Hi everyone, welcome back to another trip review. Today, I’ll be following up that incredible F experience on Thai from a while back, with a business class experience over to Shanghai Pudong (PVG). I recently watched a video detailing Thai’s return from all those difficult years, and I can agree that they are definitely on the right track. Of course the service on the F experience is unmatched, but this Business flight definitely felt like a level higher than most.
I was originally booked on a China Eastern narrowbody on the same flight, only because Thai’s daily trip to PVG is scheduled at 10:45 am while MU’s in the late afternoon. Having only slept a few hours the night before, I prioritized a good night’s sleep. However, I woke up bright at early and immediately paid the small cancel fee and booked with Thai. How can one pass up an A350 for a narrowbody? Interestingly, I actually saved money with the rebooking, as Thai’s trip was two hundred dollars cheaper than MU’s.
I stayed the night at Courtyard Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, only a few minutes drive from Suvarnabhumi. The hotel had a very gorgeous courtyard and pool area. I really wish to stay for longer in the future.
On the way, we passed by the retired A380s sitting by the runway, oh what a miss (but what a sight).
Thai Airways occupies the entire first two rows on the very left on the check-in floor, with a special area for their Royal Silk Business class.
There were around 5 counters open, so proceedings moved fast, and same could be said with the priority check-in. This was my first time back at Suvarnabhumi’s departures area since 2018, quite a bit of nostalgia.
Thai’s lounge is immediately down the first escalator once you pass security, and encompasses the entire floor (reminds me of Emirates’ Dubai lounges). The dominant shade of royal purple really adds to the elegance.
There was also a small area set up in celebration of Thai's 65 year anniversary.
The lounge is extremely long and takes a while to reach the toilets in the back.
There were quite a few mini buffet sections spread throughout, all with essentially the same options. My favorite was the papayas, quite an exotic fruit option not readily fresh in most places.
There was also this small congee station where a lounge member offered to scoop some for you, and a selection of side dishes to garnish it. This was very much perfect for a Asian stomach and resembled a Chinese breakfast.
I went with a lemonade soda thing, something I recalled from when I was younger, and finished things off with a quick ice cream.
After a hearty breakfast, I headed out and began my journey around the terminal. Check out this cool structure I passed by, it seemed to be grabbing the attention of all in the area. I did my best to grab a photo of this long, but fordible, piece of art.
I didn’t know how plane spotting here would be, but I decided to find out. The issue with Suvarnabhumi’s main terminal is the distance between the main walkways and the actual plane, and the double paned windows. If you wanted a picture of the jets up close and personal, you would have to go downstairs but that was impossible whenever a flight was close to departing since you needed to show proof of your ticket and even undergo security.
I picked up some fruit themed soaps, and wandered through glimpses of my past, before realizing my gate was a train ride away at the satellite terminal.
Considering how heavy traffic was in the main area, I had no problem heading off. You needed to show proof of your ticket before being allowed to the trains, which were mostly empty.
Upon arriving, my goodness this was a beautiful (but eerily empty) space. This reminded me of how airports looked during COVID. This satellite terminal was absolutely enormous, and its size felt larger than it was due to its emptiness. Standing near the very center and looking forward, it was mesmerizing. There were literally angles where I could not see another soul in sight. There was also a strangely large number of shops, that were also mostly empty.
Strolling down this satellite terminal was oddly satisfying, especially with Thai widebodies parked at almost every gate.
Eventually, I came across a pack of people heading towards a gate, it felt the entire satellite terminal was heading in one direction. Following them, I realized what the excitement was about, and understandably so!
After snapping some shots of the A380, I headed over to my gate which was rather empty. I later realized the flight was actually quite full and it was only the illusion from the massive terminal. Here’s a snap of our bird for today!
Boarding moved quick, and we were on our way. I was welcomed on board at the door and shown over to my seat, nice touch! Thai’s A350 business class is set up in a 1-2-1 configuration, with window seats alternating between ones closer to the window and ones nearer the aisle. This is quite a common setup on these jets, but this was the first time I managed to snatch a window seat on the inside, and you can really feel the difference in privacy. Waiting here was a pillow, small blanket, headphones, water, and one of the coolest amenity kit designs I’ve seen.
Unfortunately, there weren’t any slippers and upon requesting and being promised some, they never showed up. Not a big issue. I did really appreciate amenity kits being provided considering this was only a 4-hour trip.
A wet towel was provided.
Thai has some very cool welcome drinks, and I went with an iced tea. Very sweet but refreshing.
