I chose Bangkok Airways for my recent trip to Myanmar and couldn’t be happier that I did. I was travelling to Mandalay and Bagan, and chose the airline because of its stellar reputation and its convenient and direct route from Chiang Mai.
A bit of an self-confessed AV geek, I love trying out different airlines, and had heard from a number of people that Bangkok Airways are fantastic to fly with. Their tagline “Asia’s Boutique Airline” intrigued, and with six consecutive awards from Skytrax for “Best Regional Airline”, I was excited to try this airline for myself.
Here are five reasons why I loved flying with Bangkok Airlines.
Direct Routes
Living in Chiang Mai, you can feel a little disconnected from other parts of Asia as to get to any other destination, such as Bali, requires taking a connecting flight.
I love that Bangkok Airways services so many regional routes in Thailand, and a number of international ones too.
Not keen on adding extra hours to my journey, I was delighted to find that they run a direct flight daily from Chiang Mai to Mandalay, and several direct flights from Bangkok.
Complimentary Departure Lounge for all Passengers
This completely raises the bar for economy travel. Never have I flown with an airline that extends a lounge to all of their passengers, and not just those in premium classes.
Thai hospitality at its best, the airline has a lounge in every single airport they operate flights from. The departure lounge offers free wifi, complimentary light refreshments and comfortable seating with plenty of sockets for you to work, kick back, relax, whatever.
Complimentary Checked Luggage
Being the hopeless overpacker that I am, I was relieved to find that checked luggage with Bangkok Airways is completely free of charge, up to 20kg. This is something extremely rare in today’s aviation industry, that something as vital as checked luggage would be offered complimentary. You could feel from this alone that Bangkok Airways wanted the journey to feel seamless for you, where you didn’t have to concern yourself with all the extras and add on that comes with air travel today, but to sit back, relax and enjoy your journey with them.
Complimentary Full Meal and Refreshments
Even on flights as short as 45 minutes, Bangkok Airways provides a full meal and refreshments for all their passengers, free of charge. Admittedly a little over excited at this concept, I topped up my glass of wine twice during the 1 hour 20 minute flight, and the staff were more than happy to oblige! The meal was plenty sufficient, and if you book a few days in advance, they will prepare a vegetarian option for you too.
Quintessential Thai Hospitality
From the moment you reach the check-in desk, to when you step off the plane, you can feel that quintessential Thai hospitality form Bangkok Airways. Friendly, accommodating, and informed, from the pilot who introduces himself or herself (love that), to the flight attendants that serve you, nothing is too much for them and they are more than happy to look after you.
Thank you to Bangkok Airways for flying us to Myanmar for our week long adventure around Mandalay and Bagan. Although we were invited to work with Bangkok Airways for this trip, all thoughts are our own and we highly regard them as one of our favourite airlines to fly with.
Take a look below, we hope you like some of the pictures we gathered on this trip with Bangkok Airways.
