Airline to Asia

[basket]

Hi. Can someone tell me which airlines fly to Bangkok from the West Coast? How long are the flights and is one airline better than the other? Thanks!

[Guest big guy]

Your best bet are the asian airlines as they tend to provide better service than the U.S. airlines (i.e. United, Northwest). Thai Airways is not bad and your best bet to get a direct service. Cathay Pacific (CX) and Singapore Airlines are considered the best in Asia but you will likely transit through their respective hub. FYI, CX code-shares with American Airlines so you can book on AA and actually fly on the CX on the trans-Pacific section. I heard Eva Airlines (based out of Taiwan) has good service to/from the U.S. but I am not sure on how they connect on to Bangkok. You can expect the flight to be about 14 hours depending on the connection.

[TotallyOz]

I always use Northwest and Continental because I have miles with them. One good with Northwest is that if you have silver elite status or above, you can book your ticket and get the Exit row at booking. If I fly coach, this is what I do and it makes for a very easy flight.

 

When flying first class, I like Northwest as they have a computer connection for regular plugs under all the seats so I can power up the entire trip and get a ton of e-mail answered and work done. The seats for both Continental and Northwest in First are great but I prefer the Northwest to Continental.

 

If you are a member of the World's Club and you go through Tokoyo, you get free high speed Internet access. This is a real plus for me as I have had layovers there for over 5 hours before and it is nice to be able to relax and enjoy yourself.

 

Currently Northwest is running a special on the World's Club Membership and if you travel a great deal you might want to sign up for the Mileziila program and join World's club. It is $500 a year but well worth it if you travel overseas a great deal.

 

Hope this helps!

[Guest rampo]

To the best of my knowledge, there are no direct flights from the US west coast to Bangkok. Most US-based airlines fly through Narita (Tokyo), as do the Japan-based airlines, of course. I believe that most of Thai Airways flights also go through Narita. Cathay-Pacific flies through Hong Kong, EVA goes through Taipei, Korean through Seoul, Singapore thru Singapore (natch), etc. I've heard good things about EVA's Evergreen Deluxe, which is a class of service between basic economy and business, and Singapore often gets raves as well. Flights between Narita and Bangkok are about 6 hours, from Hong Kong about 2, and a bit over an hour from Singapore.

 

Since I fly from the east coast, my airline of preference is American Airines, making sure I book on one of their Boeing 777s for the flight between the US and Japan. American has a scoonch more room in its economy seats (it makes a big difference for a 12-hour flight) and on American's 777s there are only two seats running along the window sides. Another thing I like about American's 777s is that some of the economy seats are also wired so you can plug in a computer or portable DVD player (if you book through American, look at the seating chart to locate these seats). With frequent flier miles, I'm able bump up to business class about the half the time. United and Northwest are usually a bit cheaper than American, but I have found their economy class to have more of a cattle-car feel. If it makes any difference, on the trans-Pacific flights US airlines in general tend to have older, rather matronly flight attendants whose attentiveness to passengers is varied at best.

 

My average travel time to Bangkok from Washington DC comes in at around 25 hours as I have a connection in the US and one in Tokyo. Flying from the west coast, you can probably shave 6 to 8 hours off of that. I definitely would recommend allowing at at least a 2-hour window whether you're connecting through Narita, Hong Kong or wherever as stronger headwinds or a mid-Pacific storm can easily eat up at the time and have you running for your flight to Bangkok. The best thing about Narita is that if you do miss your connection, there are usually some later flights headed for Bangkok onto which you can be rebooked.

[basket]

Thanks for the advice, men.I think I will try to use Singapore Air if they have a space for an award ticket.

[firecat]

Hey Oz,

 

A lot cheaper way to get NW and Continental Clubs is to Get The American Express Platinum Card which come with that benefit and a lot of others. The cost only $350

[basket]

Unfortunately, Delta says that Singapore Airline is very stingy with the partner award seats. I was able to get First Class on Korean Air, but with a six-hour layover in Seoul on the return. I have a few days to ticket it. Is Korean as bad as they say?

