On Board an A330 with Thai Royalty

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Viewing 11 posts - 61 through 71 (of 71 total)

  • Daytripper
    Participant

    I would contend that a far better measure of professional accomplishment is actually flying first class, as opposed to spending 90 seconds at a first class check in desk!

    It’s akin to the difference between having a Bentley key fob, and actually owning the motor car…


    FlyingChinaman
    Participant

    Spot on with your observation but Ferrari Shops are opening all around the world recently and it shows how many people still find the 90-second glory quite irresistable when they can’t have the real thing!!!


    PatJordan
    Participant

    If Star Alliance Gold entitles one to use First Class check-in (where available) then theres absolutely no excuse for individual airlines to refuse this facility.

    Airlines benefit greatly from being members of alliances. Passengers have spent a great deal of money to achieve Elite status and should not have to depend on the whim of an individual airline to avail of the benefits to which their status entitles them.

    Am I being unreasonable? I don’t believe so; just supporting the idea of consistency amongst airline alliance members.

    Pat


    PatJordan
    Participant

    If Star Alliance Gold entitles one to use First Class check-in (where available) then theres absolutely no excuse for individual airlines to refuse this facility.

    Airlines benefit greatly from being members of alliances. Passengers have spent a great deal of money to achieve Elite status and should not have to depend on the whim of an individual airline to avail of the benefits to which their status entitles them.

    Am I being unreasonable? I don’t believe so; just supporting the idea of consistency amongst airline alliance members.

    Pat


    FlyingChinaman
    Participant

    Pat

    Airlines belonging to the same alliance do benefit greatly with the traffic fed into their network but at the same time some carriers (SQ in particular) wants to give their most profitable travellers the exclusivity previleges and therefore have created a separate check-in counters and even separate lounge in their home turf. The SQ Star Alliance Gold card cehck-in and lounge in Changi are the great examples.

    SA Gold card members travelling in Y class on SQ can not get access to the SQ Kris Lounge in Changi as they only admit their own SQ Business and First Class passengers. There is a marked difference in the quality of seatings and food/drink services between the two lounges thus effectively making a 2-tier system. Whereas they are more relax in check-in and lounge access at airports outside their home base. TG merely emulates SQ in their policy at their home base.


    skywards
    Participant

    Once when flying back on Virgin Atlantic from LAX in their PE which was named Mid Class at the time i was sat beside Lemmy out of the rock group Motorhead…he was the best ever person to sit and chat with such an amazing man, others that i have seen in C cabins have been Mel Smith, Frank Bruno, Mark Owen and just lately the cage fighter/actor Rampage Jackson who was just so funny i have started to watch him on youtube.


    Daytripper
    Participant

    If it’s celeb (and not royalty) spotting you’re after, there is nothing better than a London to Ibiza flight. This might sound like a far-fetched Easyjet-planted story, but on different Stansted-Ibiza flights I have seen Jerry Hall, Stella McCartney, Sienna Miller, Noel Gallagher, Dido and many many others in the world of music, media and fashion.


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    I was just reading about pending elections due in Thailand in late June.

    Is it likely there will be considerable social unrest during the late summer following these elections, and therefore worthwhile steering clear over that period?


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    I am currently in Bangkok where the weather is boiling hot, the locals are in fine fettle and the place is buzzing with superb business opportunities.

    Unfortunately, VK asks a very valid question as the place can turn in a very short period of time as I experienced during last years riots.

    I plan to be back in July, however, if there is any sign of trouble I follow the advise on the Governement websites as well as speaking to local contacts in the region.

    I am still booking trips over here and I gerenally work 2 to 3 trips in advance.

    The one point people should bear in mind is that Thailand relies very much on tourism and whilst the people may revolt the majority do not want the country to suffer the economic effects of tourists and business people staying away.


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    My experience being in BKK just before the previous red shirt gathering gained critical mass was that in the international hotels, life went on regardless; you just avoided the areas where people were gathering and could get on with meetings etc. pas de probleme.


    IanFromHKG
    Participant

    VK, I strongly suggest that you avoid traveling to Bangkok around election time if you can reasonably reschedule to a different time. If there is unrest, then yes life in your 5* hotel will carry on regardless. However, I suggest you book hotel cars to and from the airport with a meet-and-greet service inside the terminal (you probably do that already, but it is worth saying nonetheless!) and ditto for any other travel you need to do around the city; and do all the things I advise my 14-year-old daughter to do when travelling UM – make sure you have your phone fully charged, be alert, keep your valuables close, and (not applicable to my daughter) stash cash and assorted credit cards in different places so there is a good chance you will end up with something, and memorise a few useful numbers. I would also make sure you have the local number for your country’s embassy and, if your Foreign Office (or equivalent) offers the service, register on their system as a traveller to Bangkok so that in an emergency they can get hold of you and (if worst comes to worst) evacuate you.

    I know this sounds alarmist, but these are all easy and simple precautions to take, and better safe than sorry. None of this should put anybody off traveling to Bangkok or elsewhere in Thailand – we go several times a year and it is one of my favourite countries. The politics are ugly, though, and although most of Thailand’s coups (it has had about 20 since WWII) are relatively peaceful, the next one might not be.

    Oh, and when His Maj finally succumbs to old age or illness, get the hell out of there. If I am in Bangkok when that happens, I am booking myself on the first flight out. The whole country will be in shock and mourning for a while, but then heaven only knows what will happen.

Viewing 11 posts - 61 through 71 (of 71 total)
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