Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus - Bangkok to Phuket

First time flier on Thai Airways. What is the difference in meal service between economy and business on the Bangkok-Phuket morning flight and Phuket-Bangkok afternoon flights. Try to see if it's worth upgrading for the short flight. Thanks!

Been a couple years since I was on that flight. But IIRC coach was a cold box snack vs (quick) hot meal in business. Not really worth stressing over a, what, 45 minute flight?

First time flier on Thai Airways. What is the difference in meal service between economy and business on the Bangkok-Phuket morning flight and Phuket-Bangkok afternoon flights. Try to see if it's worth upgrading for the short flight. Thanks!

You barely have time to eat a donut dude ! Check Kayak BKK-HKT before you book. You may not wanna fly TG (I wouldn't). Save your $$ - you'll need it for the tuk-tuks. wj

First time flier on Thai Airways. What is the difference in meal service between economy and business on the Bangkok-Phuket morning flight and Phuket-Bangkok afternoon flights. Try to see if it's worth upgrading for the short flight. Thanks!

it is certainly worth upgrading for the flight. BKK-HKT is often full and you benefit from lounge access (although you get that anyway with your star status), roomy seats, a cold towel on boarding, and a hot meal. No alcohol is served however. The couple of extra dollars is well worth it. If you can score a 747 service then you may be able to score F class seats for the business fare if they open the F cabin for business class.

it's certainly longer than 45 minutes, air time would probably average 60 minutes and on ground time may add another 20. (could be even more with the state of play at BKK of late)

First time flier on Thai Airways. What is the difference in meal service between economy and business on the Bangkok-Phuket morning flight and Phuket-Bangkok afternoon flights. Try to see if it's worth upgrading for the short flight. Thanks!

I always fly Business domestic with Thai and especially on the BKK-HKT route. The double miles and long haul seats is the winner for me ;) ^

I always fly Business domestic with Thai and especially on the BKK-HKT route. The double miles and long haul seats is the winner for me ;) ^

TG has mix of 737, 747, 744 and AB6 plying that route. If long haul seats are your target then you'd need to pick the appropriate a/c.

TG has mix of 737, 747, 744 and AB6 plying that route. If long haul seats are your target then you'd need to pick the appropriate a/c.

not to mention A330's and 777s :)

not to mention A330's and 777s :)

And soon the A320 :D

I always fly Business domestic with Thai and especially on the BKK-HKT route. The double miles and long haul seats is the winner for me ;) ^

Well, maybe your FFP gives you double miles for business, but most do not. And if credited to ROP, you get 500 in economy, being that's the minimum for any TG domestic flight, but in business you only get 500 or 125% of the base miles, whichever is greater. I don't know the exact miles that TG uses, but Great Circle Mapper shows it as 417 miles, so 125% is 521 miles, so you gain a whopping 21 miles by flying business class.

I've flown TG domestic business class before where they did not serve a hot meal because the flight was very late and beyond what they considered normal meal hours. I don't even remember what the cold meal was now, but certainly nothing noteworthy and not much better than economy. I'd personally save my money and buy a hot meal of something that I wanted at the airport or elsewhere before I got on the plane. Being on a plane for an hour without a meal isn't going to bother me in the least. And the drinks aren't anything special. Buy yourself whatever drink you want after passing through security. Sure, it'll be overpriced like everything is at just about any airport, but you'll still come out way ahead in your total outlay.

TG has mix of 737, 747, 744 and AB6 plying that route. If long haul seats are your target then you'd need to pick the appropriate a/c.

I have never seen a TG 737 on this route :confused:

I always choose the flight with best combination of timing and equipment, and hope the equipment sticks ^

A_Lee: At SK I get 1200 Eurobous points on each flight vs max 600 in economy, so for me it is the dealbreaker.

I have never seen a TG 737 on this route :confused:


You might be correct. I looked at a random date, Aug 5, and saw a 738 listed but it was a code share on MH metal. I should have picked it up quickly since TG doesn't have any 738s.

yes 734 doesn't get scheduled but it may appear on swaps

The cost diifference in fare between discounted Royal Silk and economy isn't significant. However, the ability to avoid the checkin lines, lounge access, assistance when there is a screwup, priority boarding and avoiding many of the noisy loud tourists in the economy section is signicant for me. The food in these shuttle flights should be passed on. Unappetizing and greasy. I don't know why they bother.

I will never fly TG Y on this route - always J. The reasons have been well summarised by others here but having the sanctuary of the lounge at HKT (& BKK) is well worth it (if no *A status). Whilst certainly not stellar lounges, they are generally more peaceful compared to the main terminal madness at peak times. Also I just did BKK-HKT-BKK on PG (Bangkok Airways) & will never fly them again after the horrible way they dealt with our (admittedly oversize) cabin baggage. TG on the other hand are always very flexible & courteous in this regard. You pay your money & take your choice :)

I will never fly TG Y on this route - always J. The reasons have been well summarised by others here but having the sanctuary of the lounge at HKT (& BKK) is well worth it (if no *A status). Whilst certainly not stellar lounges, they are generally more peaceful compared to the main terminal madness at peak times. Also I just did BKK-HKT-BKK on PG (Bangkok Airways) & will never fly them again after the horrible way they dealt with our (admittedly oversize) cabin baggage. TG on the other hand are always very flexible & courteous in this regard. You pay your money & take your choice :)

As to first part of your post I was going to chime in that J is 2x the cost of Y. Then when I read the latter portion it took over priority.

Having flown PG extensively in SE Asia I've never come across what you encountered. I'd opine it's a one-off, since I've seen ridiculous things put in the overhead. But it sucks for you all the same.

