Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket - incl QR Business B787 & A380 and Amanpuri
Oct 18, 2015, 5:08 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: London
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold & GGL & CCR, HH Diam, Bonvoy Titanium, IHG Spire, Tastecard
Posts: 7,549
Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket - incl QR Business B787 & A380 and Amanpuri
Day 1: Friday: LHR - ARN - DOH
incl:
- background
- LHR CCR
- BA LHR - ARN
- impromptue private plane-spotting tour of ARN
- ARN QR Lounge
- QR J B787 ARN - DOH
Day 2: Saturday: DOH - BKK
incl:
- DOH QR Lounge
- QR J A380 DOH - BKK
- "where's my bag"
- Hotel Muse
- dinner at Nahm
Day 3: Sunday: BKK
incl:
will be added
Day 4: Monday: BKK - CNX
incl:
- TG BKK - CNX
will be added
Day 5: Tuesday: Chiang Mai
incl:
will be added
Day 6: Wednesday: CNX - HKT
incl:
- AirAsia CNX HKT
- Amanpuri
Day 7: Thursday: Phuket
incl:
will be added
Day 8: Friday: Phuket
incl:
will be added
Day 9: Saturday: HKT - BKK
incl:
- TG HKT - BKK
will be added
Day 10: Sunday BKK - DOH - CPH - LHR
- QR J A380 BKK - DOH
- QR J B787 DOH - CPH
- BA CPH - LHR
will be added
incl:
- background
- LHR CCR
- BA LHR - ARN
- impromptue private plane-spotting tour of ARN
- ARN QR Lounge
- QR J B787 ARN - DOH
Day 2: Saturday: DOH - BKK
incl:
- DOH QR Lounge
- QR J A380 DOH - BKK
- "where's my bag"
- Hotel Muse
- dinner at Nahm
Day 3: Sunday: BKK
incl:
will be added
Day 4: Monday: BKK - CNX
incl:
- TG BKK - CNX
will be added
Day 5: Tuesday: Chiang Mai
incl:
will be added
Day 6: Wednesday: CNX - HKT
incl:
- AirAsia CNX HKT
- Amanpuri
Day 7: Thursday: Phuket
incl:
will be added
Day 8: Friday: Phuket
incl:
will be added
Day 9: Saturday: HKT - BKK
incl:
- TG HKT - BKK
will be added
Day 10: Sunday BKK - DOH - CPH - LHR
- QR J A380 BKK - DOH
- QR J B787 DOH - CPH
- BA CPH - LHR
will be added
Oct 18, 2015, 5:17 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: London
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold & GGL & CCR, HH Diam, Bonvoy Titanium, IHG Spire, Tastecard
Posts: 7,549
Background
Matt84travel and I were talking earlier in the year about going on holiday to Malaysia for a week or so. We had loosely started planning (certainly talking about it) and I was going to treat us to BA First with a combination of Avios, GUF2, a 2-4-1, all made possible with a joker.
Then, however, an astonishing good value QR sale came up and I found us flights to BKK that were good to resist. In a nutshell, we weren't playing *that* much more than BA wanted in fees and taxes for the F redemptions and the prospect of trying the QR 787 and 380 in Business - together with the Avios and TPs we'd earn (getting Matt silver) - made it a relatively easy decision.
I promised Matt that we'd fly F to somewhere else which resulted in a birthday trip to HKG. The Trip report can be found here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...hong-kong.html
The return BKK leg was going to be on a 777 but a few months ago, this changed to a 380 so it was going to be 787 and 380 both ways.
Matt84travel and I were talking earlier in the year about going on holiday to Malaysia for a week or so. We had loosely started planning (certainly talking about it) and I was going to treat us to BA First with a combination of Avios, GUF2, a 2-4-1, all made possible with a joker.
Then, however, an astonishing good value QR sale came up and I found us flights to BKK that were good to resist. In a nutshell, we weren't playing *that* much more than BA wanted in fees and taxes for the F redemptions and the prospect of trying the QR 787 and 380 in Business - together with the Avios and TPs we'd earn (getting Matt silver) - made it a relatively easy decision.
I promised Matt that we'd fly F to somewhere else which resulted in a birthday trip to HKG. The Trip report can be found here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...hong-kong.html
The return BKK leg was going to be on a 777 but a few months ago, this changed to a 380 so it was going to be 787 and 380 both ways.
Oct 18, 2015, 5:35 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: London
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold & GGL & CCR, HH Diam, Bonvoy Titanium, IHG Spire, Tastecard
Posts: 7,549
Day 1: Friday: LHR - ARN - DOH
It was a fairly early start and we were at the First Class check in LHR T 5 at 7.40am.
We had just over 3 hours in ARN between our BA flights (Reward Flight Saver redemptions) and our QR flight but I was still keen that our bags would be checked through all the way to allow us to use flight connections in ARN and head to the lounge as soon as possible.
