Three A350s and a Dreamliner: Regional Flights in Asia with SQ, TG and CX

[yflyer]

Thanks for the SQ A350 walk through. Really appreciate the pics for the 2nd cabin EY exit row Glad to know that these seats are partitioned unlike the CX ones. I am plus sized and at times, my seat mate and I will be jostling for real estate . This would be the go to seat pair if I next travel on SQ's A350

You're welcome, SINFJ! Glad the info was useful!

[yflyer]

The designated lounge for TG (And also SQ) at JKT T3 was the Saphire / Plaza Premium Lounge. This lounge was a fairly long walk from the immigration area, but not too far from the gate where my flight was to depart.



The new Saphire / Plaza Premium Lounge was a nice upgrade from the lounge facilities at the old JKT T2.



This was a long and thin lounge, laid out parallel to the terminal concourse.

Lounge seating...



Decent airside views from much of the lounge...





Work cubicles (Or should I say hexagons...)...



Work table...



Live cooking station and beverage counter...



The live cooking menu...



Beverage menu...



...which included Luis Felipe Edwards wines from Chile...



Bar style seating...

[yflyer]

There was a buffet spread with salads as well as hot dishes...



Salad and fruit...



Soto Ayam batawi, a kind of soup...



Ayam Bumbu Bali...



Kway Teow ("Kwetiauw")...



There were also showers and restrooms in the lounge.

Overall, a decent lounge offering, with appealing F&B options.

It wasn't crowded while I was there, but it seem to be a lounge which would fill up quickly at peak periods.

Depending on which gate your flight is departing from, it could be a bit of a walk to get to the gate from the lounge, but apart from that, the Saphire/Plaza Premium Lounge is a big improvement from the previous lounge offering available in T2.

[yflyer]

I headed to the gate to board TG436 JKT-BKK. This flight had a scheduled departure timing of 7pm, with arrival 3+ hours later, at 10.30pm.



Today's flight was operated by Boeing 787-8 registration HS-TQC. This was a 4 year old aircraft, one of eight 787's in the Thai fleet, with six of them being 787-8's and the remaining two 787-9's.

[yflyer]

I was warmly greeted by a pair of cabin crew at the aircraft door, with a wai gesture, the traditional Thai greeting with palm of the hands pressed together. They were beautifully attired in brightly coloured traditional Thai dresses. A very nice start, which set the tone for very warm and gracious cabin service throughout the flight.

Economy pax boarded through Door 2 Left, at the start of the Y cabin, which meant it wasn't possible to snap a picture of the J cabin. In any case, the layout in J was 2-2-2, using B/E Aerospace Diamond seats (Similar to the UA 787 J seats).

The Y cabin was laid out 3-3-3, with maroon/purple and orange seating...



A bright spacious cabin...



Regulars on SQTalk will know that my pet peeve is 9-abreast Y on 787's (And 10-abreast on 777's), which makes the cabin more cramped than, say, 9-abreast on an A350 or 777, both of which have wider cabins than the 787. But the reality of it is that almost all airlines have gone the 9-abreast on their Dreamliners, except for JAL, which provides one of the best Y cabin experiences with an 8-abreast 2-4-2 layout on their Dreamliners.



Each seat came with a blanket and pillow...



Seats had adjustable headrests...



Seat recline was very good...



...with the seat base pivoting forward when reclined to make a very comfortable resting angle...



Armrests went all the way up...



Adjustable footrests...



A signature feature of the 787: extra large, electronically dimmable windows...



I have grown to appreciate these windows...they are much larger than windows on other commercial aircraft, and make the cabin feel very bright and airy. The electronic dimming also makes it easy for the cabin crew to adjust cabin ambience according to the time of day.

Cup holder integrated into the seat back...

[yflyer]

Large seatback IFE with full audio and video on demand...





Although the IFE screen was a touch screen, there was also a detachable controller at each seat...



There was a keyboard on the back on the controller...



The supplied headphones were the headband variety (As usual, best to use your own...)



USB and headphone socket under the screen...



A/C Power under the seats...



Individual air vents...

[yflyer]

Bathrooms with mottled grey counter tops...



Apart from hand soap, Thai Airlines "Queen of the Night" Eau de Cologne was also offered...

[yflyer]

Arrival cards for Thailand were handed out. The cabin crew also had with them a few pens for anyone who needed one...



The safety video was one of the more unusual ones I had ever encountered...colourful and fantastical, with an Alice in Wonderland feel to it...



