Duke787

TG 677 (NRT – BKK A380 First Class)
Whewww I don't know if it was me talking your ear off or the fact that we had to walk up the jetbridge (our seats are on the second level of the plane) to board the plane but that was way more effort than boarding a plane usually takes. No matter let’s have a look at this cabin:





On first glance I’m not wild about the open layout. Perhaps we were spoiled by our flight to Seoul but if we’re flying in First Class I think I prefer high walls and a fully enclosed or nearly fully enclosed suite. If we were spending real money to sit up here at a cost as high as $20k I wouldn’t want people being able to see me, especially if I was a celebrity or other famous individual (politician, royalty, CEO, etc.). A key aspect of First Class is the relative anonymity it should provide and we can definitely see the people next to us.

Oh and on that note we have a pretty heavy load with us today. I’m in 2K again and you of course are back in 1K but we’ve also got people next to us in 2E and 2F, someone behind us in 3K, and it looks like a couple in 1A and 1E.

Ahh sorry about complaining again, hello to you too Mr. Flight Attendant. Would we like some Dom 2004? I thought you’d never ask. This really is the life. Look at us sitting here in First Class sipping Dom. Plus having four windows is going to give us a great view of the sunset:



We’re going to be delayed a bit waiting for a connecting passenger? No problem, Mr. Flight Attendant some more Dom please!

How about we take a look at our seat for the next 7 hours or so:





Initial thoughts, this thing is reallyyyyy comfortable. It’s wider and had a bit more padding than our Asiana flight on Thursday but it’s also quite a bit shorter. On that Asiana flight my feet didn’t come close to the wall under the TV but on in this suite I can get them there with just a few minor adjustments to the seat (none of which are out of the ordinary).

I do like how many windows we have here, especially right now in the early evening the views of both the sunset and the other planes here at Narita are fantastic:



Star Alliance Party:



You're a long way from home:



I'm confused about this random purple light panel right though:



What about our amenities? We’ve got the standard noise-canceling headphones and we’ve also got a white Rimowa amenity kit. You know I’m not one to really get excited about amenity kits and this one is no different but in the world of frequent fliers apparently Rimowa kits are the gold standard so I guess it’s nice to officially collect one (though I prefer Asiana’s which was a BVLGARI amenity bag with BVLGARI produts) . We have slippers again but they’re boring and white – not like the pink ones we got on Asiana (seriously Asiana's were dark pink)

Okay let’s get this show on the road! Buckle-up it’s time for take-off I’ll come catch-up with you at your suite after take-off. Quick thought on the takeoff – that was the quietest take-off I’ve ever experienced despite the fact that this is by far the biggest plane I’ve ever stepped foot on. I could barely hear the engines spool up and seemed to be quieter than a single aisle 757!

Oh and in case you missed it during takeoff, another other cool thing about the A380 are these tail cams that are piped into the IFE system. Here’s what it looked like as we were getting ready to take-off:



Okay – enough with the chitchat – this flight left at 5:30pm that means we’re going to enjoy a nice dinner on this flight. First the bad news – we won’t be getting caviar on this flight (the NRT – BKK flight) is too short for caviar so our delicacy of the evening is instead duck liver.

Before we get our meal let’s first take a look at the menu:



As with Asiana we can pick and choose as much as we like though one caveat – Thai lets you pre-order meals and I preordered us Beef Teriyaki with sticky rice as our main course (hope you’re okay with that) though if we don’t like it we can get another of the mains on this menu.

Note that for the “hot savoury” (sic) and “first course” the menu is not a set of options rather everything listed in those categories will be on our plate for that course.

Hot Savoury
Japanese Grilled Chicken (Yakitori)
Scallop with Shishito Pepper Skewer

First Course
Smoked Duck Medallion, Ravioli Duck Liver Sliced Lasagna Pasta
Onion Compote Red Wine

Soup
Green Pea Cream Soup with Fresh Cream

Main Course
Grilled Sea Bass with An Sauce
Steamed Japanese Rice with Shiso Leaf Powder
Mixed Vegetables

OR

King Prawn Curry “Chu Chee”
Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice
Stir-Fried Pickled Japanese Turnip with Egg

OR

Beef Fillet with Mustard Seed Green Peppercorn Cream Sauce
Chanterrelle Mushroom, Dried Tomato, Pommes Chateau

Dessert
Raspberry Tart with Vanilla and Chocolate Sauce
Tea, Coffee, Espresso, Cappuccino

Refreshment
Ice Cream

As always we’ll also get assorted bread and butter as well as assorted fruits and cheeses.