[buckguy]

Korea and Asiana (the other Korean carrier) have okay but not outstanding reputations. These are usually the cheapest carriers to Bangkok for most US destinations. Delta employs idiots, but they may be right about Singapore, esp. sicnce Singapore is not part of their SkyTeam alliance. Other than Singapore and maybe Cathay Pacific (they are not what they once were), most of the Asian carriers are nothing to write home about. Thai has more staff on their planes than United, but the service is really no better and the attitude (and the food) is often worse. And Northwest isn't called Northworst for nothing.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Agreed about Northwest. ARGH. Not my favorite airline~

 

I would say that first-class on Northwest is like coach on either AA or CO. They use undertrained cabin crew and don't offer as many first-class perks IMO. While i have no issue flying with them domestically (as it all registers with CO in mileage), i try to do otherwise when flying abroad.

 

Going to Asia in general, i would try (the next time) to go with Singapore Airlines: They're amazing. The cabin crew is a well-oiled machine, the entertainment is pristine and the food service is spaced-out well and plentiful with great selection. While i don't prefer their 'SpaceBed' to Continental's BusinessFirst seating, it is more than comfortable and easy to fall asleep in.

 

If you can ever snag an AA 777 Flagship Suite going overseas, DO IT! I had the opportunity to fly in one coming back from Brazil a couple of days ago and it was jaw-dropping. Unlike the 'Coffins' that AA mostly flies into the far east, this new configuration is comfy, private, has a totally flat bed with full-size pillows and a wide range of ammenities for those who like to keep busy while flying. The seat itself swivels into 3 positions: Sleeping, sitting upright and sideways into a office desk configuration.

 

Flying is once again getting swank. It's interesting to see what they're going to be brining back to flying and what new technology will make travel even more comfortable. I suppose it's too much to ask to bring back the piano lounge upstairs on the 747, huh? lol. Anyone here actually get to fly on that setup?

 

Korean Air isn't too shabby You'll be more than comfortable in first-class for the flight. Enjoy & safe travels!

 

 

Warmest Always,

 

 

 

Benjamin Nicholas

[jakobsen]

UA to HKG and TG (a UA partner) to BKK. You're better off transiting through HKG since the flight to BKK is 2.5 hours (as opposed to 6.5 hours if flying from from NRT).

[eastbayguy]

Forget the airlines, learn to fly!

 

>Flying is once again getting swank. It's interesting to see

>what they're going to be brining back to flying and what new

>technology will make travel even more comfortable. I suppose

>it's too much to ask to bring back the piano lounge upstairs

>on the 747, huh? lol. Anyone here actually get to fly on

>that setup?

 

In fact, yes. TWA and UAL (and perhaps others) had piano lounge equipped 747s in the air well in to the 80s. Turns out that removing the piano required structural mods to the plane. So, when the plane went in for (I believe) a "D" check, the piano was yanked. Some of them were around for a while.

 

Sadly, the flight crews with a pianist vanished long before the pianos.

 

But, I'd love the thought of some swankiness returning to the skies. Sadly, I'm still unable to switch off my brain long enough to make it through TSA's checkpoints.

 

Some recent high points in flying:

 

My next door neighbor just bought a biz jet. In showing off for the neighbors, I got a ride to Mazatlan for lunch recently.

 

Saw a Cirrus Designs airplane (no name/some number) over at the Scottsdale Airport recently and have been in lust ever since. Cirrus makes these cool low wing, single engine airplanes with an all-glass cockpit. Very pilot friendly. Quite easy to fly, in fact. The higher end models receive radar data from the ground via satellite and warn you of weather and nearby traffic and so forth. Coolest aircraft I've ever seen. Adds a whole new dimension to the Friendly Skies.

 

Plus, the Cirrus has a built-in parachute. If you are about to loose your airplane anyway, you kill the engine and pull a lever and deploy a parachute. The whole aircraft settles gently to earth. Depending on the terrain below, you may well have a complete hull loss on your hands. But, the odds are you will walk away from the result.

 

Cirrus reports that the parachute system has been deployed four times. Three of the four deployments were on first flight after maintenance. From my own flying experience, both of my major scares were on first flights after maintenance as well. Apparently, the Car Talk Guys are as well represented at the airport as at the garage.

 

--EBG

[eastbayguy]

>To the best of my knowledge, there are no direct flights from

>the US west coast to Bangkok. Most US-based airlines fly

>through Narita (Tokyo), as do the Japan-based airlines, of

>course. I believe that most of Thai Airways flights also go

>through Narita. Cathay-Pacific flies through Hong Kong, EVA

>goes through Taipei, Korean through Seoul, Singapore thru

>Singapore (natch), etc. I've heard good things about EVA's

>Evergreen Deluxe, which is a class of service between basic

>economy and business, and Singapore often gets raves as well.

