【 The Low-Cost Business Experience 】
Hello and welcome to another Flight Report!
This is FR number 3 from my month-long trip to Thailand (and others) and will cover a domestic hop on Nok Air from Bangkok to Chiang Rai. Chiang Rai is Thailand's northernmost major city, close to the Myanmar-Laos border. It's a popular tourist destination, however, most people choose to fly into Chiang Mai further south and visit the city as part of a day trip (or longer). Because of this, the airport only receives a small handful of traffic each day, all from Bangkok.
Nok Air is a Thai low-cost carrier based in Don Mueang Airport and operates a fleet of 14 Boeing 737-800s. As for price, I paid TH฿2077 ($65) for the Nok Max fare, which is the most expensive option. For that, you get a premium seat, 25kg checked baggage, a free hot meal, priority check-in and boarding, and lounge access in DMK Airport. It's kinda like the LCC version of business class. It was only $20 more than the cheapest fare, which was absolutely worth it in my opinion.
Flight routing
- 1
- 2
- 3Nok Air ║ Economy ║ Bangkok (DMK) ✈ Chiang Rai (CEI) ║ Boeing 737-800
I aim to offset all of my CO2 emissions from flights. All emissions are calculated using the ICAO Carbon Emissions Calculator and I will be funding projects approved by The Gold Standard.
【 Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport 】
DMK is the smaller of the two international airports in Bangkok (the other being Suvarnabhumi Airport). It's one of the world's oldest international airports, opened in 1914. The airport was a major hub until the opening of Suvarnabhumi Airport in 2006. Following that, DMK has been relegated to being a hub for low-cost carriers, serving as a base for Nok Air, Thai Air Asia, and Thai Lion Air.
You join me at Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal. This is a new train terminus for most intercity trains, including the sleeper trains to Chiang Mai (I took that on my way back to Bangkok - check out my tourism bonus for that!). From here, you can get the SRT Red Line to DMK airport. I'll admit, Bangkok's rapid transit network is very confusing at first. You have the MRT, the BTS, and the SRT all operating lines in the city with their own passes and fares. Luckily, the MRT and SRT offer contactless, so you can just tap in/out with your card for convenience.
Here we are at the airport! The Red Line runs alongside the mainline trains on the meter-gauge track. A lot of express intercity trains also stop at DMK Airport (including the sleepers from Chiang Mai), so it's pretty convenient if you're coming from up North.
The check-in area.
I should mention that my original flight (in the morning) was cancelled around a month before departure, but I was able to re-book on the afternoon flight. However, I got another email yesterday telling me that the flight was scheduled for 5:40 pm, a full 2 hours later. A quick look at the departures board reveals the reason. Around 50% of the flights today are cancelled (Nok Air just combined all three of its Chiang Rai flights into one). I'm not sure of the reason behind all the cancellations.
Another photo of the check-in area. It's pretty calm/quiet considering all the cancellations.
An installation with a portrait of the king, King Rama X. There are a lot of these around the country.
Security took 5 minutes and here we are airside.
Photo of the apron with a Thai Lion Air Boeing 737-800 heading to Krabi (KBV) and a Nok Air Boeing 737-800 heading to Phuket (HKT).
There's a mini food court…
… and a duty-free area.
As I mentioned in the intro, I paid for the Nok Max fare, which included access to the Nok lounge in DMK. Finding the lounge isn't hard, although it's somewhat hidden with construction on the other side.
And here it is. They also accept Priority Pass/Dragonpass. It's very quiet, and a decent selection of hot food and pastries is available.
After spending a while in the lounge, it's time to head to the gate.
Photo of our plane.
And here's a better view.
Some information about our plane:
Type: Boeing 737-800
Registration: HS-DBO
First flight: 12 September 2006
Age: ~19 years
Config: Y189
A fairly old Boeing 737. She was originally delivered to Ryanair before moving to Nok Air in 2013.
【 The flight 】
Flight time to Chiang Rai will be around 75 minutes and here's our route:
The seatback pocket and tray table.
Nok Max passengers get premium seats included. It's the first 6 rows plus the exit row seats. Nok claims that these seats offer 'enhanced comfort' but doesn't actually list any specifics. Legroom-wise, it's around the same as normal economy (at least for European standards), although I'm not sure if it's better than the regular seats. Honestly? I don't see any differences between the premium and standard (or 'happy', as the airline calls them) seats.
View out of the window. I always had a feeling the 737NGs had bigger windows than the A320s, which is proven by how easily I was able to photograph the whole engine sitting at the front (shots like this aren't really possible on the A320, at least without including any of the window frame). Honestly, it's pretty obvious just by comparing the shape, although I never had 'concrete' evidence until now.
Pushback 'on time', that is, according to the revised schedule published yesterday.
Takeoff!! Bye bye Bangkok… for now.
We made a right bank immediately after takeoff, which gave us pretty good views of Nonthaburi (a city to the Northwest of Bangkok).
Nice views of the airport on the right with Khlong Prapa (one of Bangkok's many canals) on the left. It also forms the boundary between Bangkok and Nonthaburi.
The Chao Phraya River that runs through Bangkok.
One last view of land as we climb above the clouds.
Shortly after, the crew handed out the hot meal (included in the Max fare). I was able to choose the meal during booking, although it had been so long, I've completely forgotten what I ordered (which is pretty typical for me haha). A bottle of water is also included.
And here it is. The label said it was 'mushroom with rice'… which is accurate. The rice-to-mushroom ratio is pretty bad and unfortunately, it also tasted terrible. The mushroom was basically flavorless, so adding that to the rice gives a very… bland combination. Because of this, I'd recommend against buying their meal (if it's not already included).
It's starting to get dark as we approach Chiang Rai.
Let's have a look at the contents of the seatback pocket. It includes:
- A safety card
- An inflight magazine
- A guide on the onboard Wi-Fi
- And a buy-on-board menu. Prices aren't too bad (especially for the hot meal), although that's definitely reflected in the quality.
A rather underwhelming sunset with all the clouds.
Wi-Fi is available on the flight, although it's only used for the IFE (you can't pay to use it for anything else). It also asks you for your name, email, and phone number before granting you access.
It's got a limited selection of mostly Thai movies/shows. The inflight magazine is also available digitally. Unfortunately, most of the functions (like the buy-on-board menu and moving map) are unavailable.
Starting our descent into Chiang Rai.
On final approach.
Welcome to Thailand's northernmost city! We arrived on time.
Parked next to a Thai Lion Air Boeing 737-800 that will be heading back to Bangkok (DMK).
【 Chiang Rai International Airport 】
The baggage reclaim area.
I waited 10 seconds for my bag to arrive (it was the first one on the belt). Another benefit of the Nok Max fare is priority luggage. ;)
The arrivals area landside.
You can tell this airport is very catered to tourists with plenty of stores around to sell you SIM cards, exchange your money, or offer you a rental car. There are a lot of options for an airport that only gets 20 flights a day.
And here's the pick-up area outside.
That's my only domestic flight in Thailand done! I'll be spending a few days in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai before heading back on a sleeper train - check out the tourism bonus below for more on that. My next FR in this series will cover the flight out of the country. Thanks for reading, and see you there! ;)