Matt wasn't overly impressed with the 'First Class check-in experience' (he overheard a conversation next to our desk which definitely wasn't "premium" from the agent's side) and our agent struggled a bit with tagging the bags correctly (one of the tags she printed had a BA flight number for the ARN - DOH sector). nonetheless, eventually we got there, I doubled checked the tag and everything else with her and our two bags went off.
This was the last I saw of my bag for a while.......
Fast Track security was reasonably fast and we were in the CCR for breakfast within a few minutes.
There were quite a few comments in the previous TR on the amount of food we ate (I nearly typed 'seemed to eat' but we did eat a lot) so "warning, this report also focuses on a) the plane and planes and b) food".
Matt went for the Full English Breakfast:
Whilst I went for my 'usual' which is a double portion of Eggs Benedict......
... with some scrambled eggs with salmon as a side.
Matt had commented to me before about the tea that is served in the CCR (which last time for me was the most 'basic' (not judging though) twinning green tea) and it was step up this time.
I had a brief chat with one of the managers and some of the staff and soon we set off early for gate A2 given it's a bit of a walk.
The new priority boarding (Club Europe and Golds first) was enforced and I heard one of the gate agents asking her colleague "are we on silvers yet" as we went down the stairs to the plane.
The flight was uneventful. we both declined the breakfast croissant. I was a bit surprised how much further Stockholm was then Copenhagen so it's good to know that we'll be a bit quicker on the final leg on the way back.
As we left the plane, another BA flight was just getting ready to push back.
Walking towards 'Arrivals and Baggage reclaim' we noticed a door with a sign that said 'transfer gates 70 to 80' (or something along those lines). next to that door was a sign:
We thought to ourselves we might as well see what happens and surely, after a few minutes, someone turned up (from our side), unlocked the door and took us to a small security area for a search. Matt set off the machine a few times but eventually it stopped beeping.
Once through, the gent walked us downstairs to gate 70 where we were the only human beings to be seen.
Another button to press and our transfer bus arrived:
And we were the only passengers.
It was a fairly early start and we were at the First Class check in LHR T 5 at 7.40am.
We had just over 3 hours in ARN between our BA flights (Reward Flight Saver redemptions) and our QR flight but I was still keen that our bags would be checked through all the way to allow us to use flight connections in ARN and head to the lounge as soon as possible.
Matt wasn't overly impressed with the 'First Class check-in experience' (he overheard a conversation next to our desk which definitely wasn't "premium" from the agent's side) and our agent struggled a bit with tagging the bags correctly (one of the tags she printed had a BA flight number for the ARN - DOH sector). nonetheless, eventually we got there, I doubled checked the tag and everything else with her and our two bags went off.
This was the last I saw of my bag for a while.......
Fast Track security was reasonably fast and we were in the CCR for breakfast within a few minutes.
There were quite a few comments in the previous TR on the amount of food we ate (I nearly typed 'seemed to eat' but we did eat a lot) so "warning, this report also focuses on a) the plane and planes and b) food".
Matt went for the Full English Breakfast:
Whilst I went for my 'usual' which is a double portion of Eggs Benedict......
... with some scrambled eggs with salmon as a side.
Matt had commented to me before about the tea that is served in the CCR (which last time for me was the most 'basic' (not judging though) twinning green tea) and it was step up this time.
I had a brief chat with one of the managers and some of the staff and soon we set off early for gate A2 given it's a bit of a walk.
The new priority boarding (Club Europe and Golds first) was enforced and I heard one of the gate agents asking her colleague "are we on silvers yet" as we went down the stairs to the plane.
The flight was uneventful. we both declined the breakfast croissant. I was a bit surprised how much further Stockholm was then Copenhagen so it's good to know that we'll be a bit quicker on the final leg on the way back.
As we left the plane, another BA flight was just getting ready to push back.
Walking towards 'Arrivals and Baggage reclaim' we noticed a door with a sign that said 'transfer gates 70 to 80' (or something along those lines). next to that door was a sign:
We thought to ourselves we might as well see what happens and surely, after a few minutes, someone turned up (from our side), unlocked the door and took us to a small security area for a search. Matt set off the machine a few times but eventually it stopped beeping.
Once through, the gent walked us downstairs to gate 70 where we were the only human beings to be seen.
Another button to press and our transfer bus arrived:
And we were the only passengers.
Oct 18, 2015, 5:42 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: London
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold & GGL & CCR, HH Diam, Bonvoy Titanium, IHG Spire, Tastecard
Posts: 7,549
it turned out that our bus driver was a plane spotter and he noticed that I took a picture of our BA plane.
So he proceeded to give us a tour of ARN - going slowly along a route he would have taken us anyway but also doing a few extra turns.
A nice mix of aircraft. I'll let the pics do the talking.
