Smooth as Silk to BKK on Thai B77W/B772

[ycp81]

Over the Hari Raya long weekend holidays, I did a short getaway to the very popular Bangkok, a mecca for foodists and shoppers alike. Booked my tickets on Thai Airways at a very reasonable price (comparable to budget airlines prices) for a full-service experience. Lets see how is the Royal Orchid service onboard Thai, after not having flown them for quite some time.

Did online check-in 24hrs prior and thus only got my boarding pass an hour before departure. The flight was upgraded from a B772 to a brand new B773ER to accommodate the huge number of passengers travelling to BKK over the weekend holiday. Flight was totally full in economy.

Boarding pass




Spotted an Air France B773ER, arrived from Paris and continuing to Jakarta.




The incoming aircraft, HS-TKR, has arrived early.




We will be departing from Gate C13.





16 July 2015
Thai Airways International
TG 414
Singapore (SIN) - Bangkok (BKK)
B777-300ER
HS-TKR
Economy Class


Admiring the beautiful Thai B773ER. The aircraft is rather new and fitted with the latest interior seat designs.






Boarding commenced shortly. Priority boarding and boarding by rows were strictly enforced. Entering the aircraft through the airbridge, a selection of newspapers and magazines were available at the door.




Welcomed aboard by beautiful Thai crew in their traditional Thai uniforms (which they will change out from before landing). Passed a small J cabin into economy. Cabin seemed fresh and new. The seat colours are rather stylish yet reek of Thai tradition.






Reached my seat at the rear cabin. The IFE monitors were similar to those on SQ, but touchscreen activated. A welcome message in various languages was shown.




Cargo being loaded.




A pillow was available on each seat. Blankets were distributed upon request. Headsets were distributed by the crew during boarding. While SQ has switched to inferior earbuds in economy, TG has moved away from the earbuds it previously hands out, to the better quality headsets similar to what SQ used to distribute to cattle class.

[ycp81]

Inflight magazines and safety card.




Legroom was more than decent. Seats were equipped with footrests (similar to SQ). IFE handsets and USB ports were on the seatback. Did not use the handsets though a the monitors were touchscreen enabled.




Crew settling passengers and assisting with baggage. Boarding was completed rather swiftly, even with the full load.



Garuda B738 and Scoot's "pimple-jet" B789 taxiing side-by-side.




Flight time would take about 1h50m.




Doors closed, safety video played and we started our pushback.








Don't you love the engine startup sound of the GE-powered B773ER?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYWPcsHX8F8


Welcome announcement during taxi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i6c7D0w8J0


Taxi to runway 20C.






And a powerful takeoff from Rwy20C, bound for Bangkok.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fa8Jl7bK6M

[ycp81]

Climbing






IFE system was already switched on during boarding. I settled for a teen comedy on this short flight. IFE would be available all the way until touchdown.




No menus were distributed on this short flight, but the menu for the meal was available in the IFE system.

Menu for TG414.






Drinks selection.






Enjoying the movie.




Crew gave out immigration forms, followed by serving the special meals by hand from the galley. With the short flight time and full flight, the crew definitely were definitely quick and efficient. It also certainly helps that TG staffs its economy cabin with more crew than most other airlines.




My travel partner received his Hindu vegetarian meal first and according to him, every item on the tray was very tasty!




This was followed with distribution of the normal meals.




TG currently has a special 55th anniversary special, with one of the economy dishes on the SIN-BKK route being a celebrity Thai chef special. On this flight, the prawn selection was replaced with the "special" dish of fish with rice. I chose the fish selection. The meal came with a simple salad, warm soft roll with butter, a pot of water and a dessert.

[ycp81]

The main course was a fish fillet with thai-style spicy sauce, thai omelette and rice. It was really delicious and portion was very generous as well! One of the best economy class meals I had onboard.






After swiftly distributing the meal trays, the crew came down with the bar cart, offering the full selection of beverages from the bar. This is one area where TG excels as most other airlines would not bother to set up a full bar cart on a short-haul flight.




I ordered a Coke and was generously offered the full can with ice. Note that the cutlery used on this sector was plastic, which was puzzling as on the return sector, the cutlery was metal.




