ozstamps

Talk about an airline losing the plot.

No wine of ANY kind in the BKK Biz lounge when were were there 3 weeks back. Think it was E concourse for a A330 flight to Columbo at 10pm, after coming in 787 Dreamliner from BNE.

Asked lounge staff and they sheepishly told me I could walk a mile or whatever to some other TG lounge for a glass of rough wine. ...?

At 9am after a lot of travel, we felt like a glass of wine. How difficult is that to offer for an allegedly quality carrier to premium class pax?

Near impossible to believe. No other airline lounge on EARTH offers no red/white/bubbly option. I do not drink any kind of spirits (they had plenty of those) and do not drink beer before flights as it bloats me.

Wine is a few bucks a bottle wholesale. A glass of brandy costs them more.

The Hilton Columbo that evening had 3 different Whites, and 3 different Reds in lounge free drinks session, and if they can offer than on a $150 room, TG can offer it on a few $1000 Biz ticket.

An airline drowning in red ink will not save the ship by nickel and diming the high yield passengers, as they have a TON of other options.

Memo - TG .. lift your game. No amenity kits either, which for a 3 hour flight no real big deal for for a few bucks a pack, short sighted.
.

andyptrav

TG have never had wine in BKK lounges. I agree it is bizarre.
For the home airport the lounges (except F) are a disgrace, awful layout, the furniture is worn out, no wine and poor food.

Do what the rest of us do and use another Star Alliance lounge such as SQ or EVA if they are open. Maybe when TG realise how much they are paying the other airlines for this they will do something.

luvlanna

If they did ever serve wine in J lounges, knowing Thailand and its people as well as I do, I'm sure some mid-level son of a hiso would either steal the wine or the budget for it. Thai Airways' sad story in a nutshell.

JVPhoto

I'm curious to meet the traveler who books carriers based on the free wine they're offering (or not) in the lounge.

Re the amenity kits which is it: no real big deal or short sighted?
Sounds like someone on the UA forum crying about not being let into the UC during wx but then mocked the offerings as being woeful.

ozstamps

I've travelled Thai long haul dozens of times - mostly F where I agree the lounge is wonderful, but do seen to recall lounges at other Concourses had at least wine of some kind?

The furniture was pretty beaten up I did not notice that. Pretty sad, and these are VERY cheap and easy things to address, in the large scheme of things. And Premium Cabin passengers have a vast choice in Asia.

Thai-Kiwi

I'll see if I can find a moment to trawl through some old lounge photos from when I lived in Thailand some 10 years ago to see if wine featured in the biz lounge in BKK. I don't have a strong recollection that they ever did stock wine, but as a mainly beer drinker I wasn't looking either. And I agree entirely that not stocking wine is just sub-par.

timster

If you have any photos from the old lounge at Don Muang maybe you can satisfy my curiosity as to whether or not the furniture in the current lounges came from there, especially the tables. They have a decidedly decrepit, repainted-many-times, decades-old Thai look about them. Almost 'shabby chic'.

BinSabai

all the furniture in all 5 biz lounges have at least once been replaced since Swampy opened!

Yobodon

I visited a TG lounge in December and they had wine but you have to go ask for it at the bar area.

kinchai

No offence but there's not many airline business class lounges around the world offer wine (red in particular) that is drinkable actually. In europe, BA/LH ones are not worth tasting. In N. America, UA/AA are no go for sure. In Asia, CX I go for champagne or vitasoy. This is just me and down to personal preference and I don't like $10 bottles. A lot of the time going for a popular beer or a gin tonic is a safer choice.

SunLover

How about some premium cheeses to go with that whine...


SL

ozstamps

I do not query the wholesale price of what I drink in airline lounges.

And in 4 million miles of air travel on probably 200 carriers have never one encountered "undrinkable" wines in a lounge or onboard.

Price and taste are not always connected.

All I am saying is premium cabin home-hub lounges passengers should have the choice of a red and white wine if they want one.

Remember TG is the host lounge for near all other * carriers too using BKK.

kinchai

You are the one who wrote "wine is a few bucks a bottle wholesale".

Interesting that you emphasis how many miles you have flown and how many carriers. There's no need to be a "DYKWIA" A quick google tells me that there are around 5000 airlines with IATA code and that just means you had sample 4% only.

4 million miles on 200 airlines meaning your average distance per airline is 20,000 miles. Hardly 2 round trips on long haul. This exclude premium cabin bonus. Unless you are heavy on a particular airline on a particular route, then your experiences would not be evenly spread across.

Agree- Price and taste are not always connected. Taste of a home hub is down to home culture too. Red and white wines are not a local Thai culture that's enjoyed by the most proportion of the population during meal time. Why should that be an automatic choice for pax flying out of their home airport?

What the Hilton lounge offers is irrelevant. A $500 room in a diff exec lounge hilton could charge you drinks within the lounge.

Which cabin did you fly into BKK from BNE? Last time I took that flight they had amenity kit. For 3 hours flights, which airline offer amenity kit? I can remember concorde did but that's the past. Who else?

My point is- move on. Now you know, if you can't live with that, don't fly with them.

For example- TG still provide real towels rather than paper towels in toilets. Some offers hot or cold towels. Most airlines don't- should I tell others "lift your game"? Probably not.

MSPeconomist

FWIW, the poor AF lounge at BKK does offer self service beer, wine, and some stronger alcohol, even at 6 am.

ds_osl

I have never understood why TG does not offer wine in their C and E concourse lounges at BKK. I stopped visiting these lounges a long time ago and in stead go to the SQ or BR lounges or the TG lounge in course D which in fact do serve wine unless there has been some changes the last weeks that I am unaware of. There used to be a self service "wine corner" in the middle of the TG D concourse lounge, but today you have to go to the bar at the entrance (the entrance just after the dedicated security check and passport control for C and F pax) to get a glass of wine. This bar also has a "Happy Hour" between 8pm and 9pm where they can mix a few simple drinks for you.