Some people might find it silly to pay for 1st class tickets on a 3 hour trip but due to peak season the cost of a full Y ticket on QF was very close to the price of what I paid on TG in 1st.
I was scheduled to leave Sydney on a Sunday morning at 7.55am. Despite such an early hour (for a Sunday) there were quite a few pax at the airport. Check-in was a breeze and I got my favourite seat - 4K. After immigration I proceeded to the Air New Zealand lounge upstairs which was very nice. There were only 3 other people in the 1st class section of the lounge and there was an abundance of snacks and drinks. I should add that in comparison to QF international lounge in MEL ANZ lounge in SYD had a lot more breakfast food and snacks.
After finishing my 3rd beer an announcement was made for boarding. Gate 60 was a zoo with no priority/elite boarding, so I just sat down and waited over 20 minutes for the queues to shorten and was one of the last pax to board. A warm welcome and smiling FA's was a good sign to me. My jacket was placed in the closet and I was offered Dom Perignon as a pre-flight drink. There were 8 other pax in the 1st cabin. Take-off was late by about 25 minutes but as soon as we got up in the air FA's got busy serving the breakfast which consisted of the following:
1) Fresh fruit, fruit yoghurt and cereals.
2) Omlet, boiled eggs, smoked salmon, tuna quiche, grilled bacon, grilled chicken sausages, grilled tomato, mushrooms, roast potatoes with herbs.
3) Roll, crossaint, Danish pastry, butter, asoorted preserves and honey.
Tea or coffee.
Instant noodle soup with Chinese roast pork which was available on request.
There are no PTV's on TG on this route, so the movie was shown on the main screen. The tape was of very poor quality and impossible to view towards the end. Had I not seen Men in Black 2 a number of times before I would have been reasonably upset.
After finishing my meal and tasting all the beers and most wines available I decided to get some sleep and found that seats on Thai 744 are very comfortable despite them not being flat.
We arrived in AKL 20 minutes late and due to delayed luggage I was able to leave the terminal 40 minutes after the scheduled arrival.
Overall, I would rate this flight highly with excellent service and good food with the only downsides being lousy entertainment system and no priority boarding.
My flight back was a lot worse but this will be in another trip report.
Seat 2A
Jan 1, 03, 9:34 am
Short but sweet. Thanks!
pointsgirl
Jan 1, 03, 9:49 am
Good Report, Thanks for sharing with us.
das
Jan 1, 03, 11:54 am
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Spider:
After immigration I proceeded to the Air New Zealand lounge upstairs which was very nice. There were only 3 other people in the 1st class section of the lounge and there was an abundance of snacks and drinks. I should add that in comparison to QF international lounge in MEL ANZ lounge in SYD had a lot more breakfast food and snacks.
</font>
I was also really impressed by the food spread at the Air NZ lounge in SYD -- I was there in late afternoon and there were sandwiches, quiches, desserts, etc. I stuffed myself trying everything. :-)
But the Air NZ lounge (intl. side) in AKL was a complete contrast -- just cheese, crackers, and cookies. THey must be trying extra hard in SYD.
Shareholder
Jan 1, 03, 12:08 pm
Three tinnies before 8am! G'd on ya'...
number_6
Jan 1, 03, 12:11 pm
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by das:
I was also really impressed by the food spread at the Air NZ lounge in SYD -- I was there in late afternoon and there were sandwiches, quiches, desserts, etc.</font>Sometime you should try the Qantas F lounge at SYD ... then you will be really impressed. Quite a bit more and better selections than sandwiches and quiche for QF. In fact their prawns are better than most restaurants have.
RTW4
Jan 1, 03, 5:35 pm
The food in the QF lounges in SYD, MEL, and Brisbane is fantastic. I agree with the above post
ual744777sta
Jan 2, 03, 3:50 am
what aircraft type is this again?
Uli
Jan 2, 03, 4:45 am
Hi Spider!
Was nice meeting you again in Sydney before your flight to AKL.
The flight to AKL is a continued flight of BKK_SYD service on 747-400. I took the BKK_SYD leg on the same aircraft config some days before.
as there are no PTVs they gave us some DVD-players ... those cannot really replace an SQ screen http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
also I contradict if you say one can sleep well in those seats ...
Spider
Jan 4, 03, 7:46 am
Thanks for your comments!
