[Lion Air] I took a domestic flight in Thailand and will review it.

Hello, this is Macchan.

For the first time on this itinerary, I decided to take a domestic flight in Thailand.

There are options to return from Phitsanulok to Bangkok, such as by train or bus, but the journey by air takes only 1 hour, compared to about 6 hours by land. People used to say,

``Time is money,'' This time I decided to buy time with money. I also wanted to take a domestic flight once.

Domestic flight situation in Thailand

In Japan, with the advent of LCC, it has become cheaper to fly, and the same is true for Thailand.

Currently, LCCs account for 75% of domestic domestic flight usage in Thailand, meaning that 3 out of 4 people use LCCs. There are eight airlines operating domestic flights in Thailand, and the top three with market share are as follows.

1 Thai AirAsia 32%


2 Nok Air 19%
3 Thai Lion Air 18%
The top three companies are all airlines that also operate routes in Japan. This time, I decided to use the third Thai Lion Air flight as it had a flight at the desired time and at a low price.

Is there really a safety problem with Thai Lion Air?

safety is more important than cost or time .

Airplanes are generally said to be safer than cars, but many people may be reluctant to use them compared to other means of transportation because they can lead to accidents and breakdowns, which can lead to death. This is even more true when it comes to overseas countries, as seen in the 2014 Indonesian AirAsia Flight 8501 crash, which was widely reported in Japan, Southeast Asian aircraft continue to have a dangerous image.

By the way, I looked into it and found that Lion Air also had a crash in 2018 that killed all passengers and crew. . However AirlineRatings , which ranks the safety of airlines around the world, has recovered from his worst rating of 1 (1-7, 7 being the highest rating) in 2015 and 2016 to 4 at the moment. It can be said that it is good news that there are.

Well, if you start complaining about the dangers, you shouldn't come to Asia, and you won't be able to leave your house. I felt like I was on a big boat here.

Finally boarding a domestic flight in Thailand

Now, it's the day of boarding.
The flight was at 10am, so I arrived at the airport around 8am.
I'll check in first.

There are no automatic check-in machines like in Japan, so check-in procedures must be done at the counter.
I was able to check in with just my passport.

One piece of carry-on baggage per person is allowed free of charge within 40*30*20cm.

I was able to check in safely.
Please be at the boarding gate 20 minutes early.

I had some time, so I decided to take a break at the coffee shop opposite the check-in counter. I waited for an hour while drinking an iced cafe latte for 45 baht.

Now, it's boarding time, so let's board the plane. Just to be sure, I bought a mini Buddha at a souvenir shop to pray for safety, and prayed for my safe landing in Bangkok.

To reach your aircraft, walk a short distance across the tarmac.
This is a style often seen at local airports in Japan. The aircraft used is a Boeing 737.
This model can seat approximately 200 people with 6 seats per row.

The occupancy rate is about 70%.
In-flight announcements are in Thai and English.

The seats didn't feel that cramped. The equipment and interior are equivalent to those of Japanese LCC aircraft. While I was doing this, I came across Bangkok as an ophthalmologist.
The approximately 1 hour flight ended without incident.

I was able to land at Bangkok Don Mueang Airport without incident.

However, LCC is still cheap.

This time, my wife and I were on board, and the flight between Phitsanulok and Bangkok (Don Mueang) cost around 3,200 yen for two people.

After all, the cost performance is quite good when it comes to LCC at Thailand's rate.

Buses between Phitsanulok and Bangkok also cost about 1,400 yen per person, so considering the time it takes, it's definitely an LCC. There were no problems with the aircraft or service, just like Japanese LCCs.
I would like to consider LCC as my first choice when moving to a rural area from now on.