Review: Thai Airways Business Class Boeing 787 (BKK-MXP)

To kick off the return portion of my exotic journey to Bangkok via Paris, I flew Thai Airways’ Boeing 787 business class on the 11hr30min flight from Bangkok (BKK) to Milan (MXP). It had been several years since I flew Thai Airways long haul, and I remember thinking it was one of the more underrated business class experiences out there.

So I was happy to be back in the skies on Thai Airways’ Dreamliner, and goodness, this was a great flight. While the hard product is just your typical reverse herringbone seat, the soft product was phenomenal, from delicious food (including caviar!) to warm and hospitable service.

Thai Airways is excellent, and I can’t wait for the airline to soon introduce a new business class product, as that could put the carrier into the top tier of airlines globally, in my opinion.

How I booked my Thai Airways business class ticket

I booked the entire return portion of my journey as one ticket. Specifically, I redeemed 87,500 Air Canada Aeroplan points and paid $138.02 in taxes & fees to book the following:

11/22 TG940 Bangkok to Milan departing 12:35AM arriving 7:10AM
11/22 LX1613 Milan to Zurich departing 10:30AM arriving 11:35AM
11/22 LX52 Zurich to Boston departing 5:30PM arriving 8:00PM

You really can’t beat the value of Aeroplan awards from Asia to the United States via Europe, and it’s potentially even better of a value if you want a stopover in Europe, as that costs just 5,000 extra points, and basically gives you two trips for the price of one.

Fortunately Aeroplan points are easy to come by, as the program partners with most major transferable points currencies.

Thai Airways business class lounge & boarding

Prior to my Thai Airways business class flight, I checked out a few lounges at Bangkok Airport, including the Thai Airways Lounge, Turkish Airlines Lounge, and EVA Air Lounge. Reciprocal Star Alliance lounge access rules really do give you a lot of options at the airport!

My flight was departing from gate D7, with boarding scheduled for 12:05AM, 30 minutes before the departure time.

Boarding on Thai Airways tends to be pretty orderly, in my experience, and this flight was no exception. There was just one quirk — an Italian guy was being (I assume) deported from Thailand on our flight, so he was escorted to the plane by police, and then Italian police picked him up upon arrival (and we arrived at a remote stand, so it made the deplaning process a bit chaotic).

Anyway, boarding started at 12:05AM, with business class passengers being invited to board first (well, at least after the guy being deported).

Thai Airways 787 business class cabin & seats

I boarded through the forward door, where I was greeted by the very friendly crew, and pointed right into business class. Thai Airways’ Boeing 787-9 business class cabin consists of 30 business class seats, spread across eight rows, in a 1-2-1 configuration. It takes up the entire space between doors one and two.

Specifically, the airline has Safran Cirrus seats installed seats on these Dreamliners, which is a pretty standard reverse herringbone product, and it’s not one that’s latest generation in terms of technology. While Thai Airways’ cabin finishes are a lot to process, I do appreciate how distinctive the cabins are, in an era where so many airlines just go for very beige and generic cabins.

Those traveling with a companion may wish to reserve a pair of the center seats, given that you’ll at least have some proximity to one another (though you’ll still have to lean forward to properly speak — these seats aren’t great for couples or families).

Meanwhile solo travelers, or those who just value having both an aisle and window, will want to select one of the window seats. For example, I assigned myself seat 19A, the window seat on the left side in the last row.

If you’ve flown in a reverse herringbone seat, odds are that you’re familiar with the concept, and the seat finishes.

In terms of features, to the side of the seat you’ll find an exposed storage area where you can hang headphones, an entertainment controller, a reading light, the headphone jack, the seat control panel, and a USB-A outlet.

The tray table extends from underneath the console to the side of the seat, and has to be flipped over to be extended to its full size.

Underneath the side console you’ll find an AC power outlet. That and the USB-A charging are the only options, as there’s no USB-C or wireless charging available.

On the aisle side, you’ll also find an armrest that can be raised and lowered (it needs to be lowered for takeoff and landing), and that can be opened to reveal a storage space as well.

The seat then features an ottoman that’s a decent size, which becomes part of the bed when fully reclined.

One absolutely delightful feature of Thai Airways’ Dreamliners is that they have individual air nozzles, which is all too uncommon on wide body aircraft of non-US airline.

