Bangkok Airways

Brief Overview of Bangkok Airways Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited is a regional airline based in Bangkok, Thailand. The airlines first began air transportation services in 1968 under the name Sahakol Air. It became the first private aviation company in Thailand and initially provided charter services to an American Construction Company (OICC) by means of a two-engine-9-seater plane. It transformed into Bangkok Airways in 1986 in order to meet the increasing demands for air transportation as Thailand became a global tourist destination. Bangkok?s Airways main base is the Suvarabhumi Airport (IATA: BKK, ICAO: VTBS), also known as the Bangkok International Airport. Bangkok Airways is a public company, i.e it is owned by its shareholders, it operates scheduled services to destinations in Thailand, Bangladesh, Buma, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore and Vietnam. Besides its main hub, Bangkok Airways built its own airport that opened in 1989, in 1996 the airline opened a second airport at the Sukhotai Province, and in March 2003 it opened a third airport in Trat Province to serve the growing tourism industry in Koh Chaing. Routes Bangkok Airways Operates Flights On Bangkok Airways flies the following routes within Thailand, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi, Lampang, Mae Hong Son, Pattaya, Phuket, Samui, Sukhothai, and Trat. On the international route, Bangkok Airways flies to the following cities, Danang, Dhaka, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Luang Prabang, Maldives, Mandalay, Mumbai, Nay Pyi Taw, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Singapore, Vientiane, and Yangon. Average Fare on Popular Routes: Mumbai to Bangkok: $329 Phnom Penh to Bangkok: $168 Hong Kong to Samui : $1,094 Samui to Singapore: $385 Bangkok to Mandalay: $194 Phuket to Bangkok: $164 Bangkok to Yangon: $187 Dhaka to Bangkok: $298 Bangkok to Maldives: $608 Bangkok Airways Fleet Bangkok Airways currently has a fleet of 36 aircrafts comprising of 9 Airbus 320s, 12 Airbus 319s, 6 ATR 72-500s and 9 ATR72-600s, each adorned in different liveries of various destinations. The airline does not have any naming conventions for its aircrafts. The company?s fleet can be recognized through its logo that can be found on it?s the aircraft?s fin, and its name that is usually found on the fuselage of the airline fleet. Travel Packages Offered by Bangkok Airways Bangkok Airways operate the FlyerBonus Program as its major promotional campaign. With the FlyerBonus program, all members will earn award points when traveling on Bangkok Airways. Customers will also gain access to its boutique lounges, complimentary snacks and beverages as well as free internet access. Enrollment on the FlyerBonus Program is free with no hidden charges. As a Bangkok Airways FlyerBonus member, there are different opportunities to partake in special promotions, accrue points from FlyerBonus aligned activity and ultimately, redeem points for things like award flights and hotel stays. Bangkok Airways FlyerBonus Priority Members: Once signed up, each customer automatically becomes a FlyerBonus Priority member, the first level on the membership tier, and becomes entitled to an excess baggage allowance (10kgs) on Bangkok Airways flight. Additionally, becomes eligible for point accrual and award redemption as well as regular updates on program events and promotions. Bangkok Airways FlyerBonus Premier Members: Priority members will be upgraded to a premier level by collecting 250 flight qualifying points or travelling 35 qualifying sectors within 12 consecutive months. Membership status upgrades will be processed at the end of each month for members who have earned sufficient flight qualifying points. Premier benefits include: - Point accumulation and redemption - Extra 20 kilograms baggage allowance on Bangkok Airways marketing and operating flight - Blue Ribbon Club lounge access - Dedicated check-in counter - Priority reservation wait-listing upon request - Special discounts/privileges from Bangkok Airways and/or program partners Flyer Bonus points are valid for 3 years, points earned in one-calendar year remain valid until the end of the third calendar year of enrollment. Special Services Offered by Bangkok Airways Bangkok Airways unveiled its special services campaign in 2004, and began referring to itself as ?Asia?s Boutique Airline?. Under this branding campaign, the airline launched the following unique services and has continued to provide them till date: 1. Boutique Lounges: Bangkok Airways? boutique lounges are clean and comfortable lounges that are like business-class style lounges offered by other airlines available to all passengers with no extra charge or hidden fees. While waiting to board their flight, passengers can treat themselves to free snacks and various hot or cold drinks. Additional benefits include free internet access from one of several computer booths that also includes a kid?s corner located within the lounge area. 2. Boutique Lounges ? Blue Ribbon Club: The Blue Ribbon Club is a service provided to premium members flying with Bangkok Airways? new business class, Blue Ribbon Club; or with Boutique Premier Service; or for any passengers with FlyerBonus Premier Membership. Blue Ribbon Club Lounges offer personalized services and more attention to passengers? needs These services include, hot meals, personal shower room, a nice and personal library room which doubles as a personal meeting room. Blue Ribbon Club Lounges can be found adjacent to Bangkok Airways? regular Boutique Lounges at each terminal that flies the airline. 