Red-hot rooming, writing, reading, relaxing and roaming in rainy Thailand.

[Human]

My Bangkok Airways flight ended up being delayed by about half an hour, and then the luggage took about half an hour again to emerge on the carousel at BKK. None of which was a big deal, given my five-hour layover. The Bangkok Airways flight was a typical short Economy class flight.




Interestingly there was a divider after Row 8 ... but no Business Class -- just more Economy seats in the front.


Once I'd collected my luggage and found my way to International Departures, BKK threw me a few pleasant surprises.

Pleasant Surprise #1: I meandered over to the Jetstar check-in counters, arriving there just over 4 hours before the flight. I was fully expecting that check-in wouldn’t open until 3 hours before the flight – meaning that I’d somehow need to find an hour to kill landside. But no, check-in opened exactly 4 hours before the flight. I had to wait about 10 minutes in the Business Class queue, but I was through check-in, security and passport control considerably earlier than I expectd to be.


Pleasant Surprise #2: At check-in, the Jetstar agent invited me to visit the Air France Lounge. Since when has Jetstar Business class come with lounge access? But as I was heading towards the AF Lounge, I got another idea, which led to …

 

[Human]

Pleasant Surprise #3: There’s two brand new Plaza Premium Lounges open at BKK. My AmEx Platinum gets me free entry to the “normal” Plaza Premium Lounge. But there’s also a new First lounge, which advertises entry at 2400 Baht (just over AUD 100) for two hours. I wasn’t inclined to pay that much, given that I already had access to other lounges. But I wondered … maybe my AmEx Platinum card would give me discounted entry into the First lounge?


I rocked up to the Plaza Premium entry, showed my Platinum card and asked whether I could have discounted entry to the First Lounge. She immediately said that I could access the First Lounge for THB 800 – about A$33! I didn’t hesitate.

I walked into the First Lounge. It was almost empty. In fact for the two-and-a-bit hours I was there, I was the only person using the Lounge for about half of that time.




There was a small selection of buffet food available, but most of the menu was a la carte. Service, as you can imagine, was extremely attentive and proactive.




And the food and drink! Oh My Goodness! I couldn’t help it – I went to town in the First Lounge in a way that I don’t think I’ve ever gone to town in an airport lounge before. But heck, I was about to fly on a Jetstar redeye. Cut me some slack!

I had something called Khao Soi – a deliciously spicy, laksa-like soup.


The coughtail is called a “Holiday Mood”. No idea what’s in it, but it was great. (I should mention at this point that the lounge has a fully-serviced bar).


For dessert(s), I had a “Thai Tea-ramisu” and baklava…


And a Thai iced tea.


To show that I am a Good Boy, I finished with some fruit.


Afterwards I waddled over and had a shower. The attendant here proactively came up to me and said that showers were about to get busy and there might be a queue if I waited any longer, so he suggested I have one now. That’s service!


Is the Plaza Premium First Lounge worth paying THB 2400 for? On reflection, maybe yes, if you don’t have access to another quality lounge. I’ve spent enough time at BKK now to know that there are some very good lounges there. But there are also some absolute shockers.

If you have an AmEx Platinum, the equation becomes much easier: for THB 800, this is a no-brainer. If you already have access to another high quality lounge at BKK (I’m looking at you, Qatar Lounge), then it’s probably not worth it. For everybody else: do yourself a favour.

I’ve been to four First Class lounges around the world (and the Oneworld Emerald Lounge at JFK) – this is absolutely up there with the very best of them and it surpasses some of them. But there are two downsides – first, there’s no sleep/bedroom areas, which the very best First lounges now seem to have. And second, the toilets and showers are shared with the normal Plaza Premium Lounge. And they're nice, but they’re not quite of the size and quality you’d expect in a First Class lounge. So I’ll give this lounge a straight A rather than an A Plus. But it’s arguably the best lounge at BKK.

And, it goes without saying, a lovely little indulgence before a Jetstar redeye!

 

[Quickstatus]

Despite the near-perfect weather, I stayed in my room for most of the day and had another extremely productive day. There’s something about being able to write in view of the sea that’s creatively empowering.

You know some very famous authors wrote in hotels-

Here is my list:
JK Rowling
F Scott Fitzgerald
Ernest Hemingway
Victor Hugo

No doubt there are others

 

[Human]

Look, Jetstar Business Class wasn’t all bad. It was way more comfortable than Economy, I could book it with Qantas points even though it’s the end of the school holidays, and it got me home in one piece. Obviously, though, when you’re flying overnight the preference is to lie flat.

The 787 flying JQ30 was one of the old, non-refurbished ones. The recliner seats are perfectly OK. The recline is quite good, although the footrest comes out about 10cm and almost isn’t worth it.


There was back-seat entertainment, but as readers of my TRs would know my entertainment of choice is the flight map accompanied by good music. And there was no music option; my headphones remained unused for the flight and I just listened to music from my phone.


The menu (but you know that already!). I chose the Roast Chicken Salad but barely touched it – (a) because it was bland and uninspiring, and (b) because I was still full from going to town in the lounge.




Breakfast was marginally better. The omelette was quite good, although the chicken sausages were pretty awful.


I also took Arun Ashok’s advice and ordered a Cookieman Loaded Cookie. It was indeed the highlight of the food & beverage offering on the flight!

I was seated in the middle section of seats, on the aisle (seat 2F) for most of the flight. Two of the Business Class seats in the back row were curtained off for crew rest. About 90 minutes out of Melbourne, the curtains were removed and the very affable Cabin Manager, John, suggested that I sit in the window seat for the rest of the flight. An in-flight upgrade!


As for sleep? Well, I probably got a couple of hours. The seats did recline enough for me to be not-totally-uncomfortable.

There was some pretty bad weather in Melbourne this morning, causing some delays. Our flight was put in a holding pattern before we landed. But we’d made good time during the flight, so we ended up landing more-or-less on time, with none of the shenanigans that affected my last Jetstar flight into MEL.


Thus ends my trip, but not this Trip Report! When I’m less sleep deprived I’ll put together some reflections, as I always do.

 

[Dmac59]

Thoroughly enjoyed following along @Human
Another entertaining TR