Okay – first up is the yakitori and scallops – oh and I ordered us a glass of the Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 2010:



I’m a little disappointed in the yakitori – the meat tasted like pretty cheap chicken. That being said the sauce was tasty and at least the chicken wasn’t as dry as airplane chicken can be. As for the scallop, let’s just say it was not quite on the same level as the scallop at Sushi Dai this morning.

Next we’ve got the duck pâté. Long story short – I had chicken liver once about 10 years ago back in high school and vowed never to eat liver of any sort again. Fast forward to now I don’t want to eat this duck pâté – why can’t Thai give us caviar instead of duck pâté. But we’re in first class so I guess I have to right? Well either way it’s in front of us now so here goes:



Eww. Disgusting. That is as gross as I remembered it to be. Do you want the rest of mine?? Please?? Please?? I’ll let you chose the next drink?? No?? Well at least it has these lasagna noodles around it to mask the taste. Don’t mind if I chug that Chablis as well after every bite.

Whew – please never make me do that again that was torture. Would it be rude if I declined duck pate on all future First Class flights or do I have to pretend to be sophisticated enough to appreciate it?

I never imagined saying this phrase but can you bring the green pea soup? Quickly! Great thanks:



Other than looking like a potion from Hogwarts I actually thought it was pretty good.

Now for that beef teriyaki I ordered us – oh and Flight Attendant – how about we switch to a red wine. Hmm I’m thinking the Chateau Larmande St. Emilion 2009. That portion looks a little small, we couldn’t have gotten three pieces each? Whatever, let’s give it a go



Mmmm pretty tasty for beef teriyaki on a plane though it didn’t blow me away like the bibimbap on our Asiana flight. I know you weren’t with me for this flight but my biggest problem is that it tastes pretty similar to the beef teriyaki I had on a Delta flight to Salt Lake City a few weeks back. A US domestic First Class meal shouldn’t taste the same as a first class meal on an international flight on an A380 operated by Thai Airways.

Well I’m stuffed – I did enjoy dining together here in 2K but why don’t we hold off on the dessert for a bit I’m going to take a bit of a nap – let’s put the seat back into recline mode and put on a mo……………………………

……………….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
……………….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
……………….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
……………….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Four to Five Hours Later

Wow that is a comfortable seat. The flight attendant never even put a mattress pad on it like we had on our Asiana flight. Okay I’m willing to give more credit to Thai for this seat – it may still be open which I dislike but if you’re after sleep this thing is unbelievably comfortable.

I guess we missed dessert but it’s okay – the flight attendant saw that we just woke up and is bringing us some Haagen-Dazs and a Johnnie Walker Black (don’t even get me started on the fact they only have black on this flight and not blue – I don’t want to go back on the nice things I just said about the seat):



How about a quick trip to check out the bathroom. Here we go – whoa this is big. It doesn’t have a shower suite in it but it’s the biggest bathroom I’ve ever seen on an airplane. Look at this thing. For the first time since we embarked on this journey I just thought of those poor souls stuck downstairs in economy:







I can come to terms with my gigantic suite, bed, food, etc. up in First Class while they’re stuck with limited legroom and poor food (believe me I’ve been there and have paid my dues back there) but I can’t get over the fact that there is literally more room to walk around in this bathroom than there is in an economy class row. Well better get back to our seat – it’s already time to land, that flight sure went by quickly.

Well that touchdown was as smooth as our take-off and we are officially in Thailand!! I don’t know about you but overall I really enjoyed our first A380 flight on the trip. Despite the fact that A380s are the worlds ugliest plane on the outside the inside was quite spacious and comfortable. While I felt the openness was a negative from a first class experience standpoint, it did make the cabin feel extremely airy which in turned helped me forget that I was sitting in a metal tube hurtling at 550mp+ at 35k+ feet over the Earth.

Anyway good news, we don’t have to walk very far, we’ve got our very own golf cart to pick us up and drive us to immigration:



Oh no – looks like there’s a giant line that the cart can’t get through:



Nevermind no big deal – we’ll just go right through them, the look on the woman’s face says everything:



Oh hello Mr. Thai Airways First Class Porter – yes that’s my bag coming out on the carousel and this is my backpack right here; great you’ll be taking those on the luggage cart? Okay just this way now through Customs and let’s walk down there to pick up the Camry taking us into town.

Well that was a quick and easy immigration and customs, thank you very much Mr. TAFCP just in the trunk will do and Mr. Driver – on to the Hilton Millennium Bangkok!

Next up the Hilton Millennium Bangkok and 40 hours in Bangkok!

