For BMs that fly Business Class ..

[Lemondropkid]

5 minutes ago, john luke said:

Business class was over £4000.

 

My issue is that I live just outside Leeds.  LBA is about a 15-minute taxi ride.  The only viable indirect flights from LBA to Bangkok are KLM or Air France if I have a transfer in both AMS and CDG (Paris).  KLM is over £4000 for business class.

Manchester is the next closest airport, however, a taxi to Manchester Airport is likely to be around the £100 or more mark and the return taxi from the airport, if I use the taxi stand at the airport is likely to be close to £200.  If I fly from Manchester that adds on an extra £300.

If I fly Emirates from Manchester on business, I get a complimentary chauffeur car both to and from Manchester Airport.  In making a comparison between Emirates and other airlines the £300 figure has to be taken into consideration.  

From a personal point of view, I prefer a short flight to Europe and then a long haul across to Asia rather than the Middle Eastern airlines which require a transfer halfway.

I do envy those members who are within commutable distance of LHR and who are able to get direct flights to Bangkok.

There are no easy answers.

Not living to far from Leeds myself.

Less that 2 hours to London on a train, then the new Crossail (Elizabeath line) to Heathrow. Used it for the first time in Jan- fantastic.

I did an overnight stop in Ealing Premier Inn that was only around the £70 mark. Only did this as wanted to be close to Heathrow, to have options on a bus, taxi, tube, train for the final leg as there were transport strikes in the offing

The Elizabeath line took 20 minutes from Ealing and there I was in T2. Compared to the misery of the Piccadily line, have spent an hour plus doing the same on a rammed commuter train.

Myself as a non-driver I rely on the rail, getting a train to Manchester with TransPennine is a non-runner for me. Too many train cancellations to use for an airport run

The speed and frequency of trains to Kings Cross, plus the Elizabeath line, plus the much wider choice of flights make LHR the only option I'd consider

[boydeste]

@Lemondropkid

You beat me to it. Have had a similar conversation with John in the past. 

Travel up through the day and get either EVA or Thai non stop at 2130 ish.

Then on return you land 1930 ish, so a stop over at a Premier Inn. Then leisurely journey back up to Leeds the next day.

Premium Economy is usually similar to others, likewise Business class too.

 

[Lemondropkid]

2 hours ago, boydeste said:

Travel up through the day and get either EVA or Thai non stop at 2130 ish.

Then on return you land 1930 ish, so a stop over at a Premier Inn. Then leisurely journey back up to Leeds the next day.

That would be my plan in October.

Treated myself to a first class train in Jan saved having to fight for luggage space. It was a breeze, the Elizabeath line is a game changer for  getting to Heathrow. 

[boydeste]

1 hour ago, Lemondropkid said:

That would be my plan in October.

Treated myself to a first class train in Jan saved having to fight for luggage space. It was a breeze, the Elizabeath line is a game changer for  getting to Heathrow. 

Where do you connect with it from Kings Cross?

I always take the tube from KC into Heathrow.

[Bazle]

10 minutes ago, boydeste said:

Where do you connect with it from Kings Cross?

I always take the tube from KC into Heathrow.

I think it would involve walking one minute to St Pancras International Station, and taking a Thameslink train to Farringdon (only a few minutes), and picking up the Elizabeth Line there.

[Lemondropkid]

4 hours ago, boydeste said:

Where do you connect with it from Kings Cross?

I always take the tube from KC into Heathrow.

Yes I got a Circle Line to Paddington, then changed for the Elizabeath line to Heathrow. I can remember it being a longish walk at Paddington, but all sign posted.

