BKK-JFK in C on TG-with an unexpected return to BKK
Aug 21, 2005, 7:05 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: MEX
Programs: UA 1K MM, DL PM, SPG-Gold,
Posts: 109
BKK-JFK in C on TG-with an unexpected return to BKK
We decided to have our annual family/friend group vacation this year in Thailand to help support the tourist industry in its recovery from the tsunami. After three weeks, the last ten days of which were spent in Phuket, it was time to go home.
A quick update on Phuket: We saved it until last because of the questionable rainy season weather during August. Fortunately for us, it was 10 days of perfect sunshine with only a brief shower on one afternoon. The effects of the tsunami were much more evident in the empty streets, stores and restaurants than in the physical destruction and leftover debris. We rented a villa on Kata Beach (www.villaphuket.com) and those of us who had stayed at Amanpuri and the Banyan Tree before agreed that this was a great alternative, especially for a group with kids in the mix. I cannot say enough about the kindness and professionalism of the exceptional staff, the incredibly good food, and the villa itself. After the rest of our party left, four of us had the house to ourselves for three days, and it was the most relaxing, enjoyable time imaginable. Pure indulgence, with two daily massages and champagne and hors d’oevres served at sunset.
I was headed back to the East Coast with my sister, my 15 year old niece and her roommate from boarding school. We cleared immigration in HKT, and headed for the lounge. There are actually two TG lounges in HKT, one for those flying domestically and one for those flying internationally. The latter is slightly better, with beer (no hard liquor) and I believe a better assortment of food. The flight from HKT-BKK in C was in an old Airbus, unremarkable, and two of us had window seats without windows
Upon arrival into BKK, we headed to the new Royal Orchid Lounge in terminal 2. It is a really fine place, simply and elegantly designed in a modern Thai style, with an excellent assortment of sandwiches, snacks, hot and cold canapés, sweets, fruit, and pastries. Internet terminals are available. A Hotel Costes CD played in the background. The alcohol quality was generally above average, although no wine was available. As a vodka drinker, I was a bit disappointed in the Bolshoi, when scotch drinkers were getting Johnnie Walker Gold. It was quite crowded, and the one masseuse who was working was overwhelmed, so no final massages for us. Boarding for the JFK flight was announced shortly after midnight.
14 Aug 2005
BKK-JFK
TG 790
Airbus A340-500
Depart: 00:40
Arrive: 06:30
Seats 12AB/14AB
We were welcomed on board by the friendly, charming and efficient cabin crew, who passed out Hermes-branded amenity kits (high marks from the girls), menus/wine lists, designer PJ’s, juice, water and champagne (Lanson). The new C class seats look quite appealing and the cabin has a pleasant, if a bit cramped, look and feel to it. The route being projected on the personal video screens seemed to take us over China and Russia, the pole and then into New York, however, that ended up not being the case. Flying time was scheduled at a longer than usual 17:45 and C was completely full.
As we taxied out, the screens were projecting the view outside and then the takeoff itself. We could see and tell something was wrong as the nose gear seemed to bounce off the runway three or four times before we were finally airborne. My sister said “I don’t like this,” and the rate of climb seemed much lower than usual. After 20 minutes, we were only at 8000 feet according to the airshow, FA’s were not up, and the seatbelt sign was still on. Not a good sign. After about another 10 minutes, we felt the plane make several turns and it looked on the airshow as if we were headed back to BKK. Then we turned again and headed north.
About 45 minutes into the flight, the captain came on and said, first in Thai, and then in English, that there was a problem with the nose gear, it wouldn’t retract, and that we were going to have to dump fuel and head back to BKK. There was so much fuel, it would take more than an hour to dump it, so he was going to turn off the seatbelt sign and we could have some drinks and relax. I reassured the girls, who were a bit scared, and my sister, who was also scared, asked the lead FA if it was serious. He said no, not too serious, and a lot better than if the gear wouldn’t come down. He was very relaxed about it, as was the rest of the crew, and they then did all they could to get us as liquored up as possible prior to landing again in BKK. Having to dump fuel and return had happened to me once before, also on TG, on a flight from NRT-LAX, which kind of made me wonder.
