our connecting flight, we're ok with it. 9W has lot's of differences in transit time; shortest I found was 2h25 at BOM.
so it seems it's down from 18 or more to 3 (6).
1: Qatar
2: Jet Airways
3: EVA Air (wow, only 150EUR more for that evergreen deluxe!)
(4: QF, 5: TG, 6: LH)

btw: I live 10min away from BRU

[eurojet]

Done many flights to BKK and or SIN on many carriers, and came to the conclusion that: 1) to leave from your closest airport (in my case LUX and in your case BRU) and 2) avoid a Middle East Hub and opt for the long way out from Europe is the easiest option and well worth a bit more money. I got tired of drving up to FRA, taking Emirates, Qatar and the likes, arriving in this ME airports in the middle of the night to make it to SIN/BKK ... In your case out of BRU, Lufthansa, Swiss would be my bet, quick and easy transfer, close the eyes and you are there... Their economy product is not that bad neither

[regi]

Done many flights to BKK and or SIN on many carriers, and came to the conclusion that: 1) to leave from your closest airport (in my case LUX and in your case BRU) and 2) avoid a Middle East Hub and opt for the long way out from Europe is the easiest option and well worth a bit more money. I got tired of drving up to FRA, taking Emirates, Qatar and the likes, arriving in this ME airports in the middle of the night to make it to SIN/BKK ... In your case out of BRU, Lufthansa, Swiss would be my bet, quick and easy transfer, close the eyes and you are there... Their economy product is not that bad neither

I understand and even agree. But Treeper lives 10 minutes from Brussels.
If transfer time at Doha is OK, I would take the Qatar flight.
The remark by Desert Rat about miles is right. But typical for the Arab carriers is that their points add up pretty fast !
A transfer in the middle of the flight is considered by some as a nuisance. Other people like it to stretch their leggs. Depends on place, transfer time.
@Treeper: great that the Evergreen deluxe is just 150 € extra. But the total price difference is 650 € with Qatar from nearby Brussels and 850 € EVA from AMS with an aditionnal cost to get there.
Trust me, go for Qatar.

[regi]

and what is the decision?

[Desert Rat]

Huge Emirate's advertising campaign in BKK's Metro...

[Wohowbagger]

we haven't decided yet. probably will book during last week of June/first week of July.
Noticed that train to AMS or CDG costs about the same, around 50 to 70 euros. so we'll just go to BRU:

1st choice was 9W, but suddenly they seem alot more expensive. about 865/pax.

so it's probably QR (651/pax, transfer outbound at DOH: 1h05, inbound at DOH: 3h40).

the prices will probably have changed again when we book, so maybe 9W, LH and all the other ones become a possibility again...

[capetown]

so it's probably QR (651/pax, transfer outbound at DOH: 1h05, inbound at DOH: 3h40).

I'll fly this route on July 20th (back July 31st) - fingers crossed for the "one hour only" tranfer time in DOH

Besides that, and maybe slightly off topic : Thai announced this week that it will fly 3 weekly CPH - Phuket (non-stop eastbound only), as from W11. Might be an option for those Thailand bound tourists that intend to spend time in the South of the Land of Smiles Source : airlineroute.net

http://airlineroute.net/2011/06/10/tg-cph-w11/

[andorra-airport]

1st choice was 9W, but suddenly they seem alot more expensive. about 865/pax.

Because that flight is getting full ! Unless some airlines will have a special promotion, all airlines will be more expensive because more and more people book. I don't think it's wise to wait too long.

[Wohowbagger]

@ andorra-airport : if i wanted to book now, i would. but circumstances, like money and time, are postponing our decision/booking...

btw: klm is doing brussels (train) - ams - bkk for 545eur for the moment.

[fretn]

Don't pick KLM, 10-abreast in their 777! Prepare to arrive broken. Also food is in tiny portions. I'd also suggest you pick Qatar Airways.

[regi]

Don't pick KLM, 10-abreast in their 777! Prepare to arrive broken. Also food is in tiny portions. I'd also suggest you pick Qatar Airways.

Eaxactly: 10 abreast in B777 is the same torture that Emirates and Etihad let their passengers endure.
Small example: When the food trolley has passed your seat and you need to go to the toilet, it can easely take > 1 hour before you can pass the trolley. ( because it is so narrow between the seats )
I endured it on Emirates , and friends on the new Etihad planes. It is no fun.

Waiting to book: the normal rule is: book as soon as possible.
But...you travel in September, which is real low season. Remember my first reply , that the high prices of several carriers will probably drop in that period, anounced by some special advertising.
If it was for the real high season of December, I would say: you should have booked already.
But for September, it is possible that even end of August, you could grab a ticket for < 600 €. ( no, not with Aeroflot )
I would stick with the Qatar option.

[thalenoi]

Adding my 2 cents:

EVA. But again: the trip to AMS has to be paid.
That info is wrong, free bus to/from BRU, Antwerp, book with EVA after booking flight.

Qatar: watch out, 55 min transfer at Doha seems somewhat short, haven't read travelers experiences yet.
Don't like timing, see Etihad

Etihad: I like timing for the morning flight out of BRU landing 07am BKK and the 20.30 dept BKK time because i need to fly domestic in/out BKK, but indeed the B777/300ER 3/4/3 is a pain unless you can select your seat, I always have window automatic assigned, FF status gold, also have lounge access, excellent food if not happy with economy inflight food.

China Airlines: old planes no IFE, 02 am flight out of BKK if I remember right.

BA: no way I will transit via LHR ever again.

Oman Air, 641 euro CDG of FRA A330-300 of A330-200

I have a Etihad flight BKK-FRA return booked in August because paid 570 euros only + train any Belgian station for 39 euro.
I usually fly EY business class though, if I find a +- 2000 euro tariff, superb service.

[regi]

a bit off topic, or not, depends...to Thalénoi:
I have seen several times that ticket prices Bkk-Europe-Bkk are completely different than Europe-BKK-Europe.
Thai travel agencies work often with other airlines, and the prices can differ enormously.
Just 1 example: Kuwait Air is usually never offered by western companies to travel to BKK. But Thai people use it as a price cracker ( and get according service and treatment )

We work sometimes with this office of the friendly chap Karsten in Nong Khai for Thai & Belgian peoples doing the trip in the opposite direction:
http://www.gothasadej.com

We worked also already with:
http://olavi.com
and
http://www.mandalatravel.co.th

[Desert Rat]

Air France Special discount fares

Paris - discount code from THB 35,720*
Milan - discount code from THB 37,025*
London - discount code from THB 41,640*
Brussels - discount code from THB 34,005*
Nice - discount code from THB 36,440