Flight with Etihad from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur then Thai Airlines from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok

We had confirmed check in and our luggage was collected at 8.50pm and we came down to bother Lobby of the Shangri-La and we were surprised to have several staff members lined up to stay goodbye.

Our driver was waiting had loaded our luggage and wanted Jeanette to check the 3 large soft bags, the smaller two. All good. We departed exactly on time at 9.00pm and enjoyed the 25 minute drive to Abu Dhabi International airport in our BMW 7 series.

Upon arrival at the Etihad Business class Check in our luggage was whisked away and we’d checked in then went to the Etihad Business class Lounge where we enjoyed a drink and snacks. This is a large modern lounge, beautifully equipped and we enjoyed what turned out to be a relatively short stay.

We walked to the departure lounge and the boarding commenced at 11.25pm and we were seated at 11.35pm and all boarding was completed and the plane departed 15 minutes early.

The Aircraft was listed as a Dreamliner but we were bussed out to a Boeing 777 and this proved fine. We were tired and told the stewardess that we wouldn’t eat until tomorrow morning. It was scheduled as an 8 hour flight but with a tail wind we were booked to arrive after 7.33 hours. It was a non eventful trip with Etihad demonstrating their efficiency and reliability.

We were asleep within 45 minutes and Ken slept well for almost 5 hours, whilst Jeanette slept better after the first couple of hours where she had difficulty falling asleep.

But our body clocks were all over the place with the several time changes which we remedied upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur. We had roughly 2 plus hours before our flight from KL to Bangkok. We were a little concerned as to whether our luggage would transit ion KL, but after attending the Thai Transfer desk, these concerns were allayed, and we were confident that our luggage would arrive on our flight to Bangkok. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast

We were dozing off during the wait in Kuala Lumpur. We made our long walk to Gate C26 and we were checked in and then through the immigration and customs area. We had seats 11A and 11B, which were the front seats in Business. This was a relatively new 789 and the Thai staff were lovely and friendly. After our departure also slightly early, we enjoyed an excellent flight with caring ,friendly service.

Jeanette had a drink and snacks, whilst Ken went to sleep.

This was about a 2 hour flight, which passed quite quickly in a comfortable environment with excellent service.

The pilot advised that we had made good time, which led to several loops around Bangkok prior to landing. This had been an enjoyable flight.

We were parked quite some distance from Immigration and customs and had a lengthy 15 minute walk using the walking mobile pathways and then were quickly though Immigration ,then Ken purchased some Thai Bart at one of the ATM’s in the baggage collection area, just beyond the carousel #6 where our soft bags all came though with priority tags.

Our next task was to find the Collection point where Drivers were queued with signs to collect passengers. this is a large bustling airport and there are many such drivers. We couldn’t see our driver , but we had received a telephone call and SMS, advising that he was just beyond door 4, whereas in earlier messages it was to be outside the entrance / exit door #5.

However, after our call, we quickly identified where they were, found the sign with “Kenneth coutts” in large black letters and our guide took our luggage. The driver was then called and was some 5 minutes away. We were taken outside and waited for 3 minutes for a new Mercedes E64 300 to come. It stopped in front of us, 2 people loaded our gear into the boot, we were introduced to our driver and offered cool towels aqnd fresh cold water, which was needed in the heart.

This had worked well, as usual with Blacklane (which we use world-wide) and we settled back and relaxed as we were quickly transferred to the Conrad Hotel , Bangkok. The drive is 40 minutes along good quality freeways.

We arrived at 3.40pm, our luggage was unloaded and collected. We went to the Hilton Honors Check in counter and proceeded. This has been a long day with the overnight flight, although the airline and trhe staff dedicated all they could, and our arrangements and planning had all worked well.

We look forward to a one night stay at the Conrad before we move on to one of the Marriott timeshare.