Shenanigans

Flew TG930 F the other day and a late boarder was, I believe, Princess Chulabhorn Walailak, sixth in line to the Thai throne, and PART of her entourage who occupied 8 seats in First. That left me, my wife, and two others all in row 3. We found out the next morning when disembarking that a considerable number more (another 20+?) of the "Royal Entourage" (actual badges they were wearing) were in C as the whole lot of them got priority in exiting the plane.

The front part of the First cabin was off limits to us commoners and, likely, most of the accompanying F entourage. This meant that at least the four of us other poor schlubs had no access to the large lavatory nor the lounge at the front, for what either of those are worth. In the morning, members of the entourage from the C cabin were frequent visitors to the front and included people like hairdressers and makeup people etc. The perception I was left with was even though we were F passengers we were more C passengers in the F cabin. Everything else was pretty much otherwise as we would have expected in terms of the Dom, the caviar, the pre-ordered meal etc.

Just wondering whether others have been in the situation of having large celebrity or royal entourages who get special accommodations from the airline. Does TG have a duty to other F passengers in this situation to advise in advance that this will be happening? Not sure what the alternative is aside from booking a different flight but obviously that's not an option when you're already sitting in your seat. Just looking for some experiences and thoughts on flying with these kind of people.

BinSabai

be happy that you were not downgraded!
remember when Airforce 1 landed at BKK they closed the airport for 2 hours with many delays and diversions

Fan2502

REMEMBER!

It is not First and Business Class onboard TG it is "Royal First" and "Royal Silk" class.

So as a mortal common you can be happy when you are tolerated there......

behuman

I think "royal" refers to the treatment you are supposed to receive (and many times they do a great job indeed).

It is picturesque that there are still countries like Thailand even if the whole monarchy is long overdue and things may change now quicker than we think and possibly not for the better .

On a more serious note: I suggest the OP complains about the F cabin not having been "protected" due to incursions from C. Also it is not acceptable that there is a two tier system in a given cabin class - the lavatory story is just ridiculous. Ask for a one class upgrade for an oncoming flight. Flying on an OUTBOUND flight from Thailand the OP should have made a scene regarding this "royal" inconvenience .

redacted

Fan2502

So did I.


I also thought the taxi driver who took me to the airport was decent and Thai women were beautiful. Well, I had to adjust.

somkiat

You should praise the Lord , or maybe Lord Buddha for that matter , that the Princess does not belong to the pipe-smoking species . Not all family members don´t .

Asking for compensation would probably make you banned from using Thai Airways since they might think you should feel honoured sharing the same cabin . Should I ever receive a mail again that my seat had to be changed from 1 or 2 to row 3 I would immediately take another plane .

They also close the expressway for a 3 year old Princess , up to them .

warreng24

I'll bet that the OP's names implied that they were Westerners. If they'd been Thais, they would have been downgraded for sure.

Shenanigans

Just a little follow-up based on some of the feedback received above.

• Yes we are Westerners
• The threat of being "banned" by TG is probably less than the likelihood of us not flying them again. We also had another matter on this trip that involved an involuntary downgrade on TG601. To TG's credit, compensation has been offered for that instance.
• Some flyers may have been thrilled or honored to have the fellow passengers that we did. On the contrary, had we been forewarned, we would have gotten as far away from that as possible given the concessions provided them and the restrictions placed on us.

transpac

Princess Chulabhorn on a 10-day visit to France

BANGKOK, 7 May 2014 (NNT) - Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn has left for the French Republic early this morning on a 10-day visit to observe cancer treatment and perfume production.

The Bureau of the Royal Household said Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn left in the early hour of May 7 on a Thai Airways International flight for France and will stay in the European country until May 18.

While in France, Her Royal Highness will observe research projects under a schedule arranged by the Institute of Research on Cancer and Aging in Nice. The Princess will also visit perfume factories in Grasse on the French Riviera.

The Princess will return to Thailand on Sunday, May 18, at about 6 a.m.


http://thainews.prd.go.th/centerweb/...Y5705070010001

If I had to guess, she'll be returning on TG 931 departing CDG on 17 May? The daily (evening) Royal News on TV is covering her trip.

nissan720

This is likely the reason my seats were changed and the F cabin is completely full on my flight from FRA on Sunday (May 18th).

I had kinda figured that something like this must have happened such that Thai moved our seats.

If my flight is like Shenanigans than I will push to see what they will do for me.

BinSabai

If I knew, I would certainly change the date of flight if possible or ask TG whether they could rebook you though another European destination (FRA, ZRH, MUC, FCO, MXP)

Shenanigans

nissan720, it's great that you've gotten advance notice of this and can be proactive in avoiding that flight. Please advise what outcome you're able to achieve, if any.

I still maintain that TG should be the ones being proactive in situations like this and working with passengers to both advise of the circumstances and re-book if not interested in the spectacle. Wouldn't the majority rather NOT be in that situation?

daniellam

Perhaps TG should have installed it's own version of the "Ethiad Residence" on it's A380 fleet?

The lounge at the front of the F cabin is a waste of space (nobody uses it). They could have made that area along with a part of row 1 into a "Royal First Residence" or "Royal First Villa".

This way, regular F passengers won't have to be inconvenienced when royalty/VIP show up.

Kacee

That would be ideal.

Unfortunately, most airlines do no better.

I just got dropped from F to J on a CX flight due to an equipment change. No communication, no alternatives offered, etc. The only reason I'm aware is from checking my booking online. I know this is par for the course but still moderately annoying.

JVPhoto

Ah! That was the day before my flight. I almost took TG930 on that day but stayed longer in HKT because if I did one more night they gave me a better hotel rate and I thought hey why not.