[Anonymous]

[Free Lance]

I am trying to decide whether it is better to fly direct with Thai which doesn’t have individual IFE screens in economy as its their older style seating on the B747, or fly indirect with airlines like Jet or Qatar that seem to offer a better economy product on the route. Any advice? Thanks

[SimonRowberry]

I think it depends on your travel priorities. If you can afford the time, it may be more comfortable to fly via a transit point, to give you access to a ‘better’ airline. However, remember that will also reduce the length of the last leg, leaving you less time to sleep.

My personal favourite to Asia at present (which I’m using tomorrow, coincidently), is Finnair. They have very competitive J fares at the moment, which might be worth looking at; Helsinki is dead easy and quick to transit; the service is ok (it’s not Qatar, LH, SQ etc); the beds are old-style ‘almost lie flat’ but are ok.

The key point in Finnair’s favour for me are the timings. I can leave LHR late afternoon, have a couple of hours in the (ok, but nothing stunning yet – a new one with a spa opens later in the year which will be special) lounge, leave just before midnight and be in Bangkok the next lunchtime. The HEL-BKK sector is around 10 hours, which is long enough to eat, sleep etc.

At the moment, J-class returns are around £1k, although I don’t know how long the promotion lasts. This may well compare favourably with many other airlines’ Y-fares. As I booked a while ago, I missed these promotional fares, but that’s life, I guess.

[SimonRowberry]

Sorry – I forgot to add this.

If you fly in Y with Finnair (which I’ve not done longhaul), I’m told that if you get the A340s (as opposed to the MD-11 I’m on tomorrow), the product is not bad at all, including 2-abreast seating at each side, within an overall 2-4-2/2-5-2 format (sounds like a Fabio Capello formation to me).

I think they have individual IFE, but you need to check their website.

Before anyone asks, I don’t work for Finnair (or anyone else in the travel industry)! And no, I’m not Willie Walsh or Michael O’Leary either (I think Vintage Krug is the former!).

[Boddingtons]

There are four carriers that fly from London to Bangkok direct. They are BA, Qantas, Thai and the less commonly known Eva Air from Taiwan.

As is most often the case, the direct flights can be considerably more expensive than those which involve a connection. I suspect one of the Gulf carriers could get you there for somehwere in the region of £300-£350 but lead in fares for the direct flight with Eva Air start from £425. Take a look at the Bangkok flight offers on http://www.netflights.com to get a feel for the prices with a range of other carriers.

[MarcusUK]

If it were me, i would choose Etihad or Emirates, not minding a 2 hr stop.

Thai have gone downhill in the last 2 yrs, cutting back & their aircaft are old & tired cabins, even in the (was new) First.

Malaysian are great as are SQ via their respective bases, but for seat space, meal quality, Or for me more importantly, the new aircraft like A380/773/345/6 much better in Economy.
I would say that Etihad currently had the best economy in the skies, as one of the best Pearl business seats.

[Travel-guru]

Thai do have seat back avod on selected flights. Eva tends to be the cheapest for a direct service (and also have avod, albeit limited in content,) although TG do currently have some excellent rates. As above though, EK & EY are probably the best of the indirect carriers

[Author]

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