Thai Airways Royal Silk Class
Bangkok (BKK) – Vienna (VIE)
01:20 (01:35A) – 07:15 (07:04A) [10:30 Hours]
Saturday 8 June 2019
Boeing B787-8 (HS-TQC)
Seat: 11A
Cost: THB 41,860 + Complimentary Gold Upgrade
This is a part of a trip USA 2019.
Checking In
We arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport around 22:45 and promptly proceed to Row 1, the check in for Thai Airways’ Royal Silk Class. This is the first of two flights we are taking today to New York (JFK) via Vienna, with the second being on Austrian Airlines. My booking was separate but the check-in agent were able issue boarding pass for both flights and able to tag the bag all the way through.
Interestingly, the check-in agent noticed my last name. Turns out, her father is a close friend to mine, so she correctly identified my nickname. What a small world!
Lounging Around
After check-in, we proceeded to the fast track immigration and the Royal Silk lounge (Concourse D) which was located right below. Being right before the midnight departure bank, the lounge was quite crowded. I had some “Kiem Ee” noodle and some Coke Zero. After the noodle, we moved to another lounge in Concourse C. Overall, there is nothing too special about THAI’s lounges.
Boarding & Taking Off
Always a favorite, I choose THAI’s signature butterfly pea lemonade (the purple drink) for my pre-departure drink. My companion chooses the lemon tea.
Menus, amenity kits, and a pair of slipper were placed on the seat upon boarding. Eye shades are no longer included in the kit, and had to be requested from the flight attendants, a small frustration.
Take off was on time into the night sky of Bangkok. It was raining earlier in the evening hence the blurred window.
The Seat
THAI have many different variations of business class seats on different aircraft. Our 787-8 features the B/E Aerospace seat which is laid out in 2-2-2 configuration. Since I prefer to sit in window seats, I am usually not a fan of this paired configuration, especially if I have to travel alone. However, today I am traveling as a couple, so this duo seat was not an issue. Of course, it is great to have a lie-flat seat instead of an angled-flat seat. Also, I found the seat to have many small storage spaces.
The Supper
My post take-off beverage was Coke Zero, my companion, Sprite:
Table set up with appetizer:
My main course was pork fillet with ravioli:
Dessert which was lemon tart:
Overall, it was a mediocre meal. The starter was not that special. The pork was quite hard and the pasta dry. The lemon tart was too sweet, I only had a bite. My companion did have the Samrab and he enjoyed the green curry very much.
The Sleep
It was around 3am Thailand time after dinner is completed. As I was quite tired, I quickly retired to sleep. I slept fairly well on this flight, around 4 hours, without taking any pills (I usually take melatonin). THAI also offered mattress pad on long-haul business class flights, which proved to be quite comfortable.
The Breakfast
Breakfast service started with Orange Juice:
Afterwards, everything else was presented in one tray:
The boiled rice soup was tasteless, which is really a shame on THAI’s Bangkok kitchen to not be able to do a good broth. I find THAI’s boiled rice breakfast to be a hit or a miss (50-50 chance), either super great or tasteless like this one. The omelet was fine. The thing I enjoyed most on this meal (and flight), however, was the warm croissant served with Strawberry jam.
Landing
The landing was quite smooth and straightforward and the views on approach to Vienna Airport was quite nice. Since we were connecting to another Austrian flight to JFK, we proceeded to the transit security check.
The Experience
Overall, it was an unimpressive flight on THAI’s 787-8 from Bangkok to Vienna. I was pleasantly surprised with the seat and sleep quality (I had expected worse). The food was not good on this flight, and the boiled rice is a bit of a shame. Meanwhile, the cabin crew were quite nice and they also tried to do some small chat, which is appreciated and adds personality to the service flow. However, the flight did depart and arrive on-time, and does it’s job of getting me from A to B comfortably.
Long-Haul Business Class
- Departure & Lounge: 3/5 (great check-in, mediocre lounge)
- Aircraft & Seat: 4/5 (some wear & tear, non-aisle access)
- Food: 2/5 (very unimpressive food)
- Sleep: 4.5/5 (mattress pad)
- Service: 4/5 (good conversation with the crew)
- Entertainment: 4/5 (some good selection)
- Arrival & Time: 5/5
Total: 26.5/35 (75%) C
Life Well Traveled 