Zac George

Thai Airways first class has long been a product I’ve wanted to test out for myself, especially on board the iconic 747. The airline only operated the aircraft on a handful of routes at the time being Bangkok – Seoul, Phuket, Tokyo Haneda, Denpasar & Sydney. As I was coming home back to Australia, I went with the latter. This gave an excellent chance to visit the lounge, enjoy both dinner and breakfast service, and spend as much time as possible on the Queen of the Skies.

(Other reviews from the Malaysia trip – Qantas A330-200 business class, Malaysia Airlines A330 business class.)

After spending a few hours in the lounge working through emails and resting, it was time to board. The lovely staff members in the lounge came and collected all of the passengers and proceeded to walk us to the gate. The entire first cabin was filled on this service.

Thai Airways’ 747’s seat a total of 375 seats spread over three cabins. Three hundred twenty-five seats in economy, 50 seats in business and 14 suites in first class. The aircraft was given a refresh quite a number of years ago, but sadly not all cabins were given equal treatment with business class still keeping the angled flatbeds.

The suites themselves are much more private and modern than the previous ones, but there were some clear signs of wear and tear. This is bound to happen when you’re using a long-haul aircraft on short-haul services consistently, and well, the aircraft itself has had a lot of flying hours.

When you arrive at your seat, you’ll find the infamous Rimowa amenity kit, blankets and bedding as well as a pair of noise-cancelling headphones which you’ll find stored away.

You’ll find a rather good amount of storage located to the left of you as well as a closet to the right which doubles as a privacy screen.

The one major drawback for a lot of people flying is the privacy and the lack thereof. The seats sadly don’t have any doors, therefore, don’t close. These days it’s becoming increasingly rare for first class products to not have privacy doors, but their A380 also follows the same pattern albeit a different design.

As you can see below, here is the closet space.

The headphones are found to the left of you, which is also where the 110V power outlet is stored.

Thai Airways First Class Storage

The main controller is a touch screen and will allow you to adjust your seat into any position as well as turn the lighting on and off.

The screen can also be unlocked so you can use it freely.

Further down from the touch screen controller is where you’ll find the inflight entertainment controller as well as the two USB ports and headphone jack.

 

The crew on the flight introduced themselves and were extremely friendly and very professional. I was offered a glass of champagne before departure and the bottle being served was the Dom Perignon 2009.

Shortly after I was provided with some pyjamas and slippers as well the menu for the service.

Even after boarding late, we managed to depart Bangkok on time and quickly made it to our cruising altitude. The crew didn’t waste too much time in starting the meal service shortly after levelling out. To start off, champagne and Amuse-Bouches.

The small picks with the Thai logo on the tail is a cool touch!

The next dish on the menu was the white sturgeon caviar which came accompanied by your standard condiments as well as a shot of iced chilled vodka.

The pearl spoon & plate really looked beautiful.

Next was the Foie Gras Terrine with balsamic cream, apple and balsamic fig pie.

And for the main, I went with the Duck thigh which was also served with some jasmine rice.

I’m a huge fan of duck but this dish sadly really let me down. The smell and taste were just something else, nothing like I had had before, and I just wasn’t a fan at all.

The service and presentation were really lovely, but the quality of the food onboard sadly didn’t match.

After finishing dinner, I decided to finish off with the fruit plate and some water. The goal for this flight was to go to bed somewhat early into it, as the arrival time is quite early and I still had more flights to get on later in the day.

After a pleasant solid couple hours of sleep, I woke up and started to refresh myself. The crew also started to hand out hot towels and some water shortly after.

It’s usually pretty rare for me to eat breakfast on an overnight flight, but I was pretty hungry and decided to go for it.

Breakfast started off with some danishes and croissants.

And for the main dish, I went with the poached eggs which didn’t have too much flavour sadly.

About an hour after breakfast, we touched down in Sydney, just ahead of schedule. The whole 747 experience is unlike anything else, and I was sad to leave the incredible machine. Not only was that my first time on Thai’s jumbo but, it turns out that was, in fact, the last 747 flight I had taken ever as just about all major carriers have retired or are in the process of retiring their aircraft.

The crew were, without a doubt, the highlight of the flight and the aspect that really made the flight special. Throughout the entire service, the flight crew had the warmest and genuine attitude that really reflected on the onboard service.

While the seat itself wasn’t the most modern but was still more than comfortable enough to get some uninterrupted sleep and relax for a number of hours.

Have you flown Thai Airways first class before?