Sam Drucker

The bonus mileage ended June 30th.

glennaa11

This is not always the case. if you book in advance on their website you can get good internet fares. I flew THS (Sukhothai)-BKK one way for something like Bt800. Join their FFP and you get extra free baggage allowance which is worthwhile.

mec72

Is Orient Thai really that bad? I've found lots of bad comments about it/1-2-GO, but most of them from 5-6 years ago, with recent comments seeming to be more favorable.

I can fly Nok Air instead, but OX better fits my schedule (it's a domestic flight, so MD 82 I guess)

whackyjacky

IMO save the $$. These are little tiny short flights ! If not flying TG or PG, it seems like Air Asia tries to make you check in anything bigger than a wallet these days and charge you for the privilege. Standing in line, I see all the tourists with their big bags getting whacked crazy fees. I haven't flown Nok or Orient Thai in awhile, but I assume they're pulling this crap too. Oh yeah, my point - I just take a small bag of stuff appropriate for the beach or mountains and # of days. I check in the rest with my upcoming (or previous) hotel when returning to Bangkok. This makes life so much easier (& cheaper). ps: With these low cost carriers, flights can be way late or cancelled. Leave yourself some wiggle room (& other options) before your flight home from BKK or SIN. I've made that mistake and it was expensive ! wj

EmailKid

Only flown on LCCs in Asia twice and didn't have any problems, but there is plenty (additional) anecdotal evidence to the post above. Flyer beware

EmailKid

jiejie

Stay off of Orient Thai regardless of aircraft, even if they are giving free seats away. It's as dangerous as ever, maybe worse. An outfit that should have been shut down long ago, but Thai cronyism and corruption being what it is.... Adjust your flying schedule and find another way.

dsquared37

Nok (DD) is, for the most part, fine. With a purchased ticket you get 15kg, a choice of seat 24 hours out, and a small snack included. The big disadvantage is departing from DMK, but if you're coming from the city, rather than BKK, it's about the same distance via taxi but the tolls are more.

The interiors of Nok Air's 737s are getting old and not well maintained. As TG is the main owner, and a/c supplier, I don't question their planes' airworthiness.

Your point about delays should be taken into consideration with DD. While my handful of flights often leave close enough to scheduled time that I'm fine, I have had 2 delays that left me wondering if I'd get to my destination that night.

ak333

I did OX one time; it wasn't my idea and I didn't even know about it until a couple of hours before departure, so I didn't have time to stress about their safety record.

Surprisingly, the service was very good on board - much more than I was expecting from an LCC.

But, their safety record is horrendous. Seat pitch was miniscule. I checked the history of the aircraft when I got off and saw that it was delivered new to New York Air, so not one of the newest MD80s flying either.

seanthepilot

Unless I have missed one, there are 5 domestic carriers in Thailand. Also their websites and baggage info

Thai Airways
Royal Silk Class 30 kg (66 pounds)
Premium Economy Class 20 kg (44 pounds)
Economy Class 20 kg (44 pounds)
To/from Canada and USA
First 32 kg (70 Lbs) 2 158 cm (62 In)
Business 32 kg (70 Lbs) 2 158 cm (62 In)
Economy 23 kg (50 Lbs) 2 158 cm (62 In)


Bangkok Airways
Economy Class : Maximum weight allowance is 20kg for adult

Thai Air Asia
Baggage Supersize (Pre-book)
Supersize Regular - Domestic (up to 15kg) THB 290
Supersize Regular - Domestic (up to 20kg) THB 321
Supersize Large - Domestic (up to 25kg) THB 428
Supersize Xtra Large - Domestic (up to 30kg) THB 535
Baggage Supersize (Check-in counter)#
Supersize Regular - Domestic (up to 15kg) THB 515

Nok Air
Nok Eco 15kg, Nok Flexi 20kg, Nok Plus 30kg

Orient Thai Air
8.5 Free Baggage Allowance : You may transport free of charge checked Baggage up to a maximum weight of 20 kg subject to the conditions and limitations contained in our Terms & Conditions.

