Category: Thai Airways

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.

The Details

• Flight: TG937
• Aircraft: B787-8
• Class: Royal Silk/Business
• Seat: 11A and 11B
• Route: Vienna International (VIE)-Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK)
• Distance: 5,408 miles
• Duration: 9hrs 32min
• Departure: 1:38PM
• Arrival: 4:39AM

The Preflight

After our flight from Chicago landed at 8AM in the morning, my significant other and I had five hours until the flight to Bangkok departed. Once we re-cleared security, we headed to the Austrian Airlines Business class lounge.

The Austrian Business Class lounge had individual shower suites which we both used to freshen up. There was a decent amount of seating and some tables. Breakfast offerings included eggs, bread, and other pastries.

With an hour until boarding, we decided to leave the lounge and explore Terminal 3. As we headed to the gate, we noticed a bit of fan fair at one of the gates. It turned out, ANA was inaugurating their VIE-HND route today with their special B787-8 in the R2D2 livery.

Our B787-8, registration HS-TQA, was delivered brand new to Thai Airways in July 2014. She had a pair of Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines and was named “Ongkharak”.

Boarding began promptly at 12:30PM and was done via two airbridges.

The Flight

Aboard the Thai Airways B787-8, there are 24 Business class seats arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration between the first and second pair of doors. These are the same Parallel Diamond seats as aboard the Royal Jordanian B787-8s, KLM B747-400s, and Ethiopian Airlines A350-900s. In addition, there are 240 economy seats in the rear of the aircraft.

I enjoyed the purple color scheme Thai Airways decided to go with. There were also fresh orchids waiting for us at each seat on the counter top space.

Each seat was 21″ wide and had 60″ of pitch. When fully flat, the bed measured 78″ long. There was a fixed privacy divider between each seat.

As with all Parallel Diamond seats, the seat power was located behind the headrest. There was a cup holder as well.

Each seat had a USB port, 110V outlet, and headphone jack. In between the seats were the seat controls that included lumbar support. I did notice the hardwood finishing was scratched in many places.

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The large IFE screen was high definition and very fast.

Below the IFE screen was a small storage space perfect for passports and phones. Since we were situated in the bulkhead row (row 11), our foot well was larger than the other seats in the cabin. I really liked just how wide and tall the foot space was.

The IFE remote was stored in the center console. It featured a mini-screen that could stream videos separate from the main IFE screen.

The wood finish bi-fold tray table was also stored in the center console. It was very sturdy.

Thai Airways provides Lacoste branded amenity kits in a questionable green color…. In the amenity kit was a tooth brush, hair comb, mouth wash, lip balm, and moisturizer.

The AKG brand headphones were average and not as good as my personal Bose QC35s.

The pillow came in a branded case. It was firm and comfortable.

There was a thick blanket as well.

Slippers were also provided.

One thing I appreciated was that Thai Airways also provides mattress pads.

20MB Wi-Fi cards were also handed out. This was enough for some emailing but ran out very quickly.

Once we were situated in our seats, the purser came by to introduce himself and asked what we would like to drink. I had the signature Thai Violet Bliss which was interesting. Hot towels were also passed out.

Menus were also handed out.

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The captain made his introductions and we began the taxi at 1:38PM, passing by some Austrian Q400s on our way to the runway.

We had no wait for takeoff and soon were blasting down runway 11.

It was a beautiful sunny day in Vienna.

Once the seat belt sign was switched off flight attendants came through with a beverage service. I had a glass of Veuve Clicquot brut with my mixed nuts and candied fruit.

For my appetizer, I had a spectacular avocado salmon tower with crème fraiche. It was salmon overload but I loved it. A warm bread basket was also distributed and I had a delicious pretzel roll.

I went with the Thai option, Samrab Thai, for my main dish. I had pork with bamboo shoots in green curry and sides of Pu Ja (deep fried crab meat in crab shell), stuffed cucumber with minced pork in clear soup, and stir-fried choi sum with Jasmine rice. The food was OK but even with dulled senses I could taste the salt.

Dessert was a bland white and dark chocolate mousse and a very simple cheese plate.

Flight attendants were constantly passing through the cabin during the service and re-filled my flute thrice. At the conclusion of lunch, warm towels were handed out.

The purser then came through the cabin with Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

Water bottles followed.

After finishing my fourth glass of bubbles I asked for my bed to be made. Thai Airways offers turn down service (which many carriers no longer offer) and the friendly flight attendant gladly set up the mattress pad and blankets while I went to the lavatory.

With the uber comfortable mattress pad, I slept soundly for the majority of the flight.

With 90 minutes to landing I was gently woken up by the flight attendant and offered some orange juice and a warm towel.

As breakfast was being served, I turned on the IFE and watched some live TV.

First, I had a cup of black coffee to help wake me up.

For breakfast, I had the scrambled eggs with grilled bacon, pork sausage, sautéed mushroom, and cherry tomato. The scrambled eggs were superb. Nothing like what the usual airplane scrambled eggs taste like. Each passenger also received their own bread basket with a croissant, cinnamon roll, and cheese bread. The fruit was fresh and the yogurt came with honey and granola.

We began our descent into Bangkok in the very early morning while it was still pitch black.

We landed at 4:39AM in the morning and taxied to a remote stand. Once the doors were open, we were greeted with a blast of Bangkok humidity. Deplaning was done via air stairs and there was a dedicated business class bus. By the time I got onboard the bus, I was sweating profusely.

Thai Airways provided exceptional service with world class flight attendants. While the food was good, what really made this flight stand out was the bedding and warm Thai hospitality.