Originally Posted by aminozuur

Thanks for chipping in. Hm. I'm not sure if the fastest AMS-BKK route is through Russia. I've been on this route many times.

I just checked and the direct flight from EVA Air is 11 hours. The last time I took this direct EVA flight, I remember it was 12 hours. So flight duration doesn't seem to be the explanation here, but I could be wrong.