Short review
Lounge (THAI Royal First Lounge in Bangkok): 5/5
Cabin: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Food and beverages: 4/5
Pros:
- Enjoyable massage in the airport
- Excellent service all around
Cons:
- No Wi-Fi
- The seat privacy could be better
Long review
This time I flew with Thai Airways from Singapore to Sydney with a long transit in Bangkok. Thai Airways is the national carrier of Thailand and a member of Star Alliance. The first flight from Singapore to Bangkok, TG402, used B777-300, with a total flight time of 2 hours and 10 minutes. The plane was scheduled to leave at 8:15 in the morning and arrive in Bangkok around 9:25. I flew in Royal Silk, THAI’s business class brand, because there was no first class for this route.
In the Changi Airport, premium passengers were able to use the Premier Check-in area, which could also be accessed by those flying with Air China, Air Niugini, British Airways, China Southern, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Shenzhen Airlines, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways, and Xiamen Air. Check-in and immigration were a breeze. As usual, Singapore was well known for its efficiency.
I just found out that THAI had their own lounge in Changi Airport. The lounge was quiet when I entered since it was rather early in the morning. The lounge was dominated by purple, the main colour of THAI. The size of the lounge was not big, but sufficient since it only served flights between Singapore and Bangkok. I only had a bit of food and drinks here, and they looked reasonable. The lounge became busier closer to departure.
During boarding, as usual, Royal Silk passengers were allowed to board first. When I checked the registration, the plane was actually quite old, about 16 years old. However, the cabin interior was clean and shiny. Probably it was newly refurbished. The same as the design of the lounge, purple was the main colour in the cabin. The seat was organised into a 2-2-2 configuration in a row, a common configuration for a regional business class cabin. The seat could be adjusted into a kind of lazy sofa but was not flat to the floor. Since this was a relatively short flight, the seat was adequate.
A flight attendant offered me a welcome drink, in which I chose a glass of orange juice. It was a bit too early in the morning for champagne. She also brought along with her the food and drink menus. I quite liked the design of the menus. They were colourful and lively, even though they were simply printed on thick sheets of paper. The drink selection was good for such a short flight. They provided champagne, red wine, white wine, and other alcoholic drinks. For breakfast, they offered 3 choices: Hokkien noodles, omelette, and steamed chicken with rice. I ordered the omelette.
Breakfast was served soon after take-off. Taste-wise, it was not bad, but, in my opinion, it looked the same as the food in the economy class. After breakfast, I spent the remaining of the flight time by relaxing and watching movies until the plane landed in the Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
My next flight was in Royal First from Bangkok to Sydney. Therefore, I received first-class services once I arrived in Bangkok. A THAI staff was waiting for me right on the gate after the aerobridge carrying a small notice board with my name on it. The staff wanted to bring me to the lounge, but I had a long transit, about 8 hours, so I decided to explore Bangkok a bit. In fact, I already made an appointment with a friend. As a first-class passenger, I did not require to walk to the immigration area. The staff had prepared a buggy and drove me immediately there. There was a fast track for premium passengers, so I did not queue for a long time to pass immigration.
After a bit of shopping and having an enjoyable lunch with my friend in Bangkok, I returned to the airport about 3 hours before departure. A staff welcomed me in the check-in area and accompanied me to pass immigration. There was a fast-track lane for passengers in Royal Silk and Royal First, so again the process was a breeze.
The staff took me to the Royal First lounge with a buggy. The lounge was spacious, and I liked its overall design. A lounge staff came to me and asked whether I would like to have some food and drink. Since I had a big lunch, I was still full and only ordered a bowl of tom yum soup and a glass of red wine.
A unique service for Royal First passengers offered by THAI was a 1-hour full body massage dubbed Royal Thai Massage. A staff accompanied me in a short walk to the Royal Orchid Spa. The massage room looked amazing actually. The design was traditional, but it looked elegant and luxurious. The massage bed was the centre of the room. In one corner, there was a changing room, toilet, and a shower room. I have tried various massage services before and, in my opinion, this was definitely among the best ones. I enjoyed a great warm shower after the massage. Now I felt fresh and relax, and was ready for my long flight.