We did circles north of BKK for about an hour, then headed back in. Upon landing, they told us to relax while they tried to correct the problem, and we ended up dozing off and on for about two hours. Finally, it was decided to delay the flight until 18:30 that afternoon, and send us to a hotel. We got off the plane, handed over our passports in exchange for a claim check, and were put in vans to the hotel.
The Miracle Grand is about 10 minutes away from the airport and is a big, convention hotel that definitely is not the Peninsula. That said, it wasn’t bad and I was given a huge suite that was actually quite nice, the two girls got a twin, and my sister a large double. As it was about 6am, most passengers stopped by the breakfast buffet before heading off to their rooms. The buffet was quite acceptable and we were all starving.
We woke up around noon and headed down to the lobby, where an information board they had set up to keep us informed now showed our departure at 00:40….24 hours late. As it was Monday, and TG doesn’t fly BKK-JFK on Mondays, they weren’t just putting us on the next day’s flight, but had delayed ours by a day. This was not happy news. To make it worse, and in a transparent effort to save as much money as possible, TG had organized a “special” buffet lunch for us in a special area…my sister and I took one look at it and bolted. The hotel buffets were quite acceptable…the special TG buffet was not. Bad move on TG’s part to marginalize us and try to feed us the cheap food…the hotel buffets were only $US9. We went to the hotel’s Cantonese restaurant and had dim sum. The girls, who were up before us, had eaten at the TG buffet, and proclaimed it “nasty”.
To kill time, we were torn between going to a spa and going shopping, and shopping won out. The girls apparently used their first year at boarding school to finely tune their shopping aesthetic, which did not translate to bargain hunting in market stalls in Thailand, but to high end retail at Gaysorn Plaza, where we headed by taxi. I got mildly plastered on some good white wine at the Italian café on the ground floor while the women did some major credit card damage. We had dinner there as well, as none of us was going to touch the TG buffet back at the hotel and we knew from the previous evening that the “big” meal on the trip home was scheduled at the end of the flight.
Of course we didn’t have our suitcases and by this time, we had been in the same clothes for over 24 hours, so we took long showers at the hotel and then a van back to the airport. There was a special place at immigration for us to reclaim our passports, and we headed back to the lounge for a couple of hours. Still no massage time available.
We re-boarded the plane, and much to the delight of the girls, there were new amenity kits and designer PJ’s on our seats. Same flight crew, who assured us the plane was not the same one, and had come in from JFK earlier that day. Same pre-departure service.
The takeoff was flawless this time, and we settled down for the next 17 hours. Inflight entertainment was excellent, with over 60 movies on demand, CD’s, etc. Service was charming and efficient, and the attention was constant. Food was average, or perhaps slightly above, and alcohol and wine were definitely above. The main meal was served before landing, which was dinner time for Thai’s, but 5 am on the east coast. A bit strange. I had lamb. Nothing special. The two earlier lighter meals were okay, but again, nothing special. Route took us over Japan, Bering Straits, Canada and into New York.
My biggest complaint of all is reserved for the seats. I know there are people who will disagree, but both my sister and I, who are both over 6 feet tall , found them to be the most uncomfortable new generation business class seats we have ever experienced. In any position, they were hard, cramped and just plain miserable. The 170 degree recline means that you are sloping/sliding downwards in the flat position. I made the mistake twice of pushing myself back upwards by placing my feet on the shell in front of me and trying to straighten out. Both times, I was racked with searing pain as my shoulders hit the poorly cushioned metal underside of the headrest unit. The electronic movements are noisy, and many people spent a lot of time trying to find the right position, so the cabin was filled with electronic whirring sounds frequently. Eating is a pain as well…you either have to sit in the uncomfortable upright position, or end up with your tray almost at chin level as your body slides forward. Maybe it is a function of my height, but I sleep perfectly well in UA’s C seats and despite Ambien and alcohol, couldn’t quite get to sleep in any position for the 17 hours on this flight. After a week of yoga, my back is almost okay again. I have to say I would go out of my way to avoid this flight in the future because of this. Despite the excellent service and entertainment, above average food, etc., I pay the premium to be comfortable and I wasn’t. Too bad, as I had high hopes for this flight and really wanted to like it.
