Review of Bangkok Airways flight Bangkok Phnom Penh in Economy

Airline Bangkok Airways
Flight PG933
Class Economy
Seat 2F
Aircraft Airbus A320
Flight time 01:15
Take-off 11 Apr 19, 13:40
Arrival at 11 Apr 19, 14:55
PG   #28 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 122 reviews
airchristophe
Published on 10th May 2019

PG933 / 11APR
BKK - PNH, Airbus A320-232, HS-PPH, seat 2F
BKK departure gate C6
Actual vs. scheduled departure : 1340 / 1340
Actual vs. scheduled arrival : 1450 / 1455
Flight time : 1 hour


Welcome to the next segment of my escapade. I last left you entering the transit security checkpoint at the C-gates. I am wondering if I could have gone to any of the transit security checkpoints ? It was a little bit of a trek from the E to the C-gates !

Once through around the C-gates, I trekked it back to the D/E gates zone to find the Oman Air lounge to freshen up. It did not help the terminal was so humid.


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Saw this guy en-route, among others !


Oman air lounge, bkk


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I thought that since I was arriving in J on Oman Air they would let me in based on that. I had my Priority Pass card ready just in case. I don't know if it was because of a language barrier or that I did not have access on arrival, but the lounge agent took my Priority Pass card. No matter, she was as nice as could be.

I could have visited any Priority Pass lounge, but thought I would report on the Oman Air lounge.

To give you a reference of time, arrival bloc from Muscat was at 1127 and I was in the lounge by 1205 for a 1340 connecting flight.

I immediately requested a shower and the same agent that welcomed me brought me to the shower room. Thankfully one was available (I'm not sure if there was only 1 or 2, the Oman Air lounge is not very big).



Indeed I called it only a shower room because that's all it is. From what I read, this is how it is at Oman Airport (MCT), no en-suite toilets.

It did the job and was acceptably clean. Interesting to see the branded towels and the airport code MCT. It did not fall in my bag ;)

I tried to keep the water as cold as possible to freshen up.


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This little "briefing" bookmark was given to me at the entrance as well, not a bad idea. I hope passengers return them.


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I must have arrived before the regular Oman Air passengers for the return flight WY812, leaving at 2:35pm because the lounge started to get busy only as I left for my 1:40pm departure.


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My visit had to be "efficient" based on my connecting flight departure time. I was not really hungry but the hot food did look appetizing. From left to right, you have : chicken tikka brochette, punjabi samosa, chicken biryani and stir fried chinese noodles. I was not hungry but I fueled up on a double espresso and a couple of bottles of water and had a seat for a little bit.

After about a 35 minute visit, I left the lounge around 1240 to trek it back to the C-gates. So much for being refreshed haha.


PG933 - BKK - PNH


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Some familiar views, for most of us, through the terminal.


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Always check the monitors, departing now from gate C6. Not 1h20 minutes ago it was C-1A.


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Heading down to the boarding pen.


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It's 1:15pm but there is no plane !


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But boarding is announced 5 minutes later and I could only assume we would be boarding by bus, yahoooo !

What a view going outside, down the stairs. I boarded the 2nd bus.

Our plane would be at the hardstand gates past Concourse A.


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I'm pretty sure something like this does not exist in any US airport for airline / airport staff !


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Stepping off the bus.


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"United for wildlife" aircraft, cool !!

I was the 2nd to last passenger on board, around 1:36pm, 4 minutes before departure !


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Always look behind you too !


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Reaching row 2.

The cabin is clean.


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We really did manage to push back more or less on time (maybe 2-3 minutes after 1:40pm).


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A China Eastern A320 NEO as we head towards runway 19L, from the hardstands past concourse A.


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We are airborne at 1:53pm.

A new mid-field terminal well under way with some nice taxi lanes.



For the safety card geeks.


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The curtain is kept closed as much as possible.

Not sure why there is still a video monitor on the bulkhead. The aircraft used to fly with TAM until December of 2013.


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Time for lunch !

I gathered it was a chicken curry.

Seeing as I had not eaten anything since the hot meal on the MCT-BKK flight, this was a welcome snack to hold me over until dinner, Asia time.

Other drinks were proposed followed by tea or coffee.

I will withhold from commentary about what one would get on the same duration of flight in the United States.

There were 4 crew members on this A320 for 162 seats.


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From the rear of the plane.

It was far from a full flight, I had the whole row to myself.


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The Mekong River.


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Short final to runway 23.

The airport is about 20 minutes from the center of Phnom Penh, without traffic !


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Touchdown.


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Arrived at the gate.


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There was no wait at immigration.

I highly recommend doing the visa online, if one is required for your entry. It cost $36USD and I received the visa via e-mail within 15 minutes. Be sure to print 4 copies.


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After exiting "customs", you are literally outside. (You can see the rectangular sign with yellow-greenish text, that is where you come out.)

I took a SIM card from the company SMART. There are a few stands in this area pictured. I paid $6USD for 21GB of data (no calls), more than enough for my 4 day stay. As a point of reference, I pay $50 a month for 10GB of data (with calls and texts) in the US.

I would spend 4 days just in Phnom Penh, relaxing and discovering the city.

See you in a little bit for the return legs !

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Verdict

Bangkok Airways

9.5/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi10.0
Meal/catering9.0

Oman Air Lounge

8.8/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering9.0
Entertainment/wifi10.0
Services8.0

Bangkok - BKK

8.0/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness6.0

Phnom Penh - PNH

8.5/10
Efficiency9.0
Access7.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

The Oman Air lounge is small and intimate. I did not need to charge any devices but I did note there were not a lot of places do do so. The fact that the shower is just a shower room did not bother me. I don't think they necessarily need anything bigger, it was everything that I needed for my connection.

BKK is a big airport, great for the avgeek (except for the lack of photography of planes opportunities!). You can access BKK by various ways arriving and departing. There are a lot of lounge options which is nice if you have access via an alliance or a program like Priority Pass. While it looks great from a distance and in photos, it is actually a little gritty up close.

This was my first flight on Bangkok Airways and I knew it was going to be a unique experience. It is a nice balance of one-class and full service. The flight was operationally smooth and everyone was polite with the genuine Thai smile. I am still scoring them 10/10 for entertainment even though there is not any because I don't want that to bring down the overall score.

PNH is a small international airport, perhaps I was just lucky to arrive with no lines. There is no public transportation to/from the airport.

I am of course happy that my 5 flight segments to get to Phnom Penh have all gone smoothly !

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

4 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 502497 by
    Arq 43 Comments
    I gathered it was a chicken curry.>>>>

    That's something we call " ข้าวหมกไก่" (Pronounce - Khao- Mok - Kai), Thai variation of Chicken Biryani that is popular in India, Malaysia, Indonesia. Basically it's the rice, chicken, saffron and lots of spices cooked together in one large pot.
  • Comment 502535 by
    ThomasDutch SILVER 633 Comments
    Thank you for this great flight report once again. I always love to fly Bangkok Airways on regional and domestic routes from Thailand as their service and legroom is often much better than their competitors with a proper meal service included. Though the downside of them is that they are often double the price the competitors are charging for such a leg and that often their cabin show heavy signs of wear (exception to their brand new atr 72-600 fleet)
  • Comment 502701 by
    jish.b 283 Comments
    Awesome report - whoa that's a substantial meal for such a short leg, sure does look better than Thai Airways'. I love how both PG and TG stay well close to schedule, seeing as these A320s are used quite extensively for very short flights.
    The drive from PNH Airport to the city itself is...interesting.

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