Review of Thai Airways flight Bangkok Phnom Penh in Economy

Airline Thai Airways
Flight TG584
Class Economy
Seat 44A
Aircraft Boeing 787-8
Flight time 01:10
Take-off 19 Dec 23, 18:25
Arrival at 19 Dec 23, 19:35
TG   #42 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 398 reviews
jettoajet
By GOLD 543
Published on 1st February 2024

Before I begin on a brief, swift flight report, I hope my experiences in Bangkok airport are able to save someone else in the future from making the same mistake I did. While I don't have all the content I would hope for I think it's important to share this flight since it surprised me, in a good way!


bangkok airport lesson


Upon arriving in Bangkok I had a connecting flight to Phnom Penh which was supposed to be on an A320 (more on that later). I made my way through to connecting flights and passed security to continue to the terminal. 

I realized that I thought I would be unable to fly (for the sake of other passengers) so I went to speak to someone about changing my flight at Thai Airways. They said no sir we cannot change your flight. I asked them to re-book me for the next day on the same flight which had many seats available like really Thai Airways!! I decided that I would just purchase a new flight (about 100 US) and call it a day. However, a new challenge arose which was leaving the airport. With no checked bags I was lugging around maybe 25lbs worth of carry-ons feeling like I was about to pass out.

Originally information directed me to customs where they told me to wait and they would cancel my flight. After 20 minutes I told them I did not want to cancel my flight (I would no-show), I wanted to leave the airport and go to a hotel to rest. They then directed me downstairs towards the connecting flights section who then told me I had to go back upstairs to immigration. I went back and they told me to go back downstairs, so I was walking in circles back and forth. I accumulated 8000 steps at Bangkok airport that day…

The moral of the story is I spent 2 hours trying to leave the airport and couldn't find a way. Don't make the same mistake I did. Immigration was very friendly and tried to help but couldn't do anything. 


Routing

  • UA2611 - Domestic First - Los Angeles → San Francisco - Boeing 737 MAX 9 Past
  • UA191 - Business - San Francisco → Manila - Boeing 777-300ER Past
  • TG621 - Business - Manila → Bangkok - Boeing 787-8 Past
  • TG584- Economy- Bangkok- Phnom Penh- Boeing 787-8 You are here
  • SQ165- Business Class- Siem Reap- Singapore- Boeing 737 Max 8 Coming soon
  • SQ950- Business Class- Singapore- Jakarta- Boeing 777-300ER Coming soon
  • SQ951- First Class- Jakarta- Singapore- Boeing 777-300ER Coming soon
  • SQ406- Suites Class- Singapore- Delhi- Airbus A380-800 Coming soon
  • KB201- Economy Class- Delhi- Paro- Airbus A320 Coming soon
  • KB130- Business Class- Paro- Bangkok- Airbus A320neo Coming soon
  • VN628- Business Class- Bangkok- Danang- Airbus A321 Coming soon
  • SQ173- Business Class- Danang- Singapore- Boeing 737 Max 8 Coming soon
  • SQ936- Business Class- Singapore- Denpasar- Boeing 787-10 Coming soon
  • QZ502- Economy Class- Denpasar- Singapore- Airbus A320 Coming soon
  • GA829- Business Class- Singapore- Jakarta- Airbus A330-300 Coming soon
  • GA823- Economy Class- Jakarta- Hong Kong- Airbus A330-300 Coming soon
  • TG607- Business Class- Hong Kong- Bangkok- Boeing 777-300ER Coming soon
  • TG431- Business Class- Bangkok- Denpasar- Boeing 777-200ER Coming soon
  • QR961- Business Class- Denpasar- Doha- Airbus A350-1000 Coming soon
  • QR1303- First Class- Doha- Cairo- Boeing 777-300ER Coming soon
  • AZ897- Business Class- Cairo- Rome- Airbus A321neo Coming soon
  • AZ608- Business Class- Rome- New York- Airbus A330-200 Coming soon
  • AA1487- Domestic First- New York- Phoenix- Boeing 777-200 Coming soon
  • AA2463- Domestic First- Phoenix- John Wayne- Airbus A321 Coming soon

How I booked


In my previous posts, you can see how I booked this fare but it was on one itinerary from Manila-Bangkok in Business Class and then onward to Phnom Penh in economy for 27.5k United Miles.

