Long haul F going downhill again ?
Nov 11, 2012, 7:50 pm
#31
Join Date: May 2006
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I flew last wednesday TG921 in F, no menus. No somkiat it is not a big deal, but it is a bit strange, like most things TG, it is a bit of inconsistency creeping in.
Nov 11, 2012, 8:39 pm
#32
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Nov 12, 2012, 7:16 am
#34
Join Date: May 2012
Location: BKK/SIN/YYZ/YUL
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For a special first class experience at feeling ripped of, I recommend the lounge experience and transit desk at FCO. If you are into reliving TG's F class of the 1990's on a decrepit B747 try the FCO-BKK route. The small arm rest monitors showing 2 poor quality looped films were cutting edge way back then. The old bald guy that does the CDG-BKK has impeccable French though. Here's a trivia point: He was born in France and went to the finest schools. How do I know? Because he tells all the pax his life story.
Nov 12, 2012, 7:30 am
#35
Join Date: Jul 2010
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For a special first class experience at feeling ripped of, I recommend the lounge experience and transit desk at FCO. If you are into reliving TG's F class of the 1990's on a decrepit B747 try the FCO-BKK route. The small arm rest monitors showing 2 poor quality looped films were cutting edge way back then. The old bald guy that does the CDG-BKK has impeccable French though. Here's a trivia point: He was born in France and went to the finest schools. How do I know? Because he tells all the pax his life story.
Nov 13, 2012, 2:08 am
#36
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Bangkok & Dublin
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Posts: 375
Interesting.
I was in F with spouse a few years back and I was the only person who took the caviar (out of 4 total passengers) - they gave me a normal-sized portion from the tin (I saw it in that white bowl thing with ice that it always goes in - I got about 1/8th of the tin). The other 3 passengers passed it up and went on to the other starter.
I asked for seconds and was told "there was no more".
So I supposed the other 7/8 of the tin had vanished into thin air.
I was in F with spouse a few years back and I was the only person who took the caviar (out of 4 total passengers) - they gave me a normal-sized portion from the tin (I saw it in that white bowl thing with ice that it always goes in - I got about 1/8th of the tin). The other 3 passengers passed it up and went on to the other starter.
I asked for seconds and was told "there was no more".
So I supposed the other 7/8 of the tin had vanished into thin air.
Somkiat I would always rate the Singapore hard product above Thai, and I would fly with Singapore if I thought they were good value for money. I can afford to fly Singapore but choose to fly Thai because I think the F product is very good value for money, and the soft products, such as food, service, cabin crew are superior to Singapore, when BKK is the port of origin, and the FFP is far better for me.
Singapore would never tolerate some of the inconsistencies produced by Thai but then that is why Singapore are consistently voted best airline in the world, Asia Pacific etc., and Thai consistently come in within the top five to ten.
Thai offer a very good value, pleasant F experience and, in the theme of the OP I do not think that Thai F is going downhill at all. I just don't get upset by some of the minor issues that other people seem to get upset about.
Nov 13, 2012, 8:14 pm
#37
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It was mine.......
I flew the A340-600 from BKK to LHR this week, for the first time.
This aircraft does not really lend itself to F class. The galley is tiny and the loos are also tiny, and the cabin feels like a glorified Business Class. Having said that the crew were excellent and produced a lovely meal and great service.
Surprisingly, while everybody in the 8 seat cabin had their allocation of half a tin of caviar, the crew still managed to find me a second portion. Also, I couldn't decide between the King Prawn starter or the Lobster, Crab meat, Smoked Salmon roll starter, so the CSD gave me both dishes...and they were both fantastic.
I like the new grey coloured pyjamas...the cotton is very light and I found them more comfortable than the purple or blue ones, but the purple colour was the nicest.....
I flew the A340-600 from BKK to LHR this week, for the first time.
This aircraft does not really lend itself to F class. The galley is tiny and the loos are also tiny, and the cabin feels like a glorified Business Class. Having said that the crew were excellent and produced a lovely meal and great service.
Surprisingly, while everybody in the 8 seat cabin had their allocation of half a tin of caviar, the crew still managed to find me a second portion. Also, I couldn't decide between the King Prawn starter or the Lobster, Crab meat, Smoked Salmon roll starter, so the CSD gave me both dishes...and they were both fantastic.
I like the new grey coloured pyjamas...the cotton is very light and I found them more comfortable than the purple or blue ones, but the purple colour was the nicest.....
Totally agree with you about A340-600 in F.
Nov 13, 2012, 8:16 pm
#38
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You were probably unlucky enough to have a pilot or crew member who was partial to caviar!
