Hi everyone, welcome back to another review, a slightly shorter one at that. . I had previously done a review of Thai’s A350 Business class over to Shanghai, and I must say the experience has been relatively similar so far. But that’s nothing but good news, because this once again reaffirmed that Thai is really getting back out there. Today we’re continuing from that Condor journey and going from Bangkok over to Hong Kong aboard Thai’s 777 in Business. I am currently sitting aboard in my seat as we enter the final 40 minutes of our flight, I wanted to document feelings and experiences in the moment :) have a flight scheduled on their signature First Class offering from Heathrow in the near future, and I cannot wait to share that with you all! Let’s go!
Having only gotten back to the hotel around midnight last night, I didn’t get too much sleep ahead of my 8am departure today. I woke up around 6:20, and took a quick taxi over to the airport. I also realized that last night the driver charged me 300 Baht ahead of time, while today’s was only 82 Baht with the meter. I was exhausted last night with all the shenanigans, but I guess I should have insisted otherwise. One of the nicest pictures I’ve taken, and even better with the Thai jet heading into land.
One of the sadder moments whenever you fly out of BKK is seeing their retired A380’s parked in the distance :(
Upon arrival, I headed to the leftist check-in area devoted to Royal Silk business. There was quite a long line, and some passengers were showing their frustration. It really was peak check-in time for Thai, as reflected later with the incredibly busy lounge. After around a 10 minute wait, I headed through priority security and the automatic electronic passport check made this process extremely quick, only 5 minutes from start to finish. I had a more comprehensive review of the lounge in my Shanghai review, so please feel free to check that one out for details.
. I did need to add some pictures of the entrance, there must have been over 10 full size Christmas trees!
! I could barely find a seat despite the enormous size of the lounge, and just grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading to my gate. Luckily, no satellite terminal today, so I had some more time to walk around.
C10 was our gate today, and here’s the first look at our Boeing 777-300 ER taking us to Hong Kong. BKK’s windows does make it hard to take solid pictures. The process does become easier once you walk down the pathway from the main hallway.
Boarding went smoothly, with the usual Thai efficiency. Our first impression of the cabin, nearly a carbon copy of that on the A350s.
Funnily, I was again the last seat in the cabin on the right side, one that probably has the most privacy being next to the window and right up against the wall. It was very comforting to see headphones, blanket, and a pillow after Condor’s trip.
A wet towel was offered, along with a choice of beverage between champagne, orange juice, or iced tea, I went with the latter. Quite sweet as I remembered from the Shanghai trip, but complimented my bitter americano perfectly.
There is space to place your shoes under the seat, and decent footspace. I haven’t been on a long enough flight on Thai business to experience the recline, not sure how this would feel for long periods of time.
Present in the reading materials area were the two menus, food and beverage. There were three options for breakfast today, and I ended up going with the Steak. I did consider going with the classic Pad Thai, but I felt it was a bit heavy for breakfast (I know steak is also quite heavy, but I just love it too much.
). The beverage menu was very comprehensive for such a short flight, with quite a few alcoholic options including their signature cocktails.
Upon request, a bottle of water was offered. The crew did end up passing them around later on in the journey, but for now just one for me.
Boarding, as it always is with Thai, extremely quick and efficient. We got a close-up of the A380s during taxi, still so stunning even after retirement.
As we took off, I checked out the IFE system. Thai probably has one of the biggest movie selections out of the Asian carriers, especially Western films. Quite a large selection of Christmas films, which was a nice touch for the holiday season.
They also have a solid TV show selection, and I ended up continuing my run of Friends. Unlike Condor, who offered select episodes throughout 2 seasons, Thai’s TV show episodes are one after the other, and offer a larger selection.
I couldn’t find my headphones, so the crew happily brought over another pair. They worked quite well but I did feel my ears begin to ache a bit as we began descending into Hong Kong. Also the tablecloth is featured here haha, as I took this a bit later as service began.
Unfortunately, no Wifi on this older plane, but it was offered on their A350s free of charge for J passengers. \
Since the actual flight time was reported to be one hour forty six minutes, the crew quickly jumped into service as soon as we reached altitude. Tablecloths were offered, but no second round of towels. . Again, just like with boarding, food service was very efficiently Thai-like. The crew fed an extremely full business cabin within a few minutes. All food, other than the bread offering in the basket that came around later, was served on one tray.
The fruit probably could have been slightly fresher, especially the apple. Everything else was good. The steak, which is always hard not to overcook on flights, was tender. The eggyolk also poured out as soon as cut open, cooked very well. There could have been more flavor in the food, but nothing a little salt and pepper couldn’t help.
As the bread basket came over, I tried a little dough stick. This was very similar to the traditional fried dough sticks they have in China, sort of like a savory churro. The green sauce was quite sweet and tasted of custard, honestly a much better option than the usual blander white bread. I don’t think this was offered back in August on my way to Shanghai, and will be my go to in the future.
I also went with an iced coffee, which the crew mentioned would be hot black coffee with ice, the same offering as in August. A coke zero also accompanied my meal.
Nothing really notable occurred after the meal, which I see as a positive. There really wasn’t any complaints with Thai, nor was there any complaints on my previous flight with them. The staff are consistently professional, attentive, and food continues perform. Another praise I must give Thai is that many airlines drop the ball with breakfast, seeing it as a the easiest meal to provide. But Thai gives it as much attention as lunch and dinner, and this is clear with the extensive offerings they provide. No boring bland omelet and one sausage, no white porridge (looking at you CA), they really go above and beyond to share their culture through cuisine, even for breakfast. I honestly forgot that this was a breakfast service when I was eating.
I’m currently spending the rest of the flight working on this review, and the PA just announced our descent being imminent. I paid around 3000 RMB for this trip, around 420 USD. With a widebody jet, full meal, great service, I’m quite a satisfied customer, as I usually am with Thai.
Shortly after the announcement of our imminent decent, the purser came on the PA for a short, but very sweet message: “Your every moment onboard Thai is meaningful to us, thank you for flying Thai.” Small touches like this really improve the experience, and it is a nice pathway to follow for other airlines!
We arrived in HKG at 11:59, 14 minutes behind schedule. A short train ride took us over to immigration. Props to HKG, for how incredible long the immigration line was for visitors, it moved exceptionally quickly. The first time I’ve ever experienced a queue, probably anywhere not limited just to airports, that was constantly moving at a quick pace. I had my luggage in one hand and drink in the other, and never did I get a chance to stand still and check my phone. Great efficiency!
A final pic of our jet, a clearer one here under HKG's panes.