Apparently, I was the only one who wasn’t provided a menu card, and the crew seemed quite busy and didn’t end up providing one. The menu and lack of slippers did show some signs of imperfection, but the amenity kit and seat (and my newfound appreciation for Thai airways) did help that slide.
I soon realized that all 4-5 business class fight attendants were dealing with a customer seated in the middle section to my right. Apparently, he had hoped to upgrade to business from economy, which is allowed. However, he was unable to complete the transaction with card, only cash, which the crew repeated was insufficient.
A crew member came by to take my order, offering a Western and Thai option, I went with the latter and followed my tradition of always sticking with local cuisine. The boarding process was extremely quick and doors were closed around 20 minutes or so. The gentleman who tried to upgrade stayed in his seat, and around this time a crew member came by to inform him he needed to return to his seat. It’s at times like this you really feel appreciation for flight crew. Yes you get to travel for free which is awesome, but the hours are long, work is tiring, and you have to deal with all sorts of people.
This gentleman refused to budge for a good ten minutes, before eventually giving in and heading back to coach. Never for a second did the crew member lose her patience, regardless of all the bs that guy was spewing.
Pushback and taxi then commenced, and on a not too busy morning at Bangkok, we blasted out at 10:56, 11 minutes behind schedule (I wonder if it’s due to that gentleman’s shenanigans).
). Flying on the A350 is always a treat, and we had an extremely smooth jolt into the air. Shortly after entering cruising altitude, service began with a trail mix and an iced coffee.
I took this time to browse the shopping catalogue as I hoped to find a small Thai branded souvenir to add into my collection. I had my eyes set on these small keychains.
Wifi was also available and complimentary for all business class passengers. The speed was very quick. The IFE system, although the hard product was starting to show its age, it had a pretty good selection. Usually I stick to re-runs of comedy classics, in this case a whole season of How I met your mother played in the background while I ate and worked on reports.
The appetizer was then served, which was a crab and potato salad, accompanied by garlic bread, my choice from the bread basket. This was a very refreshing way to kick things off.
Then came my main. The Thai option was a spicy green beef curry, egg rolls, greens, and steamed white rice. The curry had a nice kick to it and actually had lots large beef chunks despite the bowl looking quite small in the photo. The sauce also spiced up the rice and had a large enough portion to flood all the rice. The eggs and greens were quite bland on their own but had no problem with the sauce being mixed in.
Overall, very solid for a 4 hour flight.
I also asked for a second glass of coffee, and it was around this time I think my purser began realizing I desired to be heavily caffeinated, and she proceeded to voluntarily refill my glass at least 5-6 times this trip. That’s a lot of coffee, but I’ll just convince myself the glass is small so maybe I’m not actually having too much? Maybe?
Then came our dessert, which featured traditional Thai mango sticky rice and a chocolate tart. These were good but oh how tiny the portions were. You could fit the entire portion of sticky rice on one spoon, and it might not even cover the whole surface. I wish we could’ve gotten some more, especially considering almost every single souvenir store in the terminal was selling big boxes of fresh mango sticky rice. The portion I received on Cathay was also quite small, but probably three times the one here.
The metal cutlery Thai uses are also some of the coolest I've seen on an airplane.
Once service concluded, lights were dimmed and people drifted off to sleep. I was highly caffeinated and ready to rumble, so I started working on some reviews. A while later, the crew came by with some Sauerkraut rice cookies, these had a salty/sour kick to it, very nice.
I was told during meal service that they unfortunately did not carry duty free products on this flight. But after lunch, they came back with the keychain I requested! Awesome! One to cherish in the collection.
After around 7 coffees, our captain came on and announced we would begin our descent into PVG. The crew came around with chocolate bars for us, what a lovely touch! I think this was the only time I was offered such a big chocolate bar in business, it’s only some F products that leave you with a chocolate box
Some final shots of the sky before we touched down
Landing was very smooth, like it always is on an A350. Passing through PVG is always a joy considering all the international carriers present. We ended up parking between the SG giant and an AC. Check out all those international wings from this shot! It's a shame to see so many have pulled put from my home airport in PEK, but good to know their business is still welcomed elsewhere in mainland. PVG is by far the busiest international terminal in mainland China, being the only one where all 3 main US carriers operate to. That was also once the case for Beijing, sadly all in the past now.
For some reason AC flights from PVG or PEK to YVR cost nearly 10k USD one way, some food for thought… There’s no fast track customs here, as is the norm in mainland China, but we passed through customs very quickly