Duke787

Yeah Sushi Dai was delicious and I figured I didn't really have much else to do at 5am. The only real negative was the fact I was traveling alone so I couldn't go grab tea or coffee or just stretch my legs, I literally had to stay there the entire time. I've just posted the first of TG F on the A380 which was a really comfortable ride though as you'll see I preferred the 747 from BKK - SYD (probably because I was the only one in the cabin )

Thanks!! It was a great time and somehow 3.5 weeks went way too quickly!

Haha yeah well a couple of the pieces were still moving when put in front of us (which you can't tell from the pictures obviously). As for enjoying F - exactly can't take it for granted just have to enjoy it!

Thanks! Yeah I doubt there are many other major cities in the world in which you could leave your phone on the bus the way I did and then recover it.

I'm sure you'll love the OZ F Suite on the A380 - it was amazing on the 777 so I can only imagine how great it'll be on the A380

deovrat

Nice way to break your A380 virginity!
Judging by your lack of interest, I take it that the IFE was pretty uninspiring though?
Also, about the Thai ground experience, do you have to inform them ahead of the time that you need a ground transport buggy or do they automatically do that when you are connecting onward on Thai F?

goodeats21

I would say that is an understatement.
Seriously, looks like a great experience for a sushi lover....I just don't think I would have the patience for that.

Loving this trip report. I have the same OZ flight coming up in June, so this has really got me excited for it.

I was bummed to have you report that OZ does not offer champagne as PDB when leaving JFK. That is one of my favorite parts of the First Class experience...sipping on good champagne and contemplating the upcoming trip, and the faraway destination.

Looking forward to the rest of the report. Well done. ^

Duke787

Bangkok

Ahh Bangkok, a city that was already famous when the boys from Hangover II came to town. Today it remains one of the most diverse and interesting cities in Asia while straddling the line between its both seedy and historic culture both past and present.

After a 30-minute drive into Bangkok I arrived at the hotel, the Hilton Millennium Bangkok. Originally I was slated to stay at the Conrad Bangkok (if you read my initial post as recently as 5 days before my trip it in fact still listed the Conrad). However as I was making last minute changes to my trip I came across a few threads on FT and TripAdvisor that suggested the Hilton Millennium Bangkok was better situated for first time tourists. The primary reason cited was the Hilton’s on-water location, which provided easy access to tourist boat “taxis” which in turn would allow easy access to the two most famous sites in Bangkok, Wat Pho and the Grand Palace:



This location would be perfect since I had two main goals for my 40 hours in Bangkok (note the scheduling meant arriving at the hotel around 11pm local time on Saturday and departing for the airport around 130pm local time on Monday): see Wat Pho / the Grand Palace and catch up on sleep both through sleeping late and through sleeping at the pool.

Back in 2012 due to client location I spent most of the year at Hilton properties and snagged Hilton Diamond status in the process. While the status generally doesn’t give much (by far the worst top tier status among the major chains), thankfully Hilton still allows you to keep your status through the end of March. So here in March 2014, I still have Hilton Diamond status earned in 2012. As a result upon my arrival at the Millennium Bangkok, I was upgrade to an Executive Floor room on the 26th floor. So how was the room itself? Well, for starters the view from my bed was incredible:



IMG]http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a553/flyerdude88/flyerdude88001/IMG_6463_zpsdd1eebf7.jpg[/IMG]

The room itself was well laid out and the bathroom was big with both a tub and a separate shower. The toilet wasn’t a fancy one like in Japan / South Korea so no picture:







One of the best aspects of being on the Executive Floor and being a Diamond member as getting a free buffet breakfast on Sunday and Monday. Unlike in the US, buffet breakfasts in Asia are robust affairs. This one was no different featuring spreads from all over the world. Without being a Diamond member the buffet would’ve cost $60 (on Sunday) and $30 (on Monday) so in effect the cost of my room was more like 24,000 + $60 USD since I received a $90 value in terms of breakfast both days. Here are a couple pictures of the restaurant the buffet and various spreads:







On both days I went with my usual egg white omelet accompanied by some bread and fruit:





After breakfast it was time to head to the two sites I had on the docket. To get there I first took the hotel’s ferry service across the river to the Saphin Taksin boat pier. At the boat pier I got utilized my one-day pass on the Chao Praya Tourist River Boat which allowed unlimited access to get on and off the boat at any of the 13 stops up and down the river (each was at a different historic site). The one-day pass cost just 150 baht which is ~$4.60 in USD:



The first stop was the Grand Palace which remains the official residence of the King of Thailand. The grounds also house the famous Emerald Buddha. The residence itself was closed but the grounds and many of the structures on the grounds are open to the public on a daily basis. One thing to note if you ever are in Bangkok – one of the most common scams occurs right after you get off the boat before you get to the palace. When you get to the corner of the palace walls, taxi drivers will approach you and tell you that the palace is closed but that they’ll drive you to other famous sites around Bangkok. This is a lie. The palace does not close. If you keep walking two (2) more minutes you reach the main palace gates and can see that in fact the palace is open for business. The palace has tried to help tourists by broadcasting a loud message in English warning of the scam and clearly saying that the palace is open but the broadcasting only reaches so far.