Upon arrival at JFK, an hour later than scheduled, we found that TG ground staff had really botched our onward connections as well, and initially told us we had about a 12 hour layover to get to IAD, as all the earlier UA flights were full. They would not put us on another airline, and were not the slightest bit apologetic about the delay (as opposed to the flight crew, who couldn’t have been more apologetic). I finally worked it out with UA and we did get home earlier, but were still 32 hours late. All in all, not the world’s happiest ending to a great vacation, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
MENU
Bangkok-New York
First Serving
First Course
-Combination of Apples, Japanese Cucumber, Carrot Julienne, Royal Project Smoked Trout
Main Course
-Stir Fried Flat Rice Noodles with Egg and Pork, Black Mushrooms
-Stuffed Ravioli with Spinach, Ricotta Sundried Tomato, Zucchini in light cream sauce
Soft Roll, French Garlic Bread, Butter
Dessert
-Chocolate Pralines, Fresh Fruit
Tea. Coffee
Second Serving-8 hours into flight
Fresh Fruit
Fruit Yoghurt
Main Course
-Roast Duck with Gravy, Yellow Noodles and Taiwanese Cabbage with Dark Soy Sauce
-Crepes filled with Herb Scrambled Egg, Grilled Back Bacon, Vegetable Nugget
-Chinese Yong Chau with Prawns, Chicken Sausage, Stir Fried Oriental Vegetables
-Instant Noodle Soup and Garnitures, Barbequed Pork, Fish Balls, and Shrimp Balls
Roll, Croissant, Danish Pastry, Butter, Jam, Crepe, Orange Sauce
Tea, Coffee, Ovaltine
Third Serving-15 hours into flight
First Course
*Smoked Salmon Parcel Stuffed with Marinated Crab and Caviar Sour Cream
Cucumber and Watercress with Italian Taziano Dressing
Main Course
*-Roast Lamb Fillet with Bayeldi and Rosemary Pan-Jus, Roesti Potatoes, Grilled Mixed Vegetables
-Fried King Prawns with Garlic and Pepper, Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice, Broccoli with Oyster Sauce
-Pan Fried Seabass with Chinese Hot Red Sauce, Oriental Fried Rice, Sauteed Mixed Vegetables
-Paupiette of Capon with Tarragon Sauce, Linguine Noodles with Tomato, Sauteed Mixed Vegetables
Assorted Breads, Garlic Bread, Butter
Cheese Tray/Fresh Fruits Tray
Dessert
*Chocolate Delight Truffle
Tea, Coffee, Espresso, Cappuccino
Sandwich or Congee with Pork Balls Available Upon Request
*Chef’s Specialities. Executive Chef from Oriental Hotel.
Wine List
Champagne-Lanson
Red Wine-Chateau Picard St. Estephe 1999
Bourgogne Hautes Cotes De Nuits 2001
White Wine-Saint Veran 2001, Pouilly Fume Pascal Jolivet 2003, Riesling Grand Cru Altenberg 2003, Bestheim Lieu-Dit Roemerberg 2003
A quick update on Phuket: We saved it until last because of the questionable rainy season weather during August. Fortunately for us, it was 10 days of perfect sunshine with only a brief shower on one afternoon. The effects of the tsunami were much more evident in the empty streets, stores and restaurants than in the physical destruction and leftover debris. We rented a villa on Kata Beach (www.villaphuket.com) and those of us who had stayed at Amanpuri and the Banyan Tree before agreed that this was a great alternative, especially for a group with kids in the mix. I cannot say enough about the kindness and professionalism of the exceptional staff, the incredibly good food, and the villa itself. After the rest of our party left, four of us had the house to ourselves for three days, and it was the most relaxing, enjoyable time imaginable. Pure indulgence, with two daily massages and champagne and hors d’oevres served at sunset.
