Thai Airways TG 508 A 330 Business Class!

Recently I had a chance to fly Thai Airways and enjoy some of its premium services, which includes the usage of Thai Airways’ flagship Royal Silk business class lounge at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport’s Concourse D and a complimentary spa treatment, so without much ado let me begin the review.  Royal Silk Business Class Lounge is clouted in the middle of the terminal in a location that can’t be knocked out, with the airline’s premium passengers enjoying speedy access after passport control and clear security check via Thai’s private channel, and then take the first escalator down, which takes you directly into this Royal Silk Lounge and complimentary spa treatments nearby in the Royal Orchid Spa. Once inside, you’ll find an array of seating. The lounge is basically one long rectangle, with a dominant alley managing from one end to the other and then out into the terminal at the other end.

The food section was well stocked with a good selection of warm and cold options. The main island in the centre served hot appetizers and mains while cold sandwiches and desserts were being served in a separate area across the room. There is a live station as well that was serving that mushroom and pork wontons in a clear soup. Not much of the Halal food options were available, but I managed to find some delicious fried fish and rice. There is a room where you may make your own machine-made espresso coffee to the side as well as choose from a range of fresh ingredients to make your own salad.

The business centre in the lounge looked dated and the closed cubicles did not inspire me to give it a try, however, the internet is pretty much decent. WiFi is available throughout the lounge – you’ll receive a unique username and password when you arrive, which you’ll need to enter after connecting to the THAINetwork_Silk(D) hotspot. Boarding calls aren’t made within the lounge itself, so, therefore, keep an attentive eye and check with the reception or the board in the lounge for boarding updates. The staff is very honest, I had forgotten my phone in the lounge and the poor lad had to run all the way to the boarding gate to pass the phone to me, really impressive!

Now at the boarding gate, there were two cramped up queues, one for the economy class passengers and the other for the Silk Business Class Passengers. Ironically, the economy class passengers were being moved faster than the premium class passengers. Also, Thai Airways didn’t have a separate shuttle for business class passengers to be carried to the aircraft. Economy and Business Class passengers have all crammed up alike in the same shuttle bus and driven towards the aircraft, which was annoying.

The particular flight TG 508 was being operated on Airbus A 330 aircraft that features angled lie-flat business class seats arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration. The seats are well padded, quite comfortable, and I was able to nap in them.

Thai Airways’ amenities are high quality, at least in terms of what they do provide. My headphones were comfortable on the ear and came with decent sound quality as well. The pillow was big and supportive, and the blanket was quilted and comfortable. Even the amenity kit contained good quality toiletries and accessories.

I was rather impressed by the quality of lunch served, along with the appetizers and a wide range of hot and cold drinks and snacks available throughout the flight. I ordered traditional Thai lunch and sweet potato baked with a banana slice and topped with coconut cream in the dessert which was delicious. Later in snacks, I ordered Lamb Kebabs and they were tasty as well.

In-flight service was very good. The flight attendants were friendly for the most part, they were smiling and seemed happy to be there to serve and assist you. Thai Airways’ A330 business class is exactly what I expected except that the airport shuttle driven to the aircraft was downright indifferent to my expectations – other than that, I love an airline that commits fully to a solid brand, and Thai Airways did exactly that. Definitely going to fly them again on other routes as well.