I didn’t have a guide for the grounds nor did I purchase a self-guided audio tour so instead I just walked around and explored and enjoy the site on my own. Here are a few pictures:















After the palace I was starving so I stopped by the street food vendors who were right outside the boat pier. I was a bit wary of street food, while I’ve heard great things about it, I didn’t want to be too adventurous for fear of getting sick and ruining the rest of my trip. So I opted for a noodle place, which had a chicken noodle dish and also grabbed a beer and water:





The meal was delicious (and better didn’t make me sick). The most shocking part was the price – I got up to pay and was told I owed 100 baht. That’s right for lunch, a beer, and a bottle of water, I paid 100 baht or roughly $3.07.
After that it was time to head to Wat Po and see the famous reclining Buddha. In addition to the reclining Buddha, Wat Po has Buddha in a number of other different forms including a couple which serve as the burial grounds for former Thai Kings. Here is a selection of photos from Wat Po:





















By this time it was 530pm and having been awake since 6am (not voluntarily) I was exhausted. I first tried to find a restaurant I'd seen online to grab dinner near the hotel (but across the river). When that failed I headed back to the the hotel and went up to the Executive Lounge where they were serving drinks and appetizers which in turn served as my dinner (e.g., gnocchi, chicken bread pudding, etc.). I enjoyed the views from the 31st floor and then went back to my room and crashed:





In retrospect I would’ve enjoyed seeing the Bangkok nightlife but since I was traveling by myself (and having seen the Hangover II) I didn’t want to end up like Teddy.

The next day I was scheduled to be picked up at 130pm to head to airport so I woke up and had another brunch at the buffet (with the intention of having lunch at the first class lounge in Bangkok). I went up to the pool for a couple hours where the sun was just coming up and the views are pretty solid:







After that I headed into town to the MBK Center, a famous low-price shopping center, to see what the fuss was about. I ended up at a tailor shop and after a bit of negotiation agreed on a suit, five shirts, and two ties for 12,000 baht or roughly $380. Not the best deal but having gotten the suit, shirts, and ties now that I’m back in the US, I’m actually pretty pleased with the outcome:









After that it was time to check-out and head back to the airport and Thai’s even more legendary departure services for First Class passengers.

Next up – a 60 minute massage at the airport, a semi-private room, and a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience as the only F passenger on a nine (9) hour flight.

FlyerTalker7654

Great TR!!!

The wife and I stayed at the Hilton in Bangkok after our honeymoon on the way home. It was my birthday and for a number of reasons we decided to have the buffet there that is served in the evening. It was a ridiculous price, something like $70 per person (can't remember exactly what)....and that didnt come with any drinks!! Had to order coke or sprite on top!!!!

Although the food was out of this world, and after backpacking for 2 months it was a real treat I would not do it again.

Looking forward to the rest of the TR!

Duke787

Royal Orchid Spa and Royal First Lounge

Okay time for us to really get this vacation underway and head down to the first of three main destinations. To get down to Auckland (hereafter AKL) we’re taking a bit of a circuitous routing albeit for good reason. From Bangkok there are two main ways to get to AKL – you can fly direct on a 777-200 or fly to Sydney on a 747 and connect onwards on an Air New Zealand flight. The direct flight is obviously tempting save for one major flaw: there is no first class on that plane, and, as you already know, we’re all about first class on this trip. Plus since we’ve already paid first class miles we might as well fly F as much as possible and not Y or J.

So, instead of flying the direct flight, we’re on TG 475, one of Thai’s 747s that will take us down from BKK – SYD in just under 9 hours and serve as a redeye flight (departing BKK at 710pm local time on Monday and arriving in Sydney around 840am local time on Tuesday). From there we’ll transit to an Air New Zealand flight fly in coach (gasp!) for the 2.5 hour hop from Sydney over to Auckland.

But we can worry about the limited legroom and unwashed masses tomorrow. Right now we’re going to continue our experience with Thai’s legendary ground service. I know we got a taste of it flying into BKK a couple days ago but going out is a whole different ballgame. Oh it looks like we’ve just pulled into the airport – let the fun begin!

