Review of Thai Airways flight Hong Kong Phuket in Economy

Airline Thai Airways
Flight TG609
Class Economy
Seat --
Aircraft Airbus A330-300
Flight time 03:20
Take-off 18 Nov 12, 10:25
Arrival at 18 Nov 12, 12:45
TG   #42 out of 95 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 398 reviews
KévinDC
By SILVER 6166
Published on 4th September 2013
Hello,

Here is a Flight-Report about my first experience with Thai Airways dating back to November 2012. This report was originally published in French.
Pour la version française CLIQUEZ ICI

For the past few years it has been a tradition to head to Phuket, Thailand for the Thankgsgiving Holiday with a group of friends. The prior year I had flown DCA-DTW-HKG-HKT with the Long-haul segments on Delta (I am SkyTeam Elite+) and HKG-HKT with Hong Kong Airlines. I decided to once again go through Hong Kong the next year even though DL had cancelled the DTW-HKG route requiring an extra stop in NRT. Because of the extra stop in NRT, we would not be able to connect to the Hong Kong Airlines flight from HKG to HKT so we decided to spend the night in HKG to recuperate from the long flights and take a morning flight on Thai Airways. I had always heard great things about Thai and was pretty excited to try out a new airline.

We had stayed at the Sky City Marriott , one of the few airport hotels. It's a nice hotel and very convenient with an airport shuttle but the rooms are on the small side for the price. Nevertheless, it was great to have a good night's sleep after 20+ hours of flying.

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7:30AM wake-up for a 10:30 flight on a gray morning.

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We take the airport shuttle which has us in front of Terminal 2 in about 5 minutes.

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Say what???

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Ah, that's better :-)

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Quick check-in at the Business Class counters thanks to my Star Alliance Gold status at the time. The check-in agent confirms that we all ave exit/bulkhead seats (2 together and 1 accross the aisle).

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Boarding Pass

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despite quick check-in, security and border police was quite slow moving.

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By the time we get landside we barely have more than an hour before departure.

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We won't have much time to go to the lounge considering we were planning on doing some duty-free shopping.

Some quick plane-spotting on the way. HKG is a spotter's paradise with such a great variety of airlines and widebodies.

CX 744

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A Kiwi 772ER

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AF 772ER … dirty as usual :-/

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A nice mix of tails including Hello Kitty Airlines :-)

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Lots of 74s at HKG

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MH A333 taking off

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And a cargo 747 taking off

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Some quick shopping before heading to the gate

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And some more spotting on the way back to the gate.

CX 77W
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UA 772ER

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We get to our gate about 40 minutes before departure and boarding has not yet started.

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Our A330-300. I really like the Thai livery.

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when boarding is called about a half hour before departure, it's a bit chaotic. There are two separate lines: one for Business Class and one for Economy. I ask an agent if Elites go to the Business Class line since it isn't specifically mentioned and she points us to the Business Class line. There's no boarding by rows or by zones; people are all over the place.

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Good first impression of the cabin. I didn't think I would like the multi-colored scheme of the seats but It is rather attractive in real life.
The very friendly and typically smiling Thai FAs welcome us aboard with a Sawatdee Kraup



Here are our exit row seats in the second Y cabin.

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That's what I call legroom!

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PTVs, tray tables, and IFE remotes are in the armrests which causes these seats to be narrower that others, but the legroom makes it worth it.

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There's a pretty decent selection of movies, music, etc.

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Safety Card

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Despite the late start of boarding and the fact thet the flight was packed we push back on time.

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We leave behind the gray and fog of Hong Kong and find blue skies again!

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About half an hour after take-off, the FAs are already in the aisle to serve a pre-meal drink and snack.

Gin & Tonic for me.

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Living in the US you forget what it's like to have a full bar available in Y. What a treat!

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Less than a half hour later the meal is served. There was a western option (I don't remember what it was) and a Thai option. I took the Thai meal, Pad Kra Pao.

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Wow I was not expecting that! That's a better meal than on most Domestic US First Class or Intra-Europe Business Class flights! Real china, metal utensils, and a real glass, very classy!
The Pad Kra Pao was just delicious and the FAs kept my wine glass full, refilling it at least three times. Simply amazing service for Y, I can't say it enough!

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After the delicious meal I watched a movie (Magic Mike, eeh no comment) and before I knew it we were already starting our descent. This is the kind of flight you wish could be longer.

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There are beautiful views of Phan Nga bay and the Andaman sea on final approach but, being in the exit row, I couldn't take pictures since I had FAs sitting accross from me. We arrive on time and park next to a JetAsia 762

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Smooth as silk!

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Last view of our plane while deplaning.