When it was time to board the plane, a staff accompanied me from the lounge to the plane. This time, I flew with Boeing 747-400, flight number TG475. The flight was scheduled to depart at 18:00 Bangkok time and arrive at 07:00 in Sydney with a total flight time of more than 9 hours.
A flight attendant took me to my seat, 2F. The Royal First cabin was dominated by purple and light cream colours with some touch of golden for the pillows and quilt. The overall design of the seat was good and the large HD TV was perfect. The seat obviously could be converted into a bed, which was adequately spacious. In a partition on my right, there was a narrow space to store my clothes. I also appreciated the orchid placed on every seat. In the middle of the cabin, there was a kind of a small bar, so passengers could grab some snacks and drinks any time. For me personally, an addition of a sliding door would be great to increase the privacy in every seat. Also, there was no Wi-Fi in this flight.
A flight attendant then came to my seat and introduced herself and the other team members who would take care of the Royal First passengers. A small towel and a welcome drink were offered afterwards. As usual, I chose champagne. She also asked what I wanted to have for dinner and breakfast. The following was the dinner menu for this flight:
First Serving
- Lemograss US scallop and BBQ sauce
- White sturgeon caviar with garnitures
First Course
- Marinated salmon caramel stuffed with goat cheese topped with crème fraiche and balsamic pearl grilled zucchini
Soup
- Onion cream soup with a touch of port wine
Main course
- Barbecued duck with lychee and tomato in red curry with steamed Thai Hom Mali rice; or
- Vacuum cooked lamb shank with Australian Shiraz wine sauce, small potatoes wrapped with bacon and shallot confit, and bouquet of vegetables; or
- Steamed cod fish with duo so and superior soy sauce, braised ee fu noodles with shimeji, and sautéed Hong Kong kalian; or
- Slow cooked kurobuta pork fillet with marsala cream sauce, tossed angle hair with Italian basil, and sautéed spinach with pine nuts (my choice)
Desserts
- Stuffed rice flour with coconut and caramel covered with sesame seeds
- Dulcey chocolate panna cotta with apricot jelly almond crunch
- Rice pudding with banana caramel
Dinner service began not long after take-off. The lemongrass scallop with BBQ sauce was a great dish to stimulate my appetite. Next, the caviar and garnitures were served. I loved it and the portion was reasonably generous too. The next dish was the salmon and goat cheese. The taste was nice, but I think it was too rich and the cheese overpowered the entire dish. This was followed by a bowl of onion cream soup. Again, I think this dish was rather heavy. Clear soup probably was more suitable to clean the palate before the main course. Finally, my pork dish was served. It was delicious, and the pork was juicy and tender. The portion was also generous. The presentation of the dish perhaps could be made better. The dessert was fresh fruit and some Thai dessert. I was very full at this stage, so unfortunately I could not finish some dishes.
After dinner, I asked a flight attendant to convert my seat into a bed, while I brushed my teeth and changed to the pyjamas provided in the toilet. I liked the design of the Rimowa amenity kit bag for Royal First passengers. However, the contents were exactly the same as those distributed to Royal Silk (business class) passengers.
Back to my seat, it had been transformed into a comfortable-looking bed. I slept well throughout the night so that the flight attendant had a difficulty to wake me up in the morning. She gave me a small towel to wipe my face. I then went to the toilet again to refresh myself, while she converted the bed back into a seat for breakfast.
The breakfast menu was as follows:
First Course
- Fresh fruit
- Yoghurt
- Cereals
Main Course
- Egg and tomato tart, grilled chicken sausage, spinach timbale, sautéed mixed mushroom with thyme and cream; or
- Wrapped pancake with scrambled egg, sautéed shrimp, grilled back bacon, pommes paillasson, and classic ratatouille (my choice); or
- Cold cuts platter containing pistachio boar terrine, smoked pork loin, French salami, and fontina cheese
The wrapped pancake and scrambled egg was super delicious by the way.
We landed in the Sydney International Airport not long after breakfast. Overall, I immensely enjoyed this Royal First experience with THAI. I like the ground services in Bangkok, such as the airport buggy and the enjoyable massage. The first-class cabin was decent, even though not as great as the suites boasted by Singapore Airlines or Middle Eastern airlines. The service on board was very good. The dishes may need to be reconsidered because they were quite heavy, although their taste was wonderful.
