I started planning this trip with 2 other friends, which ballooned to 6, then reduced to 5 and finally settled on 4. Oh, the ills of organising a vacation with such undecided people. There was one decision I had already made and no one was going to mess with that: I was flying F class. After using the ANA tool, I found the best flights for my needs and settled on the following routing: FCO-BKK (TG F) BKK-DPS (TG C) DPS-BKK (TG C) BKK-CDG (TG F) CDG-MUC (LH C) MUC-VCE (LH C). Before I hear the roars of FTers saying why all the connections on the return? Well, there weren’t any other options. I was determined to fly in F and I had a companion with me flying in C. Finding two premium seats on the same flight with the connections getting us back home to Venice was very difficult. And, I just didn’t want to be on LH F. I was aiming for SQ, LX, or TG. (We had to buy one way tickets VCE-FCO on AZ for the departure).

A few weeks before departure, I discovered online the Pre-Booking Meal Service for F class passengers on TG. The menu was very extensive. I called the local TG offices in Rome and they gave me the true list of meals available – about 10 options. I selected the Penang Green Curry with Prawns and steamed rice. I prayed and prayed and prayed that the 747 scheduled for both F class segments wouldn’t have a last-minute aircraft swap. Both aircraft at the time of booking were the older aircraft with the new Royal First Class configurations. I was able to select 1A on the FCO-BKK flight and 2A on the CDG-BKK flight. The other two TG flights being on the regional configurations without F class. My companion and I snagged 2 seats together (aisle and window) on both of those flights.

The day of departure came and I was still nervous about a last minute swap of aircraft. Online still showed the new seat configuration, but I know one can’t always trust that. I just had to wait until arrival in Rome to see what plane was sitting on the tarmac. Our AZ flight was due to leave VCE at 725am arriving into FCO at 830am. We couldn’t check our luggage all the way through due to being on separate tickets. Which was actually fine with me because I had no desire to trust AZ to get my bags over to TG.

AZ1492 VCE-FCO MD82 seat 3C

I checked in online 20 hours before departure and printed the BPs. Check-in at VCE was easy in the Skyteam Elite+ line. Bags tagged only to FCO. Flight was wheels up, small packet of nasty dried crackers and a sparkling water, wheels down. A usual domestic AZ flight with low expectations, low results. The real humdinger was when we had to wait over 1 hour and 15 minutes for our luggage to arrive. No reasons, no excuses, no nothing. Two trips to the Luggage Service Centre to ask where the luggage for our flight was got us a reply of, “It’s coming.” Finally, the luggage did arrive and we headed back up to check-in for Thai. As we were crossing the overhead bridge to the International Terminal, we spotted our Thai 747 sitting there and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was one of the older birds with the new F cabin.


TG945 FCO-BKK 747 seat 1A

We arrived at the TG check-in area way too early as they weren’t even open yet. We noticed a small sign at the ticket desk advising that check-in would open 3 hours prior to departure. So, we wandered over to the food court to have something to drink and watch the runway action. Just at 3 hours, we walked up to find all the check-in desks open and already serving passengers. I headed over to the Royal First counter, while my companion steered his way to the Royal Silk line. There were 3 passengers at the Royal First counter in a rather heated conversation. Two of them were confirmed and ticketed in F class (both Italian), however their servant (a Thai national) was only confirmed in C class and they wanted to use an upgrade for him. Unfortunately, the staff were not allowing it and it made the woman a bit agitated. She was absolutely dripping with gold, platinum, and diamonds while the husband looked like he’d just woken up from a nap and couldn’t be bothered. The servant appeared very embarrassed by the scene. While I was waiting a very nice Italian man approached me and asked if I was Mr. TravellinHusker. I confirmed that yes, I was. He mentioned that they had seen I had already checked-in online and wanted to know how many bags I would be checking in through to Denpasar. He was only the security man and would pre-screen everything for me. He asked for my passport and my Web Check-in Receipt. He disappeared around a corner and came back out with Royal First tags to affix to my 2 bags. He advised me that he would see me at the gate for boarding if I had any questions. Finally, after about 10 minutes, it was my turn. The check-in agent was absolutely delightful and handed me my boarding passes for 1A to BKK connecting to 12J for the connection to Denpasar. She handed me a lounge pass. I noticed my companion at the counter next to me also had received the same lounge pass. We had almost 3 hours to kill before take off so we headed directly to the lounge. The line in the terminal was horrible for security and passport control. So, we headed over to Terminal B security which is just a 2 minute walk. There we cleared security in less than 3 minutes and walked 20 metres to Passport Control were there were, again, no lines!
After a little shopping, we found our way over to the lounge, but stopped briefly at the gate to take a few photos of our ride to BKK.


