Thai 930, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)
September 14th, 2014
Airbus A380 HS-TUE “Si Racha”
Seats 2A/E (First)
From the minute we stepped on board, everything changed: as bad as the lounge experience was, we could tell right away that this crew was set to impress.
Having left the lounge before the first class buggy did, we were the first to board of nine. One of the flight attendants noticed us taking pictures of the cabin and asked if we wanted her to take a picture of us.
A second flight attendant appeared soon after to ask if he might please pour us a glass of Dom Pérignon, 2004. Of course.
The menu arrived, looking classy in its binder as always.
The plane pushed back about fifteen minutes late and rattled into the air another fifteen minutes after that. I watched from the tail cam until the darkness took over.
Exactly at 10,000 feet, the flight attendants were up and serving. Another glass of Dom, and I decided to change into pajamas. They were a bit big in size XL compared to Asiana's that were a bit small in size L.
A third glass of Dom appeared as soon as the second one was empty, and I went to check out the IFE. Movie selection was vast -- at least 125 movies -- so I went with
Iron Man 3, which I hadn't seen.
Shortly thereafter, dinner service starts. Remember, this is a midnight flight; I’m impressed that they’re serving anything more than a light snack.
The table—dare I say the stage?—is set.
To drink: Château Larmande, St-Émilion, 2009
Caviar service, from the cart. They asked which garnishes I wanted and proceeded to give me all of them. Vodka is Stolichnaya.
First course: duck liver terrine, red and green apple, Thai-style tiger prawn and papaya salad. A lot of food, maybe twice as much as I wanted for an appetizer.
We didn’t pre-order main courses, because screw that. Nothing good ever comes from ordering a meal further in advance than right before you’re eating it.
Main course: roast duck BBQ in red curry with lychees, rice, red pepper, bok choy. Just amazing. I caught myself wanting to lick the bowl when it was gone.
Fruit and cheese plate: papaya, watermelon, grapes, dragonfruit, pineapple, melon.
Dessert: exotic fruit tart; chocolate cake, vanilla sauce; bu lan dan mek.
I must say, every last bite was perfect. As soon as meals were cleared, turndown service started happening for the five or so people who were still awake.
I finished the movie somewhere over Delhi by about 3 am Bangkok time, 5 am Seoul time, and crucially 10 pm Paris time, and I was as prepped as I could be to sleep on a plane. I was out like a light.
Two hours before landing, on the dot, the crew opened the curtains between the rear galley and the cabin, letting in just enough light for a perfectly gentle wake-up.
I changed back into my clothes. Are we still doing A380 lavatory pictures?
The snack bar is a great touch, but I think it went completely untouched for the duration of the flight. This is the landing at the top of the front stairs.
Breakfast time over Warsaw.
To drink: coffee. Probably Nespresso once again.
Fruit plate.
Yogurt.
Main course: poached eggs benedict, ham, spinach.
And of course, the only television show that exists on planes.
Just like that, we were approaching and landing in Paris.
I was absolutely blown away by this flight, though the disappointing lounge experience probably didn’t hurt in terms of making it look that much better by comparison.
The food was just delightful, the champagne and wine selections quite nice indeed. The bed was much more comfortable than the other A380 I’d been on.
But more than anything else, the three flight attendants serving the nine passengers in first class were all wonderful, absolutely personable and available at a moment’s notice. They easily made it an experience to remember.