Going back - Thailand Trip #3

Well, here it is, ten weeks have passed and I haven't been able to get Thailand off the brain. I've made my standard pre-flight breakfast at Salt & Pepper and am now ready to go. I'm nervous and excited.

Here are a few of my impressions of the flight over.

Airport - I guess I'm still on the "no fly list" what a joke. It took a bit to get my tickets and a quick call by the woman behind the counter cleared everything up, but I'll say it again: I feel no safer by this facade of airport "security" than I did prior to 2001. Anytime that we become dependent on a government agency for protection, a letdown is certain to occur. Just my opinion, but prove me wrong.

Frequent Flier programs - I fly United. I think they're a good airline and try to fly them exclusively when I can (yes, this is a shameless plug). I recently have been upgraded to their "Premier" status having flown now over 80,000 miles. The plus is that I was able to board the plane is the first group and get settled. The other perk is that there now is an "Economy Plus" section on the plane. More on this in a second.

Economy Plus - Ok, the deal with the economy plus section is they try not to put someone in the middle seat. Here's a description of the section from the United website:

United's new Economy Plus® section. Economy Plus is a premium seating area in our Economy cabins - consisting of the first 6-11 rows (depending upon the fleet type) - that offers up to 5 inches more legroom per seat. This means more space and greater comfort for business travelers who are flying in coach - especially when it's not possible to upgrade to First Class. Economy Plus provides more room so you can get your work done inflight. Up to 5 inches more legroom in

Economy Plus
United was the first airline to announce it was reconfiguring its fleet to add more inches of legroom in the air - and the only airline to focus this benefit on our most-frequent fliers. The idea for the Economy Plus section came straight from our customers. Our business travelers told us they wanted more room in the Economy cabin. It was their number-one request. So we listened - and began removing seats from our planes and reconfiguring our aircraft.

21,000 Economy Plus seats
We have more than 21,000 Economy Plus seats in the sky - each with up to 5 inches more legroom. That's more legroom in Economy than any other US airline.

Economy Plus seating
Economy Plus is available on most North America and many international flights. Advance seating assignment in Economy Plus is available on a first-come, first-served basis to the following customers:
Mileage Plus members who have Mileage Plus Premier status or above.
Star Alliance Gold and Silver members.
Customers traveling on fares booked in Y, B or M class.

Having experienced this first hand, I'll book in this section as often as I can.

The Flight - Maybe I'm just used to it now, but the flight wasn't that bad. The movies were terrible and the food (God, the food), was even worse than before. Mental note, bring your own food next time.

Transfer to the hotel - Once again, no problems. I think after a couple trips to BKK, you don't have that wide eyed, "What do I do now?" look. I once again decided to not take the taxi queue and go with a private car. Its a bit expensive, but I really wanted to check in and get something to eat.

I spent the rest of the night, and a good majority of the morning drinking a few beers and trying to adjust to the time change. I finally ended my night (if that's what you call it) around 9:00 AM having a couple beers with a few Brits I met on the street and a Thai guy that was educated abroad. Great conversation, but sleep finally took over. Coming up, Day 2.