kay sedia

We have an upcoming flight soon booked in business around Christmas, what can I expect seatwise? Hows the service, food, champagne, amenity kit, can you get pj's if you ask? It's the one that leaves PEK around 5pm. Is there anything to get excited about? Do we a fast track BKK arrival in biz too?

BinSabai

you fly in business class, right?
currently the 5pm flight is either on 777-300ER (full flat seats in J) or 747 (angle flat seats in J); you need to check your booking
generally no pj in business class, not even in F for this route if not a red eye
amenity kit yes, likely Borghese or Porsche
champagne: normal J champagne like Piper Heidsieck etc.
food: ev. savoury, starter, main, cheese, dessert
yes fast track in BKK but without fast track voucher and only at TG fast track (close to D4 gate or luggage belts 6-12
the full flat seats in 777-400 are something to get excited about

less exciting are the lounge in PEK (pretty lousy Air China lounge) and the frequent delays in PEK in the evening (lousy managed airport, use same runway for starts and landing, local airlines get preferences)

kay sedia

That sounds fine, looks like the 747 though. I wonder if that could change?

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

TG is nothing to write home about in business class these days unfortunately. There has been a marked downturn in their catering and you're pretty much getting a premium economy class product with business class seating. Their drinks menu is ok however.

Catering ex China often leaves a lot to be desired. Doesn't really matter which class or which carrier.

While TG's 77W and A380 business class is ok because of the full flat beds, the rest of their fleet is getting a bit dated.

Aussie_flyer

When did you last fly tg biz? I found catering had vastly inproved recently on long haul biz

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

That's a good point. It's a bit of a catch-22.

I don't (and won't) fly TG because the standards have declined. Friends and family who continued to fly them, even as recently as June/July this year said there has been no improvement in catering, and in fact it was worse than last year.

Various trip reports have all confirmed the above, including a trip report as recent as November 2014 (link here: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...d.main/259887/)

but more than the food - the seating is the issue on non 77W/787/A380. Although even on those aircraft, for someone who is tall, business class is not really suitable.

It would be good news if their catering is improving, because that recent trip report looks no better than premium economy.

Aussie_flyer

Ill post my latest trip report for bkk-mel flown 2 weeks ago soon. Ill link to it here. I disagree its like premium economy which is a single tray meal on most carriers.

If you're talking about the main course , TG serves it in the same way as cx business

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

Agree, and CX food is little better than what we might find on Qantas premium economy. Serving the main separately doesn't improve the quality of the food!

The big selling point for CX is their bed. TG can't match that.

Anyways, will be interesting to see your report!

wheresmybagba

And on CX dessert is invariably pretty much a slice of Sara Lee!

tookay

From my experience, the main course served in TG C class is virtually indistinguishable from that served in Y. Only the starters and dessert are different.

Aussie_flyer

This is my last meal on BKK-MEL, was quite nice. They have improved the serving ware.

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

I think that confirms my opinion

That hardly passes for an economy meal, let alone premium economy or business class.

I'm not saying that some other airlines like CX aren't the same - but you can hardly compare TG's offering with SQ or QF biz class.

Aussie_flyer

My photo was to show theres been an improvement. Anyway it is what it is. The meal is far more substantial overall than anything ive seen in premium economy. I'd rather be served this meal promptly on TG than wait 2.5 hours for a chicken schnitzel sandwich on Qantas.

tookay

This illustrates what I posted earlier. The food itself, not plated and sort of an oily mess all stewed together for hours in a casserole dish, is virtually indistinguishable from what is served in Y on TG.

By contrast, here is the grilled fish C selection in C on a recent Emirates flight:



(Click thumbnail to expand)

tookay

By way of illustration, an economy class main course on TG. Switch out the green beans for mixed veggies and there you go....


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