Review of Thai Airways flight Bangkok Chiang Mai in Business

Airline Thai Airways
Flight TG102
Class Business
Seat 14K
Aircraft Boeing 787-8
Flight time 01:20
Take-off 26 Aug 14, 08:00
Arrival at 26 Aug 14, 09:20
TG   #42 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 398 reviews
Yabboritow
By 6161
Published on 9th March 2015
Hello Everyone and welcome to my flight report!

This is my first time flying on a Dreamliner. When THAI took delivery of their first B787-8 back in August last year, I decided to try this aircraft out for a one day trip to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. THAI's B787-8 was used on BKK-CNX route for around two months for crew familiarizing flights before beginning its longer routes. At the time I took the flight, this baby plane was less than 2 months old. It was used on 3 flights daily during that period.

The routing :

TG102 BKK-CNX B787 C –> you are here!
TG121 CNX-BKK B787 C –> no report

THAI's first B787-8 has the HS-TQA registration and has the royally-bestowed name of Ongkharak which literally means Royal Guard and is also a district of Nakhorn Nayok, a province in central Thailand.

I took the first flight of the day which departed at 8am. I arrived at the airport around 6.45 am and went to the check-in counter. It is worth noting that THAI doesn't allow advance seat reservation on their domestic flights in any class. You may select your preferred seat at check-in (H-24). The agent was efficient though a bit cold, issued me two boarding passes for the day and a lounge invitation. I passed through security and made my way to the lounge which was situated in the Concourse A (mainly used for domestic flights).

The lounge was pretty crowded at this morning hour and full of westerners who might have just arrived from Europe. The staff at the reception were all friendly and welcoming. The catering is not bad at all for a domestic lounge. I had a bowl of Thai pork porridge which was very good.

My boarding passes for the day.
photo IMG_8597

The porridge.
photo IMG_8602

When it was nearly time for boarding, I headed to the Gate A6 which was just a short walk from the lounge. There were a lot of people at the holding area which could tell that this might be a full flight. It was the case actually. Boarding was called on time and priority was well respected.

photo IMG_8604photo IMG_8605

I was welcomed at the door with a professional looking female FA. I sat down in my seat 14K. My first impression was that the cabin was much smaller and narrower than I thought it would have been. The load factor in J today was 100% ful as opposed to the return flight which only had 6 pax in J (out of 24 seats)l. A FA came around offering newspapers and welcome drinks. It is again worth noting that no alcoholic drinks are served on all domestic flights in all classes. Females FA do not wear the traditional Thai uniform, they only wear the comtemporary one. I opted for the iced-tamarind tea which was very refreshing. :D

photo IMG_8614photo IMG_8615


The cabin has 4 rows (11,12,14 and 15). The row 15 has no window. The seat itself is lied-flat. I like this shade of purple THAI chose for this seat. Not too imposing like the one on their A380 and certain B777-300er. THAI opted for a 2-2-2 configuration on their B787 which for me was a bit disappointing. I find this configuration outdated and passengers nowadays would prefer the 1-2-1 for direct aisle access and the privacy etc. The window seat so cramped when sitting next to a stranger (which was my case.). If I were to fly solo on this aircraft again I would go for the aisle seat instead for the space sake. On this very short it was fine, but for longer route I don't recommend at all.

The seat pics


The seat control.
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View from my seat (on the return flight) 14A
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View from the back galley.
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The IFE control which was eX3. Very easy to navigate. Though no headphone was provided on this short flight. I had to use my own.
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The view form my seat. A row of PG's ATRs…. the airline I have yet to fly.
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Already airborne…
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I played with the window a bit. The electronic control system was really nice. It was around 8.20 am outside.
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The table was the set for breakfast. No choice.
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The breakfast tray arrived, followed by the bread service which was served warm but I forgot to take the picture. I had the fish porridge this time.
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The coffee and tea service followed right after the bread. Again no photo.

The meal was more than sufficient on this one-hour flight compared to what many other airlines serve on flights of the same duration. The fruit was a bit on the hard side but the porridge was good. I was quite impressed that even on this short flight the service didn't seem rushed at all. The crew were all professional at handling this kind of situation where they have to serve a hot meal on a one hour flight with full load. Thumbs up for that!