All-in-all, this is a perfectly good business class hard product, but nothing special, particularly in terms of privacy and technology. That’s to be expected, though, and Thai Airways will soon be rolling out a new product. While this hard product is nothing cutting edge, the good news is that it’s still pretty competitive, and it’s definitely not a reason to avoid the airline.

Thai Airways 787 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

Thai Airways’ 787 business class features 16″ seat back monitors. These are typically stored at an angle, and then you can push a button for head-on viewing. The entertainment system wasn’t the most modern, but was still good enough.

The TV had a decent selection of movies, shows, audio, and games — it was far from the best in the industry, but was sufficient. Due to how the system was organized, it was hard to figure out exactly how many programs there were, but it wasn’t bad.

Since the Dreamliner doesn’t have a tail camera, of course my favorite feature is the map system, which I always like to keep an eye on when awake.

When it comes to Wi-Fi, Thai Airways’ Dreamliners have inflight connectivity in partnership with Panasonic. Panasonic offers decent speeds, but not to the level of Starlink or Viasat. The airline offers business class passengers one hour of free Wi-Fi, plus all passengers get free messaging.

If you want to purchase Wi-Fi without data caps, you can purchase a surfing pass for $14.99, or a streaming pass for $39.99. I purchased the former, because I found the price difference to be surprisingly big, and on top of that, I rarely find that “streaming” packages actually live up to what’s promised, at least with Panasonic. So for $15, I thought that was good pricing (of course I’d prefer free, but…).

I found the Wi-Fi speeds to be okay, and I appreciated that you could also switch between accounts, so I could use the plan on both my laptop and phone (at different times).

So yeah, I’d say Thai Airways is middle of the pack when it comes to entertainment and Wi-Fi, just like with the hard product. Fortunately the rest of the experience is where it gets good…

Thai Airways business class amenities

Thai Airways offers a solid selection of amenities in business class. Waiting at each seat upon boarding were a very plush pillow and substantial blanket, which help with getting cozy during the flight.

There are also mattress pads stored in the overhead bin, which can be placed on seats when reclined, to make the bed a bit more comfortable.

Then there were a pair of good quality noise canceling headphones. Since there’s no bluetooth audio, this is the best option for enjoying the entertainment selection.

There was also a colorful amenity kit, with the basics (a dental kit, earplugs, eyeshades), and some products from Sirivannavari Maison.

There was also a cute little box of sweets placed at the seat… what a nice touch!

Next, there were a pair of slippers, ideal for visiting the lavatory without putting on shoes.

During the boarding process, pre-departure drinks were offered, with the choice of champagne, juice, or water. I was impressed that this was served in a champagne flute, and there was also a warm towel on a little tray.

The menu and drink list for the flight were also distributed.

Aside from pajamas (which weren’t available), I’d say that’s a solid selection of amenities!

Thai Airways 787 departure from Bangkok

The boarding process was a bit more hectic than usual, given that everyone boarded through the forward door, which made for a lot of foot traffic. I do love Thai Airways’ boarding music, which was playing up until departure.

Fortunately boarding was pretty efficient, and wrapped up by 12:30AM, with four of the 30 business class seats empty. Around the same time, the captain was on the PA to announce our flight time of 11hr30min, and our imminent departure.

We started our pushback at 12:35AM, and then started our taxi at 12:40AM, at which point the safety video was screened. It was a quick taxi out to the runway, and by 12:50AM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 2R. We had a smooth climb out, and the seatbelt sign was turned off around five minutes after takeoff.

Thai Airways business class dinner service

After takeoff, dinner was served, and you can find the Thai Airways business class menu below.

Then you can find the Thai Airways business class drink list below.

Meal orders were taken shortly after takeoff, and I was also impressed by the pace at which service got started. Less than 30 minutes after takeoff I was served my first drink, plus the amuse bouche. To drink, I ordered another glass of champagne, with Laurent-Perrier Brut being on offer.

The amuse bouche consisted of seared tuna with spicy mango salad, and a grilled zucchini roll with goat cheese. Mixed nuts and dried fruit were also offered.

Less than 10 minutes later, the appetizer was served. There was no choice, but instead, everyone got the same thing. This included caviar with poached tiger prawn, grilled Hokkaido scallop with green apple tartare, and air-fried beef bresola with grilled asparagus and carrots.

Thai Airways consistently offers caviar in business class on flights to Europe, so that’s a very impressive aspect of the service, since not many airlines serve caviar in business class.

