Review: Thai Airways First Class Bangkok-London 777-300ER
Intro
For those that haven't followed this blog for very long, the first flight review I ever posted was writing about the Thai Airways 777-300ER First Class experience. Well, as I am currently finding the motivation to write about my current trip to the Democratic Republic of The Congo, I thought it would be cool to write a second review of flying the Thai Airways First Class experience!
This report is from January 2023. While most aspects remain the same, the one differential was that menus were not brought back to premium classes until Feb/Mar 2023.
There is a reason why I rank Thai Airways as my number one carrier. To me, the service on a plane makes or breaks a flight. You can have the worst hard product but the best service and the flight will still fly by (pun intended). With delicious food, comfortable bedding, amazing service, free-flowing LPGS, and reasonable fares, this was a flight to remember.
Route-Bangkok (BKK)-London (LHR)
Seat- 1A
Flight Number- TG910
Aircraft- Boeing 777-300ER
Date- January 23rd 2023
Flight Time: 12 Hours and 34 Minutes
Price Paid: 154K UA Miles+80$
How I Booked
While technically irrelevant nowadays, United used to allow complicated award bookings when flying from Southeast Asia to the United States. I stumbled across Thai Airways First Class space about a month before departure from Bangkok to London and was able to end up stretching the routing Jakarta-Bangkok (economy)-London (First Class)- Newark (Polaris). All in all, it wasn't a bad deal, seeing as I was getting from Southeast Asia to New York for 154K UA Miles (that is long gone from what I know).
Jakarta-Bangkok
Nice and fresh from a sleep at the Four Seasons in Jakarta, it was time to head off to the airport. To my luck, the Four Seasons had arranged a private car to take me to the airport, along with an immigration assistant😮.
See, the first-class experience on Thai Airways starts the second you arrive at your originating airport. Chatting with the check-in agent, she informed me that she had blocked the whole row on an almost full flight so that I would be able to get some rest on the way to Bangkok. Talk about some service!
The flight onboard the 777-200ER wasn't much out of the ordinary (in a good way). The meal was delicious, the crew was friendly, I got some sleep, and we landed early!
Thai Airways First Class Lounge
Landing in Bangkok, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. For background, Thai Airways used to operate a phenomenal ground product before COVID-19, where they flew the 747s and A380s with First Class Cabins. Since those have been retired, Thai Airways only has three aircraft that fly with First Class cabins. Supposedly, this is due to the Royal Family wanting to fly to London with his family, but who knows...
I digress, I was met by an agent with my nametag, who introduced herself, grabbed my luggage, and escorted me to the First Class section of the lounge. While golf buggies aren't a thing anymore, this will more than do!
For those wondering, Thai Airways sections off a portion of their Royal Silk Lounge for Royal First passengers. While the Royal Silk Lounge is good, the soft product is sensational in the Royal First Lounge.
Naturally, I had some beef with a pairing of moet. Yes, I have beef with Moet (worst dad joke ever?) in a First Class lounge. It's not the end of the world, as I would rather save the party for the LPGS onboard!
A couple of hours later, an agent came over, took my luggage, and escorted all of the first-class passengers to the gate (3 in total). Another nice part about the evening London flight is that they always seem (in my experience) to leave from a gate very close to the lounge.
The Onboard Experience
Stepping onboard this beautiful 777-300ER, I was mesmerized by the beautiful product that Thai Airways offers. While not the most private in the world (no closing doors), the color scheme is elegant, and the space is like none other (minus SQ A380 Suites).
The seats on these 777's operating to Tokyo, Osaka, and London, are laid out with 2 rows of First Class in a 2-2 configuration, totalling 8 seats. If you happen to end up in a middle seat, don't worry; there are privacy partitions that can be raised!
For couples, select seats 1E/1F or 2E/2F. For solo travelers, 1A/1K or 2A/2K are the better seats.
Stepping onboard, I knew this was going to be a flight I would remember. Service began with a choice of beverage, and it would be a letdown to myself if I hadn't gone with the Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle...
Pajamas were also offered on the ground. In my opinion, Thai Airways has the best pajamas in the sky.
