Bad Experience With Thai Airways (children policy)

[TravelerEastWest]

I paid months in advance for 4 seats together for the family 2 adults 2 small children on Thai Air.

I confirmed the seats.

I reconfirmed close to departure - they changed the plane without telling us and split up the family.

They did not care at all about us. I quickly bought seats on Air France - 4 together no problem.

It took me months to get a refund...

[joeaverage]

once on board, try seating the two children on their own and sit with your wife.

i give it about 20 mins before someone offers to swap seats so you can all sit together.

[Jasun]

That's terrible, they should be ashamed.

That being said, sitting with the 2 year old is going to be much tougher assignment than the baby. See if they'll compromise and at least let the toddler sit with its mother. I wouldn't be arguing if I was 'forced' to sit alone away from the chaos.

[ava15]

Ive actually yet to witness any chaos onboard numerous long haul flights as a result of toddlers being on board.

I have however witnessed angry middle eastern men offering each other fisticuffs over next to nothing and many drunken europeans shouting, slurring and even being inappropriate to cabin crew & fellow passengers.

If a toddler or infant is screaming for hours on end then I can understand. Bad parenting?

[USNret]

I would guess the wife & infant went up front since they have bassinets for newborns. The rest of you, not having reserved seats, got as they say "the cheap seats". This pretty much seems to be the policy anymore worldwide, you have to pay for anything "special" -- meaning exit row, bulkhead seats, first 6 rows, sometimes even just an aisle seat. I held out as long as possible, but finally realized by not paying extra I would always end up with the cr@p seats, assigned at check-in, middle seat between two sweaty hogs, and my wife having to sit 5 rows away. I finally caved in & now purchase the economy+ or whatever your airline chooses to call it, which lets me choose a seat at time of purchase. A brave new era we have entered!

[USNret]

once on board, try seating the two children on their own and sit with your wife.

i give it about 20 mins before someone offers to swap seats so you can all sit together.

A newborn & a 2-year-old? Yeah, that'll happen... and the parents will be charged with child endangerment.

[roiethome]

I would only ever book a flight where I can allocate the seats I want. Have been doing this for years with TG and never had a seat changed, except for upgrade to Business Class on a couple of flights.

[Skytrain2hell]

Solution: Always fly Emirates

[GrantSmith]

open the window at night time when those of us are trying to sleep.

How is that bothersome? It's at night...

The crew come and check windows during the night and will close the window if it's open and the passenger has fallen asleep, if the passenger is awake they will ask them to close it..

[Considered Opinion]

Why not just sell the kids? There may be Middle Eastern people on board.

[johnlandy]

If you selected the seats at time of booking I can understand how you feel. Though of course the airline reserves the right to move you around if they deem it necessary. As for first/business class - your tickets would have cost more if it wasn't for these passengers.

TG has long been a 3rd world airline with policies, pricing and service to match.

[NoshowJones]

If you selected the seats at time of booking I can understand how you feel. Though of course the airline reserves the right to move you around if they deem it necessary. As for first/business class - your tickets would have cost more if it wasn't for these passengers.

It's great that you can come on here and that TV allow you to tell us about your'e experience

Seats are not fixed absolutely until you check-in. A nice word with the check-in staff should net you seating together (IIRC you can't do online if you need bassinet seats).

Get to the airport early for the best chance!

Crossy you are right and, as its them that will have to deal with the consequences of my screaming kid for 12 hours if they dont, I`m pretty sure they will oblige and move us all together, regardless of "promo" sections of the plane or not.

It still doesnt excuse customer service that implies a farrang peasant like myself with a promo fare should just be happy to be on the plane at all, and not make any additional requests.

I agree it was completely out of order for Thai Airways to treat you like this, I would like to congratulate TV for letting us know about your'e experience, so us posters will know which airlines to avoid or use in future. It would also be interesting if posters could name hotels and their experiences with them good or bad.

[NoshowJones]

Seats are not fixed absolutely until you check-in. A nice word with the check-in staff should net you seating together (IIRC you can't do online if you need bassinet seats).

Get to the airport early for the best chance!

Crossy you are right and, as its them that will have to deal with the consequences of my screaming kid for 12 hours if they dont, I`m pretty sure they will oblige and move us all together, regardless of "promo" sections of the plane or not.

It still doesnt excuse customer service that implies a farrang peasant like myself with a promo fare should just be happy to be on the plane at all, and not make any additional requests.

It's a very simple fact of life, you get what you,pay for...... Pay full fare economy and have your choice of any seat, pay discounted APEX and sit where told. Your £2500 may seem like a lot of money but there are people up front paying considerably more subsidising your seat.

