i'm going to book a Bangkok-Chiang Mai and a Phuket-Bangkok flight in mid January and I'm wondering which low cost airline you would reccomend me upon your experience.
Nok Air and Air Asia are giving me virtually the same rates...which one would you choose? why?
All your suggestions and experiences are welcome!
Ciao
garyphil
Dec 5, 06, 12:03 pm
Nok Air cuz the last time I went by air asia, the flight got delayed by 5 hours.
chowder
Dec 5, 06, 11:20 pm
Without hijacking the thread too badly, Luca, I'm making the same decision now. I got an "unable to process international credit card" message when trying to book Nok. Please let us know if you figure out how to book.
SST
Dec 5, 06, 11:36 pm
I've used Air Asia and everything worked out fine: shorter lines than Nok, no frills flight was fine, price was amazing. The only thing is that both airlines have a really tiny baggage allowance. Depending on how much you're carrying, you could work your way up to the Thai Air price with luggage. And Air Asia's credit card machine wasn't working properly when I went to pay my minimal extra baggage charge, so I held up the line for 10 minutes---- (!) CASH was the way to go. Odd, as this is an airline. Try giving cash to UA!
Christian
Dec 6, 06, 5:14 pm
I flew NOK 2 weekends ago. Chiang Mai is really busy right now with the floral exhibition, and getting a weekend flight in and out was difficult. Nok showed flights, but it took me 3 days to get them back and forth with email and fax and finally a phone call to sell me a ticket! - they wanted photocopy fax of both sides of my CC and my passport - I appreciate they don't want to get scammed, but BOY, I don't like faxing that info off, what if I get scammed?
anyhow... service was good, return flight delayed 45 minutes... would use them again ...
allthai
Dec 6, 06, 5:40 pm
I've used Air Asia and everything worked out fine: shorter lines than Nok, no frills flight was fine, price was amazing. The only thing is that both airlines have a really tiny baggage allowance. Depending on how much you're carrying, you could work your way up to the Thai Air price with luggage. And Air Asia's credit card machine wasn't working properly when I went to pay my minimal extra baggage charge, so I held up the line for 10 minutes---- (!) CASH was the way to go. Odd, as this is an airline. Try giving cash to UA!
If you fly Nok Air Plus you get to take more luggage and it is still cheaper than Thai Airways.
Randy and Ning
allthai
Dec 6, 06, 5:43 pm
Without hijacking the thread too badly, Luca, I'm making the same decision now. I got an "unable to process international credit card" message when trying to book Nok. Please let us know if you figure out how to book.
My friends in Hawaii had the same problem so we called Nok Air, as we live in Thailand, booked the flight and payed at The 7-11 and sent him the ticket.
Randy and Ning
USDHS1984
Dec 6, 06, 7:49 pm
As a general rule I automatically default to NokAir for destinations they serve. They are generally quite competitive on price and clearly superior to AirAsia in the lcc market.
jpatokal
Dec 6, 06, 10:40 pm
I'll add my voice to the choir and recommend Nok, but Air Asia is also perfectly acceptable. For both, try to fly in the morning, not in the evening (which increases the odds of cumulative delays and surprise cancellations significantly). And do not fly Orient Thai.
Comparative trip reports on all three:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=411032
vivrant
Dec 10, 06, 2:11 pm
You should also check www.bangkokairways.com
I used them for my flights to Chaing Mai, Phuket and Koh Samui. Everything was very smooth. They also served meals for even the 1hr short-hops.
Someone put the following together on Wiki, which is a good resource everyone should keep handy:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Discount_carriers_in_Asia
Soju
Dec 11, 06, 3:51 am
You should also check www.bangkokairways.com
I used them for my flights to Chaing Mai, Phuket and Koh Samui. Everything was very smooth. They also served meals for even the 1hr short-hops.
Someone put the following together on Wiki, which is a good resource everyone should keep handy:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Discount_carriers_in_Asia
Bangkok Airways is NOT a low-cost carrier. They are probably the most expensive carrier in the region, being they typically service routes that they have a monopoly on and thus they charge whatever price they think they can get away with.
seanthepilot
Dec 11, 06, 4:28 am
Bangkok Airways is NOT a low-cost carrier. They are probably the most expensive carrier in the region, being they typically service routes that they have a monopoly on and thus they charge whatever price they think they can get away with.
While Bangkok Airways is a 'Boutique Carrier', they often have fare promotions for a bit more than the LCCs. These often come with strict no-changes, or limited flight options, but great value. Add lounge access in BKK, and you have a great option.
Myself, I prefer www.fly12go.com . Other's may not like it, but I've had great experiences.
To note on the flight delays. Thailand's system is full of games. Delays are part of them, but not exclusive to one airline, or even to the LCCs. I've had as many delays on TG as the other carriers. (Although it seemed to me that AirAsia had fewer, I've only flown on them when other LCCs endorsed me over.)