Nok Air

UBP-DMK on B737. If you like Ryan Air you'll love Nok Air. they've simply taken old Ryan Air planes put on a little smile and you have a new low cost carrier. 16 of their 18 planes are old Ryanair planes with absolutely no leg room all beat up and tired and this was one of them. The equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig and it just doesn't work. This airline is thoroughly second or third class.

DMK-UBP in economy. I travel frequently between Bangkok and Ubon and have used all three carriers on the route. Have found Nok to have the most frequent service however ran into a serious problem with their mobile website functionality which wouldn't allow me to pre-purchase additional luggage before the flight during online check-in. This limitation then 'forced' me to purchase the additional baggage at airport which was priced ten times higher than the online rate (I paid 1200 baht vs 150 baht online). Absolutely no sympathy from surly unfriendly Nok staff the 'all smiles' airline. They told me I should've known and bought the baggage at ticket purchase. This is preposterous as I bought the ticket two months prior and had no idea how much luggage I would have. I don't mind paying a premium but absolutely resent the idea of being extorted into paying a premium due to their own website lack of functionality. Given the frequency of my travel on Nok I would've expected them to be more reasonable and understanding but there is a complete lack of commercial sensibility with the employees basically suggesting that I'm a fool. I am a fool for choosing Nok and would recommend Air Asia or Thai Air on the route unless you like to be taken advantage of humiliated and extorted by draconian policies extortion pricing and rude employees. Their employees all explained this away as Nok being a 'low cost carrier' which is a spurious explanation as the high cost of baggage makes them a 'high price / low service' carrier and other 'low cost carriers' such as AirAsia and Jetstar allow you to buy additional baggage online during check in Nok Air does not.

As per my previous reviews booked 2 flights Bangkok to Buriram in October. First flight cancelled with minimal notice - was emailed 8 hours in advance but did not see and arrived Don Meaung with option to go via Ubon or get money back at later date and make own way there. Chose Ubon option with a handful of other passengers but Nok did the bear minimum of point to point transfer so people were being dropped off in Buriram airport with no public transport and 35km from town 3.5 hours later than due. We ended up taking another passenger to town in our car as a courtesy to him not the airline as he would have been stranded. Return flight learned lesson and checked email evening before. Flight brought forward 2 hours with no explanation. No contact on issues other than email so if not had checked would have missed flight. Catching a flight on Thai Air Asia (on time) from Don Meaung to Chiang Mai later that evening all 7 Nok Air flights departing i noticed had various delays from 20 minutes to 65 minutes. Next time I'll choose Nokchanair bus instead for the journey it may look a lot longer timewise but often in reality now isn't.

Flew Chiang Mai-Bangkok (Don Muang). A pleasant experience which is usually the case with NokAir. Smooth check-in smooth walk to aircraft smooth flight smooth staff. Catnapped for the hour-long flight. People have been writing adverse comments re transfers to Suvarnabhumi and vice versa. I have done this innumerable times and found it comfortable and hassle-free and have never been stuck in traffic in Bangkok.

Bangkok Don Muang to Udon Thani return 30 Oct 2 Nov. iPhone app didn't work so had to use phone booking which was OK. Check in easy but 30 minute delay outward and 20 minute delay return - various excuses given. Nice clean planes and pleasant service. All in all a very good service but would use Suvarnabhumi next time.

DD7217 31 May B737-800 (Winglets and leased from Air Berlin) Surat Thani (URT) - Bangkok (DMK). Check-in a breeze staff however have to get on with the world and make an attempt to learn the English language. Boarding was by the Step Ladder organised people seated from the forward to mid zone were showed to the forward door and people seated mid zone to the back were shown to the rear door. Immediately on takeoff there was a medical emergency and the crew acted in a prompt and efficient manner announced for a doctor on board and had things under control. after the emergency was settled the crew even made notes as sequence of events so s not to forget while reporting I guess. Snack served to all pax was a large Sweet Cookie and water. Cannot ask for anything more for the price they charge.

Perfectly acceptable service great prices snacks in-flight included with option to buy other items. Easy online booking system. No inflight entertainment but unnecessary for a short flight. Nok outclasses Air Asia for example. DMK to Chiang Rai. Don Muaung is a great airport to access and negotiate.

DD7507 23 Feb HKT-DMK B737-800 (Leased from Ryanair). HKT airport only 2 check-in counters for this flight (1 not operational) girl sitting on the inoperative counter busy applying make-up. Poor girl on the working counter struggling hard to complete check-in for all the 150 odd pax. Again inflight crew great but again Inflight safety demonstration only in THAI. Legroom is very poor the guy in front reclined what he could his seat was straight in my knees. Great for a short hop of 1 hour or so but never for a longer flight.

DD7502 21 Feb DMK-HKT (B738 leased from Ryanair). Ground staff level of English is so poor that I had to draw a window to explain I wanted a window seat. Cabin crew very warm and delightful bunch of girls. Safety demonstration only in THAI (not English) considering more than 70% of the flight were foreigners. Snack served was a cold micro mini sized stuffed bun and 1 cup of water good enough for a Low cost airline. They should play some soft spa type instrumental music considering Thailand is so rich in it's music and culture.

Flew Bangkok-Chiang Rai-Bangkok last month. Cheap and cheerful sums it up. Website easy to use. Even got a free drink and cake inflight. Don Muang not busy so quick check in and no queues at security. Why pay much more to fly with Thai unless of course you are connecting at Suvarnabhumi in which case TG would make sense as the transfer from BKK to DMK can be tricky and time consuming.