TG922 BKK-FRA First ClassThe only check-in service to beat this is LH F at FRA (you have your own terminal for heavens' sake) but even there you don't get a complimentary 60 minute massage. There are a lot more staff than passengers in evidence when you approach the entrance to the Thai Royal First Check-in at Suvarnabumi. In true Thai fashion, everyone is friendly and warm. You are escorted to a seat at a coffee table, where a cold towel and fresh water soon appear. You are asked for your passports, your baggage for checking is taken away and a few minutes later you are escorted through immigration and security. We mentioned that we would like to book a massage and the details were taken down. After this, you board a golf-cart for the short drive to the F lounge. As a special treat, the route takes you through the C lounge so everyone gets to see you gliding by.
Once in the F lounge you are offered a choice of several small lounges each in their own individual bay. The unspoken rule is that these are never shared. The restaurant menu arrives with the offer of drinks (including champagne of course). You can reserve a table at the really good restaurant for a proper cooked-to-order breakfast or help yourself to a range of snacks and canapés. At the appointed hour, we mooched over to the spa for our (excellent) massages, a quick shower, glass or two of Champers and it's time to board, with an escort of course. Food & BeverageFor us, Thai offers some of the best in-flight catering. However, if you don't like Asian food, you may not agree and we would recommend ordering a meal through the pre-order service, which offers excellent choice.
The amouse bouche of mini chicken thigh in pandan leaf was very pretty. Few airlines come close to this in terms of presentation. The caviar and smoked salmon starter were both excellent. Our pre-order mains were also very good and we stuck with fruit for dessert. The fruit was nicely presented but not overly exciting considering what fantastic fruit there is available in Bangkok. Desserts are the one area of Thai's catering that is not as good as the competition, although as we can rarely eat puddings, this doesn't really bother us. Second service was a prawn salad, and we both chose the chilli king prawns for the main. Unfortunately, we were still full from the first service, so only picked at the meal, although the prawns were tasty. |
The SeatThai has a number of first class configurations, but we were flying on the old-school A340. Although dated, these seats are wide, highly controllable and very comfortable (of course they are lie-flat). Although some may find that the seats offer a lack of privacy, the seating is definitely not claustrophobic or cramped.
With only 8 first class seats, the cabin is exclusive. However, on the A340, the proximity to the business class cabin behind prevents a true feeling of exclusivity - we prefer the layout on the 747. Had there been a child in the front of C, it could have been a miserable journey. At our seats, we gleefully pounced on the Rimowa amenity kits (thought these were only for A380 first class) and, shortly after take-off, changed into the new pyjamas (a big improvement in design and fit since last year). |
Overall Impression
The service on this flight was not as warm & friendly as on our previous Thai flight to Frankfurt, when we had the best crew and service we have ever experienced in-flight. In general, the crew on this flight were ok, although one of the flight attendants was somewhat surly and just didn't seem to want to be there. Having said that, requests were fulfilled promptly and the couple of problems we had (e.g. my first set of headphones didn't work) swiftly sorted. However, it was not service with a smile.
We are fans of Thai's first class offering - it isn't the best, but the lounge in Bangkok is in the top 2 Worldwide and the food is excellent. The hard product may be patchy (the A380s are spectacular but some of the fleet is showing its age) but the airline has a new first class on both the A380 and 747 (although not the same). If you have the choice, we recommend flying Royal First on the A380, but even the old first is a very pleasant way to fly.
We are fans of Thai's first class offering - it isn't the best, but the lounge in Bangkok is in the top 2 Worldwide and the food is excellent. The hard product may be patchy (the A380s are spectacular but some of the fleet is showing its age) but the airline has a new first class on both the A380 and 747 (although not the same). If you have the choice, we recommend flying Royal First on the A380, but even the old first is a very pleasant way to fly.