The editors of Thailandblog regularly post flight offers from various companies. Of course we give our readers an advantage.
One of our readers, Frans van Stokkem, made good use of this. After reading an offer on Thailandblog, he booked a return ticket to Bangkok at Etihad for the price of 467 euros. We asked him to share his experiences with other readers. Frans kept his word and sent us his flying experiences today:
“Checking in went fine, I was a bit overweight, but it was not difficult to change that, I did some shopping and then to the Gate, I always want an aisle seat and that was also arranged. Upon arrival of the aircraft, I went straight to my spot and sat quite at the front and I was lucky because no one was sitting next to me. Modern chairs with everything on and on.
I found the service food, etc. well organized and of good tasteful quality. The ladies regularly came by with drinks etc. When I arrived in Abu Dhabi I had to wait two and a half hours, but these were quickly over. Transferred to another aircraft to Bangkok, but the same seat, so fine. And luck again no one next to me. Service and food again good.
At one point I fell asleep for a while, but quickly woke up again. Immediately a flight attendant stood next to me to ask if I wanted another seat. She told me that a little further back there was a very empty row where I could lie down for a long time. Well that was of course a great offer. After two and a half weeks in Thailand we went home again. Check-in went well again everything was well arranged. Flew away on time and again no one next to me. In Abu Dhabi again waiting two and a half hours, then to Düsseldorf, everything went right on time, etc.
I think it's a great company to fly with and would do it again in a heartbeat, only Düsseldorf I would do differently, I had to wait three and a half hours for the train that cost me 19 euros (my own fault, but was the cheapest card). There is nothing to do at the airport and neither at the station, you are not really flexible because of your luggage. I fly to Thailand twice a year on average, if I had to give numbers I would say after this experience 1 Etihad, 2 Eva, 3 China, 4 KLM. But stories about other aircraft (Air Berlin etc) or like herring in a barrel no it didn't happen to me, I thought it was TOP.
This was my experience, do what you want with it.”
Frans, thank you for your report.
Thank you for sharing your experience! At the beginning of February I fly with Etihad to Bangkok (for an internship). Also found a good deal, 473 euros for a return ticket and then fly back in mid-July.
Glad to read that everything is well organized with this company!
I am happy with your report, because I booked this deal for my parents. Thanks to the notification of this deal, my parents decided to come to my wedding in Thailand. For myself I had previously booked a more expensive flight with Emirates.
Hopefully my parents will also experience the trip positively.
Thailandblog thanks for reporting & Frans thanks for the report, mvg.Joep.
Do Dusseldorf differently = spend a night in Dusseldorf and visit the city of Usseldorf?
How is the situation airport to train station ?? are they connected or do you need a taxi or bus for that. Rather thought that the bahnhof was more in the center and the airport outside.
Je kunt met de internationale trein tot Düsseldorf of Dortmund rijden. Dan overstappen in de S-Bahn met bestemming -Fluhafen-. Daar stap je over de luchthaven zweefbaan en voor dat je het bemerkt ben in de vertrekhal. Als Ethaid-Emirates klant is het treinkaartje gratis bij je tickett, geldig vanaf het eerste Duitse station op jouw traject Nederland-Düsseldorf luchthaven. Moet je wel bij de tickett bestelling opgeven. Ik vlieg vaak Düsseldorf vooral op de weg naar Europa. Start in BKK 01:55 en uitstappen in DÜS dezelfde dag om 12:50 inkl. het overstappen in Dubai. Kosten € 586,-. voor het tickett + de trein. Dat krijg ik in Nederland niet klaar voor die prijs. top rebell.
Last June 2013 I also flew with Eithad, with a short stopover (2 hours) at their home base Abu Dhabi.
Ook met een terugreis op Düsseldorf (met Air Berlin, tussenstop 2,5 uur) voor datzelfde bedrag 467 euro.
No delays with take-off and the journey on board was well taken care of and the food was fine.