Shareholder, it was a very hot day in Sydney - 36C/98F, so I was a bit thirsty. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
number_6, I have been to the QF 1st lounge in SYD but never for an early morning flight. I have to agree that their afternoon food selection is great.
ual744777sta, it was a 744.
Uli, after all that wine and beer I probably would have slept comfortably even in the last cabin of the plane. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
kawoh
Jan 4, 03, 4:48 pm
spider, great trip report!! the nz lounge is nice in syd, and agree re AKL. in the WLG nz lounge they offer sushi at lunch which includes prawns, salmon, etc. not sure if they do the same in AKL.
mad_atta
Jan 5, 03, 7:30 pm
Thanks for the report, Spider. I'm flying the same route in F on an award ticket in a few weeks so this has given me some idea of what to expect. Did they hand out personal video / DVD players in addition to the film on the main screen?
Most importantly, was there plenty of Dom? I'm looking forward to drinking at least the value of my ticket taxes in Dom on that sector...!
Edited to add:
What was the rest of the alcoholic selection like, since you clearly sampled extensively? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
And dare we ask what happened on the return trip? Or should I just be patient?
[This message has been edited by mad_atta (edited 01-05-2003).]
Spider
Jan 6, 03, 7:23 am
Mad-atta,
1) No video or dvd players between Oz and NZ.
2) Dom was plentyful! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
3) Wine selections:
a) White:
Rully La Bergerie 2000 which is a chardonnay from burgundy.
Domaines SchlumbergerPinot Gris 1998 which is a fruity wine.
b) Red:
Chateau Desmirail Margaux 1999.
Beaune Champs Pimont 1998.
c) Champagne:
Dom Perignon.
Dom Perignon Vintage 1995. (I don't think they had this since they kept pouring me the standard Dom.)
Cuvee Des Roys 1991.
The return trip report will be posted shortly. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
mad_atta
Jan 6, 03, 4:47 pm
Thanks for the replies, Spider, and for typing out the wine list. AFAIK, all Dom Perignon is vintage - the only variations are rose or regular - so it probably was the '95 they were serving you. Being the easy-to-please chap that I am, I'll humbly be happy with any Dom! Did you sample the Cuvee Des Roys?
Looking forward to your return report...
ozstamps
Jan 6, 03, 7:35 pm
Joh and I did the same Thai 747 flights SYD-AKL-SYD as Spider on nearly the same days, and only due to cell phone glitches we would have caught up for a beer in AKL. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
We continued on to The Kingdom Of Tonga on our journey - on Air NZ ... a trip report on that is here:
(And I too had 3 beers in SYD lounge before the early morning flight took off .. but I'd been up working all night!)
We were in "Business" not "First" on TG 747/400.
What Spider has not really mentioned yet is the 1980s era cabin and facilities for both classes in the TG 747.
This shocked us as we are booked to Madrid via Rome and BKK and back in March on TG biz class, and for 30 hours of that each way, I am not looking forward to it. At all. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
The First seats looked to have pretty limited recline, and total lack of headrest adjustment, in addition to no personal videos. Spider might elaborate on that? The "Business" class cabin upstairs was a culture shock. There were TWENTY seats up there. Now maybe several dozen trips on United upstairs on 747's have spoiled us, but that is "high density housing" to us.
To put that into perspective, United has THREE rows from the exit row back to the magazine stand/stairs on the A/B side. Thai has FIVE. So clearly nearly twice as much space between rows on UA, same plane.
No PTV's upstairs. Only the 1980s pull down movie screen in front of loo showing something dreary. To get to loo for entire trip one needed to literally do a limbo dance as it was only a couple feet off the floor. Insane. Only VERY limited recline in Biz seats. NO headrest adjustment whatever ...... up, forward or with "wings" at sides. No snake lights. Hopeless footrest not worth calling one to be honest.
Flying over to NZ there were no amenity packs of any kind offered. Did not bother then, as I dislike carrying stuff on holiday. On flight BACK yesterday they gave us both a pair of socks in a plastic bag. (Mid afternoon flight.) I asked could they please find me an amenity pack, as I collect them as souvenirs. Assumed this was a simple request.
First FA I asked said he'd need to ask "the boss" and disappeared for 15 mins. Asked another FA, and got same answer. She too vanished never to be seen again, and that was pretty annoying as it was a most simple request. (Remember they ARE loaded on board ex BKK ... plane flies SYD-BKK same day.)