And it's inexpensive, wasn't much over a £5 which is fantastic value to get right into T2. Compare that to a rip-off £20+ on the Heathrow Express

Edited April 21, 2023 by Lemondropkid

[ChiFlyer]

I will weigh in with one more comment. My home country at this point is Thailand. I still like to get to the US every couple of years to see my children and grandchildren. Kind of nice to hit some of my former Chicago fast food pleasures from days gone by as well (South-side Thin Crust Pizza, Popeye's Spicy Chicken Sandwich with Red Beans and Rice, (Portillos Chili Dogs (hold the onions please), Italian Beef and Sausage), various Mexican places, Gyros, the list goes on). On my last visit to the Chicago area (October 2021) I put on 4 kgs in a month. 😞

I am 73 now and BC is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity. Door to door from Huay Yai to the Western Suburbs of Chicago exceeds 30 hours. The last time I went less than BC (with Cathey Pacific at the time (2017 ?)) I was in serious hip pain for close to a week. I mean I had trouble walking. The old bone joints need the extra cushioning and leg room. 

I would look to pay $10,000 for two round trip seats come the Summer of 2024. I would like to take my Thai wife with to meet the family. My Grandchildren would be out of school at that seasonal time and both of their parents are high school science teachers. My other son is a Public Defender in the Champaign area. Time of year does not matter in his case.

Hmm - maybe I should shoot for just after Labor Day. US air ticket and hotel prices tend to dip at that time. The weather in Chicago is usually nice. Could do some weekend visits with the Grandkids (they like Da Bears and Pizza). Wonder which bloodline they inherited that from?

Edited April 21, 2023 by ChiFlyer

[john luke]

I have just been checking out flights for depart Manchester UK in November and return at the end of March 2024.  On Emirates website GBP 3,936.93 (including a small reduction for air miles).

 

Skyscanner shows Turkish Air for the same period as :-

The above is after Skyscanner takes you to the Turkish Air website.  The flight can be obtained at a lower price by booking via an agency.

[Butch]

Just prior to Covid prices were actually very competitive for BC on most airlines. iirc EVA was just in the £1700 / £2k region for LHR-BKK RTN which is now what they want for PE.

From the perspective of someone who usually flies PE with family and upgrades to BC on points in the past, it's now a situation for me whereby at what point do I stop flying PE due to price pressure and go back to Econ?.

My tipping point for PE is approx £1.2k per person. Any more than that and it's economy. However, surprise surprise that's now the average economy price for an Emirates / Singapore / Cathay flight to the RP.

It seems that Covid has reset the prices for international Air travel, and the airlines and the powers at be are happy to let it continue, but that till not having an effect on numbers flying it appears.

I may have posted this before but it goes some way to explaining the higher costs...(article from April 2023)

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/04/26/are-cheap-flights-a-thing-of-the-past-heres-why-your-summer-trip-is-so-expensive

[Nightcrawler]

I used to get CLUB class on BA concessions for about 250 quid to BKK.

All stopped a few years ago

SCUM class for me ever since. I don't think Bizz class is worth the money at full price

[KWA]

I'm booked in a couple of weeks in Qatar economy class which disappointed me but the Business Claass prices are still nuts.  My last few have been miles upgrades on Qatar and Emirates but run out of miles for that now.

Fortunately the ME airlines give a fairly even split of the journey from the UK which helps, and because I'm still Gold in Qatar's Privilege Club I get lounges in Edinburgh and Doha.  I've also prebooked emergency row seats for no extra cost.  Just got to make the best of a bad deal and cross fingers that things change sooner rather than later.

[Butch]

6 hours ago, Nightcrawler said:

I used to get CLUB class on BA concessions for homosexual passengers who would pleasure the male staff in the toilets for about 250 quid to BKK.

All stopped a few years ago when I got caught trying it on with a Policeman.

SCUM class for me ever since. I don't think Bizz class is worth the money at full price or for the loss of anal retention.

Mate, I had to make a few amendments to your post, only punctuation because you missed out a capital letter or two. Sorry about that.

[Nightcrawler]

2 hours ago, Butch said:

Mate, I had to make a few amendments to your post, only punctuation because you missed out a capital letter or two. Sorry about that.

