Bangkok Airways - Airline Review

 
Bangkok Airways bills itself as "Asia's Boutique Airline", which may sound a bit dated in these days, when "boutique" has become something of a cliché term in travel circles, but the still relatively small airline is rather unique in many respects which justify the use of the word. The airline has been named as Southeast Asia's best regional airline for several years running.

Bangkok Airways' route network covers the major tourist destinations of Thailand, as well as neighboring countries. Starting with Samui, the airline has built several of its own new airports to open up new destinations, such as Koh Chang and Sukhothai. In developing its route network, Bangkok Airways has paid special attention to the cultural destinations around Southeast Asia, such Angkor Wat (via Siem Reap) and Luang Prabang. In the future, they want to start long haul services, but those plans were delayed by the economic downturn.

One very unique feature of Bangkok Airways are their lounges. They operate lounges at most of their airports, which are open to all passengers. While the facilities are not as fancy as a business class lounge, you still get free drinks and snacks, as well as free internet access.

On board, many of Bangkok Airways' planes have only a single class. They only started introducing a business class, called "Blue Ribbon" class, a few years ago. Coach seating is generally comfortable enough. It's worth noting that many of the planes operated by Bangkok Airways are ATR 72s, which have quite limited overhead storage. The airline generally serves hot meals, even on rather short flights.

Bangkok Airways has its own frequent flier program, called Flyer Bonus. It is not part of any global alliance, but it does have partnerships with several local hotels and other services that allows you to earn points.