The Details

• Flight: TG307
• Aircraft: A330-300
• Class: Royal Silk/Business
• Seat: 12A and 12B
• Route: Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK)-Colombo Bandaranaike International (CMB)
• Distance: 1,499 miles
• Duration: 3hrs 29min
• Departure: 10:56PM
• Arrival: 12:30AM

The Preflight

After arriving in Bangkok at five in the morning, my significant other and I had almost twenty hours in Bangkok. We had purposefully built this long layover in to our journey to Colombo so that we could explore Bangkok proper for a day.

We had a great time exploring downtown Bangkok with a river cruise and visits to the various temples. At 5PM we returned to BKK to relax in the lounge.

Check-in was done in a dedicated area of the airside terminal for Royal Orchid and elite passengers. It took about 20 minutes for us to get our boarding passes, clear customs, and then get past security.

We decided to head towards the Royal Orchid Spa for some complimentary Thai massages thanks to our business class tickets.

This was actually the first time ever that I would be getting a professional massage of any kind and it was certainly an unforgettable experience. There was a pre-massage area with an assortment of teas and light snacks. Once ready, the masseuse escorted my significant other and I back to an curtained off area where we both got massages. I was certainly not prepared for just how painful the massage was going to be…

After the massage, we both headed to the Royal Orchid Lounge in Concourse D. There was a variety of local hot Thai dishes on offer with ample seating.

Boarding was scheduled to begin at 9:35PM but unfortunately it was delayed by about 35 minutes. All passengers boarded via the single airbridge at door 2L.

Our A330-300, registration HS-TBG, was delivered brand new to Thai Airways in April 2013. She was equipped with a pair of Rolls Royce Trent 700s (772B-60) and was named “Samut Prakan”.

The Flight

Thai Airways currently has two distinct sub-fleets of their A330-300s. One fleet is used on more prestigious routes in the Asia-Pacific region and features 31 Thompson Vantage fully lie-flat seats in an alternating 1-2-1 and 1-2-2 configuration. The other A330-300 sub-fleet offers recliner seats in business class in a 2-2-2 configuration. Our A330-300 was one of the older recliner business class A330-300s.

The 36 angle-flat Royal Silk business class seats arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration were all located in the cabin between the first and second set of doors. While the seats are called “angle flat”, there is only 131 degrees of recline and these felt more like a premium economy seat.

Each seat was 20″ wide and offered 58″ of pitch.

The IFE screen was a bit dated but still responsive to touch. There was a literature pocket and cup holder in the seatback as well. Each seat also had a coat hook next to the IFE screen.

I actually liked how much legroom there was at this seat.

There was also a leg rest that fully extended when the seat was reclined completely. It was not very comfortable.

The seat control and IFE control where located in the arm rest. I appreciated just how many options there were for the seat adjustments.

Surprisingly, each seat had two USB ports below the center armrest. There was also a 110V outlet and headphone jack. The leather was stained and definitely showing its age.

Next to the headrest was a reading light. There was a retractable privacy divider between the two seats.

There were no amenity kits provided on this short regional flight. Waiting for us at each seat was a pair of low quality Thai branded headphones.

Each passenger was also given a thick Thai branded pillow.

The blanket was heavy which was perfect as the cabin was kept fairly cool.

We were welcomed aboard with the signature orchids waiting for us at our seats. A flight attendant came by and offered us some orange juice or water.

The menu featured three choices: Thai, Sri Lankan, or International.

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The beverage menu was identical to our previous flights from Vienna to Bangkok.

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The captain came over the PA, welcomed the passengers aboard, and gave a short description of the flying time and path. We began our push back shortly afterwards at 10:56PM, about half an hour late.

Once we were in the air, flight attendants set up the table and began a beverage service. I had a glass of Veuve Clicquot brut champagne served in a Thai branded flute.

The appetizer and main course were both served on the same tray. Since our final destination was Sri Lanka, I decided to try the “touch of local” option. The Murgh Masala (spicy chicken curry with masala) was average and served with an appetizer of paneer chaat masala. The bread basket featured delicious garlic bread and some naan.

I decided to try both dessert options. The praline mousse with peach was delicious. The other option was an interesting Butterfly Pea Sweet Topped with Candied Palm Seed which I enjoyed as well.

After dessert, I asked for a cup of black coffee.

Once I was finished with dinner, we had about an hour and 45 minutes until landing. I managed to nap for about an hour and awoke to the flight attendants preparing the cabin for landing.

We landed at 30 minutes past midnight local time in Colombo and taxied directly to a gate. The terminal was surprisingly crowded and busy as there were quite a few widebodies departing.

In summary, this was a great short hop across the Bay of Bengal. The service was professional, food OK, and seat suitable for a three hour international flight.