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Several months before our Asia trip, we noticed that Thai Airways was offering some reasonable business class fares for the short flight from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur. We had never flown Thai Airways, so we decided to give them a try to see what they had to offer. Additionally, Thai Airways recently scheduled their Internationally-configured 777 to fly this route, which would allow us to get a quick glimpse of their long haul business class seats.

We were scheduled on an afternoon flight, but decided to take a taxi to the airport much earlier at 9:30am. Thankfully, we arrived in one piece thirty minutes later, after an extremely aggressive taxi ride. There were several close calls where I thought we might get into an accident.

Thai Airways has a dedicated check-in aisle at row A for their Royal First (First Class) and Royal Silk (Business Class) passengers. We were quickly greeted by one of the Thai Airways staff, who was initially puzzled why we would arrive at the airport so early for an afternoon flight.

The check-in counter was really efficient, and I especially loved how you can check-in while sitting down. We quickly got our boarding passes sorted, and were directed to the fast track security lane just past the counters. Security was a breeze, and after five minutes, we were on our way to departures.

Suvarnabhumi is an airport of many lounges. Since we had so much time before our flight, we decided to do some lounge hopping. The lounges we visited include the Thai Royal Silk Lounge, the EVA Air Lounge and the Singapore SilverKris Lounge. To keep this post to a reasonable length, I’ll be reviewing those lounges in separate posts.

We also spent some time just wandering around the airport admiring the beautiful architectural design.

One really cool thing about Thai Airways is the fact that they offer complimentary massages to Royal Silk Passengers (30 mins) and Royal First Passengers (60 mins). After checking out the many different lounges, we made one final stop at the Royal Orchid Spa to receive our free massages. The Royal Orchid Spa is located at Concourse D on level 3 near gate D1.

The receptionist scanned our boarding passes and gave us a form to fill out before leading us into the waiting area. We were served a drink and a really cold towel while we waited for our masseuse, who arrived about 10 minutes later to take us into the massage room. The massage was a great way to relax and unwind before the flight.

By the time we finished our massage, it was almost time for boarding. Thankfully, our plane was leaving from gate D2, which was just a short 2 minute walk from the Royal Orchid Spa. There was a short queue at the gate to check the boarding passes before we were let through into the waiting area.

Boarding commenced shortly afterwards starting with Star Alliance Elites and Business Class passengers. We boarded through the first set of doors in the front of the plane and were greeted by two friendly flight attendants.

Thai Airway’s Internationally-configured 777s have a 1-2-1 staggered seating configuration, similar to the layout on ANA’s 777-300ER that we flew from SFO to HND.

For this flight, Peterson had selected the bulkhead seat 19A, while I was seated in the next window seat 21A. Both of these seats were in the rear business class cabin.

My first impression was that the seat was fairly private, as window seats in these configurations usually are. The seat materials did feel a bit worn out, and the colors and style a bit dated, but it was comfortable.

There wasn’t a whole lot of storage space – there was a small-ish compartment below the armrest for small to medium sized personal items, but other than that, no where to really put larger items. You could put them underneath the ottoman, but I never really liked putting anything there besides my shoes. The surface area of the side table left a bit to be desired, compared to a similar configuration on ANA.

The seat controls and IFE controller were located on the side of the seat, just above the armrest. They were intuitive enough to use.

Above the side table, an adjustable LED reading lamp is provided, with the literature pocket adjacent to it.

The tray table unlatches from the seatback in front and swings out. It’s decently sized and you can adjust it forward or backwards depending on your seat orientation.

After settling into my seat, the flight attendant came by for an introduction and took my order for the pre-departure drink and meal after takeoff.

Judging by how quick our boarding completed and the many empty seats, I assumed our flight wasn’t too full.

We pushed back on time and taxied along a Thai 747 and several parked Thai 787s and A350s in the remote stands.

Our plane took off on runway 19L and had a very gradual climb with views of the surrounding suburbs and farmland.

Once we reached cruising altitude, the flight attendants started prepping the cabin for meal service. For my meal, I selected the Roast Marinated Chicken in Green Curry, which was extremely delicious. Since it was a fairly short flight, the meal came in one tray with the appetizer and dessert. The appetizer was a Grilled Chicken Salad, while the dessert consisted of Pandan Sticky Rice Jelly with Mango and Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Filling. I paired it with a green tea, which was an odd combo, but I didn’t see anything else I wanted to drink.

Check out the full menu scans below for the other available options.

After the meal, I briefly browsed through the IFE selection, which seemed to be pretty decent. I didn’t end up watching anything however, and just sat back and relaxed, watching the air show as we approached Kuala Lumpur.

The washroom provided L’Occitane amenities.

Check out some of the amazing light we saw during our approach into KUL.

In Summary

Flying with Thai’s Royal Silk class out of Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) was fantastic. The dedicated check-in counter and security lane was a great time-saver. Along with access to the many different lounges at BKK and a 30 minute Thai Massage at the Royal Orchid Spa before the flight, the Thai Royal Silk experience was definitely worth it. The food, seat, and friendly service from the flight attendants made this short 2 hour flight a really memorable experience. The food on-board was exceptional as well, especially the curry dish. The short flight on an Internationally-configured 777 was an affordable way to sample Thai Airway’s International Business Class. Given the chance, I’d definitely want to try their long haul flights in the future.

For a more cinematic experience, check out the trip report to go along with this review! We’ve also included a brand new intro clip with this one 🙂

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