Only when I checked in at Schiphol it turned out that I had already checked in, so the lady at the check-in desk told me (?) So I started to doubt? How is that possible, I thought, did I accidentally check in online with the seat selection ?
Maar het bleek dat iemand anders op mijn naam had ingechecked…Dit kostte wel enige tijd om te herstellen in het systeem (20 minuten wachten aan de balie) zij begreep niet hoe dit kon (ik trachtte dit misverstand nog wel uit te buiten met een upgrade, tevergeefs…)
With my return journey, checking in at Bangkok Airport (Suvarnabhumi) the check-in desk could not yet give me a boarding pass for Abu Dhabi .. due to a malfunction in their computer (Etihad) so I would pick up a boarding pass at the transfer. No problem they assured me.
At the airport of Abu Dhabi, however, I was not the only one without a boarding pass… The whole area in front of the bali, I think about 100 people also had to have a boarding pass… It was hot…because the air conditioning turned out to be insufficient
So I stood in line for about 3 minutes… (also some people who pushed ahead by coming to the side of the queue, supposedly asking the employees something and then standing stoically…)
In Dusseldorf I was picked up by family, it is 165 km to my house (1 hour and 3 minutes by car) so easy to do.
Ik weet niet of ik het de volgende keer weer zou doen (als deze open jaw constructie met Eithad zou blijven bestaan). Het vliegveld van Abu Dhabi heeft niet voldoende zitplaatsen waar je even kan uitrusten, het is er te warm want de airco is onvoldoende. En het personeel werkt er te traag.
@Mark. It is always a difficult choice. Let's assume that you can save 100 euros with a switch. Then that is 50 euros per flight for a return. When I can buy tickets for 600 or 650 euros, the temptation is still great to opt for a direct flight. Then go out for a night less to compensate.
@ khun Peter, heb je ook gelijk in, ik heb voor december dit jaar een rechtstreekse vlucht met KLM geboekt, 695, euro (actieweken KLM). Maar ik bezuinig liever in Nederland om het verschil te compenseren dan in Thailand 🙂
It's just what you want, all those cumbersome situations for a very small price difference.
How long are you on the road 20 hours? I myself just booked for 679 at Eva, return at the end
December. My advantage is that I only live 20 minutes from Schiphol.
Best regards,
Marc
I booked last week .. 423 euros… transfer wait 2,5 hours, etihad with departure amsterdam and back dusseldorf; say.
Can you please us for the sake of completeness, please state on which dates you will fly? Thank you already for your information. great martin
Hi Martin,
Ik wilde hetzelfde boeken voor 15-11-2013 en 12-07-2014, bij etihad, waren de goedkoopste tickets weg om 19.00 uur per 12-10. Nu kijk ik nogmaals op de 13e op 1.50 uur kost die 535,00.
In the meantime I booked with Turkish Airlines for 544,00, a bit more expensive but better times. They now have a promo if you book for 31-10. It is also a 2 hour layover.
Maybe you can use this info, I have no experience with TA
I also prefer to fly with Eva, but with an interval of more than 3 months that will be too expensive for me, unfortunately.
Then I assume that € 423 return DÜS-BKK is a tip error and it should be € 483?.
That is even cheaper than prices that the unloved Mahan Air has offered for a while from DÜS via Tehran. Unloved because this club was not allowed to land at European airports for a while. Rode; poor maintenance and therefore dangerous aircraft. great martin
Oops, KLM only gives you a 4, so disappointing then? I'm flying with KLM soon.
Dear fellow readers,
As for my travel experience with Ethiad, do what you want with it for one person, maybe useful for the other. Concerning connection between airport and station, there is a sky train which is included in the price of the train ticket, make sure you buy a ticket from the airport (via internet Hi Speed) Reply to Didier, I took a train the cheapest and had to wait 3 and a half hours, you are quite tired because of time difference, and then that bang of temperature difference on top is not pleasant. Trains run regularly from Dusseldorf to Amsterdam where I live, and could have left with half an hour of waiting, so I will possibly. next time for sure. I will also try to take Dusseldorf-Bangkok and Bangkok Amsterdam next time, once you are on the return journey you will want to go home quickly (at least I do). Steve KLM only a 4 I mean the fourth choice.
