If you're used to the 42" in PE on the A340-500, 32" on the 777 is going to feel tight. Since the plane will have to stop in Korea anyway, You might as well switch to EVA through Taipei which uses very new 777's and offers PE with 38" (the seats are very similar to those on the A345-500). EVA's price is equivalent to Thai's PE (From LAX). (Just be careful which day you fly - I noticed in December, Friday flights are $800 more than Wed, Thur, or Sat flight!).
ANA also offers PE from LA to Japan, but puts you in very small economy seats for the 6+ hour flight from Japan to BKK.
Well of course it's big news here this morning on TV and in all the papers.....
TG pulls out of New York on July 1st.
The cost of fuel is the only reason, loads were very high to full, but the economics didn't add up.
Full story should be on the internet by now.
OT. Bangkok is extremely busy, the skytrain is packed, weather is overcast and thunderstorms and the volume of car traffic has increased. Thought you might like to know that, regards bkkrop
Can KIX really support 2 flights to the West Coast now? UA serves KIX-SFO with an evening departure connecting to the noontime bank. With the stop in KIX now, TG cannot keep its current schedule - they will have to shift the time around. The question is, do they time their flight to leave when UA does, so that *A has a bank to the US? Or do they try to stick to their current schedule as much as possible, which means a redeye BKK-KIX followed by a morning KIX-LAX flight? And much feed are they hoping to coordinate with NH?
One thing is, if they do try to stick with their current schedule, a redeye to Japan would be a welcome addition We already have SQ to HKG and OZ to ICN, and giving us one more option for connecting to the early bank would be great
Location: MEL; Flights 573; Lifetime miles 839,751
Programs: ROP*G, SPG, QFF, UA
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Happy memories..
I'm glad I flew the New York Express when I had the chance - 17.5 hours in a thin aluminium tube flying at 850km/h from one side of the planet to the other wasn't half bad.
Flying over the North Pole in a Royal Silk seat was quite effortless!
Let's hope the flight returns one of these days...
I'm flying to BKK out of JFK on Monday, due back in August. I spoke to the Thai Airways people on the phone and they told me when I check in on Monday I should be able to find out what they have in store for me but as of now, they know nothing for sure.
At some point it might be useful to have a new thread, either in the TG forum or the Thailand forum, discussing alternatives for us East Coasters who were addicted to the dear, departed (sob!) JFK-BKK nonstop.
After a TON of noodling around with kayak, vayama, etc., as well as individual airlines' websites, I've decided to give Korean Air a shot. No premium economy, unfortunately, but they do have excellent AVOD and did win the 2007 Skytrax award for best economy. Since I'm based in DC, I'll be flying IAD-ICN-BKK, but they also have one-stop flights to BKK from JFK and ATL. Using my travel agent, the flight will cost me $1198 USD. My last trip, DCA-JFK-BKK, was around $1800 (including TG PE), so it's a bit interesting to actually have my transportation costs drop. Heck, with the savings I can splurge and buy a WorldClubs 60-Day Temporary Membership and get access to KE's Prestige Lounge.
This is all an experiment, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a viable alternative.
Can KIX really support 2 flights to the West Coast now? UA serves KIX-SFO with an evening departure connecting to the noontime bank. With the stop in KIX now, TG cannot keep its current schedule - they will have to shift the time around. The question is, do they time their flight to leave when UA does, so that *A has a bank to the US? Or do they try to stick to their current schedule as much as possible, which means a redeye BKK-KIX followed by a morning KIX-LAX flight? And much feed are they hoping to coordinate with NH?
IIRC, the old TG774/775 was routed LAX-KIX-BKK-KIX-LAX
Departure from LAX was around 1300.
Arrival at KIX around 1800
Departure from KIX around 1900
Arrival at BKK around 2300
Departure from BKK around 0700
Arrival into KIX around 1500
Departure from KIX around 1600
Arrival into LAX around 0900
Operated by the 744 (usually in the Royal Barge colour scheme).
I don't know about the yields, but the summer loads on LAX-KIX and KIX-LAX were around 100% full. KIX-BKK and BKK-KIX was around 50% full.
Programs: US1, UA1K, Hilton/Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat, PC Gold
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I take it there is no update as of yet as to what days of the week the BKK-LAX and vv is operating?
On a related note, can anyone speculate as to the likelihood of a departure/arrival time change for that flight? If it stops somewhere on the way (and after reading through this thread it sounds as if that's a certainty), I assume we're adding 2-3 hours to the travel time?
Just curious as my friend and I are booked on this flight in mid-August.
I bought my tickets on May 21 for JFK - BKK on 6/4 and returning on 7/8 in Premium Economy. I'm now in Thailand and wondering how to approach Thai. I am * Gold so I'm hoping I might have some leverage. I would like to get back home under similar conditions (Premium Economy) and since they cancelled my return mid-trip without informing me, I think I should get some form of compensation. Like others, I originated in Miami and have a Jetblue connection to JFK. I also have a Philippine Air flight from MNL to BKK on 7/7. Is Thai customer service flexible about these things or will they try to put me on a 31-hour economy-class return-trip? Should I contact the New York office or go to a ticketing office here in Thailand?
Location: From and of Boston. LH SEN, UA2P, SPG Gold, IC Amb, OBE, MBA, Rainy, lows in upper 30s, e=MC^2
Posts: 4,378
Thai is responsible for providing you with either an acceptable alternative flight or a refund of the unused portion of your ticket.
I would agree that you should speak directly with Thai, but I would also suggest that you first get a copy of their conditions of contract to understand their stated obligations.
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Time flies like an arrow, and fruit flies like a banana
I have BKK-JFK, also Premium Economy, on July 7. I'm in USA now--so can't do friendly face-to-face with them. Am worried because already have flight JFK-Cleveland. Will they just find a way to get me to NY? Or do they have to get me to Cleveland? I don't fly much so don't know much about all this. I just don't want to get gouged on ticket to Cleveland. Maybe they can put me on flight to Chicago on United (through Narita). But it will be very hard to get flight to Cleveland (everything will be all booked up because of July 4 holiday and other summer peak travel in USA).
We already have SQ to HKG and OZ to ICN, and giving us one more option for connecting to the early bank would be great
