Phuket Thailand

dawsey · #1 14-04-2005, 04:16

This is a fairly new airline and I used them for the first time this trip.I specifically wanted a layover in Abu Dhabi as its nice to leave the plane for 1hr,stretch the legs and get the cheap duty free.Also I was staying over for a couple of days on my return.
The flight left on time on all four planes,food for economy was excellent,the planes are new Airbus A340 and 330's and they have a A380 ready to go non stop from NY to BKK soon (17hr flight) The cabin crew are very efficient,they only employ age26 and under BTW(no washed out BA hags here) and the luggage was transferred OK every time.Check-in was very quick with no queue at any airport used LGW/AUH/BKK.
I paid £560 a ticket which was quite high, I know but the stopover cost an extra £80.They fly from UK Heathrow and Gatwick every day(alternate) and I thoroughly recommend them as another alternative.IMO they will be ahead of Singapore Airways within 2yrs for customer satisfaction.
I got my flight through www.ebookers.com

mikegb · #2 14-04-2005, 05:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawsey

This is a fairly new airline and I used them for the first time this trip.I specifically wanted a layover in Abu Dhabi as its nice to leave the plane for 1hr,stretch the legs and get the cheap duty free.Also I was staying over for a couple of days on my return.
The flight left on time on all four planes,food for economy was excellent,the planes are new Airbus A340 and 330's and they have a A380 ready to go non stop from NY to BKK soon (17hr flight) The cabin crew are very efficient,they only employ age26 and under BTW(no washed out BA hags here) and the luggage was transferred OK every time.Check-in was very quick with no queue at any airport used LGW/AUH/BKK.
I paid £560 a ticket which was quite high, I know but the stopover cost an extra £80.They fly from UK Heathrow and Gatwick every day(alternate) and I thoroughly recommend them as another alternative.IMO they will be ahead of Singapore Airways within 2yrs for customer satisfaction.
I got my flight through www.ebookers.com

Hi Roger,

I hope that you never have to fly with BA again.

Those 'washed out Hags' will piss in your tea and spit in your food for sure after that little compliment

Paddy · #3 14-04-2005, 14:16

Thanks for that Dawsey. I was thinking of trying them for my next trip (end of May) as they're by far the cheapest from Abu Dhabi or Dubai. 200 quid less than Emirates!!! But I was wondering what the experience was like, so it's good to hear your thoughts. Funnily enough, I was thinking about it just before logging onto the forum, so that was great timing!

By the way, Dawsey, I know you know about www.airlinequality.com - other BMs might be interested to know about it too, as it has loads and loads of very recent consumer reports on practically every airline on Earth. Very useful!

t0rn · #4 15-04-2005, 02:49

I flew with Etihad last year to BKK - very cheap, pretty good service.
The only drawback of having young cabin crew though is that they don't really know how to deal with drunk Brits (not me!) with made for a pretty sleepless night.
Their cheapest fare from the Uk is around £350 to BKK.
Abu Dhabi airport is ok but nothing like the facilities in Dubai.
I'm surprised the stopover cost extra as usually mid-east airlines are keen to get you to visit their country.

dawsey · #5 15-04-2005, 03:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by t0rn

I flew with Etihad last year to BKK - very cheap, pretty good service.
The only drawback of having young cabin crew though is that they don't really know how to deal with drunk Brits (not me!) with made for a pretty sleepless night.
Their cheapest fare from the Uk is around £350 to BKK.
Abu Dhabi airport is ok but nothing like the facilities in Dubai.
I'm surprised the stopover cost extra as usually mid-east airlines are keen to get you to visit their country.

I agree with you that Abu Dhabi airport is far inferior to Dubai,they are now building another terminal there so it should improve.I think the reason for the higher cost was that Abu Dhabi doesn't encourage or need tourists.That is left for Dubai which IMO is not a patch on A D to visit

t0rn · #6 15-04-2005, 03:36

Both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are great for a first timer to visit but for a 2/3 day visit you need the advice of a local in what to do/see and in that I feel that DXB wins.
Having said that, despite there being more to do/see that a few years ago I think DXB has lost much of it's charm in the pursuit of money.