scfphoto

I have not heard of this Airline before. They have very good fares to BKK through Taipei. They also offer a premium coach class. Is it worth the extra $. Also how does it compare to Thai Airways premium economy class which is quite a bit more expensive but a non-stop flight.

BillT

I have flown them twice in their Evergreen deluxe class. Once to Bangkok and once to Manila. Yes its worth it if the difference between regular coach and deluxe is about $200. I am 6'2" and the extra legroom makes a big difference. We are also Continental FF members and EVA gives us Continental FF miles so that is good also. Service is better, food maybe about the same.
Seat back video, amenity kits, 2 by 4 by 2 seating. Layover in Taipei is about 2-3 hours so that is a negative but in our opinion not a big issue. Also it gets you in at a decent hour.

BillT

Do a comparison on:

1) Cost of each for their premium coach class.
2) FF miles- too many miles to give up so you want to weigh this factor accordingly.
3) Service- both are Asian airlines so that might be a tie!
4) Stop overs, time of arrival etc.

rkkwan

Big difference in travel time if you're leaving from the NY area. 17 hours on TG; 25+ on BR for EWR-SEA-TPE-BKK.

From LAX, it's 17hr vs 21.

scfphoto

We would be flying from LAX in November. I am using a Mac and can not get the fare prices on Thai Airways web site. Need Esplorer 6.0+ or something.How much is their premium coach fares?

BELLE0516

Sorry for hijacking your post! I have a question as well. How's economy on EVA? Is it tolerable? I found a real cheap fare from IAH to BKK.

How about China-airlines? WOuld you recommend EVA or china Airlines? Thanks!

rkkwan

BELLE0516 - From Houston, China Airlines (CI) fly 4 times a week IAH-SEA-TPE; on the outbound you don't need to get of the plane at Seattle.

If you fly EVA (BR), you get multiple daily service via a connection at LAX or SFO. But you'll need to transfer from Continental over to the BR. The return entry at SEA will also be less crowded than LAX/SFO.

Besides, CI's 340 on the IAH-SEA-TPE route has personal video screens, while BR's regular economy doesn't.

If everything else's equal, I'll take China Airlines. However, if you live in Houston, you may already have plenty of CO Onepass miles. BR is a partner and you earn 100% CO miles, and also 100% EQM from IAH to TPE. [TPE-BKK will only earn Onepass miles, not EQM.]

MichaelBKK

I have often used EVA between BKK and the US when I don't have the miles to upgrade on Thai. Deluxe class on EVA was generally about the same price (sometimes cheaper!) than regular coach on Thai. Deluxe class is more than tolerable, with a large seat, individual video display, and quite edible food.

Now that is all direct flights to the US, at quite a premium, EVA Deluxe is probably an even better deal. Frankly, the prospect of spending 17 hours on a plane is not all that inviting. Taipei isn't that great of an airport, but it's got room to breath after being cooped up on a plane for 10 - 12 hours.

BELLE0516

rkkwan- thanks for the info. I can't find a flight that goes IAH-SEA-BKK, but I did find a one stop flight. From IAH-TPE-BKK and same on return, on CI'S 340. It's way under 1k so I think it's a great deal! I also looked up info on China airlines and seems to get good reviews and voted a 4 star arline.

rkkwan

BELLE0516 - CI's flight between IAH and TPE has a stop at SEA. Therefore you'll be on one plane IAH-SEA-TPE, then transit to a different flight for TPE-BKK.

On the outbound, I don't think you need to get off the plane at SEA, and the plane is on the ground for about 2 hours. Still, it's pretty tough, as it doesn't take off until around 1am Pacific Time, or 3am Houston time. And they probably will serve another light meal afterwards. But the good thing is that if you can sleep afterwards, you wake up early in the morning in Asia.

On the way back, you clear customs/immigration at SEA, then get back on the same plane to get into IAH.

JohnH

scfphoto - to get to the Thai Airways booking page in Safari on a Mac you need to decrease the text size (view-decrease text size, or click the small 'A' on the menu bar).

It took me a while to figure that out as well.

scfphoto

Thanks for Safari tip. Web site now working for me. I cannot seem to be able to book premium economy only economy and business class shows as a selection. Also does Thai air sell multi city passes for domestic travel within Thailand? BKK to Chang Rai to Phuket to BKK again.