Ask first guy again 30 mins later when he re-appears. He says can't be done. Ask politely to see Purser. He says 'OK', and nothing happens. Getting pretty peeved by this stage so ask AGAIN to see Purser. Flight Service Director finally arrives in red coat. Says it is impossible. Amenity kits are loaded but are only for "International" flights. Mention that Aust and NZ seemed pretty different countries last time I checked, separated by a large sea.
Asked to see Purser, thinking he still might be able to salvage this Monty Python scene. He arrives, and parrots same deal. They were not going to offer an amenity pack no matter WHAT. Asked by two FA's vanished and did not respond, and he looks perplexed and says: "that is not right - sorry for that".
Only a small thing, but one I will remember a lonnnnnng time. And with those dreadful upstairs (and J downstairs) seats, am NOT looking forward to flying 30 hours each way with TG in March.
Have flown TG a LOT to and from and within Asia and Indo-China. Often in coach, where food and service was BETTER than these flights. MASSIVE disappointment. Looking forward to our next 747 and 777 flights in United C, which frankly kills most other product in the air seating wise, but had not realised how DATED some other planes were.
TG did NOT use Star Priority tags on bags out of AKL. Asked why and they said the circular violet TG 'Royal Orchid' ones would do the trick. They did not - and our bags arrived way after most non J/F did. All in all a very disappointing couple of flights on an airline I always liked before. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
Mad_atta, I don't they really had Cuvee Des Roys on board since I never got any despite asking. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
Ozstamps, I agree that Aussie cell phone reception in NZ is lousy as most of my calls got redirected to my home phone back in Sydney! But maybe this is another way for Optus to make money outta me.
The cabin on the plane did look old apart from the newish seat covers but then you didn't fly back on a 743 which was even worse, did you? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif There was no headrest adjustment and no personal videos but recline was ok for me, not flat but ok. In comparison, I can't sleep well in QF or AA int. business seats but TG 1st seats were fine for me to sleep in even while on my side. Footrest was hopeless and there were no amenity kits of any kind. I didn't even get socks on SYD-AKL.
BTW, how many seats do you have on UA upstairs?
Flexible Flyer
Jan 7, 03, 4:30 pm
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Spider:
...
BTW, how many seats do you have on UA upstairs?</font>
The UA 747-400 (http://www.ual.com/page/article/0,1360,3071,00.html) has 24 business class seats upstairs.
The TG 747-400 comes in two versions: one has 32 C seats upstairs, while the other version has 40. Their 747-300 has 40 seats upstairs.
(edited to add TG information)
[This message has been edited by Flexible Flyer (edited 01-07-2003).]
mad_atta
Jan 7, 03, 5:44 pm
No amenity kits? Well, there's a challenge - I'll see if I can finagle one out of the crew on our upcoming flight... which I am still looking forward to despite the rather mixed reports!
Oz, as Flexible Flyer has pointed out above, TG flies 747s in two different configurations (http://www.thaiair.com/flying/boeing.htm#1): the 743 and older-style 744, as flown by you, and the newer style 744 which has quite decent J seats and 'pseudo suites' in F. The same route is often flown by different equipment on different days, so you could check the timetable and change your dates if necessary to ensure you get on the newer config. IIRC, the new config shows up on the timetable as 747, while the old config is 744 - there are numerous threads on the TG board on this subject. As far as the F seats go, I think the old style seats with their 'bordello velvet' covering actually look more luxurious than the new ones - for a day flight anyway.
ozstamps
Jan 7, 03, 6:10 pm
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Flexible Flyer:
The UA 747-400 (http://www.ual.com/page/article/0,1360,3071,00.html) has 24 business class seats upstairs.
</font>
Well I have flown upstairs in the UA 747s several dozen times, and can advise with absolute certainly that their website below is now, and has been WRONG on that for years:
This is actually confirmed by SeatGuru if you hover over 12A/B on his map:
http://www.seatguru.com/united/B744.shtml
There are most certainly 26 seats upstairs on every UA 747,and that has been the case for a year or so.
The mere mortals sitting in row 12 and 11 upstairs on any UA 747 facing a bulkhead a few feet away from their nose can only drool and goggle in wonderment at how the folks got into EXIT ROW 15 with the ballroom of space in front of them! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
Thanks for info that NEWER configured TG 747s do exist. I pray one of those is running the long flight to Madrid and back in March!
TG942 BKK-FCO-MAD and TG943 MAD-FCO-BKK seem to be listed as "747" for March, i.e. the newer version.
ozstamps
Jan 9, 03, 6:58 pm
LH747FTL - you da man! Wow, that makes me a LOT happier! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
ozstamps
Jan 9, 03, 7:11 pm
LH747FTL - may I ask where you can access the equipment types TG are using?
