moneypenny20

Which guys?

phat-dave

no sorry mate, only 92 pages of jokes in this thread....

come back later hopefully someone may post their positive experiences.

moneypenny20

keefymonster

I spose I asked for that

I meant with LifeMiles

anawanahuanana

Hey guys. About to do the deed and book some flights for my Mum to come out to BNE and was just wondering if anyone has done the same and can advise:
Routing will be LHR-BKK on TG911 and BKK-BNE on TG473. This involves an 18 hour stopover between flights but I assume the bags will be tagged right through to BNE when she boards at LHR. Can anyone confirm if this is the case or is 18 hours not considered a connection by Thai and she will have to reclaim her bags then check them in again? I thought most airlines were 24 hours but not sure. Of course, I could phone Thai but I like the personal experiences of people who have done it over someone in a office that may not be giving me the right answer (had that before!). Going back is a 17 hour stop so that should be the same.

While I'm here, does anyone have a recommendation for a hotel at the airport she can go get a sleep and shower in during this time? She does not want to travel into Bangkok city, just stay as local to the terminal as possible.
Thanks in advance.

nic75

Not sure about the situ re cases as we had an arranged stopover and picked up our suitcases but I can recommend the Novotel at the airport. It's a couple of minutes walk, and we managed to get a Club room on special offer, but if your mum is travelling alone then the free drinks and canapes won't appeal but we really enjoyed it and there was so much on offer that we didn't need dinner. The hotel does have a few shops you can pass some time walking round and a lovely coffeee shop right in the middle of the very grand atrium that sold delicious cakes. I'm sure she would enjoy it.
Cheers

bcworld

Bags can be checked through for a long connection like that.

It is not cheap in comparison to some of the nearby off airport hotels but she should stay at the Novotel BKK Airport:

http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-6183...rt/index.shtml

It is right at the airport...and you can walk through a tunnel to get to it...but they will think you are a bit odd if you decide to do that and will instead pick you up at the terminal door and drive you around to the hotel reception.

The good thing about the hotel is that it has a 24 hour stay policy. Meaning you get 24 hours from the time you check in...there are no fixed check in / check out times...this would be perfect for your mum. She could obviously have meals at the hotel, which would be somewhat pricey I imagine...or walk back over to the airport and find something there.

anawanahuanana

Thanks nic and bc! Normally I don't worry about stuff like this (having worked in the airline indistry all my working life) but my Mum absolutely hates flying (even more so now she is a widow and has to do it alone) and so I am trying to make the whole experience as painless as possible. Personally I like time between flights to get a sleep and a shower but seeing as I'm on standby almost every flight I take, you have to get on whatever you can, when you can!
Thanks again.

KJCherokee

Are you booking business class using miles or paying cash for economy? If she is travelling business, Thai have Royal Silk lounge on Concourse C at Suvarnabhumi which has 'slumber rooms' - haven't tried them out myself so can't say what they are like, but for a few hours kip they avoid having to pay for a hotel.

bcworld

Definitely the Novotel then. Anything else 'local' involves getting picked up and driven off the airport. There are cheap deals to be had and decent non chain hotels but your mum might not feel comfortable in the area etc. You absolutely know what you're getting with the Novotel.

Very little point shopping around for it by the way as the price seems pretty much fixed...I did eventually book it on it's own website for a discounted A$100 ish. inc tax.

bcworld

Officially I think the slumber rooms are closed for a few hours overnight although some people report sleeping there...availability wouldn't be guaranteed.

Oh, one other thing anawanahuanana, US will likely ticket this as a straight through connection. However if mum goes to the hotel she will likely have to pay 700B departure tax when she checks in again as US will not have collected this. It's perfectly legit but she should have some Thai baht available for this if asked.

anawanahuanana

Novotel it is then. She's coming in business on Dividend Miles but I reckon 18 hours for a slumber room might be pushing her luck a little! Thanks for the tax tip bc. Will pass it along.

bcworld

At the F check in I just sat and waited and they sent someone to pay it for me and bring me the receipt. Not sure what will happen at J check in.

anawanahuanana

Doubt they'll send someone for J class! Saying that, I would expect that she gets a boarding card for the BKK-BNE leg when she checks in at LHR so surely she doesn't have to go to the check in desk as she'll go straight to departures? I would expect the departure tax to be paid when she goes through passport control.

bcworld

No, there is a place where you pay it in the main concourse.

My understanding is that if you are trying to pass through land side - air side checkpoint they check your BP for a stamp that indicates the dep tax is paid - if your BP was issued at LHR it won't have that stamp.

However this is Thailand and not everyone gets sent back to pay the tax...but definitely a good idea to have the cash in case it happens.