Somkiat I would always rate the Singapore hard product above Thai, and I would fly with Singapore if I thought they were good value for money. I can afford to fly Singapore but choose to fly Thai because I think the F product is very good value for money, and the soft products, such as food, service, cabin crew are superior to Singapore, when BKK is the port of origin, and the FFP is far better for me.
Singapore would never tolerate some of the inconsistencies produced by Thai but then that is why Singapore are consistently voted best airline in the world, Asia Pacific etc., and Thai consistently come in within the top five to ten.
Thai offer a very good value, pleasant F experience and, in the theme of the OP I do not think that Thai F is going downhill at all. I just don't get upset by some of the minor issues that other people seem to get upset about.
Somkiat I would always rate the Singapore hard product above Thai, and I would fly with Singapore if I thought they were good value for money. I can afford to fly Singapore but choose to fly Thai because I think the F product is very good value for money, and the soft products, such as food, service, cabin crew are superior to Singapore, when BKK is the port of origin, and the FFP is far better for me.
Singapore would never tolerate some of the inconsistencies produced by Thai but then that is why Singapore are consistently voted best airline in the world, Asia Pacific etc., and Thai consistently come in within the top five to ten.
Thai offer a very good value, pleasant F experience and, in the theme of the OP I do not think that Thai F is going downhill at all. I just don't get upset by some of the minor issues that other people seem to get upset about.
Nov 13, 2012, 8:21 pm
#39
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Tasmania, Australia
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Posts: 3,767
You were probably unlucky enough to have a pilot or crew member who was partial to caviar!
Somkiat I would always rate the Singapore hard product above Thai, and I would fly with Singapore if I thought they were good value for money. I can afford to fly Singapore but choose to fly Thai because I think the F product is very good value for money, and the soft products, such as food, service, cabin crew are superior to Singapore, when BKK is the port of origin, and the FFP is far better for me.
Singapore would never tolerate some of the inconsistencies produced by Thai but then that is why Singapore are consistently voted best airline in the world, Asia Pacific etc., and Thai consistently come in within the top five to ten.
Thai offer a very good value, pleasant F experience and, in the theme of the OP I do not think that Thai F is going downhill at all. I just don't get upset by some of the minor issues that other people seem to get upset about.
Somkiat I would always rate the Singapore hard product above Thai, and I would fly with Singapore if I thought they were good value for money. I can afford to fly Singapore but choose to fly Thai because I think the F product is very good value for money, and the soft products, such as food, service, cabin crew are superior to Singapore, when BKK is the port of origin, and the FFP is far better for me.
Singapore would never tolerate some of the inconsistencies produced by Thai but then that is why Singapore are consistently voted best airline in the world, Asia Pacific etc., and Thai consistently come in within the top five to ten.
Thai offer a very good value, pleasant F experience and, in the theme of the OP I do not think that Thai F is going downhill at all. I just don't get upset by some of the minor issues that other people seem to get upset about.
Nov 14, 2012, 11:07 am
#41
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Rome, Italy
Programs: ROP GOLD, QFF GOLD
Posts: 32
For a special first class experience at feeling ripped of, I recommend the lounge experience and transit desk at FCO. If you are into reliving TG's F class of the 1990's on a decrepit B747 try the FCO-BKK route. The small arm rest monitors showing 2 poor quality looped films were cutting edge way back then.
Last year when I flew FCO BKK in late November I was handed a letter of apology at check-in about the fact that there was an aircraft change - it was the old 747 All Series - the entertainment system didn't work at all no matter how many times the cabin crew attempted to 're-boot' it. Also, the seat I was allocated (1A) was broken so I had to move to another. All in all, a very disappointing experience - especially as I paid full price for my first class ticket.
Nov 14, 2012, 4:18 pm
#42
Join Date: Jul 2012
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I'm Irish so hardly qualify as patriotic in the Thai sense.
I am 55 years old and am a mature First Class flyer who sets his expectations in terms of hard and soft product as value for money. I pay for First about 25% of the time that I fly in that class, using miles, upgrade awards etc to fly F on the other 75%, and I do so from BKK to DUB via a European gateway at least seven times a year......
I may be easily pleased...who knows what pleases any of us as individuals?
The OP was asking if Thai F has gone downhill and I was making the point that I did not think so but, as always these are subjective opinions.
As is obvious from the number of people contributing to this forum, expectation of the flight to come seems to be nearly as important, or exciting, as the experience itself. Hence, setting realistic expectations should, in theory, result in a pleasant flight experience irrespective of the class of travel....no?
I am 55 years old and am a mature First Class flyer who sets his expectations in terms of hard and soft product as value for money. I pay for First about 25% of the time that I fly in that class, using miles, upgrade awards etc to fly F on the other 75%, and I do so from BKK to DUB via a European gateway at least seven times a year......