Excuse me car driver stop, stop! Yes we’re flying in Royal First Class – the dedicated entrance right here please:



Oh good it looks like we have a porter standing by ready to unload our bags and walk us inside to the dedicated Royal First Class check-in area. Care for a water and a refreshing towel while we wait?







Ah – I do love these Thai tickets with the giant “F” on them – though I’m a little depressed that the ticket for our connecting flight says “Y” – make sure to hide that in your backpack so everyone else in the first class lounge doesn’t know the truth.

What’s that, we’re the only passengers in F on the flight? I don’t think better words have ever been spoken to a frequent flyer. So for literally 9 hours we’ll have all 9 first class suites to ourselves, 2 dedicated cabin attendants, and a fully stocked bar? This flight is going to be sick.

Anyway, looks like our bags are checked all the way to Auckland, a quick walk through the First Class security and customs line (shortest passport line ever) and ahh back on a cart again. This time the cart is taking us to Thai’s world renowned flagship Royal First Lounge:



“Hello Mr. Flyerdude88 – welcome to the lounge – please make yourself at home and someone will get you when your flight to Sydney is boarding.”

Before I go any further I need to tell you one other thing about this
lounge – it also has a spa. That’s right; Thai Airways has a spa –named the Royal Orchid Spa – inside their airport. Business class passengers are entitled to 30 minute massages and use of the steam / sauna room, while you and I as First Class passengers are entitled to a full 60 minute massage. That’s right – we get a free 60 minute massage right here in the airport.

“Thank you – oh before I sit down, I’d like to book my massage, how about in 2 hours? That’ll work? Great!”

Okay let’s go look at our home for the next 3 hours. It looks like we’re in luck – in addition to the normal seating areas Thai has about 6 (I think though I may have mis-counted) semi-private “living rooms” complete with big screen TVs, couches, and a computer that we can campout in until our flight. Just our luck one just opened up. Look at this thing, it’s gigantic – it blows all the other lounges we’ve been in so far out of the water:







Quick story. You may pick up on this in some later pictures depending on how attentive you are when looking at the pictures but because of the heat in Bangkok I decided to wear shorts to the airport and on the flight and then simply change into Thai’s PJs on the plane before changing back into my shorts and polo prior to arrival. I didn’t want to get my polo sweaty this morning in Bangkok so I just wore my shorts and t-shirt out and about and then to the airport. So I arrived at the airport and then at the First Class lounge wearing salmon / pink shorts. Well after we were seated I noticed the head lounge attendant pointing at me when talking to a few other attendants with a bit of a smirk. I concluded he must’ve been mocking my pink shorts and t-shirt which seemed like a rude way to treat your customers. No worries though I have tough skin and last I checked I’m the one who bought this ticket so I’ll wear whatever I please on the plane and in the lounge thank you.

Moving on how about the food and drink spread. Wait there’s no food and drink spread (panic – I was planning on lunch here – what kind of lounge is this???)

Whewwww false alarm – there’s no food and drink spread because there’s a full service bar and restaurant and the entire menu is contained here on this iPad:



Okay I embellished a bit there. There is a small food spread and apparently a separate dining room you can eat in if you choose but I still did panic when I saw the small spread had no real food in it until I got hte iPad

That’s pretty cool but really, still no Johnnie Walker Blue – this is bush league Thai Airways. Okay fine how about just a Johnnie Walker Black and some water. Oh and for lunch I’ll take an order of pork shumai and how about the pork strips with red chili Thai style for the main. Some cheese and grapes would be a nice starter as well. Feel free to order whatever you like, it’ll be a bit before we have dinner on the plane.
Whoa that was quick:







And perfect timing – I’m not sure when you booked your massage but mine is right now. Hmm how do I get over to the spa? Excuse me lounge attendant – can you point me in the direction of the spa? What – you’ll walk me over there – you don’t have to do th….oh nevermind okay I’ll follow you.

Whoa, this place is ridiculous – this is literally the biggest massage room I’ve ever seen – there’s a giant bathtub (not really sure what it’s used for since I don’t think you can reserve this room for personal baths and it’s not used during the massage). Before the massage I’ve been asked to shower – no worries the shower is in the back of the giant massage room which means it is time for another shower review!!!

Shower Rating

Cleanliness – 9/10: It was definitely clean – like private showers at the country club clean. That being said I still wouldn’t eat anything off the floor (I’m not sure why I’m using the “eat off the floor” as my benchmark for measuring cleanliness – I wouldn’t eat off the floor of any bathroom anywhere)





Toilet – 6/10: It was clean and flushed but nothing exciting about it.

