December 25, 2011
Thai 665, PVG-BKK
A330-300, HS-TES
Seat: 16A
Despite the fanfare that heralded the opening of the new Air China terminal (3) in Beijing, I have to say that I find Shanghai Terminal 2 a better mix of modern, pleasant, and practical. It was an easy 5 minute walk from the Maglev station to Thai check-in where we handed over our bags (which were re-tagged with Thai tags) and given our boarding passes through to Phuket along with lounge invitations.
I believe that all Star Alliance airlines operating out of Shanghai use the Shanghai Airlines lounge although that the airline ditched the Star Alliance in 2010. The lounges in this terminal are all located above the shops and restaurants but open to the general terminal area so you get some stray noise but have a view out through the glass windows at the ramp areas.
PVG Shanghai Airlines lounge
That said, the lounge wasn’t particularly noteworthy but provided a comfortable place to sit and a cold drink during our short wait. There was a modest selection of dim sum type items and other light nibbles but nothing looked particularly appetizing and I knew we’d be served a decent meal on board.
We made our way to the gate just in time for the start of boarding, entered through 2L and made a left turn to our seats near the back of the business class cabin. Once again, in the war of old vs. new configurations we’d lucked out as this A330 was equipped with Thai’s new regional seats which I’d described as “angled not quite flat” but certainly better than the older recliner style seats (but no less purple!)
Once seated refreshing towels were offered along with a choice of iced tea, oj, or water followed by the distribution of newspapers, landing cards, menus, and amenity kits. The amenity kit was surprisingly decent and included a handy brush/comb combo, eye mask, socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, mouthwash, lotion, and a much-needed tube of lip balm.
Thai PDB: OJ and Tea
We pushed back from the gate 15 minutes early and after a lengthy taxi were airborne in the smoggy Shanghai skies. Quickly, the flight attendants were pushing the bar cart through the aisles offering a choice of drinks along with a packet of nuts. Not too long thereafter, appetizer trays were distributed.
Here’s the dinner menu for the flight:
TG 665 C – MENU C : MAR/JUN/SEP/DEC
Shanghai – Bangkok
First Course
Smoked Turkey, Crab Meat Salad, Potato Salad
Salad
Mixed salad with Italian Dressing
Main Course
Pan-fried Swordfish with Wood Ear Mushroom and Lily Bud Sauce
Fried Race with Mushroom, Carrot and Green Pea
or
Roast Cutlet of Lamb with Rosemary Demi-glace
Cajun Potatoes
Tri-color Bell Pepper, Sauteed Mushroom
or
Three Cup Chicken
Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice, Vegetables
or
Braised Pork with Beancurd, Soya Sauce
Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice, Vegetables
Assorted Bread, Crackers, Butter
Assorted Cheese and Fresh Fruits
Dessert
Black Forest Cake with Black Cherry
Tea, Coffee
Espresso, Cappuccino
Drinks and nuts
Appetizer tray with yummy garlic bread
Chinese fish entrée
Fruit and cheese
Coffee and chocolate cake
The highlight of this meal was definitely the garlic bread which was warm and flavorful and generously replenished. Again on this flight my girlfriend picked the superior entrée as her three cup chicken was more tasty and interesting than my swordfish. The cheese and dessert courses were both well-presented from their own separate carts (something United doesn’t do on flights three times as long as this one) so no need for tough decisions
Once the service was finished hot towels were again distributed and the cabin lights were dimmed approximately an hour and a half after takeoff. Having woken up way too early, I quickly drifted off to sleep although the sleep wouldn’t have been great for an overnight flight my exhaustion more than made up for any faults. Actually, my first criticism of the seat would be that the PTV screens weren’t HD. While they were quite large, the lack of high resolution made the image appear fairly low quality, especially compared to United’s fancy HD displays.
Unfavorable winds made for a somewhat longer flight time, although I slept through most of it. One of my disappointments from a trip planning perspective was that I wasn’t able to manage to arrange a visit to the Thai First Class Spa in Bangkok. I certainly look forward to paying it a visit on a future trip as I thoroughly enjoyed my trip on Thai. For a flight of comparable length to say, IAD-SFO the service on Thai’s regional business class product on this route was quite impressive (and would even compare favorably to SQ in many respects…stay tuned).
We landed in Bangkok from the south and pulled into the gate about 15-20 minutes behind schedule. We quickly made our way through immigration (but not customs!) and security into the domestic area of the airport. The Thai domestic lounge was a bit out of our way but we made a quick pop-in to check it out. Alas, at this time of night it was rather deserted and depressing with only the last few food items that hadn’t been eaten earlier in the evening still remaining and a small handful of weary looking travelers (ourselves included!) hanging out before the last flights of the evening to domestic destinations.
December 25, 2011
Thai 225, BKK-HKT
A300-600, HS-TAX
Seat: 15E
So it’s probably at this point in the trip report that I should mention that my girlfriend has some temporary mobility issues and has been traveling in a wheelchair. So far, this has meant that we’d wheel down the jetway, gate check the wheelchair, and then she could use crutches to walk to her seat on the plane. This hadn’t been much of an issue on earlier flights and may have even saved us some time in line at various points along the way.
But now we were leaving from a bus gate. Which meant climbing stairs. Of course, if Thai had asked we would have said that she could easily ride the bus and slowly climbed up the stairs to the aircraft. But they didn’t ask, they told us to just wait as boarding began, they were bringing a special vehicle for us. Now, I know that plenty of people on this forum have been driven to aircraft in various vans, porches, and Mercedes Benzes. But how many of you have been transported in a catering truck?
Yep, Thai’s handicap transport to remote stands in Bangkok is a reconfigured catering truck with an additional lift attached to the back that lifts the passenger into the main holding. We sped across the tarmac to our waiting A300, pulled up to 2R (regular boarding was through 2L), rose up to aircraft height, and knocked on the door until somebody answered. I’m surprised Lufthansa hasn’t thought of something like this for transport from the FCT, that would save passengers the trouble of having to get out of the car and ride up to aircraft level, they could just transfer directly from luxury catering cart to plane…
Waiting for the crew to open 2R
Once onboard, we found that we were the last passengers to arrive in the business class cabin as everyone else had taken the first bus out to the aircraft and already settled in. As we sat down we were quickly offered orange juice and newspapers, as well as a hot towel, and after a short wait for coach boarding to finish up we were off the stand and quickly airborne.
View of the front of our A300
Domestic business class legroom
One of my favorite things about flying in front cabins outside the US is that no matter how short the flight they still manage to find time for some sort of food service. On this flight, we were quickly given an order of roast duck with white rice and cake along with a small variety of pre-poured beverages which the flight attendants distributed from trays.
Duck (note that no flight is too short for a proper tablecloth)
After a short, otherwise uneventful flight we landed at Phuket from the West about 15 minutes after midnight and, after collecting our baggage, hopped in our pre-arranged van to the JW Marriott Khao Lak nearly an hour and a half north of the airport.