As we had a flight time of only 52 minutes this review will be relatively short, I didn't take too many pictures.


Aircraft switch "TG'd"


However, after realizing I had to get on the plane I made my way over to the new terminal (S Gates) by train which is a rocketship!

I got to gate 109 approximately 10 minutes before boarding and saw there to be a 787-8 at the gate. This was amazing since the original flight showed an A320 but as we all know Thai Airways translation in English is "aircraft switch" but this time it worked out for the better. I will always try to avoid narrowbodies where I can since I feel like I am sitting in a sardine can.

Boarding commenced right on time and they even had two jetbridges for this flight which is a nice offering. I turned right (yes I know so sad) and made my way back to seat 44A for the short hop to Cambodia.


The seat


Due to the aircraft switch, I was lucky with no one sitting next to me during this flight. The 787-8 is arranged in a classic 3-3-3 configuration which seems to be the industry standard for the Boeing 787 series. The seat was more than adequate for a short flight, my legs didn't touch the seatback and at 6 foot tall that's a good sign. They were showing signs of wear such as rattling and a window dimmer that looked like it had spun through the washing machine 67 times but it all functioned okay. Each seat also features a screen with some different options of movies and TV shows.


photo img_9554

The 3-3-3 arrangement is a comfortable way to fly on such a short flight especially when no one is sitting next to you.


photo img_9555

takeoff


We pushed back right on time and the loudest screech was heard from the flaps going down for takeoff. I don't get nervous flying but to say that a worrying thought didn't go through my head would be lying. We headed out on a short taxi where we departed North, bound for Cambodia. Not a bad view!


photo img_9556

in flight service


Approximately 8 minutes after takeoff the crew snapped into action to serve a full meal and beverage service on this 52 minutes flight. For a 52-minute flight in First Class in the US you would be lucky to receive a snack let alone a full meal in economy. An amazing attendant came around the aisles offering a Chicken Teriyaki with Japanese Coconut white sticky rice while saying "Please enjoy your meal" to every customer. A drink cart followed behind with options of soda, water, red wine, white wine, or some liquor all for free. I didn't choose to have anything mainly because I was half asleep.


photo img_9557

The meal was actually really good surprisingly. I wasn't expecting anything on a flight of this length but was pleasantly surprised. The chicken was flavorful and the rice was just, well, rice.

The crew came around as we began our descent from 28,000 feet to clear up all of the trays and before we knew it the light of Phnom Penh came into sight.

The service didn't feel over the top rushed but it did feel like they were trying to squeeze in a meal (which is exactly what they are doing). With the amount of passengers they had to serve the crew did a fantastic job.


arrival


We touched down exactly, you guessed it, 52 minutes after takeoff into Phnom Penh. With a runway length of less than 8500ft, the pilots had to engage those reverse thrusters and apply those brakes. After a taxi of about 2 minutes, we pulled into the gate and went straight to immigration where I had my visas ready. I was let right into the country with no problems and was off to the hotel. 


photo img_9562-2
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Verdict

Thai Airways

7.8/10
Cabin7.0
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Meal/catering8.0

Bangkok - BKK

3.0/10
Efficiency3.0
Access3.0
Services3.0
Cleanliness3.0

Phnom Penh - PNH

8.3/10
Efficiency7.5
Access8.5
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

While this is a very brief flight report and wasn't in the mood to take this flight it was unbelievably pleasant and would fly this route again with Thai, especially if it was on a 787-8. TG offered a full meal service with alcohol on a 52-minute flight in economy! The seats were more than adequate as well as the legroom. Everything was on time and efficient.

Information on the route Bangkok (BKK) Phnom Penh (PNH)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 6 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Bangkok (BKK) → Phnom Penh (PNH).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Thai Airways avec 8.1/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 1 heures et 15 minutes.

  More information

1 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 644011 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6744 Comments
    Hah, I think this is the first time I've seen someone get TG'd for the better! That's definitely Thai's weak point--great service, great soft product, but operationally messy. If they had a more consistent product it wouldn't be such a problem, but they have so many different kinds of products on every subfleet type, especially in J. They're like the Asian TK with the crazy number of hard products, but on a smaller scale...and TK is much better about ensuring certain subfleets consistently operate certain routes.

    Thanks for sharing!

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