Nov 5, 2015, 10:10 am
Last edit by: Matt4
QR to and from Bangkok
What to expect
A recent trip report for this journey, can be found here:
Photos of the Cabin
You will find photos galore of the J cabin on the A380 and 777 which are some of the aircrafts QR use on the DOH-BKK-DOH route.
You will find photos galore of the F cabin on the A380 here.
Aircraft Layouts
A380: 1-2-1 layout in F and J, 3-4-3 (Lower deck) and 2-4-2 (Upper deck, only accessible for OneWorld status passengers unless the lower deck is full) in Y
787: 1-2-1 layout in J and 3-3-3 in Y
777: 2-2-2 layout in J, 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 (QR834 DOH-BKK-HAN, QR835 HAN-BKK-DOH) in Y
A340-600: 2-2-2 layout in J and 2-4-2 in Y
Which Lounge should I use at BKK?
There are multiple lounges to use in Bangkok, and the best option for you will likely be determined by the time of your flight, and the location of your departure gate.
QR are in the process of opening their own lounge in Bangkok, but as of April 2016, we know very little other than it will be located on Concourse D. Until then, QR recommend J and F passengers use the lounges provided by Thai Airways. These lounges are scattered throughout the airport.
For F passengers, you will get an invitation to use the Thai Airways Royal First Lounge, which is located on Concourse E. It is a small area, but QR no longer have an Agreement to use the larger Thai Airways Royal First Lounge on Concourse D. The small area is roped off, and there is a small menu (no buffet), with a decent drinks selection.
For J passengers, and Y passengers with status (Silver and higher) you will receive an invitation to use the Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge. These are located on Concourse C, Concourse D, and Concourse E. A map of the lounges can be found here.
OneWorld Emerald or Sapphire card holders or F or J passengers have also access to two lounges situated on or near the 3rd floor, Concourse G: the recently-opened (2015) Cathay Pacific Lounge (04:00 to between 18:30 and 01:00), and the Japan Airlines lounge (05:45-09:55, 18:00-00:40). While the CX and JL lounges are quite close together, they can be a distance from the QR gates - so keep an eye on the time!
Connecting from Thai (TG) domestic
Thai will through check-in your bags and facilitate you as a "CIQ" passenger through an airside transfer at BKK. They will do this even if you are travelling to BKK on a completely separate TG ticket, but you will need to show evidence of the QR flight (ticket number or online check-in receipt). This is based on leaving from Chiang Mai, but should work for other Thai airports.
The process is particularly useful in avoiding security queues landside to airside at BKK, and gets neatly around QR's restrictions on check-in opening times at the airport.
CIQ stands for Customs Immigration and Quarantine: nothing to do with Chiquimula airport in Guatamala
Will I be given pyjamas and an amenity kit? Reports vary, but have a look at this thread before flying to prepare your expectations -
What meals are served? This is dependent on the timing of your flight and class of travel, but 1 or 2 full meals are usually offered by QR. Menus can be found via the QR Dashboard. F menus and Y menus are here.
Will I be offered Fast-Track through Immigration?
- Departure from BKK : you will get a Fast-Track (Premium Lane) voucher if travelling in J or F, or travelling in Y with Silver, Gold or Platinum status.
- Arrival to BKK : if you are traveling in J or F, you will be provided with a Fast-Track voucher upon landing in Bangkok. Hold on to your boarding pass as you deplane, as the brown Fast Track vouchers are sometimes given out at the top of the gate rather than on the plane. If you are traveling in Y with Silver, Gold or Platinum status, you have to request the Fast-Track voucher at the QR agent at the gate.
What time does check-in open? Check in opens 3 hours before your departure time. QR police this quite strictly.
What to expect
A recent trip report for this journey, can be found here:
Photos of the Cabin
You will find photos galore of the J cabin on the A380 and 777 which are some of the aircrafts QR use on the DOH-BKK-DOH route.
You will find photos galore of the F cabin on the A380 here.
Aircraft Layouts
A380: 1-2-1 layout in F and J, 3-4-3 (Lower deck) and 2-4-2 (Upper deck, only accessible for OneWorld status passengers unless the lower deck is full) in Y
787: 1-2-1 layout in J and 3-3-3 in Y
777: 2-2-2 layout in J, 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 (QR834 DOH-BKK-HAN, QR835 HAN-BKK-DOH) in Y
A340-600: 2-2-2 layout in J and 2-4-2 in Y
Which Lounge should I use at BKK?