Anybody with any common sense would allow a family, especially those with kids to sit together.

[NoshowJones]

We have flown Thai economy several times with our child. When she was a baby, we always got bassinette seats, and when she was a toddler, we got window bulkhead seats so I had leg room, and the bub could play on the floor. The staff were always wonderful, both on the ground and in the air.

Please excuse my ignorance, I have flown between the UK and Thailand many times and I have never heard of a bassinette seat, what is it?

[aussiep]

I had 2 bad experiences with Thai International.

1. My wife and I were bumped out of business class just before boarding when some big Thai HiSO and family showed up, forcing us to economy with refund.

2. My wife asked for help in putting a bag in the overhead bin. She was told by the Thai Airline Steward that "We all have bad backs.", and walked away.

These 2 issues have melded a permanent impression in my mind of Thai's trying to run a airline.

regarding number 2. In the past I always helped people put their bags in the overhead bins but in the past few years passengers now practically drag everything on board and whereas in the past the bag may weigh only a couple of kilos now some bags weigh as much as 20kilos. "You came all the way from home, dragged your bags down the stairs to the door, put them in the trunk of the car, drove all the way to the airport, dragged them through security and all the way to your seat. Suddenly, the bags are too heavy for you to put into the overhead compartment by yourself. The deal is: you brought it, shove up there yourself or we throw it out the door and under the plane." I'm not going to throw my back out at the beginning of a flight and have to work the next 12 hours in pain.

I have a mate who worked as a flight attendant on Qantas for many years.

His answer to this overhead baggage problem was.

If your bag is too heavy to lift up to the overhead locker.

What makes you think it is not too heavy for us to lift up.

I have also followed this while on the plane. I fly on TG twice a year to BKK

aussiep

[NoshowJones]

My last long haul flight I had the luck to be sat next to an extremely drunk, smelly and chatty (worst combination ever?) middle aged man from birmingham. The chat would have been okay had it not been his desire to talk almost exclusively about "thai birds".

This was much more painful than any occasional cries ive heard from an infant in the past.

I was flying to the UK and when I sat down I as joined by a guy, and the first thing he did when he sat down was open a can of beer which he drank quite quickly, followed by another one, I approach one of the cabin crew and politely asked to have him removed, he was.

[joeaverage]

once on board, try seating the two children on their own and sit with your wife.

i give it about 20 mins before someone offers to swap seats so you can all sit together.

A newborn & a 2-year-old? Yeah, that'll happen... and the parents will be charged with child endangerment.

sigh

its not like they wouldnt be nearby, i sit my kids (1 and 3) together all the time, but that is just because it would be rude to bring them into business class.

dont knock it till you try it

Edited June 19, 2013 by joeaverage

[stevenl]

My last long haul flight I had the luck to be sat next to an extremely drunk, smelly and chatty (worst combination ever?) middle aged man from birmingham. The chat would have been okay had it not been his desire to talk almost exclusively about "thai birds".

This was much more painful than any occasional cries ive heard from an infant in the past.

I was flying to the UK and when I sat down I as joined by a guy, and the first thing he did when he sat down was open a can of beer which he drank quite quickly, followed by another one, I approach one of the cabin crew and politely asked to have him removed, he was.

Why, for drinking 2 beers?

[NoshowJones]

Solution: Always fly Emirates

Fly Emirates???? I boarded an Emirates flight at Bangkok once to go to Glasgow, and it was full of stinking sweaty people who had been on board from wherever the flight came from before it reached Bangkok. OK, maybe it was nobodys fault, but I made sure it never happened again and the flight was starting off at Bangkok.

[TeeKay]

Long haul travel is difficult at the best of times. Having your space invaded be it by a babbling drunk or a fussy child makes a poor situation noticeably worse.

[NoshowJones]

My last long haul flight I had the luck to be sat next to an extremely drunk, smelly and chatty (worst combination ever?) middle aged man from birmingham. The chat would have been okay had it not been his desire to talk almost exclusively about "thai birds".

This was much more painful than any occasional cries ive heard from an infant in the past.

I was flying to the UK and when I sat down I as joined by a guy, and the first thing he did when he sat down was open a can of beer which he drank quite quickly, followed by another one, I approach one of the cabin crew and politely asked to have him removed, he was.

Why, for drinking 2 beers?

No, but if he finished two cans of beer in the first ten minutes, how many would he have had halfway before the flight reached the UK? Would you like to sit beside man stinking of alcohol for 12 hours?

[khh]

I had 2 bad experiences with Thai International.