Meal service did not end there as the crew came round to offer additional bread rolls, as well as wine top-ups. Really fantastic service on this short and full flight!

Enjoying the apricot crumble dessert.




The bar cart made its appearance again with the crew offering hot coffee/tea or more beverages. Totally amazed with the efficiency and generosity of TG's economy meal service!




After the second run of the bar cart, meal trays were collected. Totally satisfied with the meal...

Cruising over South China Sea.




View of the B773ER aft economy cabin. There were some Thai artwork at the rear of the cabin which I did not capture. Overall, I really loved the new cabin colours and ambience of TG's B773ER.




Lavatory was well-appointed as well, with false wooden panelling on the floor and below the sink, and a nice floral touch of an orchid. However not much amenities available, except the necessary and a cologne.






Soon we started our descend.






Crew only started clearing up the cabin halfway through the descent. Female crew also rushed to change out of their traditional Thai uniforms to the ground uniform. They seriously worked the cabin till the gears came down.

[ycp81]

An arrival Thailand Customs video was shown.




Slowing down.




Our flight route.




Lower




Video of the descent with soothing music in the background.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys0M_ilvDzs


Approaching the runway.










And making a very cushioning landing (felt like landing on a mattress) on Rwy19R, 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Istbd7rLJDQ





Taxied pass a TG A380.




And docked at the gate. Seems like the catering truck has not update its livery for the past 5 years as it still has TG's 50th anniversary logo on its side.




Disembarking

[ycp81]

Passing Business Class. The width of Thai's new-generation Business Class seats seemed tiny after getting used to SQ's gigantic Business seats.




Even though we parked and exited via the airbridge, we were directed down the stairs to awaiting buses. This made many passengers confused since the airbridge was linked to the terminal building. Apparently we were parked at the domestic end of the terminal (guess the aircraft would be making another short hop to CNX or HKT before the night long-haul) and would need to be ferried by buses to the international arrival hall.

A look at our B773ER.




A tour of the BKK tarmac while on the bus ride to arrivals.








It was a truly pleasant flying experience on TG on this short-haul flight. We were well-fed and well-entertained, with nice cabin ambience, delicious meals and great service by the crew. Well done, TG!


For this trip, I stayed at Mode Sathorn Hotel, which is located just beside Surasak BTS station. Imagine it as an affordable replica of W Hotel.








This trip was all about tailoring, eating and some shopping. And so, here are some of the food I had!

[ycp81]

View from my room at the 29th storey.




More feasting.














A bit of Japanese...








And ending with sweet desserts from After You café.

[ycp81]

Time to fly home after the short weekend getaway. Reached Suvanarbhumi 1.5hrs before departure. TG's check-in desks at the airport were largely empty, even though the flight back would be totally full.




Having done online check-in, I just dropped my baggage and got my boarding pass within a couple of minutes.




Departure gate was at C9, which was quite a hike through the massive terminal.




HS-TJC in the heavy thunderstorm. Boarding was slightly delayed due to the storm which halted ground operations.




19 July 2015
Thai Airways International
TG 401
Bangkok (BKK) - Singapore (SIN)
B777-200
HS-TJC
Economy Class

Soon, boarding started, again in an orderly manner. HS-TJC, which is a retrofitted B777-200, would be flying us back to Singapore this evening, with an overnight stop in Singapore and operating the first flight out the next morning.

Colourful recaro economy seats.




The aircraft was retrofitted with personal IFE screens in economy. Even though the aircraft is almost 19yrs of age, the cabin was still clean and well-maintained. No falling apart seats or cabin fittings to be seen.




Still raining outside.




The usual pillow and headsets were on the seats. Requested for blankets from the friendly crew as the cabin was freezing cold. Also learnt that the crew would be night-stopping in SIN and operating the 2nd flight out from SIN the next day at noon. So TG overnights 2 sets of its crew in SIN every day!




Again, seat pitch was very reasonable, but the IFE box takes up half the legroom at the window seats.





Handset of a generation back. Similar to those found on SQ's retrofitted aircraft as well.




Safety card, Rest of the inflight magazines were similar to the previous flight.




TG's fleet.