I may be easily pleased...who knows what pleases any of us as individuals?
The OP was asking if Thai F has gone downhill and I was making the point that I did not think so but, as always these are subjective opinions.
As is obvious from the number of people contributing to this forum, expectation of the flight to come seems to be nearly as important, or exciting, as the experience itself. Hence, setting realistic expectations should, in theory, result in a pleasant flight experience irrespective of the class of travel....no?
Nov 14, 2012, 5:03 pm
#43
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Posts: 368
I'm Irish so hardly qualify as patriotic in the Thai sense.
I am 55 years old and am a mature First Class flyer who sets his expectations in terms of hard and soft product as value for money. I pay for First about 25% of the time that I fly in that class, using miles, upgrade awards etc to fly F on the other 75%, and I do so from BKK to DUB via a European gateway at least seven times a year......
I may be easily pleased...who knows what pleases any of us as individuals?
The OP was asking if Thai F has gone downhill and I was making the point that I did not think so but, as always these are subjective opinions.
As is obvious from the number of people contributing to this forum, expectation of the flight to come seems to be nearly as important, or exciting, as the experience itself. Hence, setting realistic expectations should, in theory, result in a pleasant flight experience irrespective of the class of travel....no?
I am 55 years old and am a mature First Class flyer who sets his expectations in terms of hard and soft product as value for money. I pay for First about 25% of the time that I fly in that class, using miles, upgrade awards etc to fly F on the other 75%, and I do so from BKK to DUB via a European gateway at least seven times a year......
I may be easily pleased...who knows what pleases any of us as individuals?
The OP was asking if Thai F has gone downhill and I was making the point that I did not think so but, as always these are subjective opinions.
As is obvious from the number of people contributing to this forum, expectation of the flight to come seems to be nearly as important, or exciting, as the experience itself. Hence, setting realistic expectations should, in theory, result in a pleasant flight experience irrespective of the class of travel....no?
One man's beautiful woman,is another man's kathoey.
Opinions are like ars* holes everyone has one ...
Nov 14, 2012, 5:33 pm
#44
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Tasmania, Australia
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Well, I fly C class and I pay for it. My very first experience (about 5-6 years ago) on TG was so horrible that I said to myself "never ever again." Whops, next trip, the only reasonably priced ticket from Australia to Europe was SYD(TG)-BKK(LH)-FRA and the experience on TG was simply fantastic. Since then, I flew between Australia and BKK several times, and the experience is different every time. It depends a lot on the crew and hard product. I will be doing next trip soon...
To be fair, I had the same mixed experience with UA - I have been on flights between USA and Australia where soft product was simply disgusting and on flights where it was just brilliant. it depends.
To be fair, I had the same mixed experience with UA - I have been on flights between USA and Australia where soft product was simply disgusting and on flights where it was just brilliant. it depends.
Nov 14, 2012, 10:07 pm
#45
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
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I'm Irish so hardly qualify as patriotic in the Thai sense.
I am 55 years old and am a mature First Class flyer who sets his expectations in terms of hard and soft product as value for money. I pay for First about 25% of the time that I fly in that class, using miles, upgrade awards etc to fly F on the other 75%, and I do so from BKK to DUB via a European gateway at least seven times a year......
I may be easily pleased...who knows what pleases any of us as individuals?
The OP was asking if Thai F has gone downhill and I was making the point that I did not think so but, as always these are subjective opinions.
As is obvious from the number of people contributing to this forum, expectation of the flight to come seems to be nearly as important, or exciting, as the experience itself. Hence, setting realistic expectations should, in theory, result in a pleasant flight experience irrespective of the class of travel....no?
I am 55 years old and am a mature First Class flyer who sets his expectations in terms of hard and soft product as value for money. I pay for First about 25% of the time that I fly in that class, using miles, upgrade awards etc to fly F on the other 75%, and I do so from BKK to DUB via a European gateway at least seven times a year......
I may be easily pleased...who knows what pleases any of us as individuals?
The OP was asking if Thai F has gone downhill and I was making the point that I did not think so but, as always these are subjective opinions.
As is obvious from the number of people contributing to this forum, expectation of the flight to come seems to be nearly as important, or exciting, as the experience itself. Hence, setting realistic expectations should, in theory, result in a pleasant flight experience irrespective of the class of travel....no?
I'm happy with 99% of First classes for that reason. I'm not so happy about UA as an example as they don't meet some of those basics. Yeah they have a great seat, but the cabin is hardly private (no curtains, bright galley light etc), and the service is not necessarily tailored with me in mind.
I think for the price, TG is an excellent offering and ticks all the boxes.