Thai Airways tall fin bathing in the sun for the direct flight to BKK (which my bag would take a day later)
SAS longhaul - think it went to Chicago from the lounge announcements.
our bus driver used to the 'marshalling / positioning' that is now undertaken by the silver thing that seems to be hanging in the picture
I am quite fond of the short 737s....
So he proceeded to give us a tour of ARN - going slowly along a route he would have taken us anyway but also doing a few extra turns.
A nice mix of aircraft. I'll let the pics do the talking.
Thai Airways tall fin bathing in the sun for the direct flight to BKK (which my bag would take a day later)
SAS longhaul - think it went to Chicago from the lounge announcements.
our bus driver used to the 'marshalling / positioning' that is now undertaken by the silver thing that seems to be hanging in the picture
I am quite fond of the short 737s....
Oct 18, 2015, 6:00 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: London
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold & GGL & CCR, HH Diam, Bonvoy Titanium, IHG Spire, Tastecard
Posts: 7,549
Eventually we got to Terminal 5
Again, there was no-one else around.....
Stockholm is a nice modern airport.
We headed up some a floor and had another security check point before reaching the lounge.
a model of 'our' plane
the angel advised us that we'd need to swap our online boarding passes for proper ones which I don't mind - I prefer them anyway. We tried the QR desk but it was unmanned so went back to the lounge and I tried again 20 mins later.
They needed to see both of us, our hand luggage and passports. Hand luggage
with tagged with 'premium class' tags (there's a picture later I think) and we received 'premium class' transfer wallets and BPs for the next sector as well.
Then lounge itself was nice - airy, spacious (though Matt did note that one of the sides which he thinks featured a 'balcony' was closed) and with an ok assortment of food.
Around 3pm ish, it was time to head to the gate.
And there she was waiting for us:
Boarding started a little later than the 15.10 that had been on our self-printed BPs, though the new paper one, did have a boarding time of 15.25.
I like the QR BPs. They feel real and classy and I like that fact that - unlike say BA's, most 'features' (if one can call out such things on BPs) are pre-printed rather than the BA ones which are white paper with everything printed on it in black ink.
coming up next: ARN - DOH with lots of pictures!
Again, there was no-one else around.....
Stockholm is a nice modern airport.
We headed up some a floor and had another security check point before reaching the lounge.
a model of 'our' plane
the angel advised us that we'd need to swap our online boarding passes for proper ones which I don't mind - I prefer them anyway. We tried the QR desk but it was unmanned so went back to the lounge and I tried again 20 mins later.
They needed to see both of us, our hand luggage and passports. Hand luggage
with tagged with 'premium class' tags (there's a picture later I think) and we received 'premium class' transfer wallets and BPs for the next sector as well.
Then lounge itself was nice - airy, spacious (though Matt did note that one of the sides which he thinks featured a 'balcony' was closed) and with an ok assortment of food.
Around 3pm ish, it was time to head to the gate.
And there she was waiting for us:
Boarding started a little later than the 15.10 that had been on our self-printed BPs, though the new paper one, did have a boarding time of 15.25.
I like the QR BPs. They feel real and classy and I like that fact that - unlike say BA's, most 'features' (if one can call out such things on BPs) are pre-printed rather than the BA ones which are white paper with everything printed on it in black ink.
coming up next: ARN - DOH with lots of pictures!
Oct 18, 2015, 6:34 am
#9
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Helsinki
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 406
Thanks for another trip report.
Qatar seems to have pretty good business class deals from Stockholm quite often. We are heading to Australia in three weeks with Qatar from Stockholm and that ticket was really bargain.
Looking forward to the rest of the report!
Qatar seems to have pretty good business class deals from Stockholm quite often. We are heading to Australia in three weeks with Qatar from Stockholm and that ticket was really bargain.
Looking forward to the rest of the report!
Oct 18, 2015, 7:26 am
#10
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: NCL
Programs: FB Plat; BAEC Gold
Posts: 930
Excellent, another Chris1979 TR. Looking forward to the QR 787 pictures.
I've been looking at QR out of Scandi for a while, this could pave the way during the next QR 'sale'.
I've been looking at QR out of Scandi for a while, this could pave the way during the next QR 'sale'.
Last edited by DaveNCL; Oct 18, 2015 at 11:58 am
Oct 18, 2015, 9:21 am
#13
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Honors Diamond, Mucci de buveur de gin
Posts: 3,060
Yay! Something else for me to follow by chris1979. Hope to see a reappearance of the funny red hat!
Enjoying it so far and looking forward to the rest (along with a load of other food pics!)
Enjoying it so far and looking forward to the rest (along with a load of other food pics!)
Oct 19, 2015, 3:42 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: London
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold & GGL & CCR, HH Diam, Bonvoy Titanium, IHG Spire, Tastecard
Posts: 7,549
So in short, if you are toying with QR J, go for it (especially given their prices!)!
