Thai Promo Fare v Nok v Air Asia

Post by **pompui** » July 21, 2009, 10:02 am

jackspratt wrote:That's quite understandable. Air Asia (who are a good, value-for-money low cost carrier) are probably full, whereas Thai, who are not good value, are probably half empty.

Why would you need to take 20kg of luggage for a day trip

Sure Air Asia full on the early evening flight up here,because they have no afternoon flight just a very early morning flight,very inconvenient and of course the majority will want their later flight.

Presumably as well they in part have lower prices because of an inconvenient time schedule.For me arriving from England late afternoon gives me no time whatsoever to connect with Air Asia up to Udon.Does Thai run a monopoly on flight schedules out of Swampy ie best timeslots?
Would Air Asia have back up planes available should a technical problem arise at a Thai airport?

Must admit day trips no need for 20kgs, just get involved with the scrummaging for the early seats when time to board an Air Asia plane

Post by **Galee** » July 21, 2009, 10:04 am

lepidoptra wrote:Phoned Thai Airways at Bangkok to book a ticket from Bangkok to Udon (international calling card 6p per minute so not too expensive)from UK. Finally spoke to a human voice 25 minutes later after listening to pre-recorded messages. I told the young man that I had waited the 25 minutes. His response was " No one made you phone it was your choice". Needless to say I will try to avoid Thai like the plague or even swine flu. The E-mail I sent to customer service was of course ignored. I just hope their arrogance will be their downfall.

Been having similar problems with Qatar lepi.

Problem 1. The air miles credited to my Qatar account vary by 100% for the outward and inward flights taken on a trip to the UK in Dec. Their response, I have to ring @here travel agent or Qatar office in BKK to see what class of ticket I was issued with.
Problem 2. The air miles I am due for my return flight to BKK in June missing. They want me to send e-mail with copies of boarding passes and original ticket.

Regarding prob 1. I gave them the telephone number of @here and told them to ring Qatar BKK office themselves.
Regarding prob 2. I always present my membership card at check-in and quote it on the original booking. They made the mistake and want me to jump through hoops to correct it.

I've told them their customer service stinks. They want me to do their job for them. Lazy ba*tards.

Post by **747man** » July 21, 2009, 10:32 am

O.K I Will now Name Names.....I Had a problem with Etihad ( Check In Staff at Manchester ) Their attitude Stank,I am Silver Card holder and their website says I have the right to use the Business class check in desks at ANY Airport,BUT At Manchester they have a "Flashing sign "above there desks 2 for Economy ( Cattle ) Class & 2 for Business class & GOLD card members ,Last December there were about 200 pax in the Cattle class lines,So I goes straight up to the Business check in desk,which was totally empty,just the 2 ladies ( Check in staff ) Yakking to each other,I put our bags on the scale presented our e-ticket and my SILVER card,She turned around looked aghast at me and said " Cant you read pointing to the flashing sign above her head " THIS is Business Class & GOLD Card members only,And was'nt going to check me in,pointing to the line for Cattle,I told her what the rules were for SILVER cards and she argued with me saying " Well NOT at THIS Airport " I asked for a Supervisor,who duly spoke to me,and to my amazement agreed with her staff member,But when I said to her that IF She did'nt let me check in where I was,I would be e-mailing Abu Dhabi ( Head office ) about this, She then relented and checked me in,I Did inform Abu Dhabi about this and they agreed with ME,Apologised on Her Behalf and credited my account with a further 5,000 Etihad Miles.....So I Guess I sort of WON !!!!However my last 2 trips to & from the UK have been on different carriers,So their Staffs attitude at Manchester cost them a few quid in the end,I also told Abu Dhabi what I had done & got an e-mail from HEAD of customer service asking me to Please reconsider us for your FUTURE trips and everything would run smoothly.....Sorry about long post,I thought I was writing a novel there,for a while...