I did find the presentation to be a little random, in terms of spending all that money on the caviar, but then barely having any accompaniments. Still, it was an excellent appetizer. There was also a selection of warm bread, including the carrier’s delicious garlic bread.

The main course was served around an hour after takeoff, just shortly after the appetizer was cleared. Of the three main course options, I opted for the tiger prawns in red curry with pineapple. This was served with jasmine rice, a turnip omelet, and stir-friend eggplant with sweet basil. The dish was phenomenal, and I accompanied it with a nice glass of red wine.

As soon as the main course was cleared, I was proactively brought a cheese course, which was beautifully presentation, and had a cool variety of options.

Then for dessert, I selected the coconut milk panna cotta with toddy palm and ginkgo nuts. YUM.

While I was stuffed at this point, I was also given a chocolate bar, with Thai Airways 65th anniversary branding.

What an incredible meal, as it was perfectly paced, with good champagne, and delicious food.

Thai Airways 787 business class lavatory

Thai Airways’ 787-9 business class has two lavatories — one is in the front center of the cabin, by the cockpit, while the other is at the front right of the cabin, in front of the first row. These are pretty standard Dreamliner lavatories, and neither is particularly spacious.

What stood out to me is that the lavatories remained spotlessly clean throughout the flight, and that makes a big difference on a long haul flight. There were also some extra business class amenities, like a moisturizer and cologne.

Thai Airways 787 business class bed

Once back at my seat, it was time to get some rest, so I reclined my seat into bed mode. Funny enough, as you may have determined based on the below pictures, I didn’t realize about the mattress pad until later in the flight, when I noticed them in the overhead bin. So it’s definitely something the crew could communicate better.

By the time I went to bed, we had just under 10 hours remaining to Milan, as we were flying just south of the border between Bangladesh and India.

I’m usually a terrible airplane sleeper, so I actually did really well on this flight, and woke up with just under three hours remaining to Milan, as we were just south of the Black Sea. For me that’s a great night of sleep!

Thai Airways business class breakfast

Around 2.5 hours before landing, cabin lights were turned on, and the breakfast service started, with warm towels first being distributed.

You can find the Thai Airways business class snack menu below (which I didn’t partake in), along with the breakfast menu, below.

I ordered a coffee to drink, which was excellent.

I appreciated the three unique breakfast options, and I opted for the croissant with Alaskan king crab, accompanied by spinach egg rolls, creamy spinach, and oven-dried tomato. This was also served with a bowl of fruit, muesli, and a pastry on the side. I must admit, this was an excellent airplane egg dish, the best I’ve had in a very long time.

Thai Airways business class service

One of Thai Airways’ biggest strengths is its employees, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the extent to which Thailand is known for hospitality. The crew on this flight was stellar — they provided warm service from the heart, and had excellent attention to detail.

As one small example of the great service, both during boarding and during the descent, the crew came around to thank each business class passenger for flying with Thai Airways. That level of warmth continued throughout the flight.

Thai Airways 787 arrival in Milan

Before I knew it, we were getting ready to start our descent. At 5:50AM Milan time, the captain announced that we’d be landing in around 35 minutes, and 10 minutes after that, the seatbelt sign was turned on. We hit some bumps on the approach, and the crew prepared the cabin for landing pretty early.

We ended up touching down in Bangkok at 6:25AM on runway 35L. From there, we had a five minute taxi to our arrival stand, as we arrived at a remote gate. With us pulling in at 6:30AM, we were 40 minutes ahead of schedule, which is great.

As I hinted at above, our flight was met by the police, as there was a guy who had clearly been deported from Thailand, and Italian authorities took custody of him on arrival.

Once off the bus I headed to the Lufthansa Lounge Milan, where I’d spend some time before continuing my journey back to the United States.

Bottom line

My Thai Airways flight had all the makings of a world-class business class product. As far as I’m concerned, the airline has among the best food and friendliest service you’ll find in business class on any airline. This flight had an especially strong showing, with everything from caviar to a delicious Thai prawn dish.

Ultimately Thai’s 787-9 business class hard product is fine, but nothing special. The same is true of the entertainment, Wi-Fi, and amenities. When Thai introduces a new business class hard product, I really think it’ll join the big leagues in terms of having an incredible business class experience.

What’s your take on Thai Airways’ 787 business class?