Review of Thai Airways flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok in Business

TG420 Kuala Lumpur International KUL - Bangkok Suvarnabhumi BKK
Codeshare MH9070
STD-STA: 0755-0900
Actual: 0825-0902
Airbus A330-300 HS-TEM Jiraprabha
Gate C22 Seat 12A moved to 22K

In the Thai Airways Royal Orchid lounge
Tried the Thai Airways lounge before boarding since I wanted to know if they might have any shower room and while it was small, the lounge has good tarmac views and had adequate food choices. There was also a good magazine and newspaper selection. In fact I got to see Malaysia Airlines' A380 from the Thai lounge instead, how ironic!

Malaysia Airlines Airbus A380

Thai Airways Airbus A330

Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800
Feeling sleeping and tired, the flight was a bit delayed and thus I just hung around in the lounge until the boarding announcement was made. What I didn't realize was I needed to switch to a printed boarding pass at the gate and fortunately I still made it in time for the flight, even though I was not the last passenger to board.

Thai Airways older business class cabin
Initially I was assigned seat 12A, and I had a seat mate at seat 12B, which was when the cabin crew advised it would be better to just switch seats since the load for the flight is quite light in the morning. Thus I moved to 22K instead which is one of the empty window seats.

TG business class recliner seat
After moving to the new seat, I was offered welcome drinks and picked the orange juice and this was followed by hot towels. The crew also came around with magazines and newspapers along with menus for the flight.

Orange juice and towel
There was some queue before take-off with many Air Asia flights departing in the morning as well. It was also my first time spotting an Air Asia X flight which is the long-haul division of budget carrier Air Asia.

Air Asia X operating an A330
On take-off, I caught a glimpse of the Putrajaya administrative complex which was a planned community of government buildings built between the airport and the city centre to ease the traffic jams in Kuala Lumpur.

Aerial view of Putrajaya
Thai Airways uses an older aircraft to serve this short regional route and thus the business class is comprised of recliner seats in the 2-2-2 configuration. Even though they were old style seats, there was a lot of legroom and the seat was very comfortable for a short haul flight. In fact being a recliner seat, there was much more space compared to Malaysia Airlines' business class seats on the A330.

Seat pitch on the old business class
Shortly after take-off, the cabin crew came around with the meal service and passengers were given a choice of main course between nasi lemak with chicken rendang or fried noodle with shrimp. Since I had nasi lemak at the lounge, I went with the latter for my main.

Business class meal menu

Beverage menu

Breakfast of fried noodle with croissant
For a short flight, the breakfast served was actually very good. The meal was actually better than what Singapore Airlines serve on their business class between Jakarta and Singapore. The noodle was not dry at all and had a good flavour.

Mee goreng with shrimp
With just a short meal, the crew came around for coffee and tea and after that I spent the rest of the flight just resting until the descent into Bangkok.

Thai Airways old recliner-style business class
It was a clear day in Bangkok with milder temperatures compared to cloudy and warm Kuala Lumpur. Arriving in Bangkok also allowed me to use the boarding pass for priority immigration. However as I will later realize the priority lanes using the boarding pass works only at certain times. Anyway with the priority clearance, I was one of the first to get my baggage as well. My experience flying premium to Bangkok has always been a pleasant one and I find the airport to be efficient as well.

Recliner seats on Thai business class

Control tower at Suvarnabhumi
Since I was kind of tired after the flights, I willingly paid the rate for a comfortable taxi transfer using the airport limousine and to save on the costs, I picked the transfer via the basic Toyota Camry which was still comfortable and allowed me to rest for the ride into town.