[BAGoldcard]

Good points Irons80.

[DerekVH]

I am booked in First on BA9 in late November, I wonder when BA are going to inform me of this change?

[AllOverTheGaff]

Hippocampus – 16/04/2013 22:18 GMT
Well fancy that! Another member of the anti-BA agenda flying on BA recently!

I had to fly with them in order to maintain my membership of the Anti-BA-Club.

Can any of the other members remind me if we still get tear points for a Hippo post stating “Anti-BA agenda”? I know the rules changed recently as people were making Diamond status within 2 weeks!

I’m close to Platinum status…..all I need is a couple of thread bumps and I’m sorted.

Rgds,
AOTG.

[VintageKrug]

It’s like there’s an echo in hear from a year ago!

Sad if the forum is going to descend yet again into rancour, caused by the usual suspects.

[AllOverTheGaff]

VintageKrug – 17/04/2013 07:45 GMT
It’s like there’s an echo in hear from a year ago!

Hear Here.

Rgds,
AOTG.

[MartynSinclair]

Irrespective of whether the Bangkok route is leisure or business, flights still seem to go full!

I prefer the evening departures for both BA9 / 10. Allows a full days work to be done and in the case of the return, if you get a good nights sleep home, the early arrival allows for a more or less full days work.

I find day flights more difficult.

[rferguson]

Nothing confirmed from BA’s end about the change of aircraft and terminal move yet, although it would make sense to switch the BKK to a 777 and move it to T5.

I’ve worked two BKK flights since the SYD had been ‘de-linked’ from it and although it was relatively full you could call it a ‘staff shuttle’. The overall majority of CW pax on each sector were staff using their annual free J class confirmed ticket. A look at the loads in the system and this seems the case generally.

General consensus is that something does need to be done to improve the performance of the flight. There have been many rumors swilling around – a tag on to Jakarta or Ho Chi Minh, even a restart of BKK-SYD in the wake of the ending of the BA/QF JSA. Although I think this is more wishful thinking as last time I worked the SIN SYD trip the SYD duty manager said they had a limited time of two years to make the SIN SYD work without QF before abandoning OZ altogether so I doubt BA would be increasing capacity there.

I guess a switch to a smaller, more efficient aircraft would make sense. And a T5 departure would definitely also help. The only issue is, T5 is full. So if BKK switches to T5 – something has to move to T1 or T3. Though I guess with a morning departure slot and a daytime arrival slot it could quite easily be a shorthaul service.

[SBTadvice]

Schedule is now loaded in GDS and BA.com from 27 October

Outbound 15:05 arrive 09:20 *
Return 10:55 arrive 16:55 same day

3 Class 777 operating from T5

[rferguson]

Thanks SBTadvice!

Seems the route is primarily leisure based this makes sense.

With the three class 777 BA will maintain the same number of Y/W class seats more or less, drop F and reduce J class seats by just under 10. As well as having a more fuel efficient aircraft on the route.

The LHR departure time allows for inbound connections from most european cities and gives a full day in BKK on arrival. The return arrival time into LHR should offer connections to pretty much all european cities also. A very tight turnaround in BKK though – 1hr35min!

I guess it also demonstrates how little BA and QF are co-operating on flights from the UK – Australia via Asia now. A routing via BKK is now very unattractive unless you wanted to spend some time there en route.

[MartynSinclair]

Other threads have been discussing whether F has a future. Surely this provides part of the answer…

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

Just one blatant observation here….. the inbound BA10 flight will now depart BKK at 1055 and arrive LHR at 1655.
Many people have commented on how much of a leisure route this flight is. While this may be correct, the majority of these passengers will NOT be going to BKK but to the Thai islands of Koh Samui and Phuket etc etc on package holidays.
“Leisure” in my book does not involve getting up at 0400 in order to get the first flight out of these areas to tie in with this new departure time.
Business will end up shifting to MH/SQ/TG/CX to these destinations with more favourable timings – FACT.
Another very poor decision by BA management which will olny result in the route suffering.

[rferguson]

Not sure MartynSinclair.

The class 777 that will go on the BKK will be coming from a route that currently only offers J/W/Y. I imagine the four class 747 coming off the BKK will be going on another route. So not a reduction in F seats offered by BA as such but yes, another route loses First Class. And upper deck J!

@AhMrbond time will tell. Sometimes network planning must decide between the lesser of two evils. While the timings may not be ideal on all sides, there is likely a route that will make far greater use of the BKK’s current night departure slot and early arrival slot.

[OddvarJohansen]

No surprise. All European and US airlines will have problems earning money where the Middle East airlines, THAI Airways and others are flying.

[angus45]

It is disppointing to see BA dropping F, but with EK there are now 5 flights a day from BKK (4 offering F) which certainly gives a significantly better choice for onward flights to the UK, and at a potentially more competitive price.

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

….Following on from my above comment….. another very poor decision by BA was to move their [almost entirely leisure] Gatwick-Cancun flight from a perfect Saturday departure out and back to a Sunday.
This results in a wasted Saturday at home prior to a weeks holiday and then having to take another days leave on the Monday arriving back into the UK…. Virgin WILL be lapping this one up!
Does anyone at BA think about these things?

[Author]

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