I don't know if I'd call the service between these two points "a meal"

More like a snack that I'd feed to my 7 year old at home.

Some recent TG economy class photos BKK-HKT and HKT-BKK, taken in May 2012.

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/5601/dsc1036o.jpg (http://img594.imageshack.us/i/dsc1036o.jpg/)

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/1425/dsc0858cc.jpg (http://img689.imageshack.us/i/dsc0858cc.jpg/)

Not really worth it if you have Star Gold already for the lounges but it's your own money (or points).

I don't know if I'd call the service between these two points "a meal"

Not really worth it if you have Star Gold already for the lounges but it's your own money (or points).

well - you wouldn't be getting that in business class...

I will never fly TG Y on this route - always J. The reasons have been well summarised by others here but having the sanctuary of the lounge at HKT (& BKK) is well worth it (if no *A status). Whilst certainly not stellar lounges, they are generally more peaceful compared to the main terminal madness at peak times.

Of course everyone has their own opinion, so there's no right or wrong answer to whether to choose Y or C. But when choosing between the two, and comparing the cheapest Y vs. the cheapest C, the price difference is very significant. And except for rare special promotions that don't earn mileage, both earn almost the same mileage in ROP. I personally would much rather spend only a portion of that extra money for C, and buy a meal I wanted, rather than the poor food/drink selection in the domestic ROP lounge. And it really isn't so peaceful there during peak times, when you might not even be able to get a seat in the main seating area and be forced into the rear section which isn't very well air conditioned. I can eat a hot meal of my choice, either landside where there's a wide selection of restaurants, or in the food court area after security. Either one will allow me to get a proper hot meal, opposed to only sandwiches/pastries in the TG lounge.

So in my mind, the "lounge access" part is certainly not worth anywhere near the price premium. Now if all but the most expensive Y booking classes are sold out, and the cheapest C booking class is available, then it would be a closer call, with maybe only 500 Baht difference on a one-way. But when comparing the cheapest Y vs. cheapest C, you're looking at about double the price vs. only a few hundred Baht to get a nice meal/drink outside the lounge.

well - you wouldn't be getting that in business class...

Not exactly, but not a whole lot better if you're traveling late beyond normal meal hours. In both cases you'll only get some cold snack, not a hot meal. At least that was my experience a few years ago. I haven't bothered paying for C since then and after have only flown it a few times as part of award travel and during meal times. So perhaps things have changed, but I wouldn't count on it.

Of course everyone has their own opinion, so there's no right or wrong answer to whether to choose Y or C. But when choosing between the two, and comparing the cheapest Y vs. the cheapest C, the price difference is very significant. And except for rare special promotions that don't earn mileage, both earn almost the same mileage in ROP. I personally would much rather spend only a portion of that extra money for C, and buy a meal I wanted, rather than the poor food/drink selection in the domestic ROP lounge. And it really isn't so peaceful there during peak times, when you might not even be able to get a seat in the main seating area and be forced into the rear section which isn't very well air conditioned. I can eat a hot meal of my choice, either landside where there's a wide selection of restaurants, or in the food court area after security. Either one will allow me to get a proper hot meal, opposed to only sandwiches/pastries in the TG lounge.

So in my mind, the "lounge access" part is certainly not worth anywhere near the price premium. Now if all but the most expensive Y booking classes are sold out, and the cheapest C booking class is available, then it would be a closer call, with maybe only 500 Baht difference on a one-way. But when comparing the cheapest Y vs. cheapest C, you're looking at about double the price vs. only a few hundred Baht to get a nice meal/drink outside the lounge.

It's all relative as the fares are (for me) fairly inexpensive anyway, so the difference betwwen Y & J is relatively small too (I have never paid 2 x for business over economy, btw) - as you say though, each to their own.

For me it's not about lounge access alone its about the multiple benefits (as others have already documented well) I/we have never struggled for a seat in the ROP lounges at BKK or HKT but however busy, it's way better in there then being in the main terminal. Happy travels :)

It's all relative as the fares are (for me) fairly inexpensive anyway, so the difference betwwen Y & J is relatively small too (I have never paid 2 x for business over economy, btw) - as you say though, each to their own.



On a random date, Aug 21, the cheapest BKK-HKT Y = 2630 + tax = 2730 THB
On a the same date, Aug 21, the cheapest BKK-HKT C = 5115 + tax = 5215 THB

For all intents and purposes that's 2x.

Unless you're finding discounted C in which case I'd love the scoop. :D

TG has mix of 737, 747, 744 and AB6 plying that route. If long haul seats are your target then you'd need to pick the appropriate a/c.

My BKK-CNX flight had 5 aircraft changes in 7 Days:td:

Not exactly, but not a whole lot better if you're traveling late beyond normal meal hours. In both cases you'll only get some cold snack, not a hot meal. At least that was my experience a few years ago. I haven't bothered paying for C since then and after have only flown it a few times as part of award travel and during meal times. So perhaps things have changed, but I wouldn't count on it.

My own experience points to a change -- late last year, evening flights in both directions between BKK and HKT and they served hot chicken curry with rice. My other half thought it was one of the best airline meals he has ever had and to do this day raves about TG

Due to a couple farang friendly edicts by the Phuket Tourist Authority, I feel that I can now afford to sit up front to HKT. In response to many complaints, I've heard that all tourists arriving at HKT will now be charged for jet ski damage. Thai authorities have deduced that it's more equitable to charge all tourists rather than just some of those visitors who didn't damage jet skis. In a consumer friendly move, Thai authorities have also capped all tuk tuk rides under 100 meters at 1000 baht. wj