I was headed back to the East Coast with my sister, my 15 year old niece and her roommate from boarding school. We cleared immigration in HKT, and headed for the lounge. There are actually two TG lounges in HKT, one for those flying domestically and one for those flying internationally. The latter is slightly better, with beer (no hard liquor) and I believe a better assortment of food. The flight from HKT-BKK in C was in an old Airbus, unremarkable, and two of us had window seats without windows
Upon arrival into BKK, we headed to the new Royal Orchid Lounge in terminal 2. It is a really fine place, simply and elegantly designed in a modern Thai style, with an excellent assortment of sandwiches, snacks, hot and cold canapés, sweets, fruit, and pastries. Internet terminals are available. A Hotel Costes CD played in the background. The alcohol quality was generally above average, although no wine was available. As a vodka drinker, I was a bit disappointed in the Bolshoi, when scotch drinkers were getting Johnnie Walker Gold. It was quite crowded, and the one masseuse who was working was overwhelmed, so no final massages for us. Boarding for the JFK flight was announced shortly after midnight.
14 Aug 2005
BKK-JFK
TG 790
Airbus A340-500
Depart: 00:40
Arrive: 06:30
Seats 12AB/14AB
We were welcomed on board by the friendly, charming and efficient cabin crew, who passed out Hermes-branded amenity kits (high marks from the girls), menus/wine lists, designer PJ’s, juice, water and champagne (Lanson). The new C class seats look quite appealing and the cabin has a pleasant, if a bit cramped, look and feel to it. The route being projected on the personal video screens seemed to take us over China and Russia, the pole and then into New York, however, that ended up not being the case. Flying time was scheduled at a longer than usual 17:45 and C was completely full.
As we taxied out, the screens were projecting the view outside and then the takeoff itself. We could see and tell something was wrong as the nose gear seemed to bounce off the runway three or four times before we were finally airborne. My sister said “I don’t like this,” and the rate of climb seemed much lower than usual. After 20 minutes, we were only at 8000 feet according to the airshow, FA’s were not up, and the seatbelt sign was still on. Not a good sign. After about another 10 minutes, we felt the plane make several turns and it looked on the airshow as if we were headed back to BKK. Then we turned again and headed north.
About 45 minutes into the flight, the captain came on and said, first in Thai, and then in English, that there was a problem with the nose gear, it wouldn’t retract, and that we were going to have to dump fuel and head back to BKK. There was so much fuel, it would take more than an hour to dump it, so he was going to turn off the seatbelt sign and we could have some drinks and relax. I reassured the girls, who were a bit scared, and my sister, who was also scared, asked the lead FA if it was serious. He said no, not too serious, and a lot better than if the gear wouldn’t come down. He was very relaxed about it, as was the rest of the crew, and they then did all they could to get us as liquored up as possible prior to landing again in BKK. Having to dump fuel and return had happened to me once before, also on TG, on a flight from NRT-LAX, which kind of made me wonder.
We did circles north of BKK for about an hour, then headed back in. Upon landing, they told us to relax while they tried to correct the problem, and we ended up dozing off and on for about two hours. Finally, it was decided to delay the flight until 18:30 that afternoon, and send us to a hotel. We got off the plane, handed over our passports in exchange for a claim check, and were put in vans to the hotel.
The Miracle Grand is about 10 minutes away from the airport and is a big, convention hotel that definitely is not the Peninsula. That said, it wasn’t bad and I was given a huge suite that was actually quite nice, the two girls got a twin, and my sister a large double. As it was about 6am, most passengers stopped by the breakfast buffet before heading off to their rooms. The buffet was quite acceptable and we were all starving.
We woke up around noon and headed down to the lobby, where an information board they had set up to keep us informed now showed our departure at 00:40….24 hours late. As it was Monday, and TG doesn’t fly BKK-JFK on Mondays, they weren’t just putting us on the next day’s flight, but had delayed ours by a day. This was not happy news. To make it worse, and in a transparent effort to save as much money as possible, TG had organized a “special” buffet lunch for us in a special area…my sister and I took one look at it and bolted. The hotel buffets were quite acceptable…the special TG buffet was not. Bad move on TG’s part to marginalize us and try to feed us the cheap food…the hotel buffets were only $US9. We went to the hotel’s Cantonese restaurant and had dim sum. The girls, who were up before us, had eaten at the TG buffet, and proclaimed it “nasty”.