I would be keen to learn what they show for #992 SYD-BKK mid March and #991 BKK-SYD latter March? Sadly, as the arrival and departure times for those slot in pretty much with our recent TG 747 flights to AKL, (those flights started and ended in BKK) I suspect they will be the same old worn, cramped, feature lacking old plane that we get for those long flights? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
TG operates the "new" 747-400 on the following flights
BKK-LHR v.v (all flights)
BKK-FRA v.v (all flights)
BKK-MUC v.v (all flights)
BKK-SIN v.v (TG403 Mon-Thu-Sat-Sun)
BKK-ARN v.v (TG960 Fri-Sun)
BKK-SYD v.v (TG991 Tue)
and various short haul runs
So if you want to try the "new" 747-400 on BKK-SYD-AKL run, you must book TG991 BKK-SYD-AKL on Tuesday flight and TG992 AKL-SYD-BKK on Wednesday.
THAI has a total of 16 B747-400, 7 of which are the new configuration. THAI tends to deploy those newer aircrafts to the premium, high-competition routes, mostly in Europe.
ozstamps
Jan 16, 03, 6:45 am
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by spk:
TG operates the "new" 747-400 on the following flights
BKK-LHR v.v (all flights)
BKK-FRA v.v (all flights)
BKK-MUC v.v (all flights)
BKK-SIN v.v (TG403 Mon-Thu-Sat-Sun)
BKK-ARN v.v (TG960 Fri-Sun)
BKK-SYD v.v (TG991 Tue)
and various short haul runs
So if you want to try the "new" 747-400 on BKK-SYD-AKL run, you must book TG991 BKK-SYD-AKL on Tuesday flight and TG992 AKL-SYD-BKK on Wednesday.
THAI has a total of 16 B747-400, 7 of which are the new configuration. THAI tends to deploy those newer aircrafts to the premium, high-competition routes, mostly in Europe.</font>
Good advice .. thanks. Got onto 992 on a WEDNESDAY. Phew. Will see about 991 .. right now also WED, and I need TUESDAY!
So does the info above stack up in that BKK-ROME-MADRID in March both ways will be "new" 747? Doesn't seem to be writ in stone?
------------------
~ Glen ~
Come and visit (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum13/HTML/000502.html) the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!
LH747FTL
Jan 16, 03, 9:25 am
Glen,
Go to www.aeroplan.de/ap_rb_galileo.htm (http://www.aeroplan.de/ap_rb_galileo.htm) and fill in SYD-MAD (or SYD-BKK and BKK-MAD) and your date and airline TG. It will show 747 for the "newer" version and 744 and 743 for the other versions at the end of the fare class listing.
Forgot to add that I always uncheck the "Klartextanzeige" before submitting. I plugged BKK-MAD for some random days for March and it always came up as a 747 while BKK-FCO on the other days was a 744 or 743. They might swap aircraft but my flights have always been on what was in Galileo.
[This message has been edited by LH747FTL (edited 01-16-2003).]
ozstamps
Jan 16, 03, 6:20 pm
Thank you LH747FTL!
You have hit it on the head that contrary to some well meaning thoughts above TG has THREE different 747 plane types. (As you point out.) And this appears to be the definitive statement below in quotes.
In short - seeing a plane designated as "744" does not it appears make it one iota different to one listed on schedules as "743" in Biz (or First?) class. One needs to sweat on getting the "new" planes designated by TG as "747" on the booking sites. See below from TG forum:
Not that you'd have a CLUE actually speaking to TG rez about it .. here at least. They bald faced LIE and tell me on phone that NONE of their planes have 40 seats upstairs. Thank goodness to FT and those WITH the knowledge. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
The superb United 747 seats (identical on every plane http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif) has spoiled me for too long I think. ) Does the TG "747" newer plane have a personal seat videos and adjustable headrests?
Now armed with the accurate story .. WHICH particular seats upstairs in the "747" are best? Right now they have TEN rows of 4 upstairs on the "744" and "743" it seems. Five rows of 4 BEFORE the exit and 5 rows of 4 AFTER the exit. Which are as cramped as most 737 seats. Disgraceful to be selling as "business Class" longhaul in 2003.
