Blech! Early morning departure from BKK
 

So now that Thai Air has pulled the rug out from under us and we now depart back to LAX on Sunday at 7:30 AM (as opposed to 7:30 PM) I need some advice.

My better half is suggesting we just ditch the hotel we have reserved for Friday night in BKK. The rationale being threefold: (1) we have to check in for our flight at least by 4:30 AM, (2) the less we sleep that night, the more we'll sleep on the flight back and (3) obviously the cost savings.

For those of you with more experience with the 'oh no they didn't' departure time, what are your suggestions?

Ooops. I meant the hotel we reserved for SATURDAY night.

Let me amend my original post yet again.

Another idea I had was that we could go out that night (and party it up, Bangkok-style) til about 2 AM, head to the airport and hang out in the Royal Silk Lounge until it's time to board.

Could we even check-in for our flight that early?

usually the checkins don't open up until about 2 hours before flight time...

i would keep the hotel....have a fantastic dinner and order the car for early.....for our 6 o'clock flights we do the following....

3AM wake up
quick showers--forget your hair billy!!
3:10 breakfast delivery---we eat some and take some with us for the airport, including cold hard boiled eggs...
3:20 bellman for suitcases
3:30 limo to airport

that is for the 6 AM flight....

we always have plenty of time for checkin---VAT refunds, which are even easier now at this airport, etc, etc...

I always stay in Bangkok that last night before my 6:40 am flight. The check-in counter for United opens up about 2 hours before the flight. Your hotel will offer to pack you a breakfast to take along.

I doubt that you could check in at 2 am for a 7:30 am flight. Although, if you are flying biz on Thai, they might check you in whenever as long as their check-in desks are open. Perhaps one of the locals knows if the Thai check in desks are open all night and if they would check you in that early.

... well, the early morning Bangkok departure ... (such sweet parting sorrow) ...

... too bad you're not flying TG676 F to NRT, nor TG600 F to HKG (two of my all-time TG F business/pleasure travel favourites) ... Reason: access to TG's rather fine Royal First Lounge Spa, open ~ 05:15 and replete with sweet masseuses, and yes, 'tubs' big enough for two ... (young, petite women, always welcome - do monitor the priceless 'Fodorite Calendar' for breathless updates) ...

... funds willing, spend your final hours at the Oriental or Peninsula (deepest apologies for not revealing our favourite rooms/suites), slip out ~ 04:30, and do the TG Royal Silk Lounge routine ... (and savour those gorgeous Thai hostesses, gliding by, in their flowing, full-length, shimmering Thai gowns ... (including one, who has such a sweet 'page-boy' style) ...

macintosh (robert)


... our service makes it - smooth as silk ...

Are you flying Biz or Eco? Why do you need to check out at 4:30? You're flight's at 7:30, you don't need to be at the airport until 6:00, so you could check out at 5:30. It takes less than 30 minutes to get to the airport, especially on the weekend.

The Royal Orchid Lounge opens at 5am.

Flying in Biz.

I don't really want to get there at 4 AM (although didn't it used to be 3 hr. int'l. check-in or is that just in the US?)--just figured if the lounge and check-in were open all-night, it might be worth it to scrap the hotel that night, get a late night in the city and head to the airport for some lounging lounge time. ;)

Thanks for the info, Bisbee. Either way, if the lounge opens at 5, then I'll probably check-in at 5. Sounds like we're keeping the hotel, given all this info.

And thanks Robert/Oksena for cracking me up yet again. :)

If you're flying Thai, you can check-in in Bangkok whenever you feel like it. So, yes you could check-inn at 2:00 am - probably. I've never tried it, but I have checked in 4 hours before a flight. You can check-in for ay flight at any time. It's not like other airlines, which may only have one or two flights out of BKK. Thai has flights at all hours.

I'm not saying my way works for everyone, but that's how I always do it (I fly in/out of BKK 20+ times/year). Some people like to get there early. I like to sleep as I'm usually out late the night before :) That's the main reason I'll be missing TG794.

Michael,

You've got me curious so I've just called Thai reservation and here's what they told me:

All check-in counters at BKK will close at 1.00 AM and will reopen again at 4.30 AM. You can not check in at 12.59 AM for a 7.30 AM flight.

If you are flying Thai business class on a Sunday morning, then (i) there will be <u>no</u> traffic to get to the airport and (ii) you will have your own Immigration counter at the Thai business class area so there will be <i>no line</i> for Immigration (which can sometimes be an issue). I was in Bangkok 3 weeks ago and departed on a Sunday morning on Thai Airways business class. It took me 20 minute to get to the airport, 5 minutes to check in and 2 minutes to get through Immigration. Therefore, with a 7:30 am departure, IMO you do not need to leave for the airport until about 6 am, if you are the worrier type you could leave at 5:30 am. I would get a hotel room the night before.