3. Boutique Airports: Each of the three Airports owned and operated by Bangkok Airways has special architecture that was designed to blend in with the natural and cultural surrounding of each of Thailand?s three provinces. The Samui Airport?s thatched terminal buildings blend with the tropical gardens and coconut groves of the Koh Samui, the Sukhotai Airport is situated among rice paddies and reflects traditional Thai Architecture, and the Trat Airport highlights the importance of the province?s surrounding natural environment. 4. Appetizing Menu: Special dietary menus such as vegetarian and Halal are available upon request, including Vegetarian Jain Meal, Vegetarian Oriental Meal, Asian Vegetarian Hindu/India Meal, Infant/Baby Food, Bland Meal, Fruit Platter Meal Gluten Free Meal, Low Fat Meal, Low Fat Meal, Low Salt Meal, Non-Lactose Meal, Raw Vegetarian Meal, Kosher Meal, Child?s Meal, Moslem Meal, Seafood Meal, Hindu Meal, Western Vegan no Dairy Meal, Diabetic Meal, Low Calorie Meal, and the Vegetarian Lacto-Ovo Meal. Additionally, Bangkok Airways offers passengers different meal choices to choose from on longer flight routes. Where to Book Bangkok Airline Flight Tickets: Bookings and check-ins can be done at any of the Singapore airline offices on the day of the flight or any day prior to that date. Online bookings can be done at hotels.ng/flights Flying with Children Bangkok Airways offers limited complimentary baby bassinets on select aircraft and routes, these flights on Airbus 319/320 with flight times of over 2 hours on the Bangkok ? Maldives, Bangkok-Dhaka, Bangkok-Mumbai, and Samui-Hong Kong routes are eligible for these complimentary bassinets. There are 2 baby bassinets for Economy class cabins and 2 for Business class cabins. To utilize this benefit, passengers are required to contact Bangkok Airways reservation team at least 24 hours in advance prior to departure date. Maximum weight and heights of infants due to use each bassinet are 14KG and 70CM respectively. Infant ticket is 25% of the applicable published adult fare. Unaccompanied Minors and Young Passengers Bangkok Airways provides an Unaccompanied Minor (UMNR) service for minors travelling alone without a guardian that are aged between 6 to 12 years old. An unaccompanied minor will be charged and adult fare, and to make reservation for an unaccompanied minor through the website is not possible. Young passengers between the ages of 12 and 16 are not specifically required to use the unaccompanied service, however, Bangkok Airways is willing to extend this service to them upon request. Advice to Keep Children Occupied on Longer Flights Pack little gifts/rewards This is the oldest trick in the book and it works like a charm. Wrap tiny toys and gifts to reward your child for being well behaved every half- hour or hour depending on the duration of the trip. Kids love gifts and surprises and will be eager to get them. These gifts don?t have to be expensive and can even be old forgotten toys. Children will love it either way. Try to limit the gifts to soft, stuffy toys or threats, because solid toys might easily injure the kids or other passengers if thrown towards them. Get a portable DVD player or tablet The kids of these generation are very tech savvy and curious. Bringing along a portable DVD/ tablet will help occupy most of the kid?s time and help to reduce boredom. Just like the gift they can be used as a reward for good behavior. Cartoons and animated movies should be stored on the tablets and DVDs carried along for the DVD player. Before you board, download some kids? games or kid-friendly apps to your tablet (make sure to switch it to Airplane mode for the flight). Some good ones include Bubbles (where you simply have to pop bubbles with your finger, an endlessly fascinating pastime for toddlers), Toddler Cars (animations of all sorts of vehicles, complete with noises - make sure to bring headphones) and Peppa Pig Happy Mrs Chicken (chances are your child is obsessed with Peppa Pig, so anything starring the pink one will inspire awe, but this is actually a pretty good game). Carry a pillow & blanket Small children can sit on a pillow so they can see out of the window better, while older children may find sleeping more comfortable with a pillow. A blanket is also good as its familiarity will comfort your child as well keep them warm if it gets chilly on-board. Read our review of the best travel pillows on the market Use a Trunki A trunki is a brand of ride/carry-on hand luggage for children. They may appear a little overpriced, but Trunkis are a lifesaver for