There are multiple lounges to use in Bangkok, and the best option for you will likely be determined by the time of your flight, and the location of your departure gate.
QR are in the process of opening their own lounge in Bangkok, but as of April 2016, we know very little other than it will be located on Concourse D. Until then, QR recommend J and F passengers use the lounges provided by Thai Airways. These lounges are scattered throughout the airport.
For F passengers, you will get an invitation to use the Thai Airways Royal First Lounge, which is located on Concourse E. It is a small area, but QR no longer have an Agreement to use the larger Thai Airways Royal First Lounge on Concourse D. The small area is roped off, and there is a small menu (no buffet), with a decent drinks selection.
For J passengers, and Y passengers with status (Silver and higher) you will receive an invitation to use the Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge. These are located on Concourse C, Concourse D, and Concourse E. A map of the lounges can be found here.
OneWorld Emerald or Sapphire card holders or F or J passengers have also access to two lounges situated on or near the 3rd floor, Concourse G: the recently-opened (2015) Cathay Pacific Lounge (04:00 to between 18:30 and 01:00), and the Japan Airlines lounge (05:45-09:55, 18:00-00:40). While the CX and JL lounges are quite close together, they can be a distance from the QR gates - so keep an eye on the time!
Connecting from Thai (TG) domestic
Thai will through check-in your bags and facilitate you as a "CIQ" passenger through an airside transfer at BKK. They will do this even if you are travelling to BKK on a completely separate TG ticket, but you will need to show evidence of the QR flight (ticket number or online check-in receipt). This is based on leaving from Chiang Mai, but should work for other Thai airports.
The process is particularly useful in avoiding security queues landside to airside at BKK, and gets neatly around QR's restrictions on check-in opening times at the airport.
CIQ stands for Customs Immigration and Quarantine: nothing to do with Chiquimula airport in Guatamala
Will I be given pyjamas and an amenity kit? Reports vary, but have a look at this thread before flying to prepare your expectations -
What meals are served? This is dependent on the timing of your flight and class of travel, but 1 or 2 full meals are usually offered by QR. Menus can be found via the QR Dashboard. F menus and Y menus are here.
Will I be offered Fast-Track through Immigration?
- Departure from BKK : you will get a Fast-Track (Premium Lane) voucher if travelling in J or F, or travelling in Y with Silver, Gold or Platinum status.
- Arrival to BKK : if you are traveling in J or F, you will be provided with a Fast-Track voucher upon landing in Bangkok. Hold on to your boarding pass as you deplane, as the brown Fast Track vouchers are sometimes given out at the top of the gate rather than on the plane. If you are traveling in Y with Silver, Gold or Platinum status, you have to request the Fast-Track voucher at the QR agent at the gate.
What time does check-in open? Check in opens 3 hours before your departure time. QR police this quite strictly.
QR to and from Bangkok (BKK) - Non Lounge Discussion
May 22, 2019, 9:58 pm
#1726
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SLC
Posts: 108
Same thing just happened to me on Monday. Ground staff would not budge and insisted I had to wait til 3hours prior to departure time.
- BKK-DOH-ORD-YUL
- OLCI only generated a "confirmation pass". I suspect since the ORD-YUL was on AC, that's what prevent me from getting any boarding pass (mobile/email).
- Showed up for my BKK-DOH flight at 4pm. QR counters were open; tried different counters, explaining I have no bags to check. No dice.
- Security line staff turned me away since I had no boarding pass.
- Tried to beg for an earlier; was quoted 19000 THB. I declined.
- Was finally able to get boarding pass when counters reopened at around 10:50pm for the 2:10am flight.
- Ground staff pressed for my onward ticket from YUL. I just stayed calm and explained I don't need a visa to enter Canada as a US passport holder. My real plan was to forfeit the ORD-YUL flight and stay in ORD. Staff yielded in the end, but it did take up ~10 minutes between me, the check-in lady, her supervisor, and someone on the phone.
- The premium QR lounge was nice, though!
May 22, 2019, 10:25 pm
#1727
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: BOS/UTH
Programs: AA LT PLT; QR GLD; Bonvoy LT TIT
Posts: 12,757
While your experience may be different, my observation is far from "nuts." A bunch of heavies from Europe arrive in the afternoon, and they can easily jam up Immigration, particularly when more than one arrive around the same time.
May 22, 2019, 10:37 pm
#1728
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,307
Immigration is not your problem, particularly at that hour. Bag delivery is.
