I booked with Nok air for my business trip to Chumphon on Sunday Evening. At the journey date, Nok air is the only airlines serving the route. Although I have heard much about Nok's delay reputation, I seemed to have no choice but fly them.
Check in at Bangkok Don Mueang is quick. I checked in on their mobile website which is user friendly, but would like to print a paper boarding pass just for the sake of boarding convenience.
As expected, the check in agent informed me of 50 minutes delay. She seemed apologetic but no reason is given. Seemed like almost all of their flight is delayed this evening
Don Mueang is a small airport that is easy to navigate. I love that there are too few walkways to get lost, but the spotting is a bit boring given a small number of active flight. It is used mainly by low cost airlines - Thai Air Asia, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air, to name a few.
After a long wait, boarding commenced. We are bussed to the tarmac where HS-DBQ awaits. Dash 8 Q400 is a new fleet, average age of just 3 years, but the sign of minimum maintenance can be seen all over
My aisle seat is already occupied by a gentleman who did not seemed to understand Thai (or any other language in the world), so I did not bother and take a window seat instead. The door quickly closed and flight attendants start safety demonstration.
Safety brochure
Passenger service unit, which I like its modern looking
Legroom is surprisingly adequate, consider the fact that Nok Air is a launch customer of Q400 high density version
A push back and off we go. Q400 sound is much less noisy than other turboprop I have flown in the past
The recline is just bare minimum, which I think passenger does not seemed to care for such a short flight. Thai Domestic route is not long enough to warrant more than 1.5 hours flight time, and these turboprop's destination are mostly well below 50 minutes.
A small bottle of water is served, and I bought a pack of mix peanut which taste fine.
Unfortunately, my tray table is not in a fine condition
We started descending soon afterward, while the sun started to set. The flight get pretty bumpy due to the rain cloud below
And finally landed at dusk, into a stormy night. Chumphon Airport has no jetbridge (not that Q400 is serviceable by one anyway). So, passengers need to walk to the terminal building. Considerate ground staff greet us with umbrellas, enough for anyone and we can just return it once we enter the building.
There is only one carousel in this airport. Once I collect my luggage, I walked off and reach the curbside where await my chauffer in just a few steps. And that's the conclusion of my review. Thank you for visiting.
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Verdict
Nok Air
4.0/10
Cabin4.0
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi0.0
Meal/catering3.0
Bangkok - DMK
7.8/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness7.0
Chumphon - CJM
8.4/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness6.5
Conclusion
The experience is fair. Their front line staff are all very polite, friendly and efficient. The services are quite adequate. However, given their networkwide delay and stage of their aircraft, I would prefer to fly other airlines, if possible.
5 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Hello ARQ, thanks for posting your first report here and welcome! I don't think I've ever seen a report on Nok Air that wasn't on a 737 so this is exotic. If seems you did not attribute grades to the airline, DMK, or CJM as they are all showing on the default 5/10, or perhaps that was your intention? Thanks for sharing!
Passengers in the wrong seat usually take a window seat. Taking somebody else's aisle seat is somewhat unusual, from what I read in this website. What I like about this kind of PSU is that you can close your ventilation. The latest jets have no accessible vent, and when the settings are wrong, pour merciless glacial air on the passengers. I wonder why they bother having a reclining feature at all for these seats. There are jetbridges adapted to the Q400 in Canada (check reports out of Montreal, for instance), due to their severe winter conditions. Taiwanese airports provide umbrellas, too, and I like it. Thanks for sharing, and welcome among the contributors to the website !
Thank you for visiting my first review. I shall certainly visit the review of Canadian Airport as you suggested. It is fun to see the different service offered around the globe. Thanks again.
Hi there! Congrats for your first report, and welcome to flight-report.com! Excellent review of Nok Air's Q400, by the way. Looks like those poor little birds might need major maintenance. I've flown DD numerous times domestically, specifically between Don Mueang and Chiang Mai, but I've changed to flying TG instead. Because of the same reason. I was actually surprised that they don't serve those little Auntie Anne's snacks on your flight. Do they still do it on longer flights though? Cheers, mate!
Ps. I feel like I've seen you on other websites before. Perhaps airliners.net? :)
Sorry it took me so long to reply. Just come back to this review today.
Nok Air stop serving snack on all their flight, and unfortunately they repositioned themselves from " Premium low cost" to " Ultra low cost" nowsaday. I did not fly them so often but heard that they are not the same as what they once were.
And yes, you are right. I am also a member of Airliners.net. It's nice to see you here too.
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25 reviews
6 Comments
What I like about this kind of PSU is that you can close your ventilation. The latest jets have no accessible vent, and when the settings are wrong, pour merciless glacial air on the passengers.
I wonder why they bother having a reclining feature at all for these seats.
There are jetbridges adapted to the Q400 in Canada (check reports out of Montreal, for instance), due to their severe winter conditions. Taiwanese airports provide umbrellas, too, and I like it.
Thanks for sharing, and welcome among the contributors to the website !
Congrats for your first report, and welcome to flight-report.com! Excellent review of Nok Air's Q400, by the way. Looks like those poor little birds might need major maintenance. I've flown DD numerous times domestically, specifically between Don Mueang and Chiang Mai, but I've changed to flying TG instead. Because of the same reason. I was actually surprised that they don't serve those little Auntie Anne's snacks on your flight. Do they still do it on longer flights though?
Cheers, mate!
Ps. I feel like I've seen you on other websites before. Perhaps airliners.net? :)
Sorry it took me so long to reply. Just come back to this review today.
Nok Air stop serving snack on all their flight, and unfortunately they repositioned themselves from " Premium low cost" to " Ultra low cost" nowsaday. I did not fly them so often but heard that they are not the same as what they once were.
And yes, you are right. I am also a member of Airliners.net. It's nice to see you here too.
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