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Bangkok Suvarnabhumi
At the entrance of the Royal First Class Lounge I was welcomed by two agents. They asked me for my boarding pass and as I mentioned the boarding pass needed to be printed as their colleague in Frankfurt was unable to issue it, they immediately asked me if I were travelling on TG 600 to Hong Kong arriving from Frankfurt. I confirmed their assumption and they asked for my passport and the baggage receipt and asked me to take a seat in the lounge. In the meantime they would get the boarding pass. I used this opportunity for a quick refreshing shower, since one was available.
After the shower I felt alive again and took a seat in the lounge which was quite busy with the many morning arrivals and quite a few connecting passengers. I was immediately addressed by one of the many members of service staff and asked if I like something to drink and eat. Having had breakfast in the plane and another breakfast on the next flight, I only took a cup of green tea.
While I used the free WiFi in the lounge to check my e-mails, the agent from the entrance addressed me and asked if the luggage should be checked to Hong Kong or to Taipei. Well, with a little bit close to 24 hours transfer in Hong Kong, I would need my luggage and so I told them to check the luggage only to Hong Kong.
A couple of minutes later I received two new boarding passed, for my flight to Hong Kong and also for the flight from Hong Kong to Taipei on Sunday. I also received the luggage tag and the passport and asked if I need a cart to reach the gate, which would be a ten minutes walk away. It told them I would prefer to walk after a 12 hours flight and politely declined the offer to be driven to the gate with the electro cart.
With boarding time scheduled for 07:20 it was soon time to leave the lounge and I began my long walk from the Royal First Class Lounge to the Gate E 1, where my Boeing 747-4D7 was awaiting me.
As I arrived at the gate round about ten minutes after I left the lounge, boarding had not yet started. My boarding pass was checked against my passport and I was asked to wait near the door to the left, which was marked with the sign Business / First Class and Star Gold. Boarding would start in five to ten minutes.
Waiting time was not long and soon passengers who needed assistance as well as those with wheelchairs were invited to board the plane. As they had boarded the plane the agent came to me and asked me to board the plane ahead of all other passengers. Quite a surprise, that I was invited to board the plane ahead of all other passengers. The agent even came to me and more or less accompanying to the head of the queue. Quite a number of passengers glazed at me while I was escorted to the entrance to the jet bridge.
03 May 2014
BKK – HKG
[Bangkok Suvarnabhumi – Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok]
TG 600; Boeing 747-400 (HS-TGP / ‘Thepprasit’)
Gate E 1
08:00 – 11:45 [effective 08:02 – 11:32]
First Class
Seat 02 A
So I was the first in First and took this opportunity for a few quick pictures before another passenger was brought into the First Class in a wheelchair and later a couple also arrived. And so it happened that only four out of 10 seats in this First Class Cabin were taken. My jacket was hung by one of the two crew members serving First Class in the front closet while the other asked me for my choice of pre-departure drink and offered orange juice and water. I asked if Champagne was also an option – and so my glass of Champagne arrived later. Later I got a refill, but I was the only passengers enjoying Champagne as pre departure drink. Later the flight attendant confirmed that my pre ordered meal was on board and confirmed that it was quite spicy.
Pre depature Drink
Dom Pérignon Vintage 2004
Blanket, pillow and headphones were places on the seat; as expected, no amenity kit was offered on this short flight to Hong Kong.
The boarding completed announcement was made and the safety video was shown on the screen in front of the First Class Cabin, which was lowered for this reason. In the meantime we were pushed back nearly on time at 08:02 and we taxied to the runway.
Our flight for today was a Boeing 747-400, which was one of the older ones out of the 18 passenger and 2 cargo Boeing 747-400 planes in the Thai Airways International fleet. It was delivered to Thai Airways International on November 22, 1994 as new plane. Between March 2010 and November 2013 it was painted in the retro colour scheme, but now painted in the regular livery of Thai Airways. It was equipped with the older First Class, i.e. meaning 10 lie flat seats in First Class, but not Suite Style like on the Airbus A 380. For this short flight and also for longer flights pretty acceptable, though not state of the art any more.
The plane is powered by four engines by General electric, the GE CF6-80C2B1F with a thrust of 62100 lbf (276 kN).
