Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus - Disappointing TG F experience

Flew BKK-SYD in F last week and was disappointed in the service.

The F lounge in BKK was great....good food, good shower and great massage.

However the flight was not so good. Service was adequate but much less than I expected. I had chosen the flight were the seats lay flat which was a very good decision. The real problem was the FAs who had a "couldn't care less" attitude. Now I'm used to this on UA, but on TG???? We were never once addressed by name, PJs had to be asked for, food was cold (although the DOM was good).

The QF staff that met the flight in SYD asked how the flight was. They were surprised at "OK service"...most people complain about the "Seats didn't turn into a bed".

Anyway, based on this one F experience, it falls way behind SQ, LH and even UA!!! Maybe I just had poor FAs.

I would say you just had a bad in flight crew and not typical of TG but also not to say it hasnt happened before. I have had less than enthusiastic service on TG before but that is the exception not the rule. I dont fly SQ enough to make an informed opinion of their product but I have flown them enough to have a similar experience with them so it always comes down to the people and typically the people on TG do a pretty good job...in call cabins not just F.

Interesting that this experience happened to you on this route....the worst experience I have ever had with a first class check in counter was the TG F check in at SYD, talk about attitude!

Hope you continue to fly TG and hope future experiences are better, for selfish reasons as my wife has friends that work for TG.

That happens. I have had some less than pleasant inflight service in J before. Luckily all my F flights have been excellent, especially when frequently I'm the only Thai in F.

Flew BKK-SYD in F last week and was disappointed in the service.

The F lounge in BKK was great....good food, good shower and great massage.

However the flight was not so good. Service was adequate but much less than I expected. I had chosen the flight were the seats lay flat which was a very good decision. The real problem was the FAs who had a "couldn't care less" attitude. Now I'm used to this on UA, but on TG???? We were never once addressed by name, PJs had to be asked for, food was cold (although the DOM was good).

The QF staff that met the flight in SYD asked how the flight was. They were surprised at "OK service"...most people complain about the "Seats didn't turn into a bed".

Anyway, based on this one F experience, it falls way behind SQ, LH and even UA!!! Maybe I just had poor FAs.


During the past 4 months, I have flown Thai 5 times in Royal First, and I have found Thai's cabin crews to be rather obnoxious:

KIX - BKK: Female cabin crew was very nice, but the male cabin crew and the Inflight Manager were extremely rude.

BKK - FRA: Disinterested, lazy cabin crew of three. This time even the female FA wasn't great at all.

FRA - BKK: A typical rude, unprofessional cabin crew.

LAX - KIX: Horrible, horrible cabin crew. That's as polite as I can put it.

KIX - LAX: Again, terrible.

During the past 4 months, I have flown Thai 5 times in Royal First, and I have found Thai's cabin crews to be rather obnoxious:

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Are you familiar " better Service " from any US airline ?
I flew TG royal first class several times this year between 3* FRA-BKK-FRA / 1 *LON-BKK-LON and 2 * BKK-HKG-BKK. I never had any problem, the service was every time exelent.

Are you familiar " better Service " from any US airline ?
I flew TG royal first class several times between 3* FRA-BKK-FRA / 1 *LON-BKK-LON and 2 * BKK-HKG-BKK. I never had any problem, the service was every time exelent.


Yes, I'm very familiar with the lack of service from US airlines, which is why I try not to fly them on transatlantic or transpacific crossings. I'm sorry but Thai is not a 5 star airline, and it is obvious why. Thai's cabin crews cannot compare to CX and SQ. I'm glad you have had good experiences with Thai, yet it doesn't mean that we all have to...

My observation is that these crews really have good service mind. However, TG training failed to train them enough on Westerner expectation. Take the issue of not addressing the passengers by name; I spoke to several crews on this and many of them don't know that it's that big a deal. If they knew, they would have done it differently. BTW, in Thai culture, everybody is on firstname basis and we don't usually address a customer by name but rather "Khun" (or sir).

That's why SQ is highly praised. Their FA is more fluent in English and is more familiar with the small details in Western culture.

Even though I think that CX is miles ahead when it comes to training of crew for service with premium pax I find TG’s crew in F also very nice. I fly a lot with them and it very rarely happened that I had unfriendly staff. While I agree that the flight managers could be a bit friendlier and caring. Frankly spoken I prefer not to be addressed by name rather than what LH or UA are doing on 30% on its flights, standing with the pax list in front of me and addressing me by name while reading it from the list. But on most TG flights I have a nice chat with the FA’s, they always ask for my name, and from then on I am Khun Thomas (I have a rather complicated to spell Bavarian last name).

