BA economy v KLM and Lufthansa
 

I am trying to persuade OH that if we want to continue with 4 or 5 holidays a year, we need to book economy more often. Looking at Bangkok next July( towards the end) and I am pretty horrified with BAs prices so far. I really don't want to pay over £1000 for economy. Lufthansa and KLM come out at almost £400 cheaper with good connection times. With the reduction in tier points I don't feel compelled to choose BA, as I have felt in the past. So is there a vast difference in economy between the two options and BA?

Yes, there is a difference but not necessarily in BA's favour.... Emirates is not a bad choice and most often the cheapest.

Also look at WTP because that can be had on BA for GBP 1150 via KUL.

I can't comment on the relative merits here since I've not experienced these airlines in Economy. However have you looked at the Nordic prices for BKK? There's a price war in Norway, a sale on in Sweden, and a bit of me-too in Denmark.

I had a look at wt+ but couldn't get that price, although we did pay that this last summer.
I like Qatar economy but not good prices yet. Emirates- didn't look at them.
I have only flown Lufthansa twice and that was years ago. KLM- been a long time as well. At that time there was no contest- BA was best. Now I am not so sure.
Finnish had a great price but I am not spending 31 hours getting to Bangkok! Thanks Henkybaby

KLM & Lufthansa will have a price advantage for you for the same reason that BA will have a price advantage compared the flag carrier ex AMS / FRA. An ex EU on BA or QR ex London could be worth looking at although I personally wasn't impressed by QR economy class on the Dreamliner.

CWS and ptr120- thanks , will have a look. We have thought about ex eu options but avoiding them for the moment, unless it's worth the gamble. Our holiday times are pretty fixed as we both are tied to certain dates, and we always need to allow for him being stuck offshore.

No idea about KLM

The service on LH long haul (LH LH??) is pretty similar to BA. I find the seats worse (think BA domestic for 9 ho) but no doubt others will prefer them

as other have said, you probably get a better price for the same reason it cheaper to fly with BA from Oslo to the US via LHR than to fly direct from heathrow. the providers realise that your time has a value and the extra travel time means they compensate by reducing the price

It seems the Dreamliner does not have the right beginning of the name when flying economy. Most people call it a nightmare.

You mean you have never dreamed of visiting Helsinki? Another good point with Finnair is that LHR-HEL-Destination in Asia-HEL-LHR in J gives you 440 TPs.

It doesn't look likely that LH is a possible then!
J with Finnair and 440 tier points !? I better hope OH doesn't see this thread:D
Thanks everyone. I have looked at a lot of these options and nothing is persuading me to book to BKK with anyone price wise at the moment.
I am going to leave it for tonight but just keep an eye on all the options.

EK from GLA will offer you the best deal.

We did it years ago and lived to tell the tale. Although I was less grumpy about long haul flying back then.

There'll be a QR sale at some point between now and July and, while it's a little early, there is likely to be an ex-EU from somewhere for just over a grand and 560TP...

Ex-EU on QR doesn't involve connecting back through Heathrow so a late flight to AMS or ARN or somewhere like that, followed by a night in a hotel, can be very civilised indeed.

Also consider doing J on the outbound leg for sleep and Y inbound, especially on Finnair, which has an arrangement similar to AA's Main Cabin Extra for status holders, as long as you book direct.

J outbound from OSL or somewhere, and inbound to LHR, should be about £900 and I have seen fares for that in the £700-750 range.

I think I will need to keep an eye here and HFP for good deals. I can't see how prices can go any higher with BA just now.
Main Cabin Extra? Away to look at that

I would rate travelling Economy with those Airlines in order of BA, LH then KLM.

BA aircraft are generally more comfortable, older but reliable entertainment, decent food and usually generous with decent refreshments.

Lufthansa aircraft are newer, but I've found seats on the A340 do get uncomfortable on longer journeys and had IFE problems. Food is reasonable, apart from a spirit before dinner it's really only wine available throughout the flight, if you can find a crew member.

KLM, well last time i flew with them was in 2008 long haul before they changed their 777's to 10 seats across, so the aircraft was older (but comfortable) seats and older entertainment, however the food and drink wasn't very good quality and not much in the way of refreshments.

Obviously these are only my fairly recent experiences. Next BA flight on Friday to MIA.

Thanks GK.
Probably too long a flight to try out either of those two then.