The cabin remained relatively empty on this flight for our slightly late departure. It seems to be a common occurrence that TG910 will depart 20-odd minutes late but will make up the time over the course of the routing.
Dining
Once airborne, it was time to embark on a journey for my taste buds. The cabin crew came around to take our meal orders by showing us the options on a tablet. Unfortunately, at the time, there were no menus in Business or First, but it all worked out alright.
Service started with caviar and traditional garnishes:
Which was simply divine. Not sure why there are two champagne glasses though 😉, talk about proactive refills.
The next dish to come out was the appetizer, some sort of tuna dish that was beautifully presented. It was good, but nothing to write home about. The bread basket was refillled without me mentioning anything to the crew, and when it comes to the Garlic bread on TG, this is something that is greatly appreciated.
Additionally. a healthy pouring of pinot noir was brought to my seat in preparation for the main course.
Next up: the main course. For my main, I had opted to choose the Wagyu beef steak, which was exceptional. Cooked a perfect medium (how I like it on a plane), this is a dish that I highly recommend if you are flying this route.
The presentation was top-notch on Thai Airways First Class.
IFE+Sleep
Following a meal where I got too stuffed for dessert, it was time to settle in for bed. Checking my phone with the wifi provided, I decided that it was better to turn it off for the night. Instead, the cabin crew provided a turndown service, and I crawled into bed to select a nice movie to watch in bed.
The IFE on Thai Airways is good but not exceptional. The newer 777s have the best IFE, but they fall behind the major carriers in their offerings (at least back then).
As I wrote about in my previous Thai Airways First Class review, I slept the best I have ever slept in Thai Airways First Class. The bedding isn't the best but it is perfect for the temperature that the cabin crew keeps during the flight.
7 hours later, I woke up about 2.5 hours outside of London Heathrow.
Dining Part 2 😉
Refreshed and ready for the day ahead (relaxed as well), it was time to tuck in for the second meal service. As I was not a breakfast person on the plane, the crew informed me that there were still a couple of meals left over from the dinner service.
20 minutes later, a lovely fish dish came out. I tend to avoid fish on planes, but this was delightful, flaky, and flavorful.
Finishing up the fish, I enquired if they had any caviar left. While there were no garnishes, the crew was happy to offer me another helping of caviar and crackers. Wonderful!
I have to say, the service on Thai Airways is nothing short of exceptional. Here are a couple of aspects that I remember about this flight.
I was addressed by "Mr. XXX" even when using the toilet in the galley.
Every time I got up from my seat, the cabin crew would tidy up the smaller things in my seat, such as folding my clothes or blanket.
When I went to change before landing, my shoes were prepared at my seat to be put on (exceptional).
Before landing, the pursuer and a flight attendant came around, thanking me by last name for flying with Thai Airways and asking me how my flight was.
All around, Thai hospitality at its finest.
Arrival
Soon enough, we were sadly getting ready for landing.
The cabin crew came around to bid their farewells and present us with a parting gift of delicious chocolates 😍.
We ended up touching down a couple of minutes early into a classic overcast London Heathrow. Nothing more like being home than seeing clouds in the sky 😉.
Once landing at Heathrow, Thai Airways offers ground service for First Class passengers through a golf cart. This golf cart even backs up and goes into the elevator as they take you to immigration. Considering BA doesn't even do this with their First Class at their home base, this is exceptional from TG.
United Polaris
Soon enough, it was off the United Club in London Heathrow and over to New York on a mostly empty 767-300 in Polaris (I've reviewed Polaris so many times, so I figured I'd leave this one out this time).
Final Thoughts
Thai Airways offers a phenomenal first-class product from Bangkok to London and vice versa, especially if you are able to get the ticket on miles. While the hard product isn't in line with some of the top carriers, the soft product might be the best in the world. It's the small details that set TG apart from other carriers, as the FAs truly go above and beyond to make sure that you are given a true first-class experience. The food was another pleasant surprise to the experience, with multiple helpings of caviar, a delicious tuna starter, and a succulent steak.
A fantastic experience overall. If only it was easier to book award space on this route 😞.
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