entertaining little ones when you?re in long queues, as your kid can happily propel him/herself around while sitting on top. Not only that, the strap allows you to pull your child around, saving their tired little legs if your walk to the departure gate is a long one. A bit expensive,but , a few cheaper forms of ride-on luggage are gradually trickling onto the market, like Skoot Kid's and Kiddee Cases. Plan your flight in 15-minute slots Divide the entire flight duration into 15- minutes intervals. For a three-hour journey you need around ten activities to keep young kids entertained (as the first and last 15 minutes you can occupy them by looking out the window for take-off and landing). CBeebies magazines, a favourite story book, drawing, Snap, and snacks are all good activities to keep them entertained. It's unlikely you will need all ten (especially if you manage to get them to sleep) but better to have too many than too few. Get Stickers Choosing and pasting stickers is a fun activity to engage your kids in. the best part about this is that it takes up a whole lot of time. Give them a lunch box, water bottle or even their shoes to decorate. You will probably end up having to unpeel stickers from their body parts and maybe even parts of the seat afterwards, but that?s a little price to pay for having them composed and quiet for about an hour. Carry sweets along This is for a more practical reason. You know that popping felling your ears makes while the plane is taking off or landing? Well, its much worse for kids, it causes painful ears for them. It is common practice to give babies a bottle to encourage them to suck and swallow. The same principle is applicable to children, if you give your child a lollypop (ideally sugar free) for take off and landing. It helps to soothe them and distract them from the potentially scary sensation. Bring foods that last longer Offer your kids foods that will take them longer to eat, this helps to occupy your child for longer. A box of raisins is great because it contains natural sugars, while strawberries, grapes and cherry tomatoes are similarly healthy and fun to eat (although potentially messier than raisins). It is not advisable to give kids sweets or candies during a flight. The sugar increases their level of energy thereby making them more active and restless. Watch out of the ?Aero plane Police?! And if after trying out all the methods mentioned above to kill time and distract your child it still doesn?t work- this one is always a winner. Simply let your child know of the ?Aero plane Police? who goes around looking for badly behaved children to take off the flight. Kids are very likely to fall for this, especially as the air hostesses are constantly walking up and down the aisle. Moderation is the key with this tip, as were not trying to encourage you to scare your child out of their mind. A stern warning will be effective enough to get them on their best behavior. Passengers That Require Wheelchairs Passengers that intend to fly on Bangkok Airways and require wheelchairs must notify the airline at the time of their booking, or at least 24 hours before departure date. Bangkok Airways provides wheelchair services without any extra charges, however passengers must be able to take care of themselves during the flight. For those unable to cater for themselves, it is advised that one companion or escort accompany them on the flight. Bangkok Airways will assist passengers from the check-in counter to the aircraft door or cabin seat as well as to the aircraft?s lavatories. For passengers with personal wheelchairs, Bangkok Airways requires a 48-hour notification before departure date. Additionally, such passengers must provide the size, type, and weight of their wheelchairs to enable the airline make the necessary loading arrangements. Flying with Pets Passengers flying with pets on Bangkok Airways will have their pets housed in an aircraft hold (AVIH) beneath the passenger cabin and in a safe temperature-controlled environment. Pets are allowed on all international routes except the Maldives. Bangkok Airways has the following guidelines: - Dogs and cats are the only types of pets accepted - Ticketing office or call center must be notified at a minimum of 24 hours before departure date - Owners are responsible for providing a cage or an appropriate container for their pet with a limit of 1 animal per cage - Owners must accept all risks associated with air travel such as injury, sickness or death of their pets during the journey. - International travel, the owners are required to have a valid health certificate, proof of current rabies vaccination and export license. Advice to Keep Pets Calm on Flights ? Under no circumstance can you remove your pet from its carrier during the flight. ? Stroke your pet through the carrier (depending on if your pet permits stroking) and say soothing words to calm it down. ? Airline rules stipulate that your pet must be stowed under the seat in front of you during take off and landing. Be sure to comply with this rule, it helps to leave the carrier between your feet for a minute and then