Thai Airways

[Jacksond]

It is a bit too late for this but I'll ask anyway. What are the member's overall opinion of Thai business class Melbourne to Paris. It seems as if they still have the old seating arrangement on the 777 but the new arrangement on the 380. Just seeking impressions. I'm aware that things change day by day, of course. I would be grateful for any feedback as I'm leaving in two weeks.

 

[boomy]

The old J seats are acceptable for day flights but uncomfortable for night sleep. I assume you're on TG466 connecting to TG930 so even old config on the way to BKK should be good enough. I've see the J cabin on their A380 but haven't really experienced it yet, from memory I believe it has the new J seats with flats beds so, hopefully, you will enjoy a good night sleep

 

[Jacksond]

Thanks for the reply. That is pretty much as I expected. You are right. The 380 has the new seats. I chose I don't expect to sleep on TG466 anyway. I just hope the food is good! I have seats 19K and 21K on the 380. Window seats. the 777 seats are 15E, middle seats for ease of access.

 

[Alanslegal]

Just don't expect too much and you will have comfortable flights - I even tell myself that when we fly TG F.

On a side note, do they even give out pyjamas in business class?

 

[Alanslegal]

During your Bangkok transit you can go get a complimentary 30 minute head and shoulders massage in the Royal Spa.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Since the topic is so broad I thought I would take the opportunity to warn about TG domestic business class.
Expect a business hard product only.
The meals are economy standard with no choice whatsoever. As I don't eat seafood I went hungry.
And TG do not serve alcohol on domestic flights in any cabin.
I was glad it was a short flight but I was still fuming.
It fell so far short of established standards for business class that it was misrepresentative advertising in my view.

 

[boomy]

Food is OK, I had better and I had worse in J.

Small tip, BYO noise cancelling headphones if you have any. The headphones they provide in J don't do the job.

 

[boomy]

On a side note, do they even give out pyjamas in business class?

No. I use TG F PJs, makes the FAs smile

 

[boomy]

During your Bangkok transit you can go get a complimentary 30 minute head and shoulders massage in the Royal Spa.

Or foot massage, my favourite

 

[boomy]

Since the topic is so broad I thought I would take the opportunity to warn about TG domestic business class.
Expect a business hard product only.
The meals are economy standard with no choice whatsoever. As I don't eat seafood I went hungry.
And TG do not serve alcohol on domestic flights in any cabin.
I was glad it was a short flight but I was still fuming.
It fell so far short of established standards for business class that it was misrepresentative advertising in my view.

+1

TG J Dom soft product is cough.

I did like the fact they (also) use A330s on the short HKT-BKK route.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

+1

TG J Dom soft product is cough.

I did like the fact they (also) use A330s on the short HKT-BKK route.

Yes the hard product was fine - they even have at least one daily flight on a 777 on the HKT-BKK route.

 

[Jacksond]

Thanks for that. I've been looking for an excuse to buy some!

 

[Jacksond]

one more question please. Are Thai J passengers allowed access to the Singapore lounge in lieu of the Air NZ one? I gather that the Kris lounge in the better one. SA is also part of Star Alliance. That used to be the case even at their respective hubs.

 

[clifford]

You can get access to the SQ lounge if its open (which it isn't for the afternoon TG flight). Not really that much better than the NZ lounge (a bit more pretentious though).

As for the previous comments, I find TG service in C class to generally be very good. They do put on a lot of the sub-standard 777-200's to Oz, but you can find some flights on the 300's (with pods) if you try.

The 380 comfort and service is very good, well up with the best. I guess TG treats Australia with disdain because they know that people will pay for substandard service come what may (there isn't really that much competition). Not like much of the rest of the world. I won't fly TG out of Australia unless I can get the '300 (which I did a few weeks ago).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks for the reply. That is pretty much as I expected. You are right. The 380 has the new seats. I chose I don't expect to sleep on TG466 anyway. I just hope the food is good! I have seats 19K and 21K on the 380. Window seats. the 777 seats are 15E, middle seats for ease of access.

TG business class food is basically economy class, served on crockery and with metal cutlery. TG has fairly good food in economy, so not all is lost, and you'll get an extra choice of main dish in business class. The meal service takes an hour or two. There's nothing else to do after that except watch movies or sleep. The angled beds are not conducive to sleeping (snoozing maybe).

one more question please. Are Thai J passengers allowed access to the Singapore lounge in lieu of the Air NZ one? I gather that the Kris lounge in the better one. SA is also part of Star Alliance. That used to be the case even at their respective hubs.

Theoretically, your star alliance business class boarding pass entitles you to access any star alliance business class lounge. The Melbourne Singapore Airlines 'Silver Kris' lounge however is well known for turning passengers away and directing them to the Air New Zealand lounge. You may need to be prepared to stand your ground and argue your way in. If you can be bothered.

SQ's reason is that they are a 'silver kris' lounge, not a star alliance lounge. You can however be directed to the NZ lounge is the SQ lounge is full or nearing capacity.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Since the topic is so broad I thought I would take the opportunity to warn about TG domestic business class.
Expect a business hard product only.
The meals are economy standard with no choice whatsoever. As I don't eat seafood I went hungry.
And TG do not serve alcohol on domestic flights in any cabin.
I was glad it was a short flight but I was still fuming.
It fell so far short of established standards for business class that it was misrepresentative advertising in my view.

Unfortunately TG doesn't offer special meals on domestic flights. I too don't eat fish, so you can end up having to skip the main course.

However, domestic flights being 'dry' has been that way as long as I can remember.

Their domestic seating is usually excellent in business (737 services excluded) - with internationally configured aircraft (the 747s between BKK and HKT were great with the F cabin open to business class).

That plus the ultra low fares (compared to say Aussie domestic economy), expedited ground handling, priority luggage* and lounge access sometimes make the premium over economy worth it (especially when the premium might be as little as $60).

* first crack at a cab in front of 300 economy passengers is almost worth it on its own!

 

[Wezza]

Yes the hard product was fine - they even have at least one daily flight on a 777 on the HKT-BKK route.

They used to also even have the 747 on the route as well. We flew A330 BKK-HKT then 747 HKT-BKK in November/December 2014.

 

[Jacksond]

My ticket doesn't specify which plane they are using on the 16th. It just says 777200/300. I'll just go to the Air NZ lounge. I've used it before and it was fine. It is only lunch after all. I chose Thai to save the $2000 over the other fares. More money to spend in Paris! I would have preferred Qatar or Emirates.

 

[clifford]

My ticket doesn't specify which plane they are using on the 16th. It just says 777200/300. I'll just go to the Air NZ lounge. I've used it before and it was fine. It is only lunch after all. I chose Thai to save the $2000 over the other fares. More money to spend in Paris! I would have preferred Qatar or Emirates.

It's a 777-200. TG seems to have put this on for most of these 9-hour flights MEL-BKK. It's a real disgrace IMHO. Treating Australia with contempt and charging high fares to boot. But you should enjoy the 380. Better than EK.

 

[Jacksond]

As I suspected. Thanks for that.