Thai business class from Sydney to Bangkok: great service, outdated cabin

It’s time to go back to Europe and more precisely to Stockholm which was my point of departure before reaching Paris and as for the outward journey this trip will be done on Thai in business class on a Boeing 777.

You will find all the articles related to this trip to Australia at the bottom of the page.

A little reminder of the routing of this trip to start with.

Check-in and ground course

It will be impossible for me to check in online. On the website the field in which to enter the reservation number does not exist and on mobile it does exist but the “submit” button is inoperative.

We are also told that you can check in on Thai’s mobile app…an app that no longer exists.

In short, when we tell you that the airline is not in very good health, you can see it in these details.

I leave my hotel very early on the day of departure, not because I’m worried about this check-in thing, but because I really don’t like this Marriott and it gives me some time for lounge hopping.

On arrival at the counter the economy line is overflowing but there is no one in the business class line. So much the better.

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The check-in will be quick and my luggage will be checked in all the way to Paris: I have a Stockholm-Zurich-Paris in self-connect that follows so I don’t have to pick it up and check it in again.

Then I head for the police and security checks, for which I benefit from an almost empty fast track.

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And fortunately there are few people: only one E-gate is open, so even with few people it takes a little too long.

Then the security checks. There I find a jerk who yells at people while they take their stuff out of their bags and ends up wasting more time than he helps it go smoothly. When it’s my turn I can’t avoid it and as I hate being insulted for nothing in the morning, I reflexively raise my head and tell him to calm down.

At that moment I think I may have made a big mistake. But at that moment I see his supervisor approaching, taking him aside to say something obviously not very nice. He walks away and will not return to his post. The supervisor comes back and looks at me with a big smile and says “my apologies, it will be fine”.

The check goes without further problems and I can start my lounge hopping session: Air New Zealand lounge, Singapore Airlines lounge and Amex lounge.

I reach the gate 20 minutes before the scheduled time.

Boarding

Our 777 is there and waiting for us.

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There are already quite a few passengers waiting quietly.

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It was a good thing I arrived early because boarding started 7 minutes early.

Priorities will be respected and 3 minutes later I will be on board.

The business class cabin of the Thai 777

No surprise here we find the same cabin as on the outward journey, a cabin I am not particularly fond of.

Well, you can like the purple one or not…

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The “staggered” configuration means that on the window side if one in two seats has a minimum of privacy by being separated from the aisle by the tablet, the others are too close to it for my taste and the shape of the seat does not isolate enough for my taste compared to, for example, the Turkish Airlines B787 which has the same configuration.

Fortunately, unlike the outward journey, I will have a seat next to the window and be well insulated from the aisle.

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As you can see, the privacy level is not so good for the seat behind.

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So here I am, settled.

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This cabin is really starting to show its age but given the airline’s difficulties it doesn’t seem that a retrofit is on the cards. The last complaint is that once in the bed position, the seat is barely big enough for me to fit in my 1.88m. Not very comfortable.

The comfort kit is quite minimalist.

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While the passengers continue to board, I am brought a glass of champagne and a lukewarm oshibori.

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A bit of spotting with an A350 Vietnam Airlines parked next to us…

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…and a Singapore Airlines A380 passing in the distance.
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The flight attendant takes my order for the first service. Toujours pas de menu papier.

The boarding ends and I am brought a second oshibori before take-off. 30 minutes to load a full 777, not bad.

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The flight and the service

Shortly after take-off we are served an amuse bouche. Satay skewers, nuts and champagne. This will be accompanied by a 3rd oshibori!

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Then the service begins. Unlike my two outbound flights, this time there is one trolley per aisle and the service is much faster.

The starter will be scallops.

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Very good and I’m a fan of the garlic bread I asked for with it.

For the main course I had the choice between a green beef curry and duck confit, I took the curry.

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Once mixed, it will be delicious but less photogenic.

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By way of wine I will take a red Château Pey la Tour, which they will even let me taste before serving it to me.

We will finish with cheese.

