SKT-DK

If this sticks, it would be among the best timings connections BKK and Europe for sure.
Will be interesting to see if they can make it work financially where others have failed - all being contingent on the re-opening of Thailand of course...

steve170461

Better timings for sure. We have a 241 in January but may now take this as an opportunity to cancel as the situation in Thailand looks pretty bad at present. With a 241 voucher that was close to expiry, I guess taking a FTV is the preferable way to go in order to extend the validity of it?

Cymro

Better timings for the LHR-BKK leg. I used to like the BKK-LHR leg in economy (no point in going for premium on the old 777s they used to use), though - meant I could do just the outbound in business to keep costs down. Hopefully there'll be codeshares with QR or even AY to optimise the timings.

Camflyer

Yes, much better timings.. Pre-pandemic I would do BKK at least once a year but I had switched to Emirates or Thai as the previous flight times were so bad. An early evening arrival in BKK is ideal and a late evening return flight allows a full day in the city or a connecting from a domestic flight, shower and drinks in the lounge then sleep all of the way home.

HarryKUK

This is likely to be a devastating blow to Thailand’s reopening plans.

I just hope it moves back to Amber (or green!) before Christmas as I’ve already missed one Christmas with family in the U.K. and don’t want to miss a second in a row. I’m sure many other expats are in a similar position.

Whitstabubble

Likewise, but the reverse for us. Although it would be great to take advantage of the perfect new BA9/10 scheduling for our Christmas flights - I get the all too familiar feeling that Bangkok W21 timetable will probably be wiped clean in the near future.

Oh well.

plunet

I suspect the UK government may be a bit slower to move Thailand back to Amber unless Thailand can up their testing facilities.

Quote from gov.uk news article

Neilgcal

Has anyone any ideas for insurance to red list countries ie Thailand that include Covid medical cover and insure for travel against FCDO advice? I am aware of Battleface and have used them to the Middle East for holiday when they were red. The problem i have this time is I will be travelling with my Mum who is over the 59 year old cut off point for Covid Medical cover which is required to enter the Phuket Sandbox.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Whitstabubble

From what I've seen, the popular opinion online is that you should take out a local medical insurance policy which explicitly covers asymptomatic hospitalisation. The Thai govt policy remains that you must be incarcerated in a (private) healthcare facility if you test positive regardless of whether you're symptomatic or not until you test negative. There have been many anecdotes of home insurers refusing to pay out for private hospital bills as you're not officially 'unwell' when you're asymptomatic.

mikeyfly

No judging intended at all. But perhaps this isn’t the time to trial the sandbox with an older person.

Just do something a bit simpler

HarryKUK

The provincial authorities in Phuket are making a statement later today regarding the sandbox and updated / revised entry requirements. I would wait for that statement before proceeding with any travel plans, as cases in Phuket are on a slow but noticeable upward trend.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business...se-after-surge

wb1969

Just a few weeks to go until NW22 will be bookable.

Has anyone heard any news about whether BA plans to return to Bangkok?

GSTBD

When the schedules are loaded for W22/23 they often at this stage just copy whatever was flown for W21. So I’d expect it to be loaded as a 787 on the new better timings. What aircraft actually flies it we wont know until closer to the time, but my money is on a 787-8 or 777-200 3-class. The 777 3-class refurbishment programme is complete by then so that should rule out the 787-9 sold as 3 class, which is a poor use of that aircraft configuration.

If BKK had been cancelled completely (as it seems to be suspended for summer 22) I think we would have heard about it in the local press/via BA.

South London Bon Viveur

Speaking to a contact in BKK he thinks they will have opened the borders by December. It does sound pretty dire out there atm. An early 2022 trip not out of the question.

SKT-DK

It is not really dire - covid cases are on a fairly steady decline here as are related casualties. Life is pretty much normal bar the night time curfew and limitations on a number of business in terms of how they can operate. Alcohol sales are still banned in restaurants, but as with all other restrictions people have had enough, so most places do not care - they simply serve in coffee mugs and the likes.

Outside of Bangkok and the other big cities and tourist hotspots, life goes on as normal - nobody really bothers about curfew, and they do not even bother hiding selling alcohol for instance.

The only thing dire is the restrictions on entry into the country preventing us from travelling out without major inconvenience upon return.

A re-opening of some sort is now scheduled for November, but the terms and conditions governing it are still unknown