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A Transaero 744 is parked on the other side. There are many Russian tourists in Phuket and several flights a day from Russia to HKT. Apparently Thailand is a popular destination for Russians–many restaurants even have signs and menus un Russia.

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Immigration was a mess with the 744 having arrived just before us. It took about 45 minutes to get curbside.

And I'll end with a little hotel and sight-seeing bonus

Our hotel is located at Kata beach on the Southeast end of Phuket. The rooms are large, modern, and tastefully decorated with a Thai theme.

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Some first floor rooms have a poolside deck

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The Sunset over the sea from our balcony.

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Beautiful Kata Noi beach

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Ya Nui beach, at the Southeastern tip of the island. It's a great snorkelling beach.

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Coral Island, off the southern coast of Phuket. We chartered a longtail boat for the day for 1500 Baht, a very good deal! I love getting off the beaten path and discovering less visited places. We were able to find a deserted beach to spend the day. It was simply paradise!



Thanks for reading!
See more

Verdict

Thai Airways

9.1/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew9.5
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering10.0

Thai Royal Orchid

8.2/10
Comfort8.5
Meal/catering8.5
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Services8.5

Hong Kong - HKG

8.2/10
Efficiency7.0
Access8.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0

Phuket - HKT

5.2/10
Efficiency4.5
Access5.5
Services5.5
Cleanliness5.5

Conclusion

Thai Airways more than exceeded my expectations. What a great experience!

Comfort: We had very good seats and you couldn't ask for more legroom, however the seats are narrower due to the tray table and IFE remotes in the armrests.

Crew: Amazing crew, my glass was never empty. You just don't expect that kind of service in Y.

Catering: Simply the bext meal I've had in Y...ever

Entertainment: decent selection, though the air show wasn't the newest.

OTP: On-time departure and arrival--perfect.

I've never had such a good flight in Y

Information on the route Hong Kong (HKG) Phuket (HKT)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 8 avis concernant 4 compagnies sur la ligne Hong Kong (HKG) → Phuket (HKT).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Cathay Dragon avec 8.2/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 3 heures et 28 minutes.

  More information

10 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 86479 by
    Durian 1171 Comments
    Thanks for this report !
    Nice spotting pre-departure, HKG is much more spotter-friendly than SIN !
    The cabin color scheme is super flashy, but warm though.
    Ah ah, when seeing the drinks trolley you got the opposite reaction I had last year when flying to the US ;-)
    Impressive way of serving the meal, in particular the main course does seem to be in a real plate, not an aluminium tray.

    So that was your first flight on TG, when is your first on SQ ? ;)
    • Comment 280903 by
      KévinDC TEAM SILVER AUTHOR 6668 Comments
      Thanks! You're right, SIN is generally not very spotter-friendly. I'm staying at the transit hotel in T1 next time I go through SIN so I'm hoping to get some good shots from the Pool deck. The cabin is flashy without being tacky. The main course was indeed on a real plate. I don't ofen fly routes that SQ flies, or have the opportunity to. I definitely will not be flying them this year, but hopefully sometime in the near future I will. If SQ flew SIN-HKT I would have liked to try them, but it is operated by Silkair which was charging some pretty high fares on the route so I decided against it.
  • Comment 86482 by
    SKYTEAMCHC GOLD 10065 Comments
    Hi Kevin and thanks for this great FR as usual ! I flew once on a Thai airways A330 from BKK and HKT and although the flight was much shorter than yours it was a great experience and I had this very colourful cabin ! . I remember that the crew was very nice . The meal you have been served is wowwwwwwww ! really impressive for Y !
    You exagerate for the AF B777 : I have seen much dirtier than that ! ;-) Thanks also for the bonus pictures, it make me want to be on vacation again
    • Comment 280960 by
      KévinDC TEAM SILVER AUTHOR 6668 Comments
      Thanks! The Thai are known for their warmth and hospitality. This is why I keep coming back every year, I just love it there and it's only natural that the airline of such a great country would represent well the Land of smiles. It was a great meal, you really can't do any better in Y!
  • Comment 86503 by
    Airbubus 763 Comments
    Thanks for this good FR !
  • Comment 86535 by
    lagentsecret 12186 Comments
    Thank for sharing this FR

    Great flight, yummy meal and unexpected service for Y class

    A lot of beautiful pictures

    See next FR soon
  • Comment 86607 by
    lagentsecret 12186 Comments
    BTW I forgot : it's a SHAME that there isn't at least ONE video !!!
  • Comment 86609 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER AUTHOR 6668 Comments
    Oh no, No Jean-luceries in the EN version, LOL. I think there's only one video in my 60+ FRs LOL. I prefer to just take pictures :-)

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