Shower – 10/10: The pressure was great and the shower stall was gigantic. Even better the size of the overall room was huge so no need to try and avoid getting water on your clean clothes after taking the shower.



Shower Amenities – 10/10: Finally the shower amenities deserve a rating and these were a clear 10/10. For starters they had slippers and sandals, a closet to hang up your clothes, and a fresh silk bathrobe to wear after your shower.

Overall Rating: 10/10: Hands down the best shower of the trip so far. I’ll be surprised if there’s a better one the rest of the trip. The only possible chance to do better is on our flight from AKL – MEL where there’s an actual shower onboard the plane which is likely to garner the elusive 15/10 rating.

Okay – time for the massage. Not really much to add here except it was a nice relaxing 60 minute massage. After flying 10,578 miles in just 3 days (4 according to the calendar but we lost one going over the dateline) my back and shoulders were desperately in need of a massage and it was quite welcome.

Ahh it looks like we have a nice private “Royal First” seating area here in the spa for a post-massage drink and bite of food:







Back to the lounge for another hour or so and then it’ll be time to board our flight down to SYD on this magnificent 747:

Duke787

The IFE was actually pretty decent - my lack of interest was more a function of passing out as soon as the meal service ended and waking up with only 30-45 minutes left. From my quick browsing they had most of the recent top movies that I watched on the OZ flight and a few more I just didn't want to start a movie with 30-45 minute left. I think I watched an episode of Friends or something else along those lines.

As for the ground experience - you don't have to do a thing. They're waiting for you as soon as you walk off the plane with a sign saying Mr. Flyerdude88 (and any other F passengers are listed as well) and they take care of you from there. Ditto as you'll see in the post I just put up - on the way out it was the same way - as soon as I arrived at the Royal First check-in area they had everything covered

Thanks! Yeah it was a little crazy but in the end definitely worth it (especially since it let me have OZ F and NH F each way). I actually loved Tokyo as well - I'd like to go back and spend more time there next time.

As for the PDB - it's definitely disappointing but the good news is literally the second the chime went off they were at my seat with a bottle opened and ready to pour. And they did have a PDB on NH F for the return flight which I've heard isn't always the case so balanced out between the two I guess

Thanks! Yeah I don't understand the prices these hotels come up with for those paying full cost at the buffets. Thankfully I was able to use the last of my Diamond status to cover breakfast but it's crazy - especially in Bangkok where you can find meals like I did for lunch that are delicious and cost $3.50

Duke787

TG 475: BKK - SYD

Mr. Flyerdude88, this woman will accompany you all over to your gate for the flight to Sydney!

Ahh – it’s go time – okay they didn’t give us a cart so this gate must be pretty close

Ten minutes later

Grrrrr – I guess I’m happy to stretch my legs before a 9 hour flight. Ooo there's the 747 taking us today. I have to confess something here – despite obviously being an airline geek I have never flown on a 747. That’s right – in 25 years of living on this planet I’ve never flown on the one plane that truly allowed the world the be connected (at least via air travel) the way it is today. This is our only flight on the 747 and who knows it might well be the very last time we’ll get to set foot on the iconic plane. It seems every week another company is putting them out to the graveyard or converting them to freighters (though I’m still holding out hope our LH F on an A330 this summer can be changed to the 748 but that’s another TR).

Okay straight through the gate, down the jet bridge, and once again we get to turn left – this time into the nose of the plane (remember on a 747 the cockpit is upstairs so we’re literally right below the cockpit in the very nose of the plane where the fuselage narrows):









This. Is. Nice. Once again my initial impression is a negative – it’s wide open and privacy is again restricted to just the half-walls that are on the side of the suite with no sliding door. But as you quickly reminded me we’re the only ones up here tonight so privacy is irrelevant. For this flight I’m in 1A (what could be better than 1A on a true First Class flight) and you’re in 2A.

The seat is not as wide as the one on the A380 but it’s still plenty wide for sleeping and stretching out. One minor complaint is with the seat controls – they’re a little clunky and you can’t control as many parts of the seat as you could on the Asiana flight. This isn’t a big deal for sleeping – but for lounging and eating I’m pretty particular about how my seat is: it should be close to the tray table with the leg rest up and a slight recline.









Yes – hello to you too Mr. Flight Attendant and Mrs. Flight Attendant. Oh and thanks for the kind welcome onboard Ms. Purser. I’ll have the medium PJs and how about some champagne while we settle for the flight.