slowly slide the carrier under the seat all the while offering plenty of vocal assurances. ? When the plane is in the air, you would be permitted to keep the carrier between your feet. If your pet is fussing, offer them a pet calmer by unzipping the carrier an inch or two and extending the treat to your pet. ? Extend a finger or two into the carrier for a head scratch so that your pet will know that you are still there. ? A finger tip that has been dunked in a glass of water is a good way to keep your pet occupied. ? Offering one piece of grub at a time can keep you connected with your pet as long as they will accept it. Don?t feed them too much; the object here is to keep them occupied, not to fill their belly. Remember not to open the carrier so that your pet can escape. This will never turn out to be a good thing. ? Put a worn t-shirt or piece of your clothing with your scent on it in the carrier with your pet. Your scent is very calming to your pet. ? Pack light so you don?t have to fumble with other luggage and can move quickly to turn your attention to your pet. ? Groom your pet prior to travel. ? Get your pet accustomed to being in the carrier prior to the trip. Cargo Delivery Bangkok Airways offers Cargo services for flights between Bangkok and the following locations; Pattaya, Trat, Sukhothai, Lampang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Samui, Phuket, and Krabi. Charter Service Charter Services are available on Bangkok airways via a private flight to and from any place in the Indo China region. The private flights can be arranged for one-way flights or round trip flights for any number of passengers. Terms and Check-In Policy Bangkok Airways offers Online Check-in and Kiosk Check-in to all passengers holding e-ticket with a confirmed reservation. Passengers flying with Bangkok Airways can check-in online before arriving at the airport, Online Check-in is also available from 24hours to 1 hour before departure. All flights departing from Bangkok and Samui airports are eligible for Kiosk Check-in from 24 hours to 1 hour before departure. Passengers requiring Medical/Special Assistance, Unaccompanied Minors, Passengers travelling in a group of more than 9 persons in the same reservation, and passengers whose ticket requires some additional payment are not eligible for online check-in and kiosk check-in. Other check-in policies include: - Baggage must not contain any prohibited item - Passengers on international flights who have completed online check-in or kiosk check-in are required to be at the self-service check-in counter at least 90 minutes before departure for document verification and drop off any check-in baggage. - Passengers must arrive at the boarding gate at least 50 minutes before departure for international flights, and 40 minutes before departure for domestic flights - Gate will be closed 15 minutes before departure Refund Policy Bangkok Airways is entitled but not obligated to make a refund to the person named on the Ticket or to the person who has paid for the ticket upon presentation of satisfactory proof of such payment. Other eligibilities for refunds are for tickets that have been paid for by a person other than the passenger named in the ticket, in such cases Bangkok airways shall make a refund only to the person who paid for the ticket, or to that person?s order. Voluntary refunds will be made only by the carrier which originally issued the Ticket or by its agent if so authorized. For non-refundable tickets, only unused airport taxes and government taxes will be refunded with penalty fee. Voluntary refund for flight cancellations: If Bangkok Airways cancels a flight or fails to operate a flight reasonably according to schedule, fail to stop at a destination or stopover, or cause a passenger to miss a connecting flight on which a reservation has been held, then the amount of refund shall be equal to the fare paid if no portion of the ticket has been used. If a portion of the ticket has been used, the refund will be not less than the difference between the fare paid and the applicable fare for travel between the points for which the ticket has been used. Refund on Lost Ticket: Bangkok Airways will refund a lost ticket upon furnishing the airline with satisfactory proof of the loss, and payment of a reasonable administration charge on condition that the lost ticket has not been used. Additionally, if an authorized agent or Bangkok Airways loses the ticket or portion of it, the airline shall take responsibility for a refund. It is important to note that Bangkok Airways may refuse to refund a ticket where application is made after one year to the date when the ticket was issued. Voluntary refunds will be made only by the carrier which original issued the ticket or by the agent if so authorized. Missed or Damaged Baggage If a passenger encounters any mishandled luggage such as delay delivery, lost, damaged and pilferage, or any other issue, Bangkok Airways requires that a claim be filed before leaving the airport. On filing this claim on time, Bangkok Airways will provide a written confirmation with a reference number.