BE CAREFUL. SOME of the above airlines pretend to be Low Cost Carriers, but charge more than the full service airlines, as others have stated.

seanthepilot

Orient Thai is just fine, but they operate from Don Muang, BANGKOK's DOMESTIC Airport, NOT THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, which some may fine inconvenient. They are a small operation with only a few planes, so don't have the frequency and flexibility as the others.

Air Asia is the only one charging crazy fees for baggage, see above post for the current info. But, they ALL charge ALOT for overweight baggage. As wj says, beware if you have lots of luggage to check!

This post is absolute nonsense, and a perfect example of the saying 'perception is reality'. Please support these assertions with some facts (or even some rumours, if you like).

Flying is a relatively safe way to travel. I am much more afraid boarding a boat in Thailand than an airplane.

Let me assure you that corruption and shortcuts DO exist in Thailand. I am under the belief that EVERY carrier in Thailand is guilty of the same games and problems.

Orient Thai's safety record is horrendous in what way? If you mean the 1-2-Go accident, that airline was shut down. Orient Thai was a separate branch. As for the age of the planes, I often fly Boeing 747's. Aren't many of the 747's currently flying 25 years old and (much) more?

To be clear, I am not supporting Orient Thai. I prefer to fly Bangkok Air and Thai Airways. At one time I flew 1-2-Go a lot. To each their own, but let's get the facts straight.

jiejie

I'm appalled that anybody would come out on a public forum and say things are just dandy with Orient Thai and their operations. You impress nobody with trying to divorce 1-2-Go from Orient Thai, when management and policies were one and the same (Orient Thai being the parent of now-defunct 1-2-Go). Some simple internet research can bring up some rather alarming proclivities of this operation, publicly accessible if you care to search. Not-so-simple information to find includes having contact with former pilots who had to walk away. There is absolutely no evidence that operations, pilot hiring/training/scheduling, and maintenance have improved in any way.

Frankly, I'm surprised that anybody with "seanthepilot" as a name seems to be so oblivious. Particularly since it was (foreign) pilots themselves that raised the alarm on this company, even before the 1-2-Go accident happened.

If you have faith and wish to fly this sketchy outfit yourself, have at it. But to advocate others do so on the basis of OK safety, when there are clearly some ongoing troubling issues, is irresponsible. I stand by my previous advice to the other poster, to alter schedule and take another airline.

beachfan

This is a great thread, thanks to all that participated!

Bangkok Air's discovery airpass is now $88 domestic (with a few exceptions at $113), $120 for shorter international flights, and allows Laos air flights as well.

I want to book Phuket-Siem Reap - Luang Prabong - Chang Mai - Bangkok on a discovery pass. However, I may need to add Bangkok-Phuket to the beginning.

I'm traveling starting February 18. I'd like to hold off booking the aircraft to allow for possible availablility on my award ticket from the US directly in Phuket (right now it's to Bangkok).

Due these special fares on the flight sell out more than 30 days in advance?

Are there advantages to leaving Chang Mai - Bangkok off the end and book it separately (primarily if it's more flexible, but perhaps if it's cheaper).

Thanks in advance!

dsquared37

When I've looked at the Discovery Airpass it seemed that most domestic Thailand tickets should be left off if possible, especially a generally cheap route like CNX-BKK.

What the airpass is best for is a non-round-trip or a circular itinerary where you'd otherwise be purchasing multiple o/w international tix which tend to be quite expensive.

seanthepilot

Alarmist posts like this, full of scare tactics, do absolutely nothing to appease me that your libelous assertions are anything more than assumptions and propaganda.

Your quote was "It's as dangerous as ever, maybe worse"

Just to set the record straight...

Let me understand that you have ZERO facts, just internet dribble, that they are currently facing safety issues?

If you have no faith in this outfit, don't fly it. If you have facts, please share them. Otherwise, I'm sure that even the readership are confused with your assertions, I know I certainly am.

whackyjacky

Good advice. The Airpass saves you good $$ to Koh Samui though. PG has done a lot of '2fers' (2 tix for the price of 1) the last few years w/Amex & Visa. Wait 'em out a bit. Maybe you'll get lucky. wj