Hello from Tokyo, as I’m currently in the middle of a review trip! I just flew Thai Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER first class on the 5hr30min flight from Bangkok (BKK) to Tokyo (NRT).
I’ve flown Thai Airways first class many times over the years, on everything from the A340, to the A380, to the 747, to the 777. However, all those planes have been retired over the years. At this point, Thai Airways exclusively has first class on three 777s, all of which the airline started flying in 2022.
What was my takeaway from the Thai Airways first class experience? While the hard product is underwhelming (and oddly beat up for a new aircraft), the soft product was phenomenal, from the food and drinks, to the service, to the amenities.
While I’ll have a full trip report soon, in this post I wanted to share some initial impressions of the experience.
In this post:
Thai Airways’ new first class lounge is underwhelming
Historically the best part of Thai Airways first class was the ground experience. You got escorted every step of the way, and the former dedicated first class lounge was amazing, and you could even book a complimentary 60-minute full body massage.
While Thai Airways still offers the escort through the airport, unfortunately the former first class lounge has been closed. Now first class passengers get access to a dedicated section of the Thai Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge. It’s an oddly large space, when you consider that there’s typically at most one flight with first class at a time, so there are usually at most a handful of people in the lounge.
The lounge is nice enough, and has an extensive selection of food and drinks. What I found worst about the lounge was the service, and it’s feedback I’ve seen echoed by others who visited the lounge. The lounge is overstaffed, with more attendants standing around than guests. Still, service is not at all proactive.
Like, there were no proactive offers to refill drinks, and they even missed basic details. For example, when I was served the food I had ordered, they didn’t even bring silverware, and then when I asked for it, it took them several minutes to bring it.
I don’t get it, because it’s not that the staff weren’t friendly. But they just stand around looking at you, and don’t seem to be trained on how to provide proactive service. This seems like it should be an easy fix, no?
Thai Airways’ 777 first class seats are strange
Let me start with what I’d consider to be the most disappointing aspect of the Thai Airways first class experience — the seats. The cabin has eight seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. The seats are perfectly spacious, and I love the orchid pattern on the bulkhead.
There are a couple of quirks to the seat, though. For one, the seats don’t have doors, which you’d think would be a standard when a product is introduced in 2022. Instead, the seats just have a small privacy shield — you can see the “track” in the bottom right of the below picture.
But here was the most shocking part, for a plane that entered service two years ago — the cabin was in awful shape. None of the storage compartments opened easily, the tray table was really beat up, the controller wire was held together by tape, and the seat had so many stains.
For that matter, when I boarded the aircraft, a mechanic was fixing a couple of the first class seats, so there were even more issues than I would have assumed at first glance
I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a first class seat in such bad condition, let alone within a couple of years of being introduced. Did Thai Airways just choose a cheap product? Is the airline not maintaining these seats? I don’t get it…
Thai Airways’ first class service is impeccable
Now let’s get to the soft product, which was uniformly exceptional. In particular, the two flight attendants working first class — On and Bond — were superstars. They couldn’t have been friendlier, and were also exceptionally polished.
They addressed each first class passenger by name as they arrived at their seat from memory, they exuded such genuine warmth, and they had amazing product knowledge. For example, I ordered the Japanese meal, and they explained the exact details of every component of the meal without referencing anything. They almost made proactive recommendations about what to order, and anticipated any and all needs.
A good crew makes all the difference, and the professionalism of this crew more than makes up for any shortcoming of the hard product.
Thai Airways’ first class amenities are extensive
The amenities on this 5hr30min daytime flight exceeded my expectations. For one, there was a Porsche design amenity kit, with PAYOT products.
There were also lovely Thai Airways branded pajamas, created in partnership with Boggi.
The plane also had Wi-Fi, and first class passengers receive a voucher for complimentary inflight connectivity.
Thai Airways’ first class food & drinks are phenomenal
For a 5hr30min flight departing in the morning, the meal service exceeded all expectations, in terms of both quality and quantity. Thai Airways currently serves Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle champagne in first class — the airline used to have Dom Perignon, but Emirates has an exclusive on that nowadays.
Breakfast was served after takeoff, with Thai, Japanese, and Western options. I selected the Japanese option, which was phenomenal. The meal started with a fresh fruit plate, a bread basket, and Thai-style Chinese crullers with pandan custard and condensed milk.
That was followed by muesli, with the choice of fruit toppings.
