Overall, I thought that TG's domestic Business Class service was quite good. I took 4 flights, Bangkok-Phuket return and Bangkok to Chiang Mai return. The 'lounge' in Phuket is really quite good. It's a separate area of the restaurant (which is run by Thai) and has sofas and newspapers. Check-in staff give you a lounge invitation. At the lounge you are handed a card menu and can order from the adjoining restaurant a snack and a drink (of which several choices are alcoholic). I ordered a chicken sandwich and a frozen margarita. Both the ordering and the delivery are done by a waiter, which is a nice touch. Both the sandwich and the drink were very good.

Very good meals were served on both my Phuket flights. However, on my Chiang Mai flights, there were no meals served, just refreshments. Possibly this was because I was travelling outside designated meal times. For whatever reason the Chiang Mai to Bangkok flight was a 747-400 operating a 2 class domestic service. I got seat 1B which is usually first class. So, a huge, comfortable seat for a short flight.

The big minus on Thai's domestic Business Class service was the 'lounge' at Chiang Mai airport. There isn't a lounge at all but you get a invitation at check-in for a 'refreshment' at the restaurant, which is operated by Thai, just as it is in Phuket. But this time, on the invitation, a big 'NO ALCOHOL' is stamped. The restaurant itself was pretty awful and I had a menu thrown at me by a passing waiter after waiting 5 minutes and being passed dozens of times by the many staff there. It was only possible to get a single fruit juice or cup of coffee/tea. No snacks or food of any kind and definitely not a beer, wine or cocktail was permitted. No newspapers, no sofas. What a dismal comparison to Phuket. I sometimes just can't understand Thai. Why is Chiang Mai so different to Phuket? Same airline, same fare class, same flight times, same restaurant owner, very different service - bizarre.

Thai sometimes can be so good and at other times really bad! It's the same with their aircraft. Some 747-400s have good seats, most don't. Some 777s are OK others are terrible. The one consistently good thing is the in-flight service of the Thai staff. Everything else seems so variable.

It was interesting to read in Thai newspapers what Thais themselves thought about their own airline:- Once it was considered the best airline in Asia but now it ranks quite low, behind Singapore, Cathay and others.

It shouldn't be that hard for Thai to improve. Better aircraft seats are urgently needed. The C class seats on most 747-400s don't have adjustable headrests or even a proper footrest. And better and more polished ground service. New aircraft seats might be expensive. But improved ground service (at least in Thailand where rents, labour costs and food/drink prices are all very low) would be relatively inexpensive.