Let me give some information about the first class cabin of this 747. There are 10 seats with three seat at the windows and two rows with two seats in the middle part. The seats are older but offer 78 inch seat pitch and a seat width of 21.8 inch. There is an ottoman at the end which could be moved closer to the seat by the touch of a button. The seat goes fully fly and the ottoman becomes in this case part of the bed. There is a small 10.4 inch screen and also a universal power outlet at the seat.
The seat has a purple seat with brown armrest and a larger part between seat and window where the screen is stored and also the fold out table. The disadvantage is that there is not much storage space, only a compartment at the end of the credenza as Thai calls the unit between seat and window. Overall this product is outdated, but luckily mostly used for shorted intra-Asian routes but such flights as long as Tokyo to Bangkok.
If you are interested in a review of the Business Class on the 747, I have flown the Business Class on the 747 back in 2011 on Hong Kong to Bangkok.
I had a look in the menu 
and the whine list 
, which was the same as on the previous flight
(click on icon - opens new window)
We had now reached the runway and the two other planes ahead of us took off and it was our turn. With the announcement that we were starting the captain powered the engines and we accelerated and at 08:18 he pulled the nose up and we climbed into the cloudy sky above Bangkok on this short 2 hour 20 minutes flight to Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok.
Once airborne, the seat belt signs were extinguished after 10 minutes or so and the crew began to prepare the service. As usual, first a hot towel service was done and a little bit later the flight deck updated us about our flight path and the way to Hong Kong. Hong Kong was report cloudy sky with some rain and temperatures around 27 °C. The captain expected an arrival in Hong Kong ahead of time.
20 minutes after we left Suvarnabhumi, the tray table was laid with linen and the flight attendant also brought cutlery and bread basket and offered jam and marmalade.
First Course
Fresh Fruit
Main Course
Exclusive Thai Menu Set
Grilled Beef Fillet Spicy Salad Thai Style,
Pork with Vermicelli Wrapped with Chinese Cabbage Clear Soup,
Roasted Duck with grape in Red Curry, Stir-Fried Spinach with garlic and Chilli, Thai Style Omelette,
Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice
Green Tea
Dessert
Banana in Coconut Milk
Green Tea
The first course was soon delivered and it was a fruit plate consisting of apples, pineapple and melon. A wet towel was also placed on a plate on the table which I think is very nice to have. I also got a glass of pineapple juice and asked later for a cup of green tea. I declined the offer for some yoghurt or muesli, so my main dish was next. The Thai Menu I selected consisted of grilled beef fillet spicy salad Thai style, pork with vermicelli wrapped with Chinese cabbage clear soup, roasted duck with grape in red curry, stir-fried spinach with garlic and chilli, Thai style omelette, steamed Thai Hom Mali rice and banana in coconut milk. It tasted really good and the beef fillet was indeed quite spicy and I liked it. The banana was served after I finished the main course twenty minutes later individually.
With less than an hour to go, the tray tables were cleared and soon at 10:55 Hong Kong Time the announcement was made that we began our final approach into Hong Kong International Airport, but before it was another hot towel service. The usual announcement was made, requesting passengers not to use the lavatories any more and to put the seat back in an fully upright position. Of course it was not immediately enforced in First and I had time to visit one of the – in comparison to the A380 – tiny lavatories on board this Boeing 747.
I filled my immigration card and during the approach we could see Macau in the dust and the new bridge / tunnel, which are currently built connecting Macao and Hong Kong.
The crew was okay, not too attentive, but with a light load, they had not that much to do. I was not addressed by name – only as my special meal was confirmed, not later. Refills of water were offered by the female flight attendant herself, while the male flight attendant had to be asked if I could have another water or cup of tea, he did not offer it himself though he we noticing the empty glass or cup. There were also not additional offers of rolls and bread done; this had to be asked as well. The crew was okay, but certainly did not go the extra mile and did not do much more as they had to do performing their service.
We touched down at 11:28 and arrived at the gate four minutes later, twelve minutes ahead of schedule. Business Class passengers were hold back and we were awaited by two carts which brought us to immigration. The immigration counters to the right were busy while these to the left were more or less empty.
