Review of Thai Airways flight Jakarta → Bangkok in Economy

I was planning to have a family trip together and decided that we wanted to visit a country which is not too far from Indonesia and also has a unique culture. Final choice goes to Thailand. But which airlines to take? At first, Garuda Indonesia and Thai Airways came to mind, but since Garuda's ticket was more expensive than TG at the time of booking and Thai Airways uses a wide-body aircraft instead of Garuda's B737-800, so in just a matter of seconds, I decided to try Thai Airways, given the fact from what I've read that TG also offers quite similar service with GA. With no brainer, I also enroll in TG's Royal Orchid Plus so now I have memberships in both Skyteam and Star Alliance.

Thai Airways stops at CGK Terminal 2D and we arrived at the airport around 3 hours before departure time. It's a little bit too early so when we checked-in, there were only a handful of fellow passengers standing at the queue.

TG434 check-in desk.



Boarding pass was in hand and I spent the rest of the time lounging at one of paid lounges in CGK.

My very first TG boarding pass:



Now it's time to board the aircraft, I felt so excited to be on one of TG's birds:



A friendly female crew greets us at plane door and shows us the way to our seats.

Some pictures of the seat and amenity on it:


A small and thin pillow was put in every seat:


Each seat is equipped with personal TV, but I think this was of the older type with small screen and low resolution, making it quite hard to see clearly. The aircraft was also not equipped with AVOD system, so the entertainment keeps on looping.


Headset was provided in every seat as well, it's just the type of headset you would get in economy class, not so sophisticated but did the job well.



Once airborne, the service started with distributing of snack and beverages. It was a pack of tasty rice cracker and I opt for SIngha Beer for the drink.



Around half an hour after take-off, the lunch service commenced. During reservation, I've made a special meal request for my parents, a low fat meal. Before take-off, the crew came to our seats and confirmed that they had prepared the meal on board. TG managed to deliver this special service well to its customers.
The special meal came first before regular meal for other passengers. It consists of steamed fish with potatoes and veggies, salad without any dressing, preserved plums for dessert and a bun. Actually it tastes quite nice to my liking. Well done, TG.



There were two choices for regular meal, fried rice with chicken curry or fish cooked in Thai sauce. I chose the latter. The fish came up with green veggies salad, some kind of sponge cake as dessert and a bun. The presentation and taste were both so nice, and the quantity itself was fulfilling. It's too bad TG does not use any metal cutlery here, unlike other competitors in South East Asia.


During lunch, the crew refused to give any tea or coffee. Tea and coffee would only be given after lunch when they did one round of beverage service.

Lavatory was kept clean and stocked with one bottle of Cloud Nine Eau de Cologne. The orchids add a nice touch.



I didn't care much about the entertainment, so I just put on the live flight map which fortunately worked well on this flight. One hour prior to landing, the crew distributed Thailand immigration form and I just spent the rest of the flight sitting and trying to get some sleep.

The flight ends quite on-time to Bangkok and I have to praise the pilot for his ability to land the plane very smoothly, so smooth we couldn't feel that we actually landed.
The first experience with Thai Airways was really enjoyable. The crews were friendly and always smiled when delivering any service, I felt so much welcome. Apparently this will not be my last time with TG.