Review: Thai Airways Business Class Airbus A320 (CEI-BKK)

To kick off the return portion of my two-part birthday trip to the Golden Triangle, we flew Thai Airways’ Airbus A320 business class on the 70-minute flight from Chiang Rai (CEI) to Bangkok (BKK).

On the outbound, we lucked out and had a flight operated by the Airbus A321neo, which features flat beds, and is intended primarily for international routes. Meanwhile the A320s are Thai Airways’ domestic workhorse aircraft, so I appreciated the opportunity to compare these two experiences.

Thai Airways actually only recently reconfigured its A320s to get modern cabins and proper business class seats, given that these planes previously flew for subsidiary Thai Smile (which was discontinued).

For a flight of this length, the experience was good, with comfortable and clean cabins, friendly service, and a decent meal. However, these planes are definitely on the basic side, and don’t have power ports, Wi-Fi, or seat back entertainment. Furthermore, manage your expectations when it comes to inflight service, as there’s no alcohol (not that I wanted or needed it, but it’s just an interesting note).

How I booked my Thai Airways business class ticket

We booked our return flights between Bangkok and Chiang Rai with cash, as the pricing was reasonable, and there was no award availability. Specifically, we booked the following in business class for $330.24 per person roundtrip (that was about $50 more each direction than economy, at the time we were booking):

4/21 TG132 Bangkok to Chiang Rai departing 11:35AM arriving 1:10PM
4/25 TG131 Chiang Rai to Bangkok departing 10:10AM arriving 11:40AM

The outbound flight was operated by the A321neo, while the return flight was operated by the A320, so that allowed me to compare the two experiences.

Thai Airways business class check-in & boarding

We arrived at Chiang Rai Airport a little before 9AM, for our 10:10AM flight to Bangkok. The airport is quite small, and the Thai Airways check-in area was empty, so we got our boarding passes within minutes.

Security took all of a few minutes, and then we found ourselves in the domestic departures area of the airport, which is just one, big rectangular room, with several gates, and a shared seating area.

There’s no lounge at Chiang Rai Airport, so we were each given a 150 THB (~5 USD) voucher to use at Black Canyon Coffee & Eatery, the primary airside outlet.

Our flight was departing from gate three, with boarding scheduled for 9:40AM, 30 minutes before departure. Boarding actually ended up starting a few minutes before that, with business class passengers being invited to board first.

Thai Airways A320 business class cabin & seats

At the door I was greeted by two friendly flight attendants, and turned right into the business class cabin. Thai Airways’ Airbus A320 business class cabin consists of 12 seats, spread across three rows, in a 2-2 configuration.

In terms of spaciousness, these seats are very similar to what you’d find in domestic first class within the United States. Seats have 38″ of pitch, so offer plenty of legroom for the short missions that these planes fly.

The seats do feature 5″ of recline, and they also have leg rests, which you don’t typically find within the United States. Then again, I don’t actually know what purpose these leg rests are supposed to serve, unless you’re about four years old, since I’m not sure where feet are supposed to go. The seat recline and leg rests can be controlled via buttons to the side of the seat.

There’s no seat back entertainment on these planes, and for that matter, there’s not a personal device holder on the seat back. Instead, there’s just a storage pocket.

The tray table extends out from the far armrest, and can be folded over in half, depending on whether you need the whole thing or not. There is a small personal device holder on the tray able, though it’s not quite as useful as one on the seat back would be.

One thing that I find disappointing is that the airline didn’t install in-seat power on these planes, so there are no options for charging your electronics. Yes, of course these planes largely operate short flights, but still, it’s nice to be able to charge electronics. After all, people may have had a long drive to the airport, then a long drive from the airport, and may then have plans beyond that.

As is standard on A320s, there were overhead consoles with individual air nozzles and reading lights.

When it comes to amenities, there was a substantial pillow and blanket at each seat, as well as bottled water and refreshing towels.

Thai Airways A320 business class entertainment

When it comes to inflight entertainment, Thai Airways’ Airbus A320 business class offers streaming entertainment, but no seat back entertainment or Wi-Fi connectivity. There’s a card in the seat pocket explaining how to connect to Thai Airways’ Wi-Fi network.

The streaming entertainment includes around 130 movies, around 75 TV shows, a variety of music, and a moving map. Given the short duration of flights on this plane, you should have no issues staying entertained.

Thai Airways A320 departure from Chiang Rai

Boarding was super quick, and wrapped up by 9:50AM, 20 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time. Business class had five of the 12 seats occupied, and I’d estimate that economy was around half full, give or take.

As boarding wrapped up, the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of 70 minutes. Shortly later, at 9:55AM, the main cabin door was closed, and then we immediately began our pushback.

Around this time, a manual safety demonstration was performed. Then at 10AM we started our taxi…

…and by 10:05AM we made it out to runway 21, where we were immediately cleared for takeoff, still five minutes ahead of our scheduled gate departure time.

We had a smooth climb out, and the seatbelt sign was turned off around five minutes after takeoff.

Thai Airways business class meal service

Thai Airways serves hot meals and non-alcoholic drinks in business class on domestic flights. To drink, I had a Coke Zero, which was presented with a glass and ice.

About 15 minutes after takeoff, the meal was brought out. The main course was stir fried chicken with noodles, along with a side of fruit and a milk chocolate tart. There was also another bottle of water on the tray.

The food here isn’t anything to get excited about, but it was a perfectly edible dish, especially for a flight of this length.

Thai Airways A320 business class lavatory

After the meal, I checked out the lavatory at the front of the business class cabin. The Thai Airways A320 has a lavatory right by the cockpit, and it was in pristine condition — it was spotless, and the toilet paper was even folded in perfect triangles.

There were also a couple of extra business class amenities, including special hand wash and fragrance, along with an orchid.

Thai Airways business class service

The Thai Airways business class crew on this flight was excellent. There were two flight attendants in business class, so with only five passengers, service was very attentive. They were friendly and engaging, though admittedly there’s not much to the service beyond bringing out the meal tray and offering drink refills.

Thai Airways A320 arrival in Bangkok

At 10:35AM, roughly 30 minutes after takeoff, the captain was on the PA to announce that we were at our cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, and would be landing in 35 minutes. Around 10 minutes later we began our descent, and then at 11AM, the seatbelt sign was turned on.

There wasn’t much to note about the descent, and we touched down on runway 19L at 11:15AM.

From there we had a short five minute taxi. The airport traffic in Southeast Asia is always fascinating, especially when you see liveries like the below (or that former Spirit Airlines plane I saw in Vietnam).

We pulled into our gate at 11:20AM, next to a Bangkok Airways A319.

We then went to collect our checked bag, and were delighted to find that the bag arrived at the carousel before we could even make it there. Why can’t we hav nice things like that in the United States?!

From there, we headed to the Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, where we spent the night (though I already reviewed that, to get all the Bangkok hotel reviews published sequentially). Next, it was time for me to fly Royal Jordanian’s Boeing 787 business class to Amman (AMM), so expect a review of that next.

Bottom line

Thai Airways Airbus’ A320 business class offers a pleasant but basic experience for flights within Thailand. On the plus side, the flight operated reliably, the seats were comfortable, the service was friendly, and the food was quite good.

However, there also aren’t many frills to the experience. There’s no in-seat pocket, no Wi-Fi or seat back entertainment, and there’s no alcohol. Business class often comes at a reasonable premium, so I find it to be worthwhile, but definitely don’t get too excited.

What’s your take on Thai Airways’ A320 business class?