May 23, 2019, 12:14 am
#1729
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: LON
Programs: BA Gold, LH SEN , A3*G & others less exciting that don't fit in my wallet
Posts: 1,657
Thanks .. sounds doable, though not necessarily safe .. On time record for the QR832 doesn't seem that great .. though they have padded the schedule a bit more ... until recently it was an 0830 departure from DOH .. seems to be 0815 now , but by the time I'm travelling in July it's 0800 and the arrival into BKK is always 1900 .. so it's padded out by an extra half hour in the summer which hopefully would improve the arrival punctuality
May 23, 2019, 12:54 am
#1730
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 795
Thanks .. sounds doable, though not necessarily safe .. On time record for the QR832 doesn't seem that great .. though they have padded the schedule a bit more ... until recently it was an 0830 departure from DOH .. seems to be 0815 now , but by the time I'm travelling in July it's 0800 and the arrival into BKK is always 1900 .. so it's padded out by an extra half hour in the summer which hopefully would improve the arrival punctuality
But the combination of a few normal factors at BKK could raise your heart rate - long walk from a distant gate, a few people in front of you at fast track immigration, a ten minute wait for your bags, getting pulled for a luggage scan on the way out, massive crowds on the departures floor impeding your dash to check in...
That said, I flew into BKK on Saturday, was first to immigration off our flight where there were three officers waiting and no passengers, and my bag was already on the belt. So I flew through.
Incidentally on a separate note, they have started taking finger print scans at Thai immigration now.
May 23, 2019, 1:01 am
#1731
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: BOS/UTH
Programs: AA LT PLT; QR GLD; Bonvoy LT TIT
Posts: 12,757
I'm not going to argue with you. You believe that bag delivery is quick when the airport gets a bunch of heavies at the same time? You think that bag delivery and immigration wait aren't related? You're entitled to your opinion, and I would never call it "nuts." There's never a reason or excuse to be impolite or disrespectful to another poster. As an aside and just because I'm curious, how many times have you arrived at BKK since the airport opened in 2006?
May 23, 2019, 1:21 am
#1732
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: LON
Programs: BA Gold, LH SEN , A3*G & others less exciting that don't fit in my wallet
Posts: 1,657
Thanks for the advice , will see what the options/ consequences of missing the flight are - and think about how fast I can get the kids to run
Last edited by EvilDoctorK; May 23, 2019 at 3:20 am
May 23, 2019, 5:02 am
#1733
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: half way between AMS and BRU
Programs: BA gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 265
in December will fly CXN-BKK-DOH-PRG with an intentional long layover of 9 hours in BKK to hop into the city for a few hours. However, I was reading about CIQ passengers who, since technically already have left Thailand by passing through immigration in CNX, are not allowed to leave the airport. Does anyone have any experience how to arrive in BKK as a domestic passenger to be able to leave the airport?
thanks
thanks
May 23, 2019, 5:55 am
#1734
Join Date: Jan 2015
Programs: QR Platinum
Posts: 470
May 23, 2019, 6:51 pm
#1736
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,307
Only if the immigration officers are also loading the baggage carousel which is unlikely IMO.
Lost count, and Don Muang before that.
May 23, 2019, 10:55 pm
#1737
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: BOS/UTH
Programs: AA LT PLT; QR GLD; Bonvoy LT TIT
Posts: 12,757
May 24, 2019, 1:17 am
#1738
Moderator: Qatar Airways
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: LHR/NCE/MIA
Programs: BAEC GfL & GGL, SQ Gold, Amex Centurion, Mucci des Chevaliers des Bons Mots et Qui Savent Moucher
Posts: 8,949
May 25, 2019, 8:32 am
#1739
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: Some
Posts: 5,263
Either you have been incredibly lucky or I have been incredibly unlucky but I’m not sure my luggage has ever arrived in 15-20 minutes of landing at BKK! You definitely don’t mean 15-20 minutes of getting to immigration or getting to the belt, do you? I’d say 25 minutes is exceptionally quick and 30-35 minutes is average in my experience. Given I am a quick walker and normally first off the plane I usually have a 10-15 minute wait at the baggage belt minimum.
May 25, 2019, 2:40 pm
#1740
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Berlin
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 511
@lit: you might have been unlucky, had the same happen to me at least two times by now, got to immigration, second in line, stepped out, walked around belt 18 or 19 and waited no more than 5 minutes for my bags.