My short journey from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur on Thai Airways onboard a 787-9 in “Royal Silk” business class exceeded (almost) all expectations, with gracious service and a delicious multi-course meal.
Thai Airways 787-9 Business Class Review (BKK-KUL)
After a pleasant stay at the St. Regis Bangkok, I avoided heavy traffic by taking the Bangkok BTS Skytrain to the Airport Rail Link (ARL), arriving within plenty of time to visit several Star Alliance Lounges in BKK.
The check-in desks were not crowded and I used the Star Alliance Gold line because it was empty (I could have also used the “Royal Silk” business class line).
I find the Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge the best of the lounges available and you can reach that simply by taking the escalator down from the Fast Track security and immigration counters.
Boarding began at 4:20 pm, just 25 minutes before scheduled departure.
Thai Airways 417
Bangkok (BKK) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
Tuesday, October 30
Depart: 4:45 PM
Arrive: 7:55 PM
Duration: 02hr, 10min
Distance: 755 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9
Seat: 11K (Business Class)
Onboard, I found my seat in 11K, the first row of business class and the first row of seats on this plane (Thai starts row numbering in business class in 11 because it still operates first class on a select few 777s and therefore if you have a row 1-3 seat assignment, it can only mean first class)
Seat
The Thai 787-9 features 30 reverse herringbone lie-flat business class seats (Safran Cirrus) in a 1-2-1 layout. The seats have a 42-inch pitch and convert to 180º fully lie-flat beds. The purple carpeting and floral design on the bulkhead wall in the rear of the cabin give the cabin a Thai feel. As a bulkhead seat, seat 11K features extra room for your feet.
Within easy reach is a reading light, universal A/C outlet (located at knee level instead of shoulder level underneath the side table), and USB-A outlet. There’s also seat storage on either side of your legs, with a latched compartment on my left side that could be raised or lowered to give additional space when the seat was in lie-flat mode.
This aircraft did have individual air vents, which were appreciated.
Impressively, a nice duvet and pillow were offered, even though the flight time was under two hours. My only complaint was when I placed the seat into lie-flat mode after dinner and found (like on American Airlines) there was a wide gap between cushions, which seems to be a problem with this particular seat.
Food + Drink
A warm towel and choice of beverage (I had water) were offered before takeoff.
Menus were also distributed, and a full multi-course dinner was served after takeoff. Here’s the menu:
(no drink menu on this flight and I stuck to water to drink)
After takeoff, dinner service began with mixed nuts and a beverage. The meal tray included the appetizer, main course, cheese course, dessert, and bread plate.
I thought the Thai-style eggplant salad with scallop and caviar was a very nice appetizer. For the main course, I chose sous vide beef short rib with massaman sauce, served with Thai jasmine rice and sauteed mixed vegetables with garlic, a very delicious dish. The dessert was beautifully presented as well and there was a full bread basket with dinner as well, including rich garlic bread, and a cheese course.
A very nice meal indeed.
IFE + Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi worked onboard and was free for business class passengers, which was appreciated because it was very expensive for the folks in economy class…think 39.99 USD for a streaming pass for this sub-two hour flight (messaging was only 0.99 USD and surfing 14.99 USD).
The IFE library (movies, games, music, TV shows) was fairly limited, but serviceable for the short flight. Noise-cancelling headphones were from AKG.
I spent most of the flight, however, looking out the window, as it was a beautiful, lingering sunset down to Malaysia.
It was also fun to planespot on taxi out of BKK.
Service
I have yet to have a bad flight on Thai Airways and the service on this flight was outstanding as ever, with attentive and gracious service. Dinner was promptly served, but once cleared flight attendants continued to roam the cabins and refill beverages. The purser also stopped by to thank every passenger for their business and welcome them onboard.
Lavatory
The Thai Airways 787-9 has two dedicated lavatories for business class passengers in the front of the aircraft. It did appear that the sink in the lavatory I used was clogged…
CONCLUSION
I’m not sure that Thai Airways has ever really changed despite a supposed major restructuring during the pandemic. The onboard product remains excellent and while that particular seat is cause for concern, overall, I was quite comfortable in the lie-flat position and greatly appreciated the warm hospitality and delicious dinner onboard the very short flight to KL. Thai Airways is always a solid experience, in my experience.
> Read More: A 2-Hour Flight, A Lie-Flat Bed, Caviar, And A Real Blanket. Only In Asia.
That meal looks yummy! Flying them again soon. Can’t wait.
The cod has amazing flavor. Few airlines have full catering in short flights.
I have only flown with them on short or medium haul flights, but they always have had 5 star service
Did a BKK Star Alliance lounge safari in mid-January before flying HS-THQ (TG’s Star Alliance-liveried A350) to CGK in J. Despite the 2-2-2 layout on this particular A350 — HS-THQ and THR are set to move to Edelweiss this year — I had an enjoyable experience, between the stellar Thai catering, the lie-flat bed and the amenities, topped off with signature Thai service. The Thai Royal Orchid Prestige lounge, too, was in my opinion the best of the lot in terms of both décor and service.
Best of all, the 3-hour flight to Jakarta — longer than Matt’s BKK-KUL sector on the 787-9 — allowed for plenty of time to relax, unwind and enjoy the exquisite Star Alliance livery on the tail camera.
TG remains one of my favourite airlines in the world, between the livery, the service and the upward direction they’re moving in nowadays — unlike Garuda Indonesia’s struggles. The level of English and westernisation is of course not up to CX’s, SQ/MH’s or Western airlines’ level, but they nail almost every other aspect of the inflight and on-ground experience.
Hipefully TG can reclaim it’s standing among the top Asian carriers, instead of being second-tier (though definitely the best among the second tier Asian airlines).
Thai certainly has changed with restructuring though the big difference compared to a Western airline is that they have not cut customer service as a consequence and it’s still gracious and excellent. The restructuring did though affect staff at all levels and in particular, some of the older cabin crew who enjoyed excellent terms and conditions way out of line with anywhere in the world and out of all proportion to south east Asia – Thai crew could stay indefinitely unlike for instance Singapore girl who is out after two three year contracts unless she has been promoted and there aren’t many promotions.
The long haul product is however inconsistent as it ever was, the A350, 77W and 789 have a very good on board product however the 788 is lamentable with 2-2-2 seating in business class and it tends to be used interchangeably with the 789 often on longer routes like BKK-AKL – thank goodness it never subs for the A350 or the 77W.