To kill time, we were torn between going to a spa and going shopping, and shopping won out. The girls apparently used their first year at boarding school to finely tune their shopping aesthetic, which did not translate to bargain hunting in market stalls in Thailand, but to high end retail at Gaysorn Plaza, where we headed by taxi. I got mildly plastered on some good white wine at the Italian café on the ground floor while the women did some major credit card damage. We had dinner there as well, as none of us was going to touch the TG buffet back at the hotel and we knew from the previous evening that the “big” meal on the trip home was scheduled at the end of the flight.
Of course we didn’t have our suitcases and by this time, we had been in the same clothes for over 24 hours, so we took long showers at the hotel and then a van back to the airport. There was a special place at immigration for us to reclaim our passports, and we headed back to the lounge for a couple of hours. Still no massage time available.
We re-boarded the plane, and much to the delight of the girls, there were new amenity kits and designer PJ’s on our seats. Same flight crew, who assured us the plane was not the same one, and had come in from JFK earlier that day. Same pre-departure service.
The takeoff was flawless this time, and we settled down for the next 17 hours. Inflight entertainment was excellent, with over 60 movies on demand, CD’s, etc. Service was charming and efficient, and the attention was constant. Food was average, or perhaps slightly above, and alcohol and wine were definitely above. The main meal was served before landing, which was dinner time for Thai’s, but 5 am on the east coast. A bit strange. I had lamb. Nothing special. The two earlier lighter meals were okay, but again, nothing special. Route took us over Japan, Bering Straits, Canada and into New York.
My biggest complaint of all is reserved for the seats. I know there are people who will disagree, but both my sister and I, who are both over 6 feet tall , found them to be the most uncomfortable new generation business class seats we have ever experienced. In any position, they were hard, cramped and just plain miserable. The 170 degree recline means that you are sloping/sliding downwards in the flat position. I made the mistake twice of pushing myself back upwards by placing my feet on the shell in front of me and trying to straighten out. Both times, I was racked with searing pain as my shoulders hit the poorly cushioned metal underside of the headrest unit. The electronic movements are noisy, and many people spent a lot of time trying to find the right position, so the cabin was filled with electronic whirring sounds frequently. Eating is a pain as well…you either have to sit in the uncomfortable upright position, or end up with your tray almost at chin level as your body slides forward. Maybe it is a function of my height, but I sleep perfectly well in UA’s C seats and despite Ambien and alcohol, couldn’t quite get to sleep in any position for the 17 hours on this flight. After a week of yoga, my back is almost okay again. I have to say I would go out of my way to avoid this flight in the future because of this. Despite the excellent service and entertainment, above average food, etc., I pay the premium to be comfortable and I wasn’t. Too bad, as I had high hopes for this flight and really wanted to like it.