Thanks 😀

[Yesitisdakid]

I have decided that i will start flying Business class.......................................just as soon as it gets to the destination before  economy 😊

 

[Golfingboy]

26 minutes ago, Yesitisdakid said:

I have decided that i will start flying Business class.......................................just as soon as it gets to the destination before  economy 😊

 

Are you a blonde now? Always liked that joke

[fygjam]

5 hours ago, Yesitisdakid said:

I have decided that i will start flying Business class.......................................just as soon as it gets to the destination before  economy 😊

 

It already does 'cause BC is at the front of the aircraft.

 

[Yesitisdakid]

3 hours ago, fygjam said:

It already does 'cause BC is at the front of the aircraft.

 

When Tiger Air was flying Bangkok to Clark, I used it a few times there was no seat selection. The first time I was seated in the very last row figured I would be forever getting off. Well they opened the rear of the plane same time as the front as we were on the tarmac not at a gate. Happy days from that trip on i always hoped for a seat close to the back.

[Jambo]

9 minutes ago, Yesitisdakid said:

When Tiger Air was flying Bangkok to Clark, I used it a few times there was no seat selection. The first time I was seated in the very last row figured I would be forever getting off. Well they opened the rear of the plane same time as the front as we were on the tarmac not at a gate. Happy days from that trip on i always hoped for a seat close to the back.

Flying to Clark was a godsend compared to Manila and that awful traffic jam of a journey by taxi.

[Yesitisdakid]

59 minutes ago, Jambo said:

Flying to Clark was a godsend compared to Manila and that awful traffic jam of a journey by taxi.

Yes and on Tiger it was even better !

[Butch]

Emirates now fly into Clark, and have done for a while apparently, although I only found out a while ago...

[KWA]

On 9/16/2023 at 12:39 PM, Butch said:

Emirates now fly into Clark, and have done for a while apparently, although I only found out a while ago...

Looks like it's beeen going about 6 years now, although not every day.

Dubai - Cebu - Clark - Dubai triangular route.

[Butch]

8 hours ago, KWA said:

Looks like it's beeen going about 6 years now, although not every day.

Dubai - Cebu - Clark - Dubai triangular route.

Shows how much attention I pay to Emirates lol. We used to fly them regularly to the RP in the early 00's when I'd buy 4 bottles of Dom Perignon at duty free in Dubai and then sell them in the UK and cover the cost of one of the tickets, Glad I kept 2 bottles of 96 back, they're now worth a fortune 🙂

We're very much Singapore / Cathay these days into NAIA and the wife is soon going to be reverting to 6 months UK 6  months RP. We used ti upgrade with points but the distance is getting bigger and the cost more expensive.

Clark is the better option of the two Airports though.

[Stillearly]

Just had an email from EVA offering me the chance to bid to upgrade my flight from Premium to Business ... but the lowest amount it will accept is €893 ( £770 ) , but apparently there is a "poor" chance it will be accepted .. this is only for the LDN - BKK leg ... if it was £500 I would probably do it .. going to speak to a friend I know upgraded to see how much he paid 🤷‍♂️

any one else done it and been accepted? 

[Bazle]

3 hours ago, Stillearly said:

Just had an email from EVA offering me the chance to bid to upgrade my flight from Premium to Business ... but the lowest amount it will accept is €893 ( £770 ) , but apparently there is a "poor" chance it will be accepted .. this is only for the LDN - BKK leg ... if it was £500 I would probably do it .. going to speak to a friend I know upgraded to see how much he paid 🤷‍♂️

any one else done it and been accepted? 

I had similar emails but my reaction was the same as yours. 

There are 56 Premium Economy seats. On my recent trip, on the outward journey 14 of those were occupied, and on the return journey 17. I really didn't think I would have been much better off in Business. 

[Derek Dangleberries]

2 hours ago, Bazle said:

There are 56 Premium Economy seats. On my recent trip, on the outward journey 14 of those were occupied, and on the return journey 17. I really didn't think I would have been much better off in Business. 

Thanks for this info mate......... .At the moment Finnair and EVA  are neck and neck approaching the final turn before the long run in ... EVA maybe a nose in front ......