I flew SIN-BKK-ATH vv. in July, my first long-haul with THAI (normally fly SQ longhauls but it doesn't fly daily to Athens and I was attending a summit in Bangkok on my way back). The BKK-ATH flight on the 747 was packed in economy with connecting passengers, mainly from Australia. Due to my :-: Gold status, I was able to secure an emergency exit row seat at check-in in Singapore and the station manager was also kind enough to confirm the same seat for my return flight.

The aircraft was old, my seat was uncomfortable and the pillow provided no cushioning. But I appreciated the legroom on the emergency row. And as I favour Thai cooking, I enjoyed the Thai green curry that was served.

As there was no personal in-flight entertainment system, I was happy to speed through "The DaVinci Code" and slept most of the way. The 11-hour flight was otherwise uneventful. The flight attendants were polite, smiled a lot, but were not very pro-active.

The low-point and high drama of my long-haul THAI experience occured during the return segment...

I arrived at the new Athens airport 2.5 hours before take-off and there was already over 200 passengers waiting for the THAI desks to open. (It is during times like this that I am glad to be a :-: Gold member). There was also a line in the First/Business class check-in. I looked up at the flight information board to finally learn why: FLIGHT DELAYED.

Just as I was approaching the desk, a Greek THAI agent stepped up and announced that the THAI flight had been CANCELLED due to an "unresolvable technical problem". I observed the commotion that ensued. The agent said that many would not be able to fly that day but the airline would try to transfer as many passengers as possible to different carriers, causing many to be, no exaggeration here, pissed off.

F and J passengers were, however, swiftly put on alternative flights. By then I was at the top of the F/J queue and told the THAI station manager (a Thai national) that I was a :-: Gold member and a journalist (showed him my press card) and that I was on a pre-Olympic assignment in Athens and had to be in Bangkok as scheduled to cover a summit. He recognised my predicament and put me on a list for a same-day departure.

The airline managed to find a grand total of 20 seats on a Frankfurt-bound Olympic Airways flight that was leaving shortly. We were whisked to the airline's counter and practically ran to the waiting plane that made a short stopover in Thessaloniki.

On arriving in FRA, a THAI agent directed us to the gate. As there were about two hours before take-off, I had a much needed long, hot shower at the Lufthansa Lounge and spoke to the staff, who told me it was a good thing I flew out of ATH as there was a planned strike the next day, with many flight cancellations expected!

With that news, I made my way to the THAI gate where I was greeted with an upgrade to an upperdeck Royal Executive seat. After an eventful day, I was glad to sleep most of the way so I can be rested for work in Bangkok.