Upon arrival at JFK, an hour later than scheduled, we found that TG ground staff had really botched our onward connections as well, and initially told us we had about a 12 hour layover to get to IAD, as all the earlier UA flights were full. They would not put us on another airline, and were not the slightest bit apologetic about the delay (as opposed to the flight crew, who couldn’t have been more apologetic). I finally worked it out with UA and we did get home earlier, but were still 32 hours late. All in all, not the world’s happiest ending to a great vacation, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
MENU
Bangkok-New York
First Serving
First Course
-Combination of Apples, Japanese Cucumber, Carrot Julienne, Royal Project Smoked Trout
Main Course
-Stir Fried Flat Rice Noodles with Egg and Pork, Black Mushrooms
-Stuffed Ravioli with Spinach, Ricotta Sundried Tomato, Zucchini in light cream sauce
Soft Roll, French Garlic Bread, Butter
Dessert
-Chocolate Pralines, Fresh Fruit
Tea. Coffee
Second Serving-8 hours into flight
Fresh Fruit
Fruit Yoghurt
Main Course
-Roast Duck with Gravy, Yellow Noodles and Taiwanese Cabbage with Dark Soy Sauce
-Crepes filled with Herb Scrambled Egg, Grilled Back Bacon, Vegetable Nugget
-Chinese Yong Chau with Prawns, Chicken Sausage, Stir Fried Oriental Vegetables
-Instant Noodle Soup and Garnitures, Barbequed Pork, Fish Balls, and Shrimp Balls
Roll, Croissant, Danish Pastry, Butter, Jam, Crepe, Orange Sauce
Tea, Coffee, Ovaltine
Third Serving-15 hours into flight
First Course
*Smoked Salmon Parcel Stuffed with Marinated Crab and Caviar Sour Cream
Cucumber and Watercress with Italian Taziano Dressing
Main Course
*-Roast Lamb Fillet with Bayeldi and Rosemary Pan-Jus, Roesti Potatoes, Grilled Mixed Vegetables
-Fried King Prawns with Garlic and Pepper, Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice, Broccoli with Oyster Sauce
-Pan Fried Seabass with Chinese Hot Red Sauce, Oriental Fried Rice, Sauteed Mixed Vegetables
-Paupiette of Capon with Tarragon Sauce, Linguine Noodles with Tomato, Sauteed Mixed Vegetables
Assorted Breads, Garlic Bread, Butter
Cheese Tray/Fresh Fruits Tray
Dessert
*Chocolate Delight Truffle
Tea, Coffee, Espresso, Cappuccino
Sandwich or Congee with Pork Balls Available Upon Request
*Chef’s Specialities. Executive Chef from Oriental Hotel.
Wine List
Champagne-Lanson
Red Wine-Chateau Picard St. Estephe 1999
Bourgogne Hautes Cotes De Nuits 2001
White Wine-Saint Veran 2001, Pouilly Fume Pascal Jolivet 2003, Riesling Grand Cru Altenberg 2003, Bestheim Lieu-Dit Roemerberg 2003
Last edited by Justanother1k; Aug 21, 2005 at 8:02 pm
Aug 22, 2005, 12:26 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Posts: 326
My experience is usually that due to the timing of these delays (middle of the night) the hotel is given a budget and tries to put out a special buffet for passengers but will still bill the airline for the full value of meal service.
Our entire aircraft was delayed in Houston coming back from San Paulo and the hotel was given a dinner budget of $34.00 per person. We dined in their nice restaurant and came up with a bill of about $80.00 between 2 people. When the masses of people arrive at the hotel (mostly in coach), they were directed towards a buffet downstairs in the banquet facility.
Of course the hotel must have billed the airline $34.00 for a simple buffet.
Mike
Our entire aircraft was delayed in Houston coming back from San Paulo and the hotel was given a dinner budget of $34.00 per person. We dined in their nice restaurant and came up with a bill of about $80.00 between 2 people. When the masses of people arrive at the hotel (mostly in coach), they were directed towards a buffet downstairs in the banquet facility.
Of course the hotel must have billed the airline $34.00 for a simple buffet.
Mike
Aug 22, 2005, 6:54 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 120
Seats In New C Classes
Interesting comment about the seats on TG. I was in Lufthansa's new C and had the Space bed on SQ. Lufthansa's 'private bed' really didn't work for me at all. It was a 340-600 and seats produced the same noise that you mentioned. Spacebeds were quite nice compared to LH's seats. And I totally agree with you on UA's business seats, they really are working well for me. If only they would upgrade their IFE to AVOD and wireless internet~but then again, comfort is my priority. Thanks for a great report.
Aug 23, 2005, 12:02 pm
#5
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Paris, EU
Programs: FB Life Platinum
Posts: 628
Originally Posted by Justanother1k
Of course we didn’t have our suitcases and by this time, we had been in the same clothes for over 24 hours, so we took long showers at the hotel and then a van back to the airport.
I have had large delays 3 times, with nights in hotels.
In all cases (2 AF, 1 BR) we were offered to reclaim our luggage before going to the hotel.