I think quite contrary that TG is getting better by the month, although I think they could have done a much better job with the new F environment in the B7443.

I however disagree about what spk said re SQ. They are not only highly praised for the FAs speaking fluent English and knowing the small details western travellers expect, but also having a very consistent quality of seat equipment and IFE - which is to me more important than any food service or the crew

During the past 4 months, I have flown Thai 5 times in Royal First, and I have found Thai's cabin crews to be rather obnoxious:

KIX - BKK: Female cabin crew was very nice, but the male cabin crew and the Inflight Manager were extremely rude.

BKK - FRA: Disinterested, lazy cabin crew of three. This time even the female FA wasn't great at all.

FRA - BKK: A typical rude, unprofessional cabin crew.

LAX - KIX: Horrible, horrible cabin crew. That's as polite as I can put it.

KIX - LAX: Again, terrible.

I am now very familiar with Thai culture and in that cultural context, I believe that the vast majority of TG flight crew are very warm and friendly and provide great service in a relaxed and flexible manner...they are not so meticulous when it comes to greeting people by their surname etc., but if you understood Thai culture this western practice is alien and strange....

I MUCH prefer the warm and friendly Thai service as opposed to cold stark but efficient and meticulous (but generally unfriendly service) provided by (for example LH German staff--but not Thai LH staff who not surprisingly are generally very friendly)....for comparison sake I have tried LH's First Class service more than a few times and each time, yes I was addressed by my surname (in a forced manner from a list) as if I was in the military... yes, the captain came to speak with me and inquire in formal English about small talk in a forced but meticulous manner and yes, each service round was efficiently timed and robotically programmed but brusquely and quickly given as if on a military maneuver from female prison guards, but I do not consider this superior service to TG....

I will not comment on dismal service provided by US airlines (even though that is my homebase).....

Yes, on CX and SQ, the English spoken and the western cultural nuances and familiarity is much more fluent than from TG staff (does the fact that SG and HK were both former English colonies have anything to do with that?), but I make allowances and have learned more than a few Thai phrases and Thai cultural norms to recognize sincere friendly TG service versus forced programmed and rehearsed greetings and brusque services on some other airlines...

although I greatly enjoy SQ and CX in premium classes when I get the chance, overall I would prefer TG service and once the seat refurbishments are completed on all/most TG aircraft and the new Bangkok airport and airline lounges are in place, I am SURE that TG will be super competitive even with the very top airlines like CX and SQ...... I just hope TG's hardware upgrades come up to speed faster.....

What interests me (and I don't complain because I think it's typical Thai chauvinism) are the number of "operational upgrades" that the Thai cabin crew institute once the doors are closed. As the downstairs Business Class cabin on the 747 services is often half (or more) empty, various Thai friends of the crew are re-seated there. That doesn't happen just as a rare occurrence - it happens on every flight I have taken with TG. And occasionally a Thai in that cabin will also "upgrade" a friend down the back. However, woe betide any non-Thai passenger asking if perhaps their friend, spouse or family member might move up to the adjacent spare seat after the meal service (so no extra demands on catering)

I remember there being a terrific fuss on one flight that was full in Business Class as some sprig of a Thai politician had been upgraded by the Thai crew out of Auckland but he had to return to his Economy seat for the Sydney-Bangkok leg. At one point I had the check-in staff telling me there was no seat for me in Business (as the brat had been given mine) - and they weren't going to upgrade me to F as that was also full. He almost had to be physically ejected from the seat when I turned up (he had pre-boarded)

This Is Thailand (TIT!) or possible Amazing Thailand

However the check-in staff in Sydney are on loan from QF

oh yes, I've been displaced from my preferred seat a few times by Thai politicians...most recently the then Minister of Foriegn Affairs and his small entourage...who I now understand is a slim hopeful for the next Sec-Gen of the UN...

but that's not too surprising given that TG is a government entity....

but its gets alittle annoying when any old MP or military-type and his cronies show up and demand preferential treatment (if it displaces paying customers)... just a few weeks ago a large corner of the TG business lounge upstairs was taken up by a very loud group of senior military types in civilian clothes (complete with flunky's in fatigues serving them food & drinks (jeez)) disturbing the entire lounge...I heard the lounge attendants complaining in Thai about that, but they couldn't do anything....but I dont blame TG staff, they generally do the best they can under the circumstances...