[ycp81]

Pushed back slightly behind schedule due to the bad weather delaying the loading of cargo. Flight time of 1h50m. Safety video played.




Taxi and takeoff from Rwy19L. Cool that this aircraft is fitted with a nose camera!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB3i9ilZ_Fk


Bangkok night lights.




Have a look at the dinner menu on the IFE system.








Browsing through the movies menu for a film to watch. Similarly, there was no need to use the handsets as the monitors are touch-screen, though not as sensitive as the newer generation monitors.




Settled for an animation comedy "Home" for this short flight.




Meal service soon started and again, service by the crew was friendly and very efficient. I counted at least 8 crew working in economy class!




The fried snapper choice on the menu sounded very appetising, but unfortunately the crew ran out of the choice when they reached my row (I was seated near the rear and service started from the front). No choice but to settle for the chicken in garlic sauce instead, but the crew did apologised.

Meal tray. On this flight, a full-sized tray is used, along with metal cutlery, but no pot of water on the tray.




Main course unveiled. Also had a can of Coke Zero to go with the meal.




Tuna pasta starter and blueberry mousse dessert.




Chicken with garlic sauce, steamed rice and French beans with garlic. Portion of meat was very generous and taste was acceptable, but would have preferred a spicy thai dish instead. Guess the other choice would have tasted even much better.

[ycp81]

Enjoying the dessert.




Having a cup of hot tea to end the meal. Even though there were bouts of turbulence, the seatbelt signs never came on and hot beverages were still offered. The only time when the seatbelt signs were switched on for about 10min was during a period of quite bad turbulence and service was suspended.




Continued with the movie along with my drink.




Visited the lavatory just when descend started. On the B772, the lavatory is definitely nowhere as nice as on the B773ER.




Cabin shot.




Seat view.




Approaching Singapore.




A Singapore Customs arrival video was shown. Don't remember this being shown on arriving SQ flights into SIN.




Approaching Singapore Changi Rwy 20R.




Switched to camera view to have a pilot's view of the landing.




Landed a few minutes behind schedule and taxied to the gate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCojh-4BaC4


Disembarking and passing the old business class cabin. Seats seemed much more spacious even though it is of the older generation inclined-flat. Not sure of the comfort though.




Thanks for the ride, HS-TJC!




Again, a pleasant short flight on TG. TG does have the potential to be a 5-stars carrier. It just need the proper management to help it achieve the status. However, TG shall still remain as my favourite carrier on the SIN-BKK route.

Thanks for reading and comments are welcomed!

[SQueeze]

Very sumptuous Y meal service.

TG can be 5-star Y indeed.

But some of the planes are really aging.
Flew DEL-BKK once on the 330 with really bad ancient common screen where one cannot make out anything. It was really like 1995 in 2013.

[ycp81]

Flew DEL-BKK once on the 330 with really bad ancient common screen where one cannot make out anything. It was really like 1995 in 2013.

Think TG only has 2 of these ancient A330s left in service, with the rest replaced with 787s. The newer A330s and the rest of the widebody fleet have the updated cabins or retrofitted with new seats/IFE systems. So chances of getting ancient planes these days is really slim.

[yflyer]

More feasting.

[...snip...]



[...snip...]

Thanks for the TR, ycp81!

The food you ate in Bangkok looks really good!

I am glad the new TG 77W retains 3-3-3 in Y. TG catering looks quite sumptuous by economy class catering standards these days. Much better than CX Y on the longer SIN-HKG sector. And they even have a real glass in Y, which SQ has recently dropped in favour of a cheap looking transparent plastic cup.

Dunno how useful putting menus on the IFE is, though, looks like a lot of IT development work for very little actual benefit. On the other hand, if airlines went all the way and implemented a full electronic ordering setup for meals and beverages on IFE in Y, that would be very useful!

I would be happy to fly on the older 772 on this sector too, just for the comfortable looking Y seats.

By coincidence I am heading to Bangkok (On SQ Y) next week on a work trip...this TR really whet my appetite...

[SQ218]

Thanks for the TR, ycp81.

Can I ask which tailor did you go to?

[thelongroad]

Thanks for the TR, ycp81.

Can I ask which tailor did you go to?

I can butt in and recommend Majestic Tailor.