Frans van Stokkem
It is indeed what you want. My personal experiences are that Thai airways are the best price quality for around € 700 direct flight and excellent service. Etihad also good but sometimes long waiting times for landings. 1,88m in size) and service that is not really good. Eva Air is good if you take the more expensive class, spacious seats, but the price tag is around € 900. The last few times always departed from Brussels and arrived never had any problems. I can't do that from Schiphol say, always checking and discussing counterfeit articles, hope that these gentlemen will receive better training in the future in connection with counterfeiting, always in order after presentation of purchase invoices, but on leave one cannot always take the whole bookkeeping with them.
@ Dear Ronnie,
Could you please be clear about which China you have negative thoughts on here, would be as fair to society as it is to the Thailand bloggers who have to decide who to fly with.
I fly a lot with Air China and cannot agree with your criticism (breakfast is worthless as a star alliance member)
So I assume you mean China Airlines?
Indeed, I mean China Airlines spacing of the seats too small, if the passenger in front of you puts the seat in sleep mode, they can no longer sit normally. I usually go to Thailand in mid-April to mid-May or November to early December.
Moderator: your comment is illegible use periods and capitals.
Heb 4 weken gelden KLM geboekt voor € 480,00 via klm.be is incl. thalys trein vanaf Antwerpen die je wel moet nemen. vertrek is eind oktober .
Vorig jaar zelfde periode ook maar iets van €500,00 betaald.
Doorslag gevend voor ons : 1 de prijs 2 rechtstreekse vlucht.
Zouden we meer moeten betalen dan kies ik toch eerder voor Eva Emirates of Ethihad
The KLM 777-300 is really a chicken coop 3-4-3 layout, now the 777-200 3-3-3 fly
heen en terug . Iets meer ruimte in de cabine naar mijn gevoel . Service vind ik altijd wel gewoon OK. Bovenstaande airlines zijn denk ik beter op dat gebied.
China Airlines 3 keer mee gevlogen naar BKK was eerst altijd best goed op het oude 747 toestel na zonder schermpjes . Alleen laatste keer in 2011 vond ik de service gezakt naar het vriespunt . Mini plastic bekertjes met wat cola enz . werdt duidelijk bespaard op alles. En na ook echt goed ziek te worden tijdens de retour vlucht , wat ze totaal niet interesseerde . Hoeft China voor mij niet zo direkt meer.
Good report French.
Doing Dusseldorf differently, that's what I thought of when I went to TH with Mahan Air.
You buy the train ticket for Dusseldorf – Rotterdam in advance. Then you know the day and time. But suppose you are delayed? How many hours delay do you estimate? I estimated a delay of 2 hours. That was quite long.
Die internationale treinen merkte ik toen, daar boek je een kaartje waarbij je een plek in een bepaalde wagon en een bepaalde stoel zit. Net als in TH dus. Maar op de terug weg zat er dus iemand op mijn stoel.
And then it turned out that we were both booked into that seat by the system.
Coincidentally, someone came by for some kind of survey, but he didn't say anything about that. In other words, was too complicated for her.
From Zaventem, the connections with Etihad are usually poor, long stops and too late in Bangkok. I have to go to Chiang Mai and I always hope to arrive in BKK before 14 pm. Nor do I wish to wait in Abu Dhabi's overheated airport all day or spend the night.
In my opinion, Zaventem has fallen into a regional airport.
Now for 406 euros to Bangkok, waiting times are very short 1.5 hours on the way there and 2.5 hours on the way back. booking until October 22. Etihad never ceases to amaze!