If the TG "747" has 32 seats upstairs i.e. EIGHT rows, does this mean there are FOUR rows before and after the exits? And other than the exit rows themselves, which do folks prefer from these 8 rows?
------------------
~ Glen ~
Come and visit (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum13/HTML/000502.html) the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!
[This message has been edited by ozstamps (edited 01-16-2003).]
ozstamps
Jan 16, 03, 7:03 pm
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by LH747FTL:
Glen,
Go to www.aeroplan.de/ap_rb_galileo.htm (http://www.aeroplan.de/ap_rb_galileo.htm) and fill in SYD-MAD (or SYD-BKK and BKK-MAD) and your date and airline TG. It will show 747 for the "newer" version and 744 and 743 for the other versions at the end of the fare class listing.
Forgot to add that I always uncheck the "Klartextanzeige" before submitting. </font>
A superb tool .. THANK YOU!! Fast and easy to use. I have bookmarked this and suggest others might do so too. As long as TG do not mess too much with their equipment, I can now try and juggle us on "747" half decent planes on all flights.
As I speak no German to read the boxes or the explanatory notes, it may assist other mono-linguists to note the boxes need -
Abflughafen = 3 letter departure airport
Datum = must be 4 letters i.e. March 24 types as 2403:
Buchungsklasse = class - not sure if need. I used "J":
Zielhafen = 3 letter code for airport you fly to:
Airline = 2 letter code
------------------
~ Glen ~
Come and visit (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum13/HTML/000502.html) the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!
mad_atta
Jan 16, 03, 7:27 pm
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ozstamps:
You have hit it on the head that contrary to some well meaning thoughts above TG has THREE different 747 plane types. </font>
Er, Oz, glad all is now clear to you, however if you read my post above you'll find the information already there, which is that there are effectively only two different configurations, because the 743 and 744 are configured identically. It is a fairly confusing situation however! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif The link in that post will take you to the seat maps so you can see the upstairs J layout. When chasing the elusive '747', remember that as well as the excellent Galileo tool (which I use frequently - you can even review award redemption booking classes on some airlines, though sadly not TG) you can also find that same aircraft type information in Thai's online timetable.
ozstamps
Jan 16, 03, 7:36 pm
To illustrate what a total crap-shoot it is with TG and WHAT they fly with 747s, here is what I found for 5 consecutive days in March on the VERY long Madrid-Rome-Bangkok flights:
Now right NOW we are not on the 20th or 24th which we NEED to be on to get some half decent seats upstairs. I guess dealing with TG and re-jigging our lives we might be able get either day we need.
However, before we do that, in the experience of those here, does TG swap equipment very regularly, or do you feel this equipemnt is likely to stay put as it is now for flights 2 months away?
------------------
~ Glen ~
Come and visit (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum13/HTML/000502.html) the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!
ozstamps
Jan 16, 03, 7:52 pm
Thanks mad_atta .. had overlooked that link. OK .. so this is upstairs on the "747"
Four rows before and after the exits, v/s FIVE on the other 2 TG versions. (UA has 3/3/3/4)
Exits are clearly the first pick if available. Anyone know any way that a Star Gold can secure exit rows in ADVANCE? TG on phone here told me it was "impossible" but I really doubt that as they were already allocated when I checked further with another agent. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
What is their policy? UA for instance will allow elites to book exits 330 days out, no issue, domestic or It'l.
------------------
~ Glen ~
Come and visit (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum13/HTML/000502.html) the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!
ozstamps
Jan 23, 03, 1:28 am
Wow. Thanks to a BBC link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1348843.stm) found by NielsK in another Forum, this is what the Thai PRIME MINISTER thinks of TG, their airline, and their crummy "Biz" seats:
Thai PM: National airline 'sucks'
Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has sharply criticised the country's national airline in an interview with a local newspaper, describing it as "terrible".
If I were not a public figure, I wouldn't fly with Thai. It sucks
Mr Thaksin slammed Thai Airways International for its high ticket prices, uncomfortable seats and poor service.
The airline's top executive agreed with him, saying improvement were needed.
Prime Minister Shinawatra told the Bangkok Post in its Thursday edition that he was "very happy" when he was not able to get a seat on the carrier.
"Business class on other airlines is better than Thai's first class. Our fares are also higher," he said.
Thai Airways president Pisith Kusalasaiyanond admitted the comments were justified in an interview with local radio, saying the facilities needed to be improved.
------------------
~ Glen ~
Come and visit (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum13/HTML/000502.html) the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!