The lounge in Rome is nothing to write home about. Yes, it is a billion times nicer than the AZ lounge next door, but that isn’t saying much at all. What we found really odd was that the staff at the front desk only spoke Spanish, not Italian and barely understandable English. What in the world?? Weird.
My companion wanted to take a shower, so he headed back to get freshened up while I played on my computer and new iPhone. I was doing my darndest to get as many tv shows downloaded to the iPhone before boarding. I needed some entertainment in case I didn’t like what was onboard.
About 45 minutes before departure, they made an announcement that our flight would begin boarding. We headed upstairs and discovered chaos. Not really surprising for Italian standards, but add in the chaos of Asia to the chaos of Italy and it’s a free-for-all. They did have a special Royal First/Royal Silk boarding area, but it was more like a scrum match. While we were waiting for the boarding to actually begin, the FCO TG Station Manager came over and shook my hand. He noticed the Royal First boarding pass. He also located the wealthy Italian couple and guided us through the unwashed masses of Royal Silk passengers into a separate waiting area near the escalator that would eventually take us down to the jetway. He was a delightful man wearing a bright purple coat and a rather ornate jewelled pendant of the Thai royalty.
He personally escorted us down the escalator to the aircraft and handed us over to the inflight staff. I was immediately impressed with the interior of the aircraft. And the staff were absolutely beaming and radiant. They were so pleased to have us onboard. I struck a conversation with the Italian couple and discovered they have one of their 5 homes in Phuket and travel there about 5 times a year. They were very nice and we ended up chatting for quite a bit. During our conversation, I could see my companion who was in 23A getting settled in. The lead FA in F came to us with Dom Perignon, which we all accepted without hesitation. Oh, what a treat! Such a glorious champagne. I do love prosecco and it is not fair to compare it to champagne. They are just in two different worlds. But this Dom was absolutely superb! I motioned for my companion to come forward and meet the nice couple and we chatted for about 5 minutes. Our final Royal First passenger boarded with heavy security. Little did I know we were travelling with the President of Ghana, John Atta Mills. He was a very nice man who was headed to a World Hunger Congress in Thailand. However, he chose to eat, then sleep for the entire journey, so I didn’t get a chance to really speak to him so much. So, in the end, there were just 4 of us in Royal First. Our Royal First flight attendant, Rosalin, later told me that Royal Silk was booked full and Y was about 60%. Between myself and the Italian couple, we polished off 2 bottles of Dom before take off!





Rosalin came around and offered us the amenity kits, slippers, and purple Thai pyjamas and advised me that she had my specially ordered meal on board. However, if I wanted something else from the menu, she would be happy to get it for me. Menus were handed out inside the Rough-hewn silk covers.

The menu for Rome-Bangkok was:

Canapés
Oscietra Caviar with Garnitures

First Serving
Smoked Salmon Marinated with Dill
Raw Ham “Fiocco della Valtellina”, Marinated Vegetables “allumette”
Stuffed Hot Pepper, Aubergine Confit, Spicy Pear Sauce

Soup
Tomato and Shrimp Soup

Main Course
Grilled Beef Fillet, Diced Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar Sauce
Savoy Potatoes, Bean Stew

Or

Pan-friend Nile Perch Fillet with Almonds
Piemontese Style Sauce, Buttered Fettuccine
Sauteed Spinach and Bell Pepper

Or

Stir-fried Chicken with Garlic, Chicken Garlic Sauce
Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice, Stir-fried Vegetables

Or

Roast Pork with Sauce, Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice

Bread Selection/Butter
Assorted Cheese Tray/Fresh Fruits

Dessert
Cottage Cheese and Pear Cake
Chocolate Sauce

Tea, Coffee, Espresso, Cappuccino

I am allergic to some fish and seafood, so I politely explained this to Rosalin. She took special care to make sure that my Canapés, and all plates for that matter, were safe for me to eat. She even went out of her way to prepare a few extra little bites that weren’t on the menu so that my plate didn’t look so empty. Then they came around with the caviar and asked which garnishes I wanted. Listen, I am not a huge fan of caviar, but thought I would give it another shot. Ok, so I did that, not to do it again. Blecht. Not for me, thank you very much. It was served with ice-cold Smirnoff Blue vodka.