Then there was the main feast, which was comprised of a Japanese bento set with appetizers, grilled sea bass, steamed rice, and miso soup. Yum, yum, yum.
Despite the short flight duration, there was a second meal service prior to landing. For this, I selected the Thai rice vermicelli noodles with prawns and peanut sauce, served with Thai sweets for dessert. I also drank Thai Airways’ signature drink, the Violet Bliss, which is a butterfly pea limeade.
I loved the attention to detail with the service, For example, after I was presented with the pre-arrival dish, Bond asked if he could put some shaved bergamot on the plate “for aroma.” What a detail-oriented touch!
Bottom line
I found the Thai Airways first class experience to be delightful, and it exceeded my expectations. The best part of the flight was the service, as On and Bond couldn’t have been better ambassadors for the airline and country. On top of that, the food and drinks were delicious, and amenities extensive.
What I can’t make sense of, though, is Thai Airways’ first class hard product. The airline introduced these seats in the past couple of years. Not only do they lack privacy compared to other first class products out there, but the seats are in awful condition. I’m not sure what’s going on.
Anyway, despite some shortcomings with the hard product, I’d love to fly with Thai Airways again in first class, as the soft product was pure perfection.
What’s your take on Thai Airways’ 777 first class?
While I find the Thai Airways first class catering between Japan and Thailand (or vice versa) great I never pick the Japanese meal, it just does not measure up to JAL or ANA, even their business class meals on the route are way better. The pictures here just confirm that, the Japanese elements kind of look like a 7-11 Japan bento.
Interesting, so you consider soft product impeccable because they address you by name and because they added very few small details to the meal service. Service to me is impeccable when they go above and beyond and it is more than what is expected and I will also consider the cost. Seems you should consider the terminology used. I do not think I would use impeccable to describe the service here although it was good or better than expected.
This is the first time I have heard that TG offers again with F to Japan. (after they stopped it with their 744) I flew last December HND-BKK the midnight flight in J. (There was no F class) It was an A330- in TG Service since 2009. The cabin looked accordingly. I ordered a Vegetarian Meal. All I got was a plate of salad, the leaves I could not eat, just a few slices of...
This is the first time I have heard that TG offers again with F to Japan. (after they stopped it with their 744) I flew last December HND-BKK the midnight flight in J. (There was no F class) It was an A330- in TG Service since 2009. The cabin looked accordingly. I ordered a Vegetarian Meal. All I got was a plate of salad, the leaves I could not eat, just a few slices of tomato and yellow pepper. I asked for cheese/bread or anything else, but all they had was some mixed nuts. Sorry-that was all they loaded. Breakfast: The omelet was ok, but the vegetables were cold, the coffee was lukewarm and then I asked for a Perrier, which was served to me with no more gas- (they used a 1-liter bottle and for sure they forgot to close the bottle overnight). And the crew was not friendly at all. Back I flew in J on a 777 which did not have F. The cabin looked also a little aged, the meal was a bit better but nothing like on the BKK-MUC flight. I have the impression TG neglects their Japanese market.
Thai Airways has been on the verge of bankrupcy for some years now, so I guess maintenance of the cabins has been slashed. Likewise the seemingly permanent closure of the F lounge appears to be a cost-cutting measure.
Regarding the overstaffing of the current F annexe, seems like they could do with less staff, trained up to deliver service akin to the F cabin. The lounge management needs a severe shakeup!
Glenn,
The "lounge management" (wagies) have no understanding of the business or ability to influence it... Please try to think... MANAGEMENT (actual) imposes expectations and plans on the organization and the wagies are to comply. Some Manager in some lounge has no authority to do this!!
I had the same experience flying BKK-KIX in F last year. Service was incredible and so was the food. It was too short of a flight to enjoy everything on offer. I didn't notice the problems with the hard product but I guess those could have cropped up more recently.
In the lounge in BKK, I seemed to have dedicated staff and there was only 1 other F pax in that area so I thought service was very good there as well.
Many years ago that was my First Frist Class flight ever. From Narita to Don Mueang airport. Everything was perfect - the service on the plane, I agree, implacable, they took me by hand (and buggy) everywhere. They got me through the diplomatic channel at the immigration, they drove me to the hotel and when I forgot to reserve the car back they called me to make sure one would be waiting for me.
...
Many years ago that was my First Frist Class flight ever. From Narita to Don Mueang airport. Everything was perfect - the service on the plane, I agree, implacable, they took me by hand (and buggy) everywhere. They got me through the diplomatic channel at the immigration, they drove me to the hotel and when I forgot to reserve the car back they called me to make sure one would be waiting for me.