The rainbow mood-lighting…
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I was listening to the radio option on the IFE when the caption annouced our descent to CNX.
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And we landed safely…
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Some photos of the day trip



Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed it!


See more

Verdict

Thai Airways

7.4/10
Cabin7.0
Cabin crew9.5
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering8.0

Thai Airways Royal Silk Domestic Lounge

8.4/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering8.5
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Services9.0

Bangkok - BKK

9.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access9.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Chiang Mai - CNX

8.2/10
Efficiency10.0
Access8.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

Overall, it was a great experience flying with a new aircraft. The flight was though too short to experience all the amenities to the full extent.

Cabin comfort - While the seat was comfortable enough, the configuration just ruins everything like privacy and aisle access for window seats which were important for me.

Crew - Very professional. Friendly and did their job with a smile.

Meal and Catering - Not outstanding, but considering the duration of the flight. This offering is hard to beat.

IFE - The press was provided. The IFE of great content though no headphone provided to take advantage of.

Punctuality - Arrived on time. Perfect!

Information on the route Bangkok (BKK) Chiang Mai (CNX)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 17 avis concernant 4 compagnies sur la ligne Bangkok (BKK) → Chiang Mai (CNX).


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 14 minutes.

  More information

7 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 131366 by
    SKYTEAMCHC GOLD 10070 Comments
    Thanks for this report on this Thai B 787. The cabin looks good and like many others the cabin lay out is 2X2X2 in Business Class(not like QR and AC but they are the exception). The seats are the same has on Aeromexico for which i published a Report last week. I find the meal service adequate for this short flight and it looks very good. Too bad that this route was just served with the B 787 on training purpose and good for you to have taken this opportunity to fly this very nice and comfortable aircraft.
    • Comment 312141 by
      Yabboritow AUTHOR 16 Comments
      Hi,

      Thank you for letting me know that the 2-2-2 layout was common on B787-8. So QR and AC are quite an exception,then. Now this aircraft is serving various destinations in Asia such as Nagoya,Fukuoka , Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur etc.
  • Comment 131424 by
    NGO85 SILVER 1963 Comments
    Thank you for the report, this looks much more comfortable than what was previously being operated on the BKK-CNX in other FRs (even if it is short term). You can't really expect more than a simple tray on a flight of this length, so the catering was appropriate. They didn't provide headphones? Seems very non-TG.

    There are a couple other carriers that have skirted away from the 2-2-2 cabin: VA and NZ both have 1-1-1 and NH has a pseudo 1-2-1 (for their long-haul configured 787s).
    • Comment 312185 by
      Yabboritow AUTHOR 16 Comments
      Hello,

      This route is usually served by large aircraft, sometimes with B747. I agree that the carting is more than sufficient and I enjoyed it a lot. Unfortunately, I have never got headphone on their domestic flights. I would love to fly with NH 787 but they sent worse config to BKK so I would stick to TG on BKK- Japan routes. :D
    • Comment 312186 by
      NGO85 SILVER 1963 Comments
      Yeah, NH regional configuation is not very good on the 787, but still better than JL (I can't believe that they put angle-lie flats on their planes)!

      I've been waiting to spot the TG 787 at NGO, but so far it is still the 773 that shows up in the mornings.
  • Comment 131588 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    Thanks for sharing your first flight on a 787! I have yet to fly one. Hoping I'll get to try one out this year. Here in the US only UA flew them until AA recently had their 1st 787 delivered, but it's still not operating customer flights.

    Thai really has an inconsistent Business class product--they have a different type of seat on every plane it seems. I'm surprised they went with this older model of lie-flat in 2-2-2 (same seats as UA and many other airlines not trying to be 5-star), especially considering the seats in 1-2-1 config they have on the upper deck of their A380s. I like the seat color, however, you're right, it's more attractive than on the A380 and 77W. Nice pics!
    • Comment 312405 by
      Yabboritow AUTHOR 16 Comments
      Hi,

      Thank you for your comment. I completely agree with you about the seat type THAI has. There are too many of them and unpredictable when it comes to last minute aircraft change which happens very often with them. The configuration is quite disappointing considering this is their newest aircraft.

      Hope you get to fly on an 787 very soon. :D

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