Oooo some vintage 2004 Dom – yes please. Oh and do you mind taking a picture of me in the seat? Oh you want me to hold the bottle of Dom while I do it? Sure why not!



Wow so many windows. You may have noticed this already but because I’m in 1A and you’re in 1K we’re actually far enough up that the fuselage has narrowed into the nose of the plane so our windows appear curved and we actually have a view that’s nearly the same as the pilots view from above instead of the typical view we get from window seats.

There’s going to be a slight delay while we wait for a few more passengers? No problem – no one else is in F so we’ve got to finish that bottle of Dom or it’ll go to waste right? My glass looks nearly empty again – fill ‘er up.

Okay it’s been like 4 hours since I ate. I don’t know about you but I’m going to get the dinner service started ASAP. Before we begin how about a look at the menu – though once again I pre-ordered our mains ordering lamb chops with some sort of potato and beans.

Even though we’ve got the lamb chops coming we still get the Hot Savoury (sic), First Course, Soup, and Dessert and of course if we don’t like the lamb we can order something off this menu:

First Serving

Hot Savoury
Roast Chicken Mini Thigh Wrapped in Pandan Leave and Pandan Sauce

White Sturgeon Caviar with Garnitures

First Course
Duck Liver Terrine with Shiraz Wine
Quenelle of Carmelized Green and Red Apple
Marinated Zucchini in Aged Balsamic

Soup
Beef Consommé with Porcini Mushrooms
Brounoise of Mixed Vegetables

Main Course
Chicken Massaman Curry (with peanuts), Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice, and Sautéed Snap Peas with Garlic

OR

Slow Cooked Australian Grass Fed Veal with Morel Cream Sauce, Duck Fat Cooked Potatoes, and Vegetables Batonnet

OR

Stir-fried Tiger Prawn with Crumble Spicy Cream, Tossed Shrimp Roe Noodles, and Sautéed Daw Pak Choy and Carrot

OR

Pan-fried Cod Fish topped with Chunky Pesto and Vacuum Steamed Herb Tomato Concasse, Potato Gnocchi with Butter and Sage, and Grilled Vegetables

Dessert
Kanom Tian Kaew
Sticky Date Cake with Butterscotch
Tiramisu with Strawberry Jelly



You may have already guessed it but I’m conflicted about this menu. On the one hand I’m excited for caviar again – but you know how I reacted to the pate on the first Thai flight. Oh and at least I’ll be skipping the soup for this meal – it doesn’t sound that appealing and there is plenty of other food coming

Well let’s get this thing started first up, the mini chicken thighs – oh and we’ll keep the Dom for now, thank you:



Mmm, pretty tasty and surprisingly not dry for airplane chicken.
Okay now for the caviar – Asiana set a high bar the caviar they served us a couple of days ago – let’s see whether Thai can live up to the same standard – oh and Flight Attendant, I’ll do it properly this time with a shot of Vodka:





Not bad but not in the same league as the Asiana caviar. The blini tasted a bit stale and the caviar wasn’t as nice as Asiana’s. I’m a bit confused about why you’re supposed to drink this vodka with caviar – it didn’t change the taste of the caviar at all and vodka (to me at least) still tastes disgusting even when you drink it while eating caviar.

Still I would’ve preferred a double caviar serving over our next offering, the Duck Liver:



Ewwwwwwwwwwww still absolutely disgusting – not sure why I felt the need to eat it this time but at least that candied jelly thing on the plate helped mask the taste a bit.

Please bring that lamp ASAP – oh and while you’re at it how about we switch to a red wine, we’re on a flight to Australia so why not go with the featured Australian Shiraz – Domaine Tournon 2009:





Well, it’s not pink in the middle but it is pretty dang good for airplane food. That potato gratin I could do without – I would’ve preferred some mashed potatoes – and I have no idea what the heck that green stuff was.

None of the desserts really jump out at me so I’m going to try and be healthy and go with the fruit and cheese – I hope you don’t mind. Oh and how about a glass of the Port (apologies don’t have what it was written down):



Wheww well I don’t know about you but I’m tired. This is a redeye after all and the whole point of these big suites is to actually be able to sleep and get up the next day with no jetlag and refreshed (that’s why companies pay the big bucks to put business travelers up here in the first place). Before I pass out some good news – since we’re the only ones up here in first class we don’t have to bother sleeping in the same suite we’ve been lounging in. That’s right – they’re going to make up our beds in the other suites that are empty. I’m going to go on over to 1K feel free to move wherever you like:



Oh and Flight Attendants, I’d like to be woken 75 minutes prior to landing so I can change back into my clothes and eat breakfast. That’ll give us about 5.5 – 6 hours to sleep depending on the winds. Catch ya in the morning!

