I recently flew THAI Airways for my BIG 17 day trip throughout South East Asia. I have flown THAI Airways many times in the past, but this is my first time enjoying amazing newness: New aircraft (HS-TKN - http://www.flickr.com/photos/92040401@N06/11639329083/), new seats and new inflight services.
On this leg (LAX-BKK with a stop at ICN), I was fortunate enough to fly THAI's 777-300ER in Royal Silk Class (Business Class; First Class isn't currently offered on flights from the U.S.). Upon arrival at LAX, I checked in at the THAI Airways Royal Silk counter after which I proceeded through the priority TSA lane so that I could begin my journey. Before departing LAX, I stopped by the brand new Star Alliance lounge within LAX's recently renovated Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT).
Once on-board the aircraft (one of THAI's newest 777-300ER's), we made a speedy departure from Gate 123 (which happens to be one of the older TBIT gates that's still operational at the time of publication).
Approximately 15 minutes after takeoff from LAX, the great service that THAI Airways is known for began. The course selection in Royal Silk Class is far from basic - both Western and Asian dishes are offered and they do not lack flavor at all. If you so choose, you may Book the Chef where you can order your gourmet meal online (which is unique offering apart from the already pleasant Royal Silk menu). Additionally, THAI's Royal Silk wine selection is expert selected and rotated regularly to accommodate the meals being offered.
Grilled Tiger Prawn with Mango Salsa
Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Bordelaise Sauce,
Dauphine Potatoes,
Haricot vert with Shallot & Bacon,
Tomato Stew
Fruits and Cheeses
Mango Crème Brûlée
After indulging in all of the THAI's gastronomic delights, I caught up with a few movies and TV shows that I missed over the past few months. THAI Airways has one of the most advanced and impressive and in-flight entertainment systems in the industry with hundreds of hours of content. The user interface is not complicated in any way and its touchscreen system is quite rugged (not once did I find myself asking a flight attendant to reboot my system - which is very unusual for me on long-haul flights). You can explore monthly in-flight entertainment offerings on THAI right here: http://www.thaiairways.com/en/exp_thai/In-Flight_Services/Entertainment.page?
The 180° lie-flat seat is a sheer joy for a long flight! If you are tall like me (over 6' tall), you will be able to stretch out and rest comfortably. Even if you are the easy chair type, you will certainly get some great rest when your seat is in the half-recline position. I especially enjoyed the multifunction back massage feature (which I put to immediate use once I boarded the aircraft)!
Royal Silk Class on THAI's 777-300ER has 42 seats with 180 degree recline and 20 inch seat width. Even with the new Contemporary Concept design, which is being deployed on THAI's latest 777-300ERs, each seat has a private enclave with aisle access and is staggered for easy access. Every Royal Silk guest will enjoy THAI's on-demand in-flight entertainment system with a 16 touch screen where you can access more than 100 movies, 150 documentaries, 500 music titles and 60 video games.
Just before landing in Seoul, another delightful meal was served…..
Mixed Salad,
Florentine Lasagna
Once my flight arrived in Seoul for its service stop, I had a quick 45 minutes to go through transit procedures and then return to the gate to check emails and take a few photos.
Once onboard to head to Bangkok, THAI's great services was underway once again!
Smoked Salmon and Mixed Green Salad with Balsamic Dressing
Grilled Pomfret with Champagne Mushroom Cream Sauce,
Duchesse Potatoes,
Mixed Vegetables
Assorted Cheeses & Fresh Fruits
Blueberry Walnut Cake
Thanks to THAI Airways' Royal Silk Class and the amazing inflight crew, I arrived luxuriated and prepared to enjoy the next step of my journey throughout South East Asia. More details on my 17-day trip to come in the coming weeks at: http://www.andiamo.tv/blog. With all that I experienced on my flight to Bangkok, suffice it say, I certainly enjoyed my return flight home. A flight report on that journey will be posted here on March 14. In the meantime, learn more about THAI Airways' Royal Silk Class here: http://www.thaiairways.com/en/exp_thai/Cabin_Class/royal_silk.page?.
Special thanks to THAI Airways for all of their assistance and to Alan Ravenhurst for granting permission for me to use his photo on the cover page of this report.
View my video blog here:
Thank you for sharing this report, TG looks like a fine airline in the forward cabins and the catering looks quite appetizing, thanks for taking the time to upload a video report as well :)
Thank you very much! I'm elated that you enjoyed both reports! :-)
HS-TKN is actually a B772.
Thanks for sharing and congratulations for this first FR :)
TG is doing very good again but the catering isn't so appealing. It's a pity, even more when you consider the richness of Thai's kitchen !
I really like this seat. It makes a great plus on these super long flights.
Have a great time in South East Asia !
Thank you very much for your feedback! I'm glad that you like the report :-)
Yes, the seat is a JOY for a long haul flight. It's the only way to fly!
I'm sure that you'll like my BKK-LAX flight post which will go live on Friday. There were a couple of extraordinary Thai meals which were AMAZING! :-)
Excellent photography and narrative. Thanks for this FR and welcome among the website's contributors !
Thank you very much for your kind words and warm welcome! I greatly appreciate everything that you've stated and look forward to contributing more soon :-)
You're welcome :)
One minor change needed : the flight should be referenced as TG693 (the airline's code is not added automatically).
Ah! Thank you very much for the heads-up! :-) KevinDC gladly fixed that for me, but I'll be sure to include the airline codes in future reports :-)
-JG
Awesome first report! Thanks for sharing--great pics and well written. You're excitement at taking this flight definitely shines through, which is always a good thing! Thai is definitely one of the best airlines as far as soft product (and they also have a great new hard product, but it's not universal throughout the fleet). The Star lounge at TBIT is sooo much nicer than the SkyTeam lounge! Catering looks very apetizing. Looking forward to more reports! btw, I added TG to the flight number for you.
Welcome to Flight-Report!
KevinDC
FR Community Manager
WOW! I had no idea that Flight-Report.com was only a few months old in English. What amazing timing that is! :-)
Absolutely! I will be sure to post great planespotting pics to my posts (we have some many great #AVGeeks here in L.A. and the are QUITE fastidious when it comes to imaging great photos at LAX. Please let me know when you are out here again so we can meet for coffee :-)
Many continued thanks!
-JG
Always happy to welcome new members to our growing community (The English language website is only a few months old). Clicked on your link in the beginning of the FR...AWESOME planespotting pics!!!! I try to get to LAX at least once a year for some planespotting. Feel free to include planespotting pics as a bonus at the end of reports in the future (as long as it's to/from one of the airports in the itinerary--like in this case)...I'm sure a lot of the #AvGeeks on here would appreciate seeing these beautiful pics :-)
Thank you very much Kevin! There's a lot of love I am feeling here at Flight-Report and I'm so pleased that my first post has been well received by the community here.
Indeed Thai is a great airline - they strive for the best and their inflight teams are exemplary (very authentic and always pleasant)!!!
The new TBIT Star Alliance lounge is a true sanctuary and it is the best at LAX. Yes, the SkyTeam lounge needs help, but the OneWorld one (which QANTAS currently uses) is quite nice - but Star Alliance has them beat for sure!
Thank you very much for adding the TG to the flight number for me - I greatly appreciate it and I'll be sure to keep an eye out for that detail going forward :-)
Looking forward to posting more reports soon. Thank you very much again for the warm welcome!
-JG
JollyGiant
Sounds good! Maybe once we get more members here in the US, I'll organize a Flight-Report.com Meet-up in L.A. -- we're having our first US Meet-up this weekend in NYC!
That would be fantastic! Please keep posted :-)