At 3 hours before departure there were 3 people in front of us at the Royal Silk line and a much longer economy line. But just a few minutes later we had our boarding passes, luggage tags (booked all the way through to CDG - our final destination some 30 hours down the track), immigration departure cards, an express pass for customs and a stamp on our boarding passes for the Air New Zealand lounge which is near gate 51 from where our flight departs.
We wanted to buy some souvenirs for my Italian family so we set off in search of non-tacky T-shirts, but failed in our quest. There were plenty of T-shirts, it was the non-tacky bit we had difficulty with.
The Air New Zealand lounge was full of noisy Americans, so I tried to find a discrete corner. A short while later there was an announcement that a Delta flight had been cancelled and passengers should go to the gate. A few minutes later the lounge returned to its normal peaceful state.
The food and drink selection was much less than I remember on previous trips. No sparkling mineral water, no champagne. Some warm food, hardly any snacks and horrors of all horrors (for an Australian), the beer was warm!
Later some honey & soy wingettes were brought out. These were actually quite nice, but obviously everybody else in the lounge agreed with this assessment and they didn't last for a second pass.
This aircraft demonstrates the unlevel playing field when commercial operators have to compete with government owned airlines. This aircraft arrives at 8pm the prior evening (as TG471), waits idle until the 16:55 departure the next day. For a passenger, this gives it an excellent on-time record.
Champagne was served on boarding. Hot towel, newspapers and menus provided. Meal choice taken prior to push back 1 minute early at 16:54. Every seat in the upstairs business class cabin was taken.
I hate to sound like an aircraft nerd here, but I will. This was the same aircraft I took 7 years ago on a flight BKK to SYD and it remains to this day the worst ever Business Class flight I have had the displeasure of taking. In my defence I know this because it used to be painted as the Queen's Barge. There was only a single shared projector screen for all of business class and what old fashion recliner seats. Thankfully things have changed : there's shell seating, AVOD (much better selection than SK).
Very useful and well presented Crabtree and Evelyn amenity kit.
Pillows, blankets and noise cancelling headsets were already in place. The seat itself is a little narrow. When I put my elbow down I kept bumping the edge of the shell : overshooting the arm rest. It's also short. When fully extended my feet were still bent at the knees if the foot rest was deployed. (I'm 6'4".)
Shortly after seat belts off, plastic bags containing nuts were distributed followed by a hot savoury snack (beef kebab) which was a good size portion, but just ok to taste. This was followed by the all important drinks trolley and another moist towel.
Main course (for me) was Chicken Pa-naeng Curry which was excellent, followed by Cheese & fruit then cheesecake and coffee. From push back to end of the meal service was 2 hours exactly. About right for a dinner service. Bottled water handed out.
The drinks trolley didn't appear as often as I would have liked it to during the meal but the wines themselves were very good. I can highly recommend the 2010 Chablis 1st Cru Jacques Blanchet. It was dry, minerally and flinty. The 2006 Chateau de Chantegrive was superb with loads of pepper and spice. A miserly portion of Drambui was carefully dribbled in to my glass. It quickly evaporated. It must have been due to the high temperature in the cabin which persisted for about 3 hours until somebody must have found the cold switch. Either that or the Captain must have wound down the window. Then it got much more comfortable.
I couldn't really get comfortable in the seat. But I did watch Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Three Stooges remake.
The toilets were clean and well stocked.
Sorry about the lack of photos. Having a copilot does tend to cramp my style a bit.
The second meal was a single tray service : fruit, prawns & noodles plus chocolates. Tea, coffee and drinks offered. It was all packed away with an hour to go.
Landed at 22:04 after a brief holding pattern (about 15 mins early) and doors open at 22:10. Economy and business both scrambled for the doors together.
But all in all, Thai lived up to their promise "Smooth as Silk". The entertainment system is good (very nearly as good as SQ), but for me at least, the seat needs a bit of work.