In case of an emergency, a winged cherub will dangle an oxygen mask...



I am all for interesting safety videos, but I found all the extraneous onscreen action more than a little distracting...

[yflyer]

A powerful take-off into the night sky...

Just over 3 hours flight time to Bangkok this evening...



The flight would pass quite close to Singapore, while at cruising altitude.



Decent economy class cabin ambience...

[yflyer]

There was a full dinner service on this flight...



Meal trays were served first, shortly followed by another trolley with beverages.

Two choices of main course today. No hardcopy menus were offered. Instead the menus were viewable on the IFE...



It was clear that Thai Airways took great pride in the authenticity of Thai cuisine served onboard...



The menu...



Two choices of main, both appeared to be Thai/Asian selections...





The beverage menu...





What I found interesting was that not only was it possible to see the menu for your own flight, you could search for, and view, menus for flights on all other Thai Airways sectors as well!



This is what they were serving on the BKK-LHR sector...



Caviar? Scallop? Lobster? I read the menu in disbelief...was that really the Y menu for BKK-LHR? Surely that was the F or J menu...

If they really served that in Y, it might be worth heading to LHR via BKK on my next trip there...

[yflyer]

Bringing my thoughts back to the menu for the JKT-BKK sector, I decided on the sauteed snapper with rice...

The tray as served...



Plastic cutlery...



Seaweed crackers...



My meal was absolutely delicious...



A very tasty salad (And blueberry mousse dessert...)



My main course of spicy snapper with rice was wonderful...



Delicious fish in a spicy chilli/curry sauce...lip-smacking good...

The beverage trolley followed closely after the meal trays were served, which meant you were able to have your wine or beverage together with your food...



I had my meal with a glass of white wine, served in a plastic cup...



I asked the cabin crew member if I could take a picture of the wine bottle...



In fact, without prompting, she also reached for the bottle of red wine and presented it to me for a photo, which I happily snapped...



When I was done with my white wine, I asked another passing cabin crew member for a taste of the red...



...later she came by and offered me a refill of red, which of course I gratefully accepted...

My impressions of Thai Airways cabin crew? Very thoughtful and very customer-focused! Thumbs up!

[yflyer]

There was a good selection of IFE movies, TV and music onboard...



The touchscreen UI was fine, although it wasn't as flashy as SQ's...







Picture and sound quality (Through my own Shure earbuds) were both very good...



Apart from CD's on demand, Radio channels were also available.

[yflyer]

Wifi was offered onboard...



Entertainment aside, there were a surprising number of other IFE functions available as well, including information on Thai food/destinations, fleet information and online shopping.

Fleet information...





Duty free shopping...



You could add items to your shopping cart...



But it was unclear to me if you could actually pay for them online from your seat, or if you had to call a cabin crew member over to complete your order...

[yflyer]

On this flight, while at cruising altitude, we flew over Johor, possibly right over the eastern tip of Singapore.



This would have been a rare opportunity (For me at least...) to snap a picture of the island of Singapore from the air, but alas, I did not have a window seat, and it was cloudy and slightly turbulent on that part of the flight, so I did not manage to eyeball Singapore out of the window on this flight.

We flew over Kuantan and parts of the Malay Peninsula...



...before heading over the Gulf of Thailand towards Bangkok...



As we began landing preparations, the LED lighting in the 787 cabin were cycled through various colour combinations, including this multi-hued rainbow display...



An on-time arrival into Bangkok just before 10.30pm...



We taxied to a remote stand and were bussed to the terminal...



Immigration queues were not long at that hour, but I spied a sign at the arrival area that said that Singapore passport holders could use the automatic gates, rather than stand in the foreigner line. As there were no lines at all at the automatic gates, I headed there.

The automatic gate system was a quick one: scan your passport, and your boarding pass, then have your photo and fingerprints taken. This was a very quick process. After passing through the gate, a staff member would chop your passport. I would highly recommend the automated gate, rather than the manual queue.

[yflyer]

Overall impressions of my flight? A very good flight on TG. Reservations about 9-abreast Y seating aside, I thought the overall cabin hard product was good, with excellent seat recline. The IFE was decent, although it did not look as refined or sophisticated as the very latest IFE systems, such as the one on the SQ regional A350 I flew on the SIN-JKT sector.

What really stood out for me on TG was the quality of the Y catering, which was superb, as well as as the warmth and care for passengers from the cabin crew. Perhaps this was traditional Thai hospitality and culture, but I felt very well looked after by the cabin crew, even in the Y cabin.