 |
Thai Airways
by shoe_gal_84
So, I'm recently back from a honeymoon in Thailand and our flights were originally booked with Eva Air. One day, I received a phone call to say that Eva Air had cancelled their flight that day, and our travel agent was able to transfer us over to Thai Airways flights (and we got £300 back!). So we were already pleased with this decision ... before we flew.
We were flying from London Heathrow and arrived at the airport incredibly early as we overestimated how long it would take us to get there. Luckily, the Thai airways check-in desk was open more than 3 hours before the flight and we were able to check in early and get rid of our baggage! Once we were at the gate, boarding was quick and efficient and we took off on time (amazing!).
The seats were pretty comfortable and the seat pitch was fairly generous. The leg room was ok for me, but then I have fairly short legs! I wouldn't to have wanted to do the flight with someone infront having reclined their seat, but luckily I didn't have to worry about this. You had a blanket and pillow waiting for you on your seat, which was a nice touch.
Shortly after take off, we were offered warm hand towels, which I thought was a lovely touch. We were then brought a packet of peanuts along with our menu choices for the flight. The staff were dressed in Thai clothing and were all so polite and helpful, they literally couldn't do enough for you.
We were offered regular drinks (alcoholic or soft) and 2 meals whilst on board. We had a 9:30pm flight, so had dinner and breakfast. There were 2 meat options for all meals and an additional veggie option too. My new husband wasn't too keen on either of the meat options and they were incredibly accommodating and said that he could have the option from First Class if he wanted. The food was pretty good for aeroplane food and I really liked that they seemed to have a British option as well as a Thai option. It seemed as though there was really something for everyone.
The plane we were on was one of the upgraded ones and we had seat-back TVs, which were a god-send! We had access to loads of films (including newer ones like The Muppets, Mission Impossible 4, Sherlock Holmes 2 as well as some classics like The Notebook and Grease!). There were also TV programmes, all nicely arranged by category, which seemed to have everything from comedies to documentaries. There were also a wide range of music albums that you could listen to, and there was even the option to put together your own playlist, which I thought was fab! You could also play games on the system - I did get quite addicted to a few, but they certainly made the time go quickly. There is also the option to have a look at the maps to see where the plane is currently, and get stats on the flight (height, speed, time to destination, etc). It was also possible to view a camera on the bottom of the plane which was fascinating for take off and landing.
Our flight home was equally as impressive, with us receiving lunch and dinner this time. The food was fantastic, once again. The staff were great and they really helped to make the flight more pleasant.
It was 12 hours each way from London to Bangkok, and it was the longest flight that either of us have ever been on. We found that the Thai Airways cabin crew really put everything that they could into making it a pleasant flight. We witnessed several passengers asking for extra food or drink inbetween the meals, and their requests were always catered to quickly, with a smile.
So, overall, I would thoroughly recommend Thai Airways to anyone. They are reasonably priced, friendly and the planes seem to have great facilties. We would happily fly with them again.
Read the complete review |
 |
Orenburg Air
by Igor K
I had to fly from Minsk to Orenburg via Moscow (Domodedovo) in May - June 2012. The connection from Minsk to Moscow was done by S7 (Siberian) airlines, and that was perfect - no problems, new plane, friendly stuards. However OrenAir flights (which S7 uses on this part of the route) were full of troubles.
First, flight Moscow ... - Orenburg was delayed for 2 hours, because they decided to merge two flights into one. Plane was packed, and pretty tight to sit in. Landing in Orenburg was terrible - we almost fall on the ground (they use Boeing 737 on this route). Everyone was quite scared.
On the way back - another trouble: we had even less luggage than on the way to Orenburg, however they claim we have extra luggage - more than 16 kg! They changed rules so that cabin luggage counts to the total weight (which is 20kg per passenger) - so untypical!!!. In the result our 2 pieces by 8kg that we took into cabin were charged almost $70 for overweight.
I heard that Lufthansa is making flights to Orenburg these days. Going to try in next time.
Read the complete review |
 |
Shenzhen Airlines
by kerrycwy
There are currently many airlines based in China which operate both domestic and international flights and Shenzhen Airlines is one of them. I have recently traveled with Shenzhen Airlines and was happy with the service it provided. The flight was from Taiyuan to Shenzhen (both cities in China) and lasted for about 3 hours. I will ... briefly talk about the services provided in the plane which maybe of use to you if you are traveling with them in the future.
Food and beverages
A wide range of drinks were served during the flight. If you opt for something cold, you can choose to have soft drinks and juices. If you would like something hot, then you could go for Chinese tea or coffee.
I boarded the flight at around 18:30 and dinner was served during the flight. You could have a choice of chicken or fish, both cooked in Chinese style. If you don't like Chinese food, maybe you should consider ordering some other types of meals in advance. The taste of the dinner was not particularly delicious but not bad either.
In-flight entertainment
No individual in-flight entertainment system was available for this flight. There were a few televisions which show some advertisements and a programme produced by Shenzhen airlines itself. The programme was quite good and it talked about the wedding culture of the minorities in China. An in-flight magazine was also provided. The content of it was also well-written and it was a good read during the flight. However, the downside was that all of the above were all in Chinese.
In case if you are thinking of bringing your own electronic devices to listen to the music or watch some videos, you may want to bring something else, like a good book to read. It is because electronic devices were prohibited to be used during all domestic flights (by the China government). Even if you have your mobile phone or ipod switched to the airplane mode, it is still not allowed. Shenzhen Airlines is quite strict on this point and you will be asked to switch the electronic devices off once being seen by the flight attendants.
Overall, I was pretty happy with this flight and would definitely fly with Shenzhen Airlines in the future.
Read the complete review |