5.5 – 6 hours later

Good morning! I don’t know about you but that was the single best sleep I’ve ever had on a plane. Seriously I slept soundly and without interruption until Ms. Flight Attendant tapped me awake a couple minutes ago – I dare say that was a better sleep and more comfortable “bed” than some of the beds I’ve slept on over the past 2.5 years in hotels across the country. Based on that sleep alone, as a businessman I wouldn't hesitate to allow an employee to book F if they had a important meeting on the same day as arrival.

In fact, you may disagree but I actually think that the 747 was a better overall experience than the A380. I'm sure the fact we were the only ones up here had something to do with it but something about the 747 and this seat is quite nice (though don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say no to flying on the A380 again).

Anyway, even though we just ate a massive meal six hours ago we’ve got a pretty good breakfast menu and we’ve got to eat it. One of the keys to beating jet lag for me at least is fooling my body into immediately being on the time zone at my destination. That means even though in Bangkok it is 3am, aka way too early for breakfast, we’re now approaching Sydney and the sun is in the sky. We’ve got to force ourselves to eat this meal so that our bodies can “jump” through the time change.
Flight Attendant – how about that breakfast menu:

Second Serving

First Course
Fresh Fruits, Yoghurt, and Cereal

Main Course
Stuffed Purple Eggplant with Herb Scrambled Egg, Fried Chicken Nugget and Sautéed Potatoes with Shallot, and Slow Cooked Cherry Tomato with Stem

OR

Boletus and Straw Mushroom Omelette, Grilled Chicken Sausage, and Stuffed Tomato with Cream Corn and Anna Potatoes

OR

Cold Cuts Platter: Virginian Ham, Mushroom Herb Pork Sausage, Black Forest Pepper Salami, and Fontina Cheese



Hmmm how about the “First Course” and then the Boletus and Straw Mushroom Omelette and accompaniments:





Pretty good omelette though that was difficult to eat – I’m still stuffed from dinner. I would’ve been fine with just the bowl of cereal they served as a “first course” I didn’t really need this omelette.

Aright, we’ve got 45 more minutes until we land – time to savor this since we’re about go from the pinnacle of luxury in the sky back to coach for the 2.5 hour connection from SYD – AKL. Look at the sunrise – does it honestly get any better than this (spoiler alert: no)?











This is pretty cool – I’m going to enjoy this sunrise and watch the landing – I’ll see you in the lounge in Sydney. In the meantime – it’s time to start getting excited about New Zealand – I know I took you on a pretty big detour to get there but don’t worry I have a feeling it’ll be worth it

Another spoiler alert, it was

yerffej201

Super nice to get lucky with an empty cabin AND new F! Flying BKK-SYD in F and hope I don't get TG'D!

csidler

Love the report so far!

kkl

new F on Syd. Very nice

jdrtravel

Excellent report, really enjoying it. One thought: maybe they were not laughing at the color but the fact that you were wearing shorts & t-shirt in an F lounge?

LDNConsultant

The things at the top are side dishes (i.e. condiments) that Korean people have with their meal. Kimchee (korean staples), pickled cucumber, beans marinated in soy sauce and rolled egg.

You should try the side dishes since they complement the main dish~~!!

Duke787

Yeah - I was nervously checking EF up until it was turned over to airport control. Hopefully you won't get TG'D, it sounds like they're using new F more often than not on this route so hopefully you'll be in good hands

Thanks!

Thanks! I definitely lucked out and it was a great experience

Yeah definitely possible in retrospect - I kept the language in the TR exactly as I wrote it at the time to accurately capture my emotions in the moment. To be fair it wasn't gym shorts and a gym shirt - I would consider it a pair of shorts I would wear playing golf at a country club and the tshirt was nice as far as tshirts go (and I did change into my polo as soon as I got to the lounge).

I debated whether or not to even wear the shorts (I wore khakis and a button down or a polo on every other flight - which is my normal flight attire) but it was really hot and humid in Bangkok that morning and since I was checking my bag with my clothes I only had my backpack as a carryon and didn't have room to put a full change of clothes in there so I just decided to wear shorts and a tshirt and then pack a polo in my backpack to change into after showering at the lounge.

It just seemed a bit rude - doesn't matter what I'm wearing - I'm still the customer and I didn't think I needed to make myself uncomfortable in the Bangkok heat - but I can see just a bit of where they might have had a laugh (though it should've been privately not in clear view of me).

I will definitely try it next time!! I'm not the most adventurous eater so baby steps!