CFW

We are using up a ton of frequent flyer miles to fly business class to BKK in February -- via Taipei since there were no other better routes available on our Delta FF program even though we started trying to book 11 months in advance as soon as flights were being sold. Now we are thinking about paying for our tickets (gasp!) and flying non-stop on Thai. I plan on flying premium economy, but my husband who is tall & has a bad back likes the lie-flat seats in business class. Anyone know about any consolidators or discounters for business class on Thai air?

JamesA

Others will know this as many have already used the Thai non stop. But from where are you originating and what time of year? That will affect the fare.
You could start with 800-426-5204 and see if they have any special promotions.

glorialf

Did you check Malaysian Air when you checked Delta? It's not a great route but the airline is incredible and they usually have good ff deals and availability.

rhkkmk

also try air france using delta miles...

CFW

Thanks, Bob. We keep trying but Air France does not have any available business class seats. We already have FF tickets using China Air, but it has two stops - Anchorage & Taipei & uses lots of miles. Malaysia Air also has too many stops. There really are no direct FF options so we were thinking about biting the bullet & paying for tickets on Thai because it is a short (everything is relative!) non-stop option to get to BKK before travelling on to Yangon. Any tips for discount business class flights on Thai? Thai Air isn't offering anything for February but mayber there is a consolidator or travel agent that has something to offer?

glorialf

Malaysia Air does have a lot of stops but I arrived in Bangkok more rested than after any other flight including the non-stop Thai flight. It's that good. Coming back we stayed overnight in KL which was also fun. You can probably fly first class for not many more miles than business. Both classes are wonderful. I would do it again in a minute. On the other hand I would never fly Air France again if I could avoid it.

CFW

Gloria, SOunds wonderful, but although we can earn miles on Malaysia Air & apply to Delta FF, we cannot use Delta FF miles to fly Malaysia Air, so that is not an option, and because of time constraints we really are looking to fly non-stop on Thai.

glorialf

CFW-- check one more time. I have used Delta miles for Malaysian a couple of times -- most recently a year ago.

JamesA

If you are flying from east Coast have a look at Emirates, 3 flights a day from JFk to Dubai, 2 are non stops on their long range A-340-500 and one is regular 777 stops in Hamburg.
Between Dubai and bangkok it's 3 to 4 per day, that is regular 777 or A-330, I don't know about ex USA but certainly in Asia and down under you can get very good deals from agents for Business Class.
Again if from East Coast you can try Turkish, Finnair, Scandinavian, all heavily discount from this direction.
if from West Coast try maybe ANA, Asiana or even china Eastern via Shanghai.

CFW

Thanks, everyone. Really what we are looking for are discounts on Thai's non-stop flight in business class. Has anyone heard of or used Air Brokers? And if so, are they reliable?

KimJapan

I know Airbrokers. They've been around for at least 15 years, as 15 years ago my friend used them for his around the world ticket. It was fine. After his experience, I used them for 2 unusual itinaries in Europe. This was in the age of paper tickets, and wouldn't you know it on the first leg of the ticket, my ticket was fine and my companions was not - his ticket was completely invalid for some reason...never found out why. We ended up having to buy an entirely new ticket at walk up prices from Athens to Boston for him. Airbrokers were no help with sorting out the problem at all, even though we called them many times. In the end, I had to contest the charge with American Express.

All that said, I would use them again now. There are very few bad reports, and we are one of them. However, a lot of time has passed and they are still in business. Now you can check and verify your own itineary easily online for both paper and electronic tickets. Electronic tickets are more the norm.

Their pricing is all over the place. I've looked at their website many times and had them price out some itineraries for us, but we've never bought in the end as I've been able to find better myself. Their business class deals might be good though.

So, yes I'd use them. I'd pay with a credit card. I'd verify my itinerary myself. And I'd check pricing carefully.

rhkkmk

carole....how about seeing if eddie can get you a discount?? [email protected]

in the sunday papers in the travel section there are always very small ads for "brokers"....many use them with success....

Cicerone

First of all, so you make sure you get what you want, make sure that the business class seats on the airlines you are considering are in fact the flat beds, or make sure what you mean by "flat bed". The true flat bed seat found in business class in British Air and Virgin Atlantic are not available in business class on many other airlines, even the wonderful Emirates and Singapore Airlines. In most carriers to Asia in my experience, the true flat bed seats are usually only available in FIRST CLASS. I believe this is the case for Thai, and I think for Malaysia Air. It would really be awful to pay for a seat that you aren't in fact getting. A business class seat is certainly fine and much, much better than an economy seat, but if a flat bed is important to you, you need to make sure you get one.

Secondly, have you considered buying a coach ticket that is upgradeable using miles? I think you may find that there are more seats available for upgrades than for totally free seats. You might want to check this out. If you can be a bit flexible with your dates (i.e. fly out Tuesdays and Wednesdays which are not popular for business travel) you may find more seats available as well.

CFW

Thanks, everyone. Bob, I sent Eddie an e-mail, and am waiting to hear back. Meantime, I'll check out Airbrokers.

dkerr99

Cathay Pacific has a 2 for 1 business class promotion from canada to most of their destinations if you travel through Hong Kong - not sure where you are coming from but may be worth checking. Its still expensive ($4000 CDN at half price vs about $1650 Economy)