>Flights between Narita and Bangkok are about 6 hours, from

>Hong Kong about 2, and a bit over an hour from Singapore.

 

Avoid Eva Air like the plague. I've flown them several times between SFO or LAX and Taipei. Just awful. I got upgraded to first from business a couple of times. Even first is pretty dreadful. I asked for a 2nd glass of champagne and you'd have thought I'd requested a hijacking. (Never did get it.)

 

Taiwan is a very odd place. So are it's airlines. My favorites to/from Asia are United and Singapore. United has discontinued Flight 1, their non-stop to Hong Kong from LAX. Used to attract all the most senior flight attendants out of the LAX base. The service was about the best in United's system. I do miss my trips on good, old Flight One.

 

--EBG

[Ignoto]

>My average travel time to Bangkok from Washington DC comes in

>at around 25 hours as I have a connection in the US and one in

>Tokyo.

 

Have you ever considered going the other way?

 

(Hmm, maybe that's not the best way to put it on this website.)

 

I mean, there are nonstops from London to Bangkok that take 11 hours .. and from DC you should be able to get to London without a connection. So why not head East, instead of West?

[Guest rampo]

>Have you ever considered going the other way? .... So why not head East, instead of West?

 

Actually, I have looked into it, but connections and pricing never worked out very well me. Even from the east coast, the default routing for most airlines is east-to-west. I might save a couple of hours, but not much. And I much prefer spending layover time in Narita than in Heathrow or Frankfurt (the udon noodles and tempura are much better).

 

Since I live 5 minutes from Washington National Airport, it takes alot to get me to switch to Dulles (about an hour away), which is where I would get the most time savings with a direct DC-to-Europe flight. But these days Dulles is not a pleasant experience and I avoid it as much as possible. And flying from National to JFK is not a much nicer prospect. As it is now, my usual flight is DC-O'Hare(or DFW)-Narita-BKK. By now I am quite used to the trip. My portable DVD player, a handful of unwatched flix and a few Xanax make the trip bearable. For the return trip the tailwinds make the flight a few hours shorter, and I'm usually so exhausted from my vacation that I snooze for a good deal of the time anyway.

[Guest rampo]

>UA to HKG and TG (a UA partner) to BKK. You're better off

>transiting through HKG since the flight to BKK is 2.5 hours

>(as opposed to 6.5 hours if flying from from NRT).

 

You need to consider that the flight time from the west coast to Hong Kong is about 15 and a half hours, whereas the flight from the west coast to Narita comes out at around 12. So total flight time probably comes close to evening out whichever transit point you choose.

[DallasTony]

RE: Forget the airlines, learn to fly!

 

Much depends on what type of ticket you require. If you are looking for a Skyteam First Class award then try Air France, they are now the only member with 100% First class on Intercontinental Services. As Benjamin Nichols says try AA First Class Suites unfortunatly they dont have them on The Pacific, just Europe and South America. First Class awards for Non Singapore Airlines frequent Fliers are virtually impossible even for their Star Alliance members. If paying from DC to BKK always fly via Pacific as fares are much much less than via Europe. If you are a Frequent Flier I suggest you Join. http://Http://www.flyertalk.com they know more about airline perks than the airlines themselves.Sorry cant post the URL as the site is down for upgrade most of Today - Wednesday the 22nd.

[Steven_Draker]

By the way there is a non-stop flight from New York to Singapore routed over the North pole which happens to be the longest non-stop commercial flight - 18.5 hours. Similar flight from Los Angeles with Singapore airlines - 16 hours.

[Guest icon513]

Northwest has joined SkyTeam, so you may be able to get an award ticket across the Pacific with them.

 

I agree with the posts above. Best period is Singapore Air; second, Cathay Pacific. If you are going to go business class, Continental is tops in their "Business/First" cabin.

 

Otherwise, do what I do: pack your own food, pop a couple Xanax, fill your iPod with soothing music, and zone out for as much of the trip as possible.

[buckguy]

Going via Hong Kong saves a little time, plus having yet another long flight after you reach Narita is more disheartening than having the shorter flight from Hong Kong.

[basket]

I spoke to a Korean man who flies often back home....but always on Singapore Airlines! He did not recommend that I fly Korean Air, so I let the reservation lapse. Maybe another time!