I took a flight from BKK-SYD earlier this year. The flight crew was excellent and the food very good. As with all other airlines, there will be some good and some bad flights. Relaxing with a glass of Dom, caviar, and lobster on TG was a wonderful experience...

I took a flight from BKK-SYD earlier this year. The flight crew was excellent and the food very good. As with all other airlines, there will be some good and some bad flights. Relaxing with a glass of Dom, caviar, and lobster on TG was a wonderful experience...

As always, its the crew that makes the experience, and I suppose like almost all airlines TG has some variability here. I have had some great trips in C on TG, and this time the F experience wasn't up to my past C (or even Y) experiences. Some of this could be related to my expectations in F and being spoiled by SQ. I know better than to judge an airline on a single flight!

I had 4 F-flights on TG last week (among them BKK-SYD) and had very nice flight crew on all segments.

I was also VERY positively impressed with the new F-class on FRA-BKK. I would rank it on par with SQ, CX, BA and LH in terms of comfort. Very spacious! I would rather fly TG than LH in F.

Just my opinion.

I had 4 F-flights on TG last week (among them BKK-SYD) and had very nice flight crew on all segments.

I was also VERY positively impressed with the new F-class on FRA-BKK. I would rank it on par with SQ, CX, BA and LH in terms of comfort. Very spacious! I would rather fly TG than LH in F.

Just my opinion.

Yes, I agree, all of my F class flights on TG have been very nice (even with the oldest cushy purple velvety seats on the 747-400 (18 seat configuration) and certainly with the 14 seat configuration...(my First class flights on the MD11s have thankfully been shorter routes, but nice)........ The new First class 10 seat flat bed configuration (and 8 seat config on the Airbus 340-600) will just further confirm my preference.

Even with the newer modern seats on LH First class, I still would prefer TG First class. I predict that once TG finishes all/most? of its seat renovations (and new homebase airport next year), the overall top three airlines in the world will be CX/SQ/TG in no particular order (interesting that they are all in SE Asia area) with very nice contenders like Virgin, Qatar or Emirates, and Malaysia Airlines, etc.

Normally I find Thai airways and their crew to be exceptional. On our last trip returning from BKK we experienced a few problems.My family are members of thai royal orchid miles but we are not big time travellers just an ordinary family who take the odd holiday. We had a group of 6 travelling ..2 families, each with a 14 yr old child. The adults in each family had redeemed frequent flyer points to obtain the flights and the children's seats were purchased but linked to the FF booking. Our dilema occurred on our return to Australia flights. We arrived at BBK airport very early to go through the check in process.When our boarding passes were allocating they had placed my 14 yr old daughter in a totally different section of the plane..alone. We explained that we had pre organised our seating many months earlier and that it was inappropriate to seat a child alone and away from her family and friends. The check-in attendant said there was nothing she could do about it !!!!!!! Consequently my husband took the odd seat and left my daughter with me. A bit sad considering we enjoy only the odd flight and its nice to experience it together. After everyone was seated on board I was shocked to see that there were numerous vacant seats all over the place. After speaking to a flight attendant we managed to have my husband moved up to a row behind and across from us....much to the disgust of the other paxs who thought they were going to have an extra seat to spread out on.
The next problem to occur was the elderly gentleman who had been allowed to board the plane in a very obvious unwell condition....he was feverish and having rigors as he boarded the plane. Before we even took off he was wrapping many blankets around himself.....Surely there must be some rule which disallows possibly infective paxs from travelling??
Within 60 mins of take off the gent began to vomit and vomit and vomit....it took him by surprise so consequently he was unprepared. Fortunately he was travelling with his elderly wife, so she was left the task of crawling around trying to clean up the mess. These attacks of emmesis occurred about every 20 - 30 mins. After about 2hrs of this my daughter started to feel and look very unwell. She then spent a couple of hours with her head in a bag ...and feeling very very upset and never wanting to fly on a plane again.
I would have thought under the circumstances just discribed that the crew might have considered moving the sick man to one of the vacant seats close to a toilet and away from others???? the opportunity was possible. When I was nearing Brisbane I completed one of those customer satisfaction forms...but disappointedly never received any response.
We havent flown with Thai again. Me, I have used SQ and AC since but my daughter didnt want to accompany me.