So, I just flew Thai Airways’ new first class

Thanks for the answer! How was the catering too?

@ Del -- It was pretty bad, unfortunately.

TG did a few things to irk me on a flight I had with them in F a few months back, including waking everyone up for the pre arrival meal over two hours before landing. They could have waited at least 30 more minutes, but probably even an hour.

Here's someyhing i've always wondered about when I see these layout...

How do you travel "with" someone with the seats arranged like they are? Not to mention the enclosed nature of the seats.

A tad off topic but someone asked something like it in the thread you referenced but didn't get an answer.

If you arrive BKK in F (say from HKG) but are departing in either Y or B (say to VTE) are you still entitled to use the First Class lounge?

If not, but you are departing in Y because B is full but the rest of your ticket is F are you at least entitled to use the B lounge.

Thanks.

I guess i was fortunate, as i tried their F product LHR-BKK and loved it, great crew , good food, just a wonderful flight.

But having flown them enough intra Asia, they can be a bit indifferent at times.

Be warned, TG is infamous for aircraft swaps, and long haul 744 routes are no exception. I wouldn't recommend booking a particular flight for the sake of trying out this reconfigured aircraft.

It could mean the difference between a suite and prehistoric recliners!

You took my spot! I was supposed to be on that flight, but had to cancel. Very sad 🙁

@ patrick -- Well in row three there are two seats that are together, so they're best for those traveling together. The other thing to keep in mind is that many of the most premium first class products nowadays have "buddy seats," so you can literally have dinner with a dining companion at one table.

But if you prefer sitting close to your loved one, business class can often be better.

@ Steve -- Yes you are.

@ Kai -- Indeed.

@ Deniz -- Hah, too funny. Sorry you had to cancel, but thanks. 😀

Lucky: How can you tell if you will get the new F? Is it random on the FRA-BKK route or were you just 'lucky'?

Lucky, the poor service you experienced is inexcusable. I'm aghast. Thai should be humiliated by that performance. Certainly, I and others will seek to avoid Thai whenever possible.

I still can't get over the "turned down" bed!

Just did
FRA-ICN on 747 with OZ in F - was alone and had very good inflight service
ICN-SIN on 773 with SQ in F - full F and well below my expectations in terms of friendlyness (you always refer to robotic - but I think they saw on the manifest that I was flying on a US Air award in their holy F - or the crew was tired...)

Will fly SIN-HKG on same 773 with SQ in F and don't expect much difference. But looking fwd to the F departure experience in SIN (incl. book your chef).

Then - and this is why I post this here - within a week I will do a A380 on TG in F from HKG-BKK. Have no clue what to expect but I really liked the plane during my LH A380 F experience from PEK-FRA half a year back.

Thereafter I will do the 773 experience with TG in F from BKK to FRA. I heard about the tired product but still... But who knows. Maybe they swap planes again...

But your post was a nice reminder about what I will experience soon. After the very polished OZ experience in F (and the great hard product in SQ F) I need to lower my expectations somewhat. And schedule this 1h pre-departure massage into my diary!

Happy travels, Ben!

What did you do when proffered the less than brand new appetizer?

Ben

What mileage program did you use to get LH/TG first class?

Had a chance to fly this plane back in early August in 3A (believe it's tail # HS-TGY), albeit on a much shorter route. Must say I'm surprised they haven't been able to get any more retrofitted in the last 3 plus months. It is leaps and bounds better than their current F product, but I agree that it did feel as though they left something on the table.

Ben--did you use miles for this trip or was this a paid fare?

The A380 seats on Thai look very similar to the Singapore FC seats.

Great trip report and what a way to travel - First Class on Thai. But I didn't expect their service to be that bad. They're suppose to be one of the best service airliner in the world. Anyway, the seat looks great though judging from the photo, the quality of the finishes does look a bit 'plasticky'

I just did the new OZ F suites ex-ORD and the OZ soft product with the new seats is the best value for miles IMHO. I didn't have any issues finding availability with KF.

Doing the return with a 77W in F on SQ isn't exciting me after my experience in the new suites.

Is that Coke Zero they are serving on the plane in the black can?

Lucky-- what flight # was this from FRA TO BKK?

Bullet # 1 is terrible. Did you say anything?

I'm curious what your strategy is for combating jet lag, especially given this current trip? Have you done an article about that yet?

I guess I didn't get why flying Thai first is so great compared to others besides the $20 value Bangkok massage you didnt get this time since inbound. Seems like most everything else was fairly negative in the soft service and decent in the hard product.