Once they moved to BKK - the lounge had one hour massages, waterfalls in the spa, private rooms with huge TVs, attendants that would appear as Genies if you just looked at them. You felt like they cared about you every single second.
Over the years - sure other airlines did something better than Thai. Cathay lounge in HK with personal bathtubs and best wine selection on board, Emirates and showers, ANA and JAL with 18 and 21 year old Yamazaki and Hibiki whiskeys and incredible staff as well, and one very very special crew from Air France that made me feel like I was flying PanAm - Thai will away hold special place for me.
@ben - "Chinese crullers" = pa tong ko...Thai fritters that one dips in sauces/condensed milk/custard. So good when they are fresh out of the hot oil!
I was going to post that it was weird he didn't know this—they're everywhere in Thailand, at virtually every food market—but then I remembered that five-star Ben has likely never been to an actual Thai fresh market.
@ Ralph4878 @ Jeeda -- I'm aware of the alternative name, but "Chinese crullers" is also how it was written on the menu and described by the crew, hence why I wrote it that way. Jeeda, is your snide really necessary?
@Jeeda why are you even here? If you have a problem with Ben's apparent privilege (I point out that he is a luxury travel writer) then you are free to simply not read what he writes. There are plenty of other blogs that have more relatable content. You must be going through a lot in your personal life if you feel the need to come on here snipe at people from afar. Hope it all works out.
@ ben, you rank business class seats, but could it maybe be interesting to compare business class beds? Duvets, mattresses, sleeping area, privacy, etc. Especially transatlantic, there are so many different products out there
@ E39 -- Interesting idea, thanks! Let me see what I can do.
This looks like the same seats that were on the A380 upper deck back in the late naughts early teens. Maybe they reused the seats to save money
They do indeed look the same, but they are not. The a380 seats had more texture and pattern on them. I did think the same thing though, maybe some parts were reused, hence the wear and tear.
@ Kiwi -- While the concepts and colors are similar, they are in fact different seats, so they weren't reused.
Ads on site is making things unreadable. really sucks
Absolutely agree with you. Just plain intrusive and repetitive. I've given up on several occasions and just moved on to something else.
Ben the ads are really making it difficult to read those reviews. It was not too bad until 1 or 2 weeks ago.
I may have to read on my phone where I have an ad-block.
I agree its extremely difficult and annoying to read reviews these days because of the ads. But he doesn't seem to care. Countless people have been complaining about this and he ignored every single message. Which is a shame, really.
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Nice short report. Wouldve appreciated pics about the beaten up cabin though.
use reading mode or an ad blocker!
That Japanese meal looks similar to what they serve ex-TYO in J, even with the bento box and rice bowl. The only difference is the plating for the seabass.
Like I've been saying over and over again, I wish more airlines would be creative and introduce some local flair with their desserts as the usual cakes and ice cream do get boring and repetitive. How hard it can it be for the likes of SQ and CX to have sweet soups and puddings for dessert?!
@ Mike O. -- Agreed 1000%
Ewwww those are not deserts
Did Thai acquire those 777s from elsewhere? Can’t possibly be new aircraft i’d imagine
@ Willem -- Nope, brand new aircraft, amazingly. Some of the newest 777-300ERs in the world. Wild that the airline acquired these while trying to cut costs and retiring other equally efficient aircraft.
Right?!?!? Weren’t they literally bankrupt about when these new planes were acquired?
(Would much rather they kept flying the 747s, or even the A380s if they wanted to keep flatbeds in Biz)
The only reason TG still has a first-class cabin is because of Rama X and his consorts. The suites don’t have doors because he’s paranoid and suspects treason at any point in time, so when he travels he wants to carefully monitor what’s going on in the cabin.
That actually makes sense. TG was a loss-maker for the country as "influential" Thais were using the airline as their own personal transportation catering to their whims and fancies. The cretin you mentioned no doubt was using TG to ferry him to Europe to visit his many transvestite lovers there.
He's worth something like $30 billion, so why wouldn't just buy a Global 7500, or use VisaJet. You're right, the King is a very odd cat.
100% the correct answer. Surprised Ben does not know that.
You don't need doors if you have the entire cabin to your entourage.
You don't need a Bombardier when you can have a 777.
But @JohnRossa careful, you can get into trouble with just bad reviews on TripAdvisor.