dsquared37

Inflight entertainment: Most, if not all, of their a/c have a flip down screen on which they play some goofy show called Just for laughs and occasionally a Pink Panther cartoon. My flights are never over 1 hr however so i can't tell you about longer duration segments. A very big YAY for noise cancelling headphones and music. FA's are (usually) quick to bring a beer [I view this as onboard entertainment to a degree].

Food: Edible. The quality has slipped a great deal over the last 2+ years but it's still general OK for the evening flights. Mid-day you'll often get a stack of 3 x 1/4 sandos. They are not so grand. One flight ex-LPQ was a very nice Laos style lunch including sticky rice. It's been awhile since I've taken a morning flight so can't comment with any ceertainty. In C, which isn't flown to many destinations, the food is a step up.

FAs: Generally quite good and friendly.

Airport Lounges: I've been in the Blue Ribbon lounge in PNH, BKK and CNX. A separate room where an attendant will bring you a(n ever decreasing) menu. Amenities in BKK are the best of those listed but the others are a very nice step up for the general pax lounge. Usually there will be a fried noodle or soup dish. I haven't been to USM since becoming Premier so I don't know the lounge situation there... it's now also Priority Pass lounge.

In the BKK lounges there are bathrooms inside, a shower, beer, whiskey (int only?), couches, snacks (including decent Thai sweets). Outlets are minimal.

FFP: Posting is good and happens 5 days after the flight. Consistently. Occasionally, rarely more likely, a flight does not post and a call resolves it on the spot. Often a promotion like b-day month flights will fail to accurately generate the bonus points. One phone call is sufficient to remedy that situation.

Earn/Burn: Poor. Even as a Premier there are no bonus points except during a promotion. On the burn side of things I never use them except during their sporadic 2-3 month long 50% off award promotions (these have been offered in one form or another each year recently). Using points for awards only covers the ticket cost however, you are still dinged for taxes and YQ. Award space varies by route (eg rarely open in/out USM, wide open in/out REP) and bookings must be made online no less than 5 days before a flight.

Phone Reps: Generally nice but poorly knowledgable. If I need a specific fare class or a PNR split I'll begin my call requesting a supervisor. There are some great reps and some absolute dolts that are simply clueless. Their penchant for putting you on hold for everything, such as while looking up your account, drives me crazy but it's company policy apparently.

Baggage: Generally quickly on the belt. The exception would be an Int-dom flight where you pick up bags in the dom airport and exit customs there. This can be a painful wait of 30min+.

Random things: For international flights, at least the ones I've used, the change fees are $15 or equivalent currency. For domestic flights they are 800 Baht. The int change fees have saved me a bundle at times. Even if your tix have been purchased in USD the call center will still charge you in Baht... Annoying, since the conditions specify USD, but overlookable.

Benefits of Premier: Generally, but not always, a quicker check in line. In each station I've been to there is only 1 Premier line so one pax can back it up with a problematic itin. For all international flights in/out of BKK you get a CIP Fast Tack coupon. This started about 18 months ago and is wonderful. If in Y you will be assigned a seat in the first 3 rows of the cabin. I almost always am in the bulkhead which gives more legroom. Occasionally I'll get an opup to C which initially resulted in a better seat with Y food. My last flight, early this month, I was given C food and drink. You will get a 40kg luggage allowance per pax and Premier, and C, bags do mostly come out first on the carousel.

Caveat Emptor: They have limited A319s with C cabins. On some routes where they've been selling C seats they have recently used a/c which do not have proper C seats but rather eco seats where the middle seat is blocked, ala intra-European style, and still sell these at the same C price. There is little indication when purchasing that this is the case.