1. My wife and I were bumped out of business class just before boarding when some big Thai HiSO and family showed up, forcing us to economy with refund.

2. My wife asked for help in putting a bag in the overhead bin. She was told by the Thai Airline Steward that "We all have bad backs.", and walked away.

These 2 issues have melded a permanent impression in my mind of Thai's trying to run a airline.

regarding number 2. In the past I always helped people put their bags in the overhead bins but in the past few years passengers now practically drag everything on board and whereas in the past the bag may weigh only a couple of kilos now some bags weigh as much as 20kilos. "You came all the way from home, dragged your bags down the stairs to the door, put them in the trunk of the car, drove all the way to the airport, dragged them through security and all the way to your seat. Suddenly, the bags are too heavy for you to put into the overhead compartment by yourself. The deal is: you brought it, shove up there yourself or we throw it out the door and under the plane." I'm not going to throw my back out at the beginning of a flight and have to work the next 12 hours in pain.

I have a mate who worked as a flight attendant on Qantas for many years.

His answer to this overhead baggage problem was.

If your bag is too heavy to lift up to the overhead locker.

What makes you think it is not too heavy for us to lift up.

I have also followed this while on the plane. I fly on TG twice a year to BKK

aussiep

i think it's a little off topic but... if it's too heavy for any crew member to handle then what is the airline doing allowing it on the plane? sounds like a safety hazard. Edited June 19, 2013 by khh

[SSSlongtime]

air france over 65 double the price ,how can they do that ,always found thai good in the past ,now fly from France ,never sure who is the best ,flights just seem to cost more and get worst

[GrantSmith]

Please excuse my ignorance, I have flown between the UK and Thailand many times and I have never heard of a bassinette seat, what is it?

It's a baby crib/bed/cot, having flown - as you claim - "many" times between the UK and Thailand, you have not seen one of these?

[stevenl]

My last long haul flight I had the luck to be sat next to an extremely drunk, smelly and chatty (worst combination ever?) middle aged man from birmingham. The chat would have been okay had it not been his desire to talk almost exclusively about "thai birds".

This was much more painful than any occasional cries ive heard from an infant in the past.

I was flying to the UK and when I sat down I as joined by a guy, and the first thing he did when he sat down was open a can of beer which he drank quite quickly, followed by another one, I approach one of the cabin crew and politely asked to have him removed, he was.

Why, for drinking 2 beers?

No, but if he finished two cans of beer in the first ten minutes, how many would he have had halfway before the flight reached the UK? Would you like to sit beside man stinking of alcohol for 12 hours?

Doesn't really matter what I like, does it.

So he drank 2 beers, you complained because you thought he was going to drink more and might start to smell of alcohol and he got removed? Sorry, don't believe this.

[lorbhaim]

I also had bad experience with the above mentioned airlie.

here is my sad story:

In the evening, on September 12, 2012 I arrived to Chiang Mai Int. Air port to take my flight to Bangkok and then to my international flight with Uzbekistan Air.

It turned out that the flight was canceled and passengers were transferred to a later flight by Thaiair (TG 119). However I was told that my suitcase will directly continue to Uzbekistan Air flight.

It turned out that the suitcase weighs 2 kg over the weight assigned to the flight. The flight attendant did not know how much the charge might be and I was sent to pay the amount, at another distant counter of Thaiair.
Here I was in for a great surprise that I was charged the total amount in respect of these two kg total of 2,680 baht, or about 90 U.S. dollars!
I tried to go to the previous counter of Thaiair but they no longer let me take out the extra weight, but the case was already gone and he can return it. Due to time limitations, and language difficulties I had to pay very much.

Copy of the receipt attached to it.
I wish to mention that before this flight, I called Uzbekistan Air and they told me that they charge

$ 9 per kg excess. Your oun inquiry also thaiAir they told you that they charge on each kg excess of 69 baht (about two dollars).

so far I wrote several times to them, but no answer.

I'll never travel with that airlie.

Haim

[hawker9000]

Spent SOOOO many flights near endlessly screaming kids, everyone around them in total agony... 'Sounds like the airline was indeed unfair here, but hard to sympathize with the parents I'm afraid.

[notmyself]

Thai airways is well known to offer poor service in general. Not always but way too often. If someone books a Thai airways flight and finds the service to be substandard then......

[theblether]

I've got to say though, if you think it's bad having a screaming child next to you in economy, you should try it in Business Class. Does my head in.

[Skytrain2hell]

I've got to say though, if you think it's bad having a screaming child next to you in economy, you should try it in Business Class. Does my head in.

Right there is the reason that I never fly business class.

and because I can't afford it.