thanks to everyone for their suggestions on flights. Now I have it narrowed down to 2: Thai Air non stop for $1150 or United for $1000 with one stop. Does anyone think one airline is better than the other,etc? I notice Thai flies airbus while US carriers fly Boeing planes. Also, is this something I should be booking asap (for mid Jan flight) or do fares come down/fluctuate? cheers!

I would take the non-stop on Thai. For the extra $$ you will have more room between seats in economy than United and a shorter trip. The Thai A340-500 is brand new with great in-flight entertainment. The United Boeing 777's and 747's are kind of "tired". Service probably won't be great on either airline in economy.

I am a very frequent United flier, so for me there would be only once choice. That said, I think Thai is an excellent airline. I use them in Thailand all the time, for flights to Phuket and Chiang Mai. These are short flights of about one hour.

For me, any Airbus seat is extremely painful on my back. I don't know what the design problem is, but for me, the seats are not at all comfortable. I have yet to find a solution, pillowise, to make the seat feel any better. I was on an Airbus 320 just a couple of days ago, on a 2 1/2 hour flight, and got off the plane with nasty back pain. OUCH! I know I could not stand that extremely long Thai airbus flight from NYC to BKK.

But, if you have been on Airbuses before, and if the Airbus seats are comfortable for you, then take the Thai flight and avoid a stop along the way!!

I don't think the prices on Thai have fluctuated very much since JFK-BKK was introduced. They have cut back from 7 days a week to 4 though.

this is without question the easiest question ever asked. Thai without question. Service is 1000 times better and on this flight the seats in economy are just about the best anywhere. Plus it is a MUCH shorter flight. And, yes, you should be booking it ASAP.

The JFK-BKK Thai flight has recently received a couple of bad reviews on its service in business class - I assume service in economy would be worse. United was never much good in economy but service on my last 3 trips in business class have been ok.

The main reason to take the Thai flight is the difference in economy seat pitch: 36" on Thai versus 31" on United.

I wrote a mixed review on Thai's business class (probably one of those to which Craig refers). In every conceivable respect, Thai is better than United: service, food, and especially seat comfort.

i just got an offer from united for extra miles through jan i think....you might check it out with them....the offer just came this AM...if you send me your e mail i will forward it to you asap

[email protected]

travelgirl72
I just flew Thai from Bangkok to JFK today! Here's my first hand take on the flight and service, it was a great flight and I would highly recommend it.

Seats: Have to agree with Craig on the Premium Economy which I took. It was comfortable and sorry to hear Carol has trouble with the seats. One of my travel companions has a back problem and was very concerned about the flight but had no problem at all in regular economy. They give you nice pillows and blankets and if there are empty seats you can grab the extras and surround yourself like I did.

Meal Service: The food was much better than I expected after reading some previous posts. JFK/BKK - Not long after take off they bring you a hot towel, then beverange (including a selection of mixed drinks & wine). The first meal service was a salad, choice of main course (roast duck in Thai redd Curry or Grilled Salmon with lime butter), roll, cheese, fresh fruits, dessert. Second serving is a similar type meal. Meals are served with choice of red or white wine and finished with an offering of Cognac. At the end of the flight a third light serving is offered small sandwich or noodle soup.

BKK/JFK a light meal is served shortly after take off, with second and third servings of full meals later in the flight.

I thought for the most part that the food was good for airline food and was nicely presented with more silverware that anyone could possibly use, linen napkins and real dishes. The food on the domestic flights though was box lunches and they weren't as good IMHO.

In flight entertainment: Once you figure out how to use the remote for your personal screen, there are lots of choices of new, not quite as new and classic movies as well as lots of music, TV shows and general programing. More than enough selection to keep you busy for the 17+ hour flight.

Never having been on a single flight for that long, I brought lots of books, and a goodie bag of things to keep myself amused (cards, crosswords etc) but never used any of them.

I can't speak for the United service, but the non stop is great and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Maybe not tomorrow, I'll still be sleeping

Hope that helps.

This is a no brainer! United (or virtually any US airline) comes up way short versus Thai (or virtually any Asian airline). Spend the extra $$$. We flew back from BKK on the Thai nonstop in business class and, yes, it was not quite as nice as Singapore's nonstop which took over, but it was still great. Our four children, who flew in the back of the bus, all rated Thai better than Singapore.

I am happy to hear that Thai in Premium Economy has both the pitch of the seats and I know width of the seats offer a few extra inches-not much-but it is something for a restfull night sleep from 6-11/midnight NY time. I should not consume much food or liquor anyway to help handle with the jet lag. Also,the non-stop shaves slightly less than 4 hours off the portal-to-portal trip.
While I booked my trip in June for March 2006 I paid $1320USD for Premium Economy. Business Class was in the range of $5000USD.

We just came back from BKK, on the JFK-BKK flight with PE seats. 123go's description is excellent.

I checked the prices on Thai many times, and they fluctuate. But prices go up close to the departure day, even though there are many seats unsold.

What I can add here is that when you get to the airport counter, you can ask about an upgrade to PE or business. When I asked about an upgrade from PE to business, I was told $1300 each way. The total would have come out to less than the business fare listed on the Thai site. But we did not feel like paying the extra $2600/person.

So it may be interesting to ask for the upgrade price from regular to premium econony. If it is less than $500 RT, consider it a good buy.

Incidently, when we got to the airport in BKK, the clerk told us that the plane was full. The truth was that it was half empty. The moral is that you can't believe everything the clerks say.

hi! I love the Thai airlines direct flight jfk-BKK, especially on PREMIUM ecoonomy! Definately the best option for the price, comfort, service and a nice slice of Thai-life en route! sawadeeka!