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Strangely there will be no dessert.

After the service, the cabin is plunged into darkness and it’s time to get some sleep…

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The cabin is gradually relit for the second service as we fly over Brunei. There are 2 hours and 10 minutes to go before arriving in Bangkok.

We are given hot oshiboris.

The flight attendant takes my order: beef and spaghetti or rice and tuna. I’ll have the spaghetti.

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Actually the beef with spaghetti is spaghetti bolognese.

The pasta is well cooked and the sauce is very tasty, and the quantities are generous.

The fruits are very sweet but the dessert is rather tasteless.

We approach Bangkok and prepare for landing. The crew members come to greet the passengers one by one.

Landing and arrival in Bangkok

An uneventful landing and we are on the ground. We reach the terminal after an interminable taxi which allows me to take this sad photo of Thai quad-jets grounded since the COVID and which will surely never fly again.

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Once at the gate the gangway is set up immediately and disembarkation will be quick.

A last goodbye to our 777 and off we go for more than 8 hours of connection! Lounge hopping in prospect.

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Bottom line

Nothing to complain about on the soft product side: excellent service, great crew and dishes that are both hearty and tasty.

On the other hand, the cabin is not really up to standard: worn seats, beds too small….

All articles about this trip to Australia.

#TypeReview
1Intro and genesis of the itineraryVacations in Australia: first steps in the “Land Down Under
2HotelCourtyard Paris Charles de Gaulle Central
3FlightParis-Munich – Lufthansa – Business Class
4FlightMunich-Stockholm – Lufthansa – Business Class
5HotelSheraton Stockholm
6LoungeSAS Gold Lounge – Stockholm Arlanda
7LoungeAmerican Express Lounge by Pontus – Stockholm Arlanda
8FlightStockholm-Bangkok – Thai – Business Class
9LoungeThai Royal Silk Lounge – Bangkok Terminal E
10FlightBangkok-Sydney – Thai – Business Class
11HotelSheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park
12LoungeRex lounge – Sydney Terminal 2
13FlightSydney-Brisbane – Virgin Australia – Economy
14HotelW Brisbane
15RestaurantElska – Brisbane
16RestaurantSouthside – Brisbane
17RestaurantSpice Central Kitchen & Bar – Brisbane
18Travel diaryBrisbane jour #1 : the heart of the city
19Travel diaryBrisbane day #2: museums and lazing by the river
20LoungeVirgin Australia Domestic Lounge – Brisbane
21FlightBrisbane-Sydney – Virgin Australia – Economy
22HotelSydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay
23RestaurantNour – Sydney
24RestaurantMekong – Sydney
25Travel diarySydney day #1: the opera house and its surroundings
26Travel diarySydney day #2: around Hyde Park and the city center
27Travel diarySydney day #3: culture and entertainment around the harbor
28LoungeSalon Air New Zealand – Sydney
29LoungeSalon Silverkris Singapore Airlines – Sydney
30LoungeAmerican Express Lounge – Sydney
31FlightSydney-Bangkok – Thai – Business Class
32LoungeThai Royal Silk Lounge – Bangkok Terminal E
33LoungeOman Air lounge – Bangkok Terminal E
34LoungeEva Air lounge – Bangkok Terminal F
35LoungeMiracle business lounge – Bangkok Terminal F
36LoungeTurkish Airlines lounge – Bangkok Terminal D
37LoungeSingapore Airlines silverkris lounge – Terminal D
38FlightBangkok-Stockholm – Thai – Business Class
39LoungeNorrsken Lounge – Stockholm
40FlightStockholm-Zurich – Swiss – Business Class
41FlightZurich-Paris – Swiss – Business Class
42Travel diaryLessons learned from this trip to Australia
Bertrand Duperrin
Bertrand Duperrinhttp://www.duperrin.com
Compulsive traveler, present in the French #avgeek community since the late 2000s and passionate about (long) travel since his youth, Bertrand Duperrin co-founded Travel Guys with Olivier Delestre in March 2015.
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