I am in Thailand now and have a Thai business flight out next Thursday morning at 8 am, and even with a weekday flight, I am not going to leave for the airport before 6 am, as the private Immigration makes all the difference.

Even with economy, you don’t have to be there 3 hours before your flight. Don’t know where you got that idea.

I agree with the above posters that say if you are in Biz, there's no time problem. Do get a hotel room for the last night. If for no other reason, you'll want a shower before the long trip home. And if you are a bit tired when you awaken, it will be that much easier to sleep on the plane.

Book a hotel and get up early. We've done this each time and it works. If you stay out all night, it will be like adding extra time to the flight. Plus, you're only going to LA, not the East Coast with 28 hours of flying.

C'mon Andy be a sport and lend Will your Gulfstream.

I'm always flying before 7 am on the BKK to NRT (UA) flight. I set the alarm for 4:00 and try to be out the door by about 4:45. I am a premier exec flier with UA so I get to check in at the first-class (star alliance gold) counter. That saves me time. If one is in the econ line, it can be long and slow sometimes. Keep your hotel room. I agree with everyone on that idea.
Carol

(Andy, why not let all us fodorites borrow the Gulfstream... we can have a GTG on board.. lol)

Cicerone, I got that idea from the fact that in the US, you are told you must check-in at least 3 hours prior to an international departure.

Now I'm aware you don't HAVE to, but that's the recommended time. That's where that came from.

I always keep my apartment or hotel room the night before the early flight. I need my sleep. And I've never been a morning person, so going back to this old flight schedule is going to be a killer for me. I'm going to arrive home totally exhausted.
Also, my apartment building would always let me keep the apartment until I decided to leave for the 7:30PM flight and they wouldn't charge me extra although they were supposed to.
So, that gave me a whole day to run around BK in and then go back to the apartment and grab the bags and head to the airport. That's what I did last December when I met robbietravels and her husband early in the morning, at the Four Seasons, on my departure day and took them around to some places in BKK and was still able to get back to the apartment, nap, eat, and then go to the airport. Happy Travels!

Yes keep your hotel room but change the hotel to the Novotel at the airport- this is a very nice hotel and they have a shuttle to take you to the airport a couple of minutes away as the hotel is at the airport. We did this on our arrival and departure days for our last trip to BKK and it worked out great.
This way you can sleep in a bit later and not have worry about any traffic getting to the airport.

Will, I know you are over on flyertalk also, they had a big thread about this same thing awhile back. I think the FT'ers are a younger group and a lot of them said to stay up and party till its flight time!

We are heading back to bkk next year, and if my ex doesn't let my 9 year old son come with us, we r going to stay up with no hotel. My wife and I have to work 24 hours on when we are on call, so staying up isn't a problem! But, the wife is much better st this than me, since she gets to deliver babies all night and I get old dudes with enlarged prostates!

I'd say to party like its 1999, take a quick shower and zoom out to the airport. You'll feel like poop the two hours in the airport, but you'll sleep like a baby on the plane.

travel, i did a search and can't find it--if you happen to uncover the thread, would you mind posting it? thanks for the info!

mango, you got it! only problem is I'm a very OLD 34. I'm usually in bed by 10. But you sentiment is exactly what I was thinking: wear myself out so I am comatose for the flight home.

The only real argument for keeping the hotel at this point is that it's an SPG reward and if we cancel, we're just banking points we won't really use anytime soon. So nothing really gained or lost IMO.

That 3-hour rule is like the 55 mph speed limit - a suggestion. I think it was designed to give forgetful people enough time to go back to their home/hotel to get their passport and get back in time to make the flight.

I thought the 3 hour rule was something that was encouraged after 9/11 due to the new cumbersome security screenings. I think the current recommendation is for 2 hours ahed of time for international flights.

You're probably right. But with the midday lines at Tom Bradley at LAX, I'll be getting there at least 3 hours early. Not only are we blessed with one of of the ugliest international terminals, but we also get the honor of having one of the most jam-packed.

I understand. At least flying back from Bangkok things will be quick. Flying Biz on Thai gets you all kinds of perks. I love the fact that they come out to your car and get your luggage, zip you through check-in and fast track you through passport control (no wait!).

Interesting. I didn't know that. How do they know to come get your luggage? Is there a dedicated drop-off area for Royal Silk at Suvarnabhumi that we'd need to let our taxi driver know about?

