Don't remember. Only thing that always impressed and stayed with me from that era was the staggering losses the n/s to NYC incurred.

BKK-LAX on the A345 lasted a bit longer than JFK into the early 2010s. I once flown LAX-BKK in PY all the way back in 2011. I don't remember anything from that flight other than that it was bearable. After the A345s were removed from operations, the LAX service became one-stop via ICN on a 772. I can't seem to remember why they didn't/couldn't use a 77W, especially since it meant that they were flying 772s with angle-lie-flat 2-3-2 in J. This then got axed pretty quickly afterwards I think.

I'm glad that the YVR route is doing pretty well albeit it remains seasonal and non-daily. I do wonder how balanced the loads are on each direction for either end of the season. Of course many in Canada probably wants a tropical vacation during Canadian winter, but in the other direction Canadian winter seems a bit cold for Thai tourists, though I suppose BC is a bit milder compared QC or ON. With the recent-ish slight liberation of visa requirements for Thai nationals perhaps maybe AC could eventually make this year-round, since I can see Canada being an appealing destination for Thai tourists during the warmer months, but the real problem could be that AC prefers to have airframes for TATL during northern hemisphere summer. There is also a not insignificant amount of Thai students at Canadian universities, especially UBC, so having this flight during the summer schedule would probably be useful for them too.

She must have graduated a few months before I was scheduled to fly it.

Yeah ... the price of fuel spiked and the A345 had to be loaded up like a flying gas can to make the routes. The economics didn't work for them or for Singapore Airlines. Both operators grounded their A345 flights shortly after the fuel prices spiked.

SQ flew them out of Newark and LAX, IIRC.

I never got to fly any of the A345 ultra long haul routes. Those were the golden ages of the star alliance. Tons of premium seat availability at reasonable mileage rates.

-David

Looks like AC will expand daily-service for YVR-BKK during the peak of the Northern Winter 2025-26 schedule. Flights will now operate daily between 2 December and 27 March.

YVR-BKK
2025-10-26 2025-11-01 M-W-FSU AC65 22:45 05:15 789
2025-11-02 2025-12-01 M-W-FSU AC65 22:45 06:15 789
2025-12-02 2026-03-07 MTWRFSU AC65 22:45 06:15 789
2026-03-08 2026-03-27 MTWRFSU AC65 22:45 05:15 789
2026-03-30 2026-05-02 M-W--S- AC65 23:10 05:15 789

BKK-YVR
2025-10-28 2025-10-31 -TW-F-- AC66 07:35 06:55 789
2025-11-02 2025-12-03 MTW-F-U AC66 08:35 06:55 789
2025-12-04 2026-03-06 MTWRFSU AC66 08:35 06:55 789
2026-03-08 2026-03-27 MTWRFSU AC66 07:35 06:55 789
2026-03-30 2026-05-04 M-W-F-- AC66 08:10 07:40 789

At this moment in time TG has no plans to start direct flights but US carriers will probably start. They are having the USAudit in August and hope it goes well and it should normally.

Since Thailand is now a Category 1 from Category 2 destination, for safety ratings, there should be some carrier to add BKK as a nonstop. Though I do like to stop in Japan on SIN even if for a few hours.

I flew Thai Airways A345 LAX-BKK. The 36" pitch in economy class was very comfortable.