Full trip report on its way (as always), but just writing down some thoughts from a recent series of TG flights in C and F:
1. Service
I experienced the full spectrum of service levels on the three flights. On the ICN-HKG, the two crew serving the C cabin clearly could not care less and I'm surprised they even bothered to finish the meal service. Barely broke a smile even when I was making an effort to warm up and engage with them.
On the HKG-BKK in F, the female FA was very good - a little more refinement and you'd have an SQ girl. The male FA was a little loud and "brash" but he was smiling and worked very hard. Overall it was pretty good.
On BKK-OSL in C, one male FA was very chirpy and upbeat (he confused the hell out of me when he was saying "Hey" to everyone walking into the aircraft - later I realised he was actually saying "Hej" as in, Hello in Norwegian ) and borderline a little too flamboyant/casual. One female FA was so-so, but her use of English was really questionable, i.e. "You want milk with coffee?" Imagine a Kebaya-clad girl uttering those very words! The male In-flight Manager was not the best - but then again, I found that the IFS on SQ is also a hit-and-miss so not too surprising.
2. Food
Overall a let-down. On the ICN-HKG segment, it was essentially a Y-standard meal with minor differences and a better presentation.
It was a little better on HKG-BKK in F, but more akin to a good C meal rather than a good F meal. The pre-ordered lamb chops were quite nice, but the starters really weren't impressive at all.
On BKK-OSL, things were a little better than ICN-HKG but still far from perfect. Veal steak was overdone and the starters were somewhat uninspired. I was actually much happier with the omelette for breakfast - I don't normally have high hopes for egg dishes but it was soft, fluffy and tasted almost freshly-made. Then again, the apparently "premium" sausages had a disconcerting texture of soft plastic/rubber without a hint of actual meat...
On the whole, the flights were not exactly a disaster, but they were hardly a convincing argument for me to rush back to them. The only highlight was the 1hr massage at Suvarnabhum - in just about every other aspect, I feel that I would have been better off with other airlines.
Whereas on my LX and OZ flights I didn't miss SQ for one second, I was left very much yearning for some good old Singapore Girls/Boys' service on my TG flights. If my experience is representative of TG generally, they have some way to go until they catch up with the better carriers in Star.
1. Service
I experienced the full spectrum of service levels on the three flights. On the ICN-HKG, the two crew serving the C cabin clearly could not care less and I'm surprised they even bothered to finish the meal service. Barely broke a smile even when I was making an effort to warm up and engage with them.
On the HKG-BKK in F, the female FA was very good - a little more refinement and you'd have an SQ girl. The male FA was a little loud and "brash" but he was smiling and worked very hard. Overall it was pretty good.
On BKK-OSL in C, one male FA was very chirpy and upbeat (he confused the hell out of me when he was saying "Hey" to everyone walking into the aircraft - later I realised he was actually saying "Hej" as in, Hello in Norwegian ) and borderline a little too flamboyant/casual. One female FA was so-so, but her use of English was really questionable, i.e. "You want milk with coffee?" Imagine a Kebaya-clad girl uttering those very words! The male In-flight Manager was not the best - but then again, I found that the IFS on SQ is also a hit-and-miss so not too surprising.
2. Food
Overall a let-down. On the ICN-HKG segment, it was essentially a Y-standard meal with minor differences and a better presentation.
It was a little better on HKG-BKK in F, but more akin to a good C meal rather than a good F meal. The pre-ordered lamb chops were quite nice, but the starters really weren't impressive at all.
On BKK-OSL, things were a little better than ICN-HKG but still far from perfect. Veal steak was overdone and the starters were somewhat uninspired. I was actually much happier with the omelette for breakfast - I don't normally have high hopes for egg dishes but it was soft, fluffy and tasted almost freshly-made. Then again, the apparently "premium" sausages had a disconcerting texture of soft plastic/rubber without a hint of actual meat...
On the whole, the flights were not exactly a disaster, but they were hardly a convincing argument for me to rush back to them. The only highlight was the 1hr massage at Suvarnabhum - in just about every other aspect, I feel that I would have been better off with other airlines.
Whereas on my LX and OZ flights I didn't miss SQ for one second, I was left very much yearning for some good old Singapore Girls/Boys' service on my TG flights. If my experience is representative of TG generally, they have some way to go until they catch up with the better carriers in Star.
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