( Also sorry should'nt have posted on Thai Promo Forum,But should have put in Travel Forum,If Mod wants to move O.K with me )

Post by **jackspratt** » July 21, 2009, 10:35 am

pompui wrote: Sure Air Asia full on the early evening flight up here, because they have no afternoon flight just a very early morning flight,very inconvenient and of course the majority will want their later flight.
Presumably as well they in part have lower prices because of an inconvenient time schedule.For me arriving from England late afternoon gives me no time whatsoever to connect with Air Asia up to Udon.Does Thai run a monopoly on flight schedules out of Swampy ie best timeslots?
Would Air Asia have back up planes available should a technical problem arise at a Thai airport?

Must admit day trips no need for 20kgs, just get involved with the scrummaging for the early seats when time to board an Air Asia plane

I imaging that the people who fill the early morning and early evening flights don't find the schedule inconvenient. Air Asia obviously doesn't see flights ex the UK as the main driver of their business.

I doubt they would have spare planes, as they are so bl00dy busy - unlike Thai, who I imagine have oodles of unused aircraft at the moment

And AA have had allocated seating for quite some time now.

Post by **747man** » July 21, 2009, 10:38 am

Jack, Correct me IF I am wrong,But is'nt the allocated seating CHARGED as an extra

Post by **jackspratt** » July 21, 2009, 10:41 am

You can pay extra to pick your own seat.

All other seats are allocated when you check in - as with any other airline.

Post by **747man** » July 21, 2009, 10:43 am

O.K Jack I stand corrected

Post by **archie** » July 21, 2009, 2:21 pm

I must say Jack, sounds like you are on the Air Asia payroll in their marketing dept. I too have flown Thai, Nok and Air asia from BKK to UTH and can say that if Air Asia was the only airline covering that route, i personally would catch the bus or train...

Post by **jackspratt** » July 21, 2009, 2:47 pm

archie wrote:I must say Jack, sounds like you are on the Air Asia payroll in their marketing dept. I too have flown Thai, Nok and Air asia from BKK to UTH and can say that if Air Asia was the only airline covering that route, i personally would catch the bus or train...

I am sure the person that gets the seat you didn't buy would greatly appreciate your selfless gesture =D>

Post by **BobHelm** » July 21, 2009, 3:10 pm

Horses for courses.
When AA were the only ones to fly out of Swampy If at all possible I would use them, rather than trek across town...
If they were all the same price & same airport - I would use whichever was flying at the most considerate time for me.
AA have a lousy baggage allowance, but I am not a "heavy" traveller.
If (for any reason) within Thailand there is a 'clash' of aircraft taking off/landing between Thai & Nok. Thai will always get preference - I have seen it happen..
I would not pre-book AA - the chances of getting a refund or follow on travel if you don't make it (FOR ANY REASON) are slightly less than zero....
We are (in the main) talking about a less than 1 hour flight here.....I would stand for the hour if it would mean I got to Udon from BKK earlier....

Post by **beer monkey** » July 21, 2009, 3:27 pm

All the same time All the same price...no differance..!!, i am still thinking THAI would be first choice, even for Jack.

Post by **pompui** » July 22, 2009, 6:43 am

But if you want attractive air stewardesses then Air Asia wins hands down,followed by Nok air then Thai.
Thai need to have more younger staff attending to your needs on the hourly flight otherwise the Thai sickbag winds hands down for strength in design followed by Nok air,Air Asia just use the floor.

Post by **banpaeng** » July 22, 2009, 6:53 am

Please keep to the topic.

Post by **Fawn** » July 23, 2009, 3:03 am

Aha, sense at last, the thread is back on!

old-timer wrote:Yes, I just booked a Return trip for tomorrow: UTH - BKK - UTH with THAI, total cost B 3130 including 20KG of luggage.

Air Asia (who are crap) wanted B 3449.80 for the same thing !

Thanks for the info 747....

300 Blat's difference? I wouldn't quibble over that O-T, only a fiver.

But if you have a gander (a look, Yanks) at the Air asia site at the moment, you can get a return trip for 3000 Blats including airport tax.