@ Mike S. -- You have to look at the seatmap. If it shows nine seats in first class it's scheduled to be operated by the new first class, and if it shows ten seats in first class it's scheduled to be operated by the old first class. That being said, Thai is notorious for aircraft swaps, so you can never really count on it.

I believe they're keeping it on the Frankfurt route now for the most part, and Munich should be the next destination. Though they seem to keep changing their minds, as it has also been in Sydney and Tokyo the past few days.

@ Hamurabi2008 -- Asiana is funny in that it's basically the exact opposite of Thai -- Asiana has a not-so-great hard product but AMAZING soft product, while Thai is the opposite with their new product. Hopefully you'll have a great crew and catering will be good. I'd still go with Thai for comparison purposes.

@ beachfan -- I took a picture and sent it back, saying I wasn't hungry. Blessing in disguise given how much I had already eaten that day.

@ Jorge -- MileagePlus miles transferred from Ultimate Rewards.

@ Ozaer N. -- I used miles.

@ ande777emt -- Dying to try the new Asiana Suite!

@ webrobby -- Yep.

@ Arthur -- It was TG921.

@ BabaBinx -- I didn't.

@ Todd -- Traveling to Asia is especially tough, since all my work is on US time, while everything I want to do in Asia is during the day, so they kind of counter each other.

I usually end up just sleeping when I'm tired for short trips. If that means I get up at 4AM and go to bed at 8PM it works for me, as it allows me to catch up on work in the morning, do some sightseeing in the morning before it's hot, get some more work done in the early afternoon, and then go out again. For longer trips it's tougher...

Whenever I have flown TG the service has been great. So I suppose it is hit and miss like most other airlines. I always am a bit uncomfortable by the over-the-top thanks from the whole crew kneeling next to my seat. I know it's a Thai thing, but it's not like I'm Thai Royalty.

Lucky - thanks for the informative posting. I will be on TG911 from London to Bangkok in a couple of weeks.

This flight has been operated as a A346 fairly consistently.

Will I be experiencing the new "F"

Best

@ Steven -- Unfortunately none of the A340-600 aircraft have the new first class yet. I'm sure you'll have a great flight nonetheless. Enjoy!

Todd said,

"I’m curious what your strategy is for combating jet lag, especially given this current trip? Have you done an article about that yet?"

In my experience the key to preventing conventional jet lag is to get on your destination's time well before you land. I haven't had to worry about jet lag in many trips over many years after figuring this out. On my trip to Thailand last month I made sure to set my clock for my primary destination the day before I left. I also made careful use of caffeine, melatonin, and diphenhydramine to nudge my body into the new schedule. Flight arrived at 5:30AM and I was at my hotel by 6:30AM or so. I got cleaned up and headed out for a day of random exploring without any issues. On the return trip I followed the same process in reverse and arrived back home around 7:30PM on a Sunday night. I fell asleep around 10:00PM and was back to work at 8:00AM on Monday without so much as a hint of jet lag.

Now, as for Lucky's crazy hot potato trips I have no idea what to do about that kind of jet lag as it seems like he's constantly moving around and never really staying in any one place long enough to allow his body to sync up with anything. Seems like a jarring way to travel but I guess everyone has their own preference and some folks prefer the act of traveling to spending time at their destination. As for me I prefer to stop traveling and stick around for a few days and feel like I have a home base of sorts. Constantly being on the move doesn't really interest me that much and after a few days of near constant travel I eventually get sick of it.

Lucky - thanks for the reply. I am looking forward to the trip. To clarify a question asked earlier, I am arriving BKK in F and have a 3 1/2 hour layover before traveling onto CAN in J

Can I use the F lounges/services and more importantly, what would you recommend I do is there more than 1 lounge, can I get a massage, etc..)

Many thanks!

@ Steven -- Yes, you can use the first class lounge, though by the rules would only get the business class massage, which is 30 minutes. You can choose between a neck and foot massage, I believe. Enjoy the lounge!

Pretty excited to be tying out the first class product in a few months. Will be stopping of in Thailand for a few days on the way to SYD.

@Lucky "Not once did the flight attendant primarily serving me use any “polite” words. I always said “please” and “thank you,” and she never responded with “you’re welcome” or “enjoy.”"
Oh boy. What a dumb complaint. Another monolingual European/white American/Caucasian. How would you know? Do you speak Thai? Another language? I'm sure they said it, but you were not educated enough to understand them.