The curbside porterage is suppose to be for first class AND Kathie only but sometime they will take care of some business class passenger as well.

FYI: http://www.thaiair.com/Travel_Destin...rt_checkin.htm

lol Hanuman

There is a dedicated drop off area for Royal Silk. Hopefully, they will recognize youn as a Fodorite who deserves first class service.

Better hope that Filmwill does not get the service he deserves. He's hoping for much better.

... so love airline threads with &quot;legs&quot;, as now, yours truly, will use the opportunity, to inform you fine forumers that a certain Singaporean airline has a small, sweet BKK Silver Kris Lounge, Level 3, Concourse A. (And yes, open early for those flying SQ971 - a rather fine flight to SIN - occasionally flown by the SQ-forever wife and her lesser half.)

... as noted, two hours more than enough for checking out of The Land of Smiles. (But when I'm flying TG First ex-BKK to either HKG or NRT, it's three hours: I'm hopelessly addicted to those languid, private, full-body massages, showers and baths at the Royal First Spa - and a certain masseuse.)

... (And should any of you be flying TG First NRT-BKK-NRT anytime soon: check out the colour of the &quot;pajamas&quot; given out in F - as of a few weeks back, the same exact periwinkle colour worn by a certain charming lobby hostess at the Peninsula Bangkok. (And one of the TG FAs working 677 F out of NRT is such a stunner, and a comedian to boot. I'll be doing this exact flight/class in a few days; hope it's just as fine.) ...

... (And, as you probably know: flying TG F into BKK, well, you get the airside greeting, the ride in the little yellow electric &quot;golf cart&quot; to the &quot;diplomat&quot; immigration folks, and then, yes, late-night, in-room massage treatments at fine, friendly hotels) ... (If feeling adventurous, check out &quot;macintosh&quot; over on tripadvisor for a more detailed review of TG's sweet BKK F services - can assure you, all the pre-mrs. m naughty posts are long, long, gone, archived forever on bangkoktonight and a few other upscale adult travel sites) ...

... now, this for the OP, filmwill; you mentioned using SPG points: the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, perchance? If so, let me know; I have certain all-time cherished rooms and suites. (Before meeting mrs. m, the SGS was my favourite BKK business travel hotel. Such a joyous, friendly place, at the centre of a certain universe.)

... as always sweet and smooth (SQ/TG) rides to all of you ... (and happy 08.08.08 - yes, one of mrs. m's good &quot;crew&quot; friends is tying the knot today) ...

macintosh


... &quot;you are so kind&quot; ...

(TG BKK Royal First Spa, _ August 2008)

Flimwill- Why are you an &quot;old&quot; 34?? You are still very young and you don't realize!

mr. macintosh, you guessed correct! we've booked a deluxe room although I don't think I'll be partaking of any in-room massages ;) I'll leave those to you.

mango, yes I realize in theory I'm &quot;young&quot; but, honestly, I'm quite boring...really. :)

Many of us are quite boring, really. It's only those rare breeds like AO who live the life of excitement, exotic travels, deluxe to the max... first class all the way...

... &quot;the life of excitement, exotic travels, deluxe to the max... first class all the way...&quot; ...

... (are we talkin' a certain Singapore Girl, or what) ...

... well, seriously (and just between us): I have never once parted with personal funds to fly business, much less first ... (so hope this little professional gig lasts a few more years, for the sake of our mortgages in BKK, SIN, and SFO and anticipated Cost Centres) ... (and, for all of you out there: do manage your miles/alliances carefully; who knows, SQ F for free - with yes, those Girls) ...

... now, back to Will, and your stay at the SGS, the centre of the known universe ... do try to make time for evening drinks in The Living Room, a marvelous venue for jazz. (My all-time favourite: the Randy Cannon Trio, with Khun &quot;Nong Pong&quot; on bass, and the skeletal Chris Sweeney on drums. And it gets better: some of the most gorgeous and gracious waitresses in the world, gliding by, in flowing, full-length, evening gowns. (Including my all-time cherished Bangkok waitress, the one, the only one, who will forever remind me, of the ethereal, Zhang Ziyi.) ... (I will be back at the SGS for a meeting next week, but if you think of it, do send my regards to Khun 'Pat', and yes, Khun 'J'.)

... could go on with more exquisite SGS tips, but perhaps not, on this fine family friendly site ...

... as always, savour your tender Thai times - with Angels...

macintosh (robert)


... &quot;you are my last boyfriend, before I fly to London and get married&quot; ...

(Suite 2___, SGS, November 200_)