Is Thai worth the extra over Jetstar
 

Hi guys,

I need to book a SIN-BKK flight in May, I have the choice between JetStar Asia and Thai Airways.
Never flew Thai, flew Jetstar in Australia and it was a regular low cost experience.
I am joining a friend at BKK who is arriving from AUH on Etihad at 6.25pm.
The Jetstar flight I am looking at lands at 6.20 pm, which is pretty convenient. Thai on the other hand lands at 5.15 pm so it would be an hour wait in BKK. Flight is on a 787.
And Thai also costs about 30% more than JetStar.

So the question is, is Thai worth the extra money (about USD $30) and the extra hour of wait in BKK? I have Star Gold Status.

It will be my first time in South East Asia so I would appreciate some help. For example, if the Thai lounge in SIN is great, I would love to visit it.

Thanks ^

well I have never flown Jetstar...you can find out yourself by a search the differences in seat size and pitch between the very new 787 of TG and the according Jetstar flight. please report back if Jetstar wins on this one.
But I know very well the recently refurbished TG J lounge in SIN. Not too bad. A reasonable choice of drinks and snacks, newspapers and magazines, not too crowded.
you also get fast track at check in which is certainly an advantage over the usual notorious long queues at LCC

It is a short flight so I do not care that much about the seats (expect if I can get an exit or something), it's more about the overall experience.
Thanks for your feedback on the lounge! Sounds tempting.
Other than the fast check-in and the lounge, TG doesn't seem to actually provide much for Star Gold members, is that correct? What is their policy to get an exit row or a row with extra legroom? There isn't much information on the forum about the seat selection on Thai.

Are you going to have a lot of luggage? if so your TK*G status will become handy.

TG provides standard *G benefits- in terms of exit rows etc., the only thing you can do is ask and hope. At least TG hasn't start charging for those seats I don't think.

You might get some miles, depending on your ticket booking class and TK's program.

Enjoy!

you should also compare the on time record of the two flights.
as a star gold you should be able to reserve your Y seat in advance in opposite to the masses on your flight or on Jetstar

You brought up a good point I forgot about, the baggage allowance might indeed come in handy.
Unfortunately no miles in W.
Looks like I will probably go for Thai, thanks guys.

Another less important question about BKK itself, will my gate be in the same terminal part as my friend arriving with Etihad? Or should we arrange to meet somewhere outside after baggage pick-up? Free Wifi at the airport?

Questions answered in earlier posts, I was just going to add that you cannot compare an LCC with a Full fledged airline, only if the LCC is cheap and that's all you need.

all arrivals are in D and the different immigration areas along D lead into the same long hall with the luggage belts

BinSabai. I was interested in your comments as they differ somewhat from my experience with TG at SIN. I have been flying this route regularly for the past couple of years...

I haven't notice the lounge having been refurbished within the past couple of years, unless they have changed within the last month or so. I also find the lounge to get very crowded, so much so it can be a struggle to get a seat at times. The quality of the food would also be debatable IMO but overall it is preferable to not having any lounge access.

The check in experience is better than LCC however if flying in economy you still need to queue up in the Star Gold queue. There isn't fully fledged fast track per those flying in business class, right?

For a $30 premium I would definitely still fly TG over a LCC for the advantages in the other posts. Just check in a little early so you can get a decent seat in the lounge would be my only suggestion.

yeah I also fly this too regular, around 6-8 times a year.
refurbishment was last year, just furniture replacement. nothing spectacular. and in my experience seldom full.
for business class there is a check in lounge, but no security fast track in Singapore....

I would not hesitate to pay USD 30 more to fly with TG adn not with LCC...

PS. You can also use SQ *G lounge at T3 - take Sky train or walk...

I heard that lounge is not that great. Would you recommend it over the TG one?

Once you have suffered Jetstar irrops you won't fly them again

I would not! it's larger than TG's, but overall lounge experience is worse. That's where SQ dump all the *G passenger while their premium passenger get into the Kris lounge

I have flown this route often with both LCCs (incl JetStar Asia) and TG/SQ.

Each flavour of Jetstar is different, as with AirAsia. In generally I find Jetstar Asia totally fine for short hops like this. Pay extra for their exit row if you wish. I am tall and don't mind Jetstar's poor pitch for short hops. You can actually pay for the exit row on board IIRC.

Of course you will need to pay for food, which will be free on TG. TG has personal video on this route IIRC. Jetstar does not. But it's a relatively short flight.

As *G your chances of getting an exit row on TG just for asking are pretty good.

You can also use the SQ StarGold lounges of course with TG, which vary somewhat in quality between terminals at Changi. I have not used the TG lounge in SIN.