yes - useful news Shirley( except that I love BKK and will use any excuse to go there!!)

Wonder if the seat pitch is their usual 28". Nah, I'll stick to scheduled especially as it gives you freedom to stay where you want and for how long you want. Bet there won't be a free bar either!

May be suitable for people who like everything arranged for them especially if taking kids.

What fly on Thomson...when you can fly on the exotics like Thai and Eva with better service and comfort levels...no thanks. Plus I'm a Thai addict because the likes of Thomson don't fly out there

i know exactly what you mean fiona and chris, I too prefer scheduled, Thai are my favourite airline.
Fiona I am the same as you, Bangkok is the best city in my opinion in the whole world , we visited Hong Kong several years ago and then flew to Krabi with a 4 hour wait in Bangkok airport it was hard to stop myself running out of the airport and jumping in a taxi to the city - I vowed then I would never visit the Far East again without at least 2 nights in the city of angels ... I just love the chaotic smog filled place with all my heart... I always will - just thought the charter would be great for the people who like a typical 14 night package.
Chris I too would love to hear about Ko Samet, is Diamond beach area very busy?
where did you stay ?
Some guide books portray Samet as a beach paradise, others describe it as tacky and full of mangy stray dogs, what is your honest opinion Chris , did you visit in summer ? thanks shirley.

I wonder if Thomson will be able to make a go of it as the competition with scheduled airlines is very fierce. I remember seeing Airtours flights coming into Phuket and everyone being herded onto the coaches which is unusual in that part of the world as usually everything is done on a smaller more individual scale, just a few people in a minibus or taxi transfer.

Went to Koh Samet a few years back can't say I was overwhelmed by it, but it was a nice change from Pattaya (which I did not like).

so why weren't you overwhelmed Sunbear? What did you think of Koh Samet?

Just that Koh Samet was ok as far as I was concerned...ok as a side trip from Pattaya but not a place I would go out of my way to go to. Basically when I visited there were just a few beach huts and restaurants - the beach was OK. I know now there are more places there including a few more upmarket establishments so things may have changed but at the time there was litte that would make me want to stay more than a day or so. I'd be more interested in peoples opinions on Koh Chang

Koh Chang seems to be busier than Koh Samet. I wonder if they will develop as fast as Koh Samui did. A friend had been to Chaweng in Koh Samui 5 years before my first trip there. I began to wonder if she had been somewhere else as her description of a peaceful place with an unsurfaced road running through it wasn't quite what I was seeing!

I first visited Koh Samui 1995 so can see where your friend was coming from, although I would not have described Chaweng as peaceful even then.

Thailand changes so quickly. Went to Ao Nang in 99, returned in 2003 and could not believe how much it had changed.