Review of Thai Airways flight from Bangkok to Yangon in Business

Intro

Hello again, and welcome back to another report. Yes, I have been inactive, and it’s completely on me due to some personal troubles I have been going through. After graduating from college, I am still finding my feet, and that’s probably one of the main things on my plate. Okay, I don’t want to bore you.

Back in January, I had the opportunity to visit Myanmar, as one of my good friends lives in Yangon. Well, when a fellow member from Flight Report reached out, talking about going on a trip together (most amazing guy), I suggested Myanmar. So off we went (my second time now), and to say this trip was incredible would be the understatement of the year.

What I saw was hard to put into words. A full series will be coming of both January and now, but I went deep into Sagaing, deep into Shan, and went places no foreigner has been in 5 years. I cannot wait to share this series with you when the time comes! 

How I Booked

Getting to Yangon at the last minute is tough. Mandalay is easy, as a matter of fact, I booked my return 6 hours before departure out of Mandalay. But Yangon? Phew, it’s easier to climb the Eiffel Tower with a dozen croissants.

So, back to the story. The day before I was in Bali, my visa hadn’t been approved because of (hmmm) yeah. So with my visa getting approved at 7 pm local time, I booked SQ J over to SIN, TG J over to BKK, and separately TG J over to Yangon.

I don’t care about business on a flight this short, but economy fares were very high (500 USD the day before), and Y award space was sold out. And with all the money I spend on overcooked UA short rib, I had more than enough miles to book this flight.

Good deal? No. Worth it? Yes, to go back to my favorite country in the world…

Check In

It was off in a Grab to the airport. Seeing as I was living the high life, I was dropped off at door 1, where the dedicated business and first class check-ins are. 

Many memories:

Side note: they do not offer this to *A gold annoys me, but that’s a story for another day. Another side note: TG has just placed an order to lease 3 EY 77Ws…

Okay, back to business. Visa checked, beer in hand, it was a quick process through the dedicated security and passport control. A cheeky warm up of “Mingaaaaalarbar (extra A’s) and it was through to the lounge. I mean, bruh, so efficient, the lounge is right in front.

Taxi to lounge in 6 minutes… and that's including a visa check…

Lounge Situation

Now look, the TG Lounge is acceptable (I have a lovely inside source at TG), but it’s about to get good. TG is like a zoo, but the SQ Lounge is quiet in the AM. So, I grabbed a couple of bacon sandwiches and maybe a mimosa. Or 2. Or 3. Or 87. I plead the 5th here. 

A real english breakfast, just without the baked beans…

I digress becasue it was time to board…

Boarding

Not quite sure, I remember this one. I remember it was out of BKK, not ORD, as the taxi time wasn’t 173 minutes. Joking. We got lucky today as somehow, the gate was across from the SQ Lounge, and if you know anything about BKK, you can walk 5 hours and somehow still not be at your gate. 

While I showed up a touch late, I still remained respectful and joined the back of the queue. Unfortunately, my 1K status doesn’t work here, so I can’t just nudge everyone out of the way, shouting “1K, 1K, please move,”! 

The agents were simply lovely, and arriving at the door, it was heaven to be back on board my favorite airline in the world… 

The Seat/Cabin

I love Thai Airways. Potentially love them more than I love my sisters, but this product on the A320 is DiAAbolical. I’ve already written a review on this product, but the seats are laid out in a 2-2 configuration across 3 rows, totalling 12 seats. Pitch is fine, but other than that? I’m out in terms of hard product… 

I would love to show you more of the seat, but it's just this… Nothing else. 

Why? TG rushed this product so they could offer business class on connections. It took a total of 5 days to renovate these aircraft head to tail with new seats, becasue they didn’t want to waste the time putting in IFE screen, in-seat power, wifi, etc

So yeah, I’ll say it: I am disappointed by the hard product on the 320s. The 321s look a lot better, and their new business class (even old) is just wow. But this product is a letdown.

Whatever, the bad parts out of the way, let’s get groovy with how TG shines on their A320s. With everything but the hard product…

Departure

Now where was I? Ahh, yes, departure… Thankfully, TG is relatively on time to Yangon. MAI? Might as well book an extra night at the hotel LOL. We pushed back ahead of schedule to Yangon, with no PDB (only widebodies get it, talked with the FA), and motored our way out on a fine Bangkok day. 

Ahhh my second love: Aeroflot. 

A few minutes behind schedule, we were wheels up, and I was more excited than a kid on Christmas day. I mean, come on, Myanmar? My favorite country in the world? And I get to go back? Phewwww.

IFE/WIFI/Amenities

Perhaps the disappointment of the year: the IFE. As previously talked about, Thai did not install any IFE screens on these 320s, so the only thing available is streaming entertainment. However, on this flight, it didn’t work for me. Not so much of an issue as it’s an hour-long flight, but come on… It’s not about not having IFE on these 320s; it makes me sad because I want to see TG do well, and it feels like a rushed product.

