Avis du vol entre Hong Kong et Phuket en classe Economique avec Thai Airways

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.

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

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

Say what???

Ah, that's better :-)

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).

Boarding Pass

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

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

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

A Kiwi 772ER

AF 772ER … dirty as usual :-/

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

Lots of 74s at HKG

MH A333 taking off

And a cargo 747 taking off

Some quick shopping before heading to the gate

And some more spotting on the way back to the gate.
CX 77W

UA 772ER

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

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

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.

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.

That's what I call legroom!

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.

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

Safety Card

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

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

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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

Smooth as silk!

Last view of our plane while deplaning.

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.

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.

Some first floor rooms have a poolside deck

The Sunset over the sea from our balcony.

Beautiful Kata Noi beach

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

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!