Review: Thai Airways 787-8 Economy Class

While flying on AirAsia did not work out, I enjoyed a very pleasant flight on Thai Airways in economy class on the 787-8 Dreamliner from Manila to Bangkok.

Thai Airways 787-8 Economy Class Review (MNL-BKK)

While on my flight to Manila, I booked a Thai Airways ticket from Manila to Bangkok when the AirAsia ticket I wanted suddenly was no longer bookable. The AirAsia ticket was $69 and the Thai ticket was $234.10. I would have preferred to save the money since I was just flying in economy class, but this was a good opportunity to review Thai economy class, which I have not done in the past.

Check-In

At the check-in desk, I quickly obtained a boarding pass and was offered a “preferred” seat in economy class due to my Star Alliance Gold status. I was quite thankful for this, as it appeared at first I would be in a middle seat toward the rear of the aircraft.

After proceeding through security and passport control, I spent a half hour in the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Lounge before proceeding to the gate.

Boarding

Our aircraft arrived late from Bangkok and we did not start boarding until close to the scheduled departure time, but there was plenty of padding in the schedule and the actual flight time was under three hours. We still arrived early in BKK.

Thai Airways (TG) 621
Manila (MNL) – Bangkok (BKK)
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Depart: 01:10 PM
Arrive: 03:45 PM
Duration: 03hr, 35min
Distance: 1,361 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8
Seat: 33H (Economy Class)

I was greeted with a customary bow and a “sawadee kraap” as I stepped onto the aircraft.

Seat

I took a peek into “Royal Silk” business class, which features 24 B/E Diamond lie-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, before turning right into economy class.

Thai has no premium economy product, meaning there are a lot of economy class seats between rows 31 and 58; 240 to be precise. Seat pitch is quite generous at 32 inches (18 inches wide) and the seats are well-padded too and feature a power outlet between seats and a paddle-like retractable footrest.

For a three-hour flight, this seat was more than adequate and I even had sufficient space to work when I pulled out my 15-inch laptop and worked on the tray table.

The cabin appeared clean (though note the dust on top of the electrical outlet above) and I appreciated the individual air vents at each seat in the overhead passenger service unit.

A blanket, pillow, and headphones were also sitting at each seat.

Each seat had an IFE remote built into the seat back as well as a knob to hang coats.

IFE + Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi was available for purchase the following rates:

• $7.99 – limited chatting (Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage)
• $24.99 – unlimited surfing
• $39.99 – unlimited streaming

My work done and I thought the $40 price tag for a flight under three hours was a bit much. On a Bangkok – London flight (13 hours) I would still find the price high, but be much more willing to pay it.

Additionally, a 9-inch seatback screen offered a section of games, music, TV shows, and movies. The selection was limited and the “recent” films were actually not all that recent, but Thai has always been weak when it comes to its IFE library.

I thought the safety video was a little weird with the winking…

Food + Drink

Lunch was served after takeoff, a choice between a fish with rice or a chicken with noodles. Even though I booked my flight less than 24 hours before departure, I put in a special meal request for a fruit plate and it was boarded. While there were no berries, there was a nice assortment of sliced apples, orange, watermelon, papaya, pineapple, dragon fruit, and grapes.

I wasn’t in the mood for heavy lunch and so this hit the spot quite nicely.

With lunch, complimentary drinks were offered including alcohol. I just had seltzer water.

Lavatory

Thai has six lavatories in economy class, including four in the area between the two economy class cabins and two in the rear of the aircraft. The one I used was clean and featured “Chiang Mai Teaflower” eau de cologne.

Service

As has always been true for me on Thai Airways, the service onboard was excellent. In fact, the purser came by to my seat to personally greet me and thank me for being a Star Alliance Gold passenger prior to travel (he did this for a few others as well). That was a very gracious touch.

All interactions with staff were quite friendly.

Remote Gate In BKK

We landed ahead of schedule and taxied past the pathetic graveyard of assorted 747 and A380 aircraft at Suvarnabhumi Airport before coming to a stop at a remote gate. This was quite annoying, but the bus ride to the terminal was fun as we passed a Shanghai Airlines 737, Thai Airways A350 and A330, Singapore Airlines 787, and China Eastern 737.

CONCLUSION

Thai Airways is an enigma. The carrier seems to perpetually lose money, but still offers a very full-service product that has not changed much in years (perhaps decades). My flight from MNL to BKK was very pleasant and I thought economy class on the 787-8 was perfectly fine for the shorter journey.

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

SUBSCRIBE!

You have Successfully Subscribed!