Isn't it time to forgive AA, O-T? [-o<

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » July 23, 2009, 3:35 am

But, 888 blats (baht) each way on Nok is even better...if their ad is true

Post by **beer monkey** » July 23, 2009, 3:42 am

Fawn wrote:Aha, sense at last, the thread is back on!

old-timer wrote:Yes, I just booked a Return trip for tomorrow: UTH - BKK - UTH with THAI, total cost B 3130 including 20KG of luggage.

Air Asia (who are crap) wanted B 3449.80 for the same thing !

Thanks for the info 747....
300 Blat's difference? I wouldn't quibble over that O-T, only a fiver.

But if you have a gander (a look, Yanks) at the Air asia site at the moment, you can get a return trip for 3000 Blats including airport tax.

Isn't it time to forgive AA, O-T? [-o<

But But.....add the cost of the X-tra Baggage on AA then OT is Ok with his choice....goes back to my thoughts....i reckon all would take the THAI option..
Regards all bm.

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » July 23, 2009, 3:55 am

What extra baggage? I might just bring an average-sized backpack this time so I can go straight to immigration and out the door to the fresh air of the steaming capital.

Nok remains my choice all things considered equal for the short distance and the fact more flights are available on Nok to Udonthani.

Post by **Fawn** » July 23, 2009, 4:12 am

Has Nok got a promo? I had to pay excess baggage on Nok when I flew out of UTH last year.

Post by **beer monkey** » July 23, 2009, 4:20 am

Hi all bm here...

Well khun Monsieur Tilo ,a travelling family man like my good self comes with massive baggage..3/4 suitcases 2/3 hand pieces + lappy bag, 1 childs buggy complete with 1 child all travelling with orchid cards (free extra allowance)...not nokking nok by no means i even like their aircraft livery,but surely a professor has more than a simple backpack...what about your set of encyclopedias or referance books Volumes 1-50,text books, papers, 300 pencils and pens etc...solly just the image i have of proffs...i took you for a fancy matching set of travel cases kinda guy...or a large trunk full of trinkets for all the 'very good friends' you will meet.

Thanks all bm.

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » July 23, 2009, 5:06 am

BM, where are all of these thank yous coming from? Were you always this polite? Well, actually, yes.

Previously, in my former life as a student, I carried all that junk around and books too. On my way back, I will purchase some reading material for sure, clothes (red in colour or maybe pink), and maybe even a suitcase on wheels.

Oh yeah, the family...forgot about the three kids and the massive amounts of luggage thrown on British Airways 15 years ago. This airline was very civil and let us go with the overweight bags (11 of the things) without any extra cost. They said it got balanced out with all those professors who boarded with small briefcases and nothing else. You have to love the British Empire!!!

Funny about the pens. At Chiang Mai University I came across a colour that was not available in Canada until a few years ago, and that was purple. I bought a slew of them for use in the great white north.

My very good friend sorts out her own trinkets. I have not even landed in Bangkok, let alone left Toronto, and she has already decided that it would be great to meet me and my Siam Commercial ATM card in Bangkok so that 'we' can purchase guitar accessories, and a new computer for her son, 'clothes' for the chihuahua, and, I am certain, shoes, purses, handbags, and other junk for her. Her nephew just likes to eat...all day. As usual, I will get lost in the shuffle and end up in some obscure music store looking for old cds by Jintara, Tai, and other Thai/Isaan singers.

Did she mention something about needing a new car too, or was that only part of the nightmare from last night? Going to Mae Sai to purchase cheap clothes from Burma and re-selling them in Udonthani might be part of that horrible night too. Hmmm, did I hear someone say she wanted to purchase (I mean I would purchase) also sorts of dog grooming equipment that she would re-sell whilst we drove around Isaan in her new car?

The best laid plans of mice and men...and so on.

Maybe it is time to visit Indonesia?!?