But amenities-wise? I am pleased to announce that TG now offers the standard regional Royal Silk pillow and blanket on the A320s. Something that helped get me a touch more comfy. 

Here's a picture of being a melon. At least in a TG blanket, though.

Meal Service

Once we got out of a little bit of chop, just a weeeee little bit, the cabin crew quickly snapped into action to serve the 11/12 passengers in J. Off topic, but it was mainly Myanmar businessmen up in J, and I lucked out with an empty seat next to me for the short run.

Within 20 minutes after takeoff, my main course was presented to me. There were 2 options on the verbal menu, and I was pleased to find steak as one of them. And if you know anything about me, I really dislike breakfasts on planes, so steak was a very pleasant surprise…

And can we just appreciate how beautifully cooked this steak is? This isn’t an anomaly; every time I order the steak on TG, it is cooked extremely well. SQ could use some tips from the TG kitchen… 

I digress, plenty of Laurent Perrier was brought around to enjoy, as well as Perrier sparkling water. Talk about the high life, huh. The only small thing that annoys me about the meal service on the A320 is the baby flutes, as they barely hold any champagne. Thai offers some of the best champagne flutes on the widebodies, but these narrowbodies, let’s just say I hope they stick with the big flutes for the 321s. 

Service

Now, of course, we get to service, and this is where I have actually seen improvement with Thai Airways. Even a mate of mine was on the A320 recently domestically, and he was greeted by name, which didn’t use to be the case. Here were a few things that stood out to me:

Upon boarding, the lovely purser came to introduce herself and addressed me as “Mr. XXX, welcome back on board Thai Airways”

Continuing on, we had a laugh about the smaller champagne flutes midflight, and she offered me a larger glass.

Throughout the meal service, they were more than happy to accommodate by placing my meal on the tray table next to me.

And to top it off, before landing, I was presented with a to-go cup of champagne. It’s the small details that Thai Airways does extremely well, and with the airline going fully private, I have to imagine it will only get better. 

Reflecting on the service, it might have been the best I have experienced on any narrowbody flight in my life. So a huge thank you to the crew. 

Arrival

With Yangon being relatively close to Bangkok, it wasn’t long before we were descending through the outskirts. It was a gorgeous day as we touched down in Yangon, and pulled in next to MAI A319 (business review coming soon, and economy, but my fellow flight reporter is reviewing that now as well). 

Stepping off the plane, it was hot. Brutally hot. Wow. Down the stairs and turning right, I found the immigration I have come to know very well (ha).

I could immediately tell that there was a different vibe in the air, which is hard to describe. A quick smile and laugh with the lovely woman at immigration, I was through on my way with no checked bags.

For those wondering, there is an ATOM shop right outside arrivals, and grab works really well (5 USD to Novotel). All in all, a very easy experience to get into the city! Really embracing the local cuisine here ha.

Myanmar Bonus

I can't share it all through here, but wanted to show a few pictures from my time here. We went clubbing a lot in Yangon (amazing scene), as well as a few cultural stuff. Don't ask why there is a picture of me and a chicken in a club but though it was funny.

The famous beer that is produced by the current government (please, I am purposefully trying not to make this political)… Don't think I am not aware, though.

The sunsets here are unreal btw…

Finally, I lost my debit card so couldn't take out cash to book a flight. So, I had enough for a bus and I ended up paying 28 USD to head up to Mandalay. 

Until the next day I hired a driver to take me through the mountain pass, where no foreigner has been, in hopes of making it to Tachilek. Hopong is the farthest a foreigner can go without COM approval. 

Anyways, with no luck getting permits and 62 checkpoints to Tachilek, I hired a driver to take me from Taunggyi through the mountains again, all the way through Mandalay, and the next morning through the Sagaing region 3 hours over to Monywa. For the sake of this website, I will not write anything about these drives, but let's just say no foreigner has been there, and it's very different to Mandalay/Bagan/Yangon. 

But you see things along the way that just blow your mind…

The main Pagoda in Monywa

And finally, I want to say thank you to every single person I met along the way in Myanmar. Truly an exceptional country, and the people are the main reason I call this place number 1. So kind, helping me out in every way, shape, and form. Hundreds of messages on ig from random people saying "I hope you have a lovely time, let me know if I can help". Being invited for beer, food, etc…

As an example, I ran out of money at the bar, and with Western Union closed on Sundays (most things are), and no debit card, I didn't ask but they brought me over 2 beers and said "I'll pay for you". After replying, "no it's okay" for 10 minutes, finally, I agreed. On one condition, that when I come back, I get to buy them beers! 

So thank you everyone, from the bottom of my heart! ❤️🇲🇲