Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus - NYC Area to BKK LH vs TG

Looking for some thoughts or personal experience on traveling from NYC to BKK

1.LH vs. TH

and

2. TATL vs. TPAC

Any feedback or links to previous conversations would be great.

LAX-BKK is remarkably long (obviously) I mean, it’s long on paper and feels long even in J class. I found the food on LH to be a tad more sophisticated and FA's as friendly. Also, the TG flight is essentially an early morning departure if you are on EST. Try LH, get out and stretch.

Unless OP shares class of service desired and cash/award any discussion is pure speculation.

The NYC area is about equidistant from BKK whether going east or west. Before (when THAI had the JFK-BKK nonstops) it would be a no-brainer to take THAI. Now, it depends on you. Are you traveling in Business or Economy class? If going Business class, you'd have a domestic leg to Los Angeles (to catch the THAI flight) that might be a disappointment (compared to international business class.) Going via LAX is about 1250 miles longer. Also, I would expect you would have longer travel times going to the west coast and catching THAI from Los Angeles, as you would be traveling against the wind for most of your trip. That would likely add 3-6 hours of flight time (compared to going via Europe.)

Apologies that I did not include the class of service.

Ideally Business although we are open to First if available.

We would probably use AC to book the transaction.

Apologies that I did not include the class of service.

Ideally Business although we are open to First if available.

We would probably use AC to book the transaction.

Miles or cash?

Miles

Apologies that I did not include the class of service.

Ideally Business although we are open to First if available.

We would probably use AC to book the transaction.

not to have a headache these routings are easy to come by...I have done this in F in the past, flying JFK/EWR-MUC onwards to either ZRH/CDG connecting TG to BKK...the ZRH/CDG are very good flights since they are leaving early afternoon and it gets to BKK around 6am
another option with a lot of availability would be TG MUC-BKK

FRA seats w LH are very hard to get now due to recent drop of F seats from 16 to 8, though the evening 10pm 340 ewr-fra flight is still open,

if you want to get a headache you could try LX YUL-ZRH or JFK-ZRH..these seats are hard to come by....

and....dont let anybody fool you "business is business" and "First will be First"....this matters for long haul flights

not to have a headache these routings are easy to come by...I have done this in F in the past, flying JFK/EWR-MUC onwards to either ZRH/CDG connecting TG to BKK...the ZRH/CDG are very good flights since they are leaving early afternoon and it gets to BKK around 6am
another option with a lot of availability would be TG MUC-BKK

FRA seats w LH are very hard to get now due to recent drop of F seats from 16 to 8, though the evening 10pm 340 ewr-fra flight is still open,

if you want to get a headache you could try LX YUL-ZRH or JFK-ZRH..these seats are hard to come by....

and....dont let anybody fool you "business is business" and "First will be First"....this matters for long haul flights

if you're going in F a routing through EUR will offer the best possibilities. If in C Id recomend going through either ICN/NRT/HKG.

You can look exBOS as well for F routings.

how about sq? not an interesting option?

Redeeming premium award seats on SQ from NYC to SE Asia is almost impossible now, especially with only SQ25/26 eligible. SQ11/12 will be changed in a few weeks to A380, making award redemption not possible. I have been trying to book SQ25/26 in J or F, but could never seem to find availability.

how about sq? not an interesting option?

Thanks everyone - Ill check out the options.

Is there any advantage in the CDG vs FRA/MUC to BKK flights?

If not - it feels as though it would be easier just to transfer through on LH

If you take the CDG-BKK using TG, you're in for a treat. They're using ex Jet Airways planes for this route and the F and J seats are much nicer than other TG premium seats (lie flat versus angled on J)


Thanks everyone - Ill check out the options.

Is there any advantage in the CDG vs FRA/MUC to BKK flights?

If not - it feels as though it would be easier just to transfer through on LH

Thanks everyone - Ill check out the options.

Is there any advantage in the CDG vs FRA/MUC to BKK flights?

If not - it feels as though it would be easier just to transfer through on LH

if you arrive on LH in F in FRA/MUC you can use their FCL till your BKK departure with TG, or even better get a day room for free at the Kempinski Hotel FRA/MUC relax till your departure and then hit the airport, visit the LH FCL lounge and then board your TG flight
using CDG you will get nicer FC seat but ground experience will be limited......

SQ11/12 will be changed in a few weeks to A380, making award redemption not possible.

Hmm. Curious. I booked two C tix (using CO miles) on SQ 12 in C for April no problem at all.

When did you book the tickets? The A380 is scheduled for March 27. Lucky you!

Hmm. Curious. I booked two C tix (using CO miles) on SQ 12 in C for April no problem at all.

Booked as soon as they announced the A380 service (in December) for late April travel. Maybe it was just a stroke of luck?

Am I correct in understanding there is a Morning and Evening night from FRA > BKK?

On TG there is an afternoon and late evening departure. LH also flies direct between FRA and BKK also late evening

please disregard.

Yes, if you want to go back TATL via Europe the flights leave BKK late at night and connect to afternoon returns.

If you want to go the other way around on the return there are AM flights out of BKK via NRT, HKG, etc.

Last year I flew F on an Aeroplan award. IAD-MUC on LH and then MUC-BKK on TG. Your F arrival to MUC on LH entitles you to a free hotel room for the day at the Kempinski at the airport. But it is a very long connection. I was sick so I used the hotel room to sleep most of the day.

My return was via ZRH on TG and connecting to UA.

This year I am going TPAC also on an AC F award. UA DCA-ORD-NRT. Then TG to BKK. Return is BKK-NRT on TG then AC to YYZ to DCA. That is, as long as the NRT flights remain running. I am looking forward to the 77W suites. Hopefully things will be more or less back to normal by November.

Thanks to everyone's help on this post - we are trying to book something for next Feb finally. (And before the Aeroplan changes start!)

So far we are looking for EWR > FRA and FRA > BKK with some internal flights that we are less concerned with at this point.

Coming back the same routing. It is easy enough to find EWR > FRA in J but not always F. Is there any standards by which TG releases reward seats? Are we too early, too late or just on time to find something for Feb 2012? So far our searches have been mixed.

We have decided to aim for LH (EWR > FRA) and TG (FRA > BKK) to limit the connections and connection time.