The soup was absolutely divine! A rich tomato soup with at least 2 shrimp in every spoonful. Just perfect.

Then out came my special meal. WOW! It was a very nice green curry with eggplant and giant prawns. It didn’t look so great once I dumped the curry on top of the rice, but it tasted absolutely wonderful.


I was still a bit hungry as I hadn’t eaten a thing all day really. Rosalin came over and asked if I wanted anything else from the menu. I was really tempted to to the Chicken and Garlic, but I decided to be kind to my fellow cabin-mates and went for the Fillet. It was fantastic too! What a delicious steak, cooked perfectly, and served elegantly. I had continued with the Dom during the first portions, but for the steak, switched over to a delicious red. The wine list on Thai is very impressive. Besides the Dom Perignon champagne, there were the following listings onboard:
White – Château Le Bourdillot Graves 2005
Château De Cruzeau, Pessac-Léognan 2003
Meursault Les Vireuils Dessous 2004
Santenary 1er Cru, Beaurepaire 2003

Red - Château Dauzac Margaux Grand Cru Classe 2003
Mercurey 1er Cru Clos l’Evêque 2006

As I was finishing the steak, I asked if it would be ok for my companion in Royal Silk to join me for dessert. Royal First has the ottoman for guests to sit and visit. Rosalin asked the other 3 cabin-mates if they minded and they all said it was not a problem. So, she escorted him through the back area of the galley to the ottoman. She set the table for 2 and poured him a glass of the Dom. She served up the cake with chocolate sauce to us both and we enjoyed a few moments of pure bliss with the dessert and champagne. She came back with two glasses for the 1795 Extra OTARD cognac. I am not a huge cognac fan, but this was very smooth, deep, and delicious. I felt very warm all over. We finished our cognac and he retired to his seat to sleep away the night. Rosalin came around to each seat and delivered 2 bottles of water and asked if there was anything else. I told her I would like to change and would it be possible to put an extra blanket down on the seat for sleeping. She said, “Of course.” and when I came out of the bathroom, my bed was made, corner folded down with the top blanket, 2 pillows, and the purple orchid on top of the pillow with a small handwritten note, “Pleasant Dreams, Mr TravellinHusker”. WOW!

I usually don’t sleep well on planes, no matter how comfortable the seat. I really like the Thai F seat even if the head is raised just a smidge. I actually prefer it. It was a bit hot on the plane though and I wandered back to the galley to ask one of the attendants to please turn down the heat. They quickly did that and almost instantly, it was much more comfortable. She said it had been on 24! YIKES!

I slept for a good 6 hours before waking. I watched a movie and a show on my iPhone. Here is a video from inflight just before breakfast was served. You can see the wealthy Italian couple still getting some shut-eye with Mr. President behind me in 2A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QvfqK0aZqU

Rosalin came around and offered to set up my tray for breakfast. The menu for breakfast was as follows:

Fresh Fruits
Yoghurt, Cereals

Main Course
Scrambled Eggs with Emmenthal Cheese
Sauteed Sausage, Macaire Potatoes
Sauteed Champignon Mushrooms with Parsley
Toasted Bread

Or

Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese and Spinach Flan
Roasted Potatoes
Sauteed Champignon Mushrooms with Parsley
Grilled Tomato

Or

Noodle Soup with Chinese Roast Pork

Or Soft Boiled Rice with Accompaniments (Oriental Style)

Assorted Breads, Butter, Jam, Honey
Tea, Coffee, Hot Chocolate

I was in an Asian kind of mood for breakfast so I went for the Noodle Soup with Chinese Roast Pork. I was not disappointed. It was absolutely delicious and I think I got all the pork because it seemed like a kilo of it was in my soup. Very delicate roasted flavour. Nice spicy broth with noodles. I really enjoyed that breakfast.

I freshened up in the bathroom and when I came out, my seat was all fixed up, pillows gone, blankets folded and put away and a fresh bottle of water was waiting for me. Rosalin came around to my seat and spoke to me briefly. She was as genuine as they come and really enjoys her job as shown by the effort she puts into making each passenger feel like they are the only one in the cabin. I saw the comment form in the stationery folder in the slot next to the seat. I filled it out and gave Rosalin glowing feedback and handed it to her, sealed of course, as I exited the plane. I received an email from Thai a few days later thanking me for the feedback and said they would be sure to pass on my commendations to Rosalin and her supervisor.

Next stop… Royal First Lounge.