DPS-BKK on Thai Airways or, "Um, why donīt I just change seats?"
Jul 22, 2001, 5:42 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Circle City
Posts: 3,568
DPS-BKK on Thai Airways or, "Um, why donīt I just change seats?"
I apologize in advance for my spelling. I am on a Spanish version of Word (without an English spellcheck), and I am on a Spanish keyboard.
This was a reroute in Business Class, done when CX cancelled my flights through Hong Kong. Initially, I was to take QF to Singapore and SQ to Bangkok, but then the QF flight was so delayed that there was no way to make a same day connection in Singapore. Since I wasnīt in BKK for all that long, I didnt want to miss a connection. Depending on how many I have time to write, you will find my next several trip reports filled with many, many, many cancellations and changes, none of which were voluntary.
Thai Airways. The plane was on a three class MD-11, though they were only using two of the three classes. Not sure why. Even if it wasnt their usual plane (usually a330), it seems that they would have filled it up with elite and paid pax. Guess not. The business class cabin was about half full, laid out in the 2-3-2 configuration. Dont remember the exact seat, but I was on the right side of the aircraft. Denpasar is one of my favorite airports to leave from because of the serene beauty of the sun reflecting off of the water with the lush green island in the background. Bali has easily become one of my favorite places, though in certain parts it is infected with the common Australias Touristicas virus. Avoid those areas, and it is stunning.
The flight was about four hours long, and easily seemed like it. The seats were not designed by the famous torture specialist, Victor the Mean, but they were old. Very old. This airplane not only didnt belong in service, it belonged in a museum. I think it was the same plane that Moses floated down the Nile on, but I cant say for sure. There was no personal entertainment, other than singing along with the creaks as you ascended into the wild blue sky, and the main screen was misaligned so that you had red and blue ghosts on it. Think it was a circa 1976 front projection unit, made into something that would fit in an airplane. The movie was something really bad with David Arquette, a dog, a kid, and Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile). I am beginning to think that Arquetteīs contracts actually stipulate that the movie has to be bad for him to be in it. Anyway, it was basically an hour and a half of him getting burned, bruised, beaten, and buff. Sorry, only other word I could think of with a B, and yes, there was a nekkid scene in this kids flick.
The flight attendants were very nice and professional, and their attire was pretty, if maybe a bit dysfunctional. Men and women flight attendants were both present, and both were quite good. When I arrived, the one near my seat welcomed me, offered me a drink, asked how my trip to Bali was, and was genuinely very pleasant.
At the moment, I am 7K miles from home, so I dont have the menu with me. Ill do my best. Dinner began with warm mixed nuts and a pre-dinner drink. Appetisers included a piece of salmon (yuk), two slices of cured snapper (better than I expected), and something that I couldnīt name if I tried. It was some sort of cold duck wrap, with nuts and dried fruits (like raisins) inside. I have no idea what it was, and I didnt like it a whole lot. There were three different main course selections, including one western, one non-descript, and one Thai. I opted for the Thai meal, which was chicken and red curry (not too mild, not too spicy), accompanied with rice. It was quite good. Dessert was a fine chocolate and raspberry torte, with a ball of raspberry and vanilla yoghurt. Finally, coffee. The most important food group: the caffiene group.
Back to this plane thing. About 1/2 way through the flight, just as the Thai curry began to remind me why it is not such a good idea to eat spicy food on an airplane, I got up to move around. Bling, bling! What the...? No, it wasnīt the sound of an NBA championship ring, it was the sound of my seatbelt hitting the floor. *sigh*... So as the responsible pax that I am, I tell the attendant and offer to just move to the seat next to me. Nope, that would not do. The next 20 minutes were spent with a little male Thai flight attendant fighting with a seatbelt (and losing), with a big farang standing behind him shaking his head and suggesting that he just leave it for engineering. I think it became his mission, though more like Mission Impossible. After 20 minutes and lots of choice Thai words that I can only imagine translate to, he got it back in place and told me to change seats. Like hell I will. I didnt watch him struggle with it for that long, only to have it not matter. So I took my rightful seat, and enjoyed my newly placed seatbelt. Did I mention that this plane was old?
The rest of the trip was uneventful. At the end, we were each given an orchid and a box that contained a silver thing that I have no idea what it could possibly be used for. Thought maybe it was one of those secret wimmin things that we arent supposed to know about, but my mum didnt know what it was for either. So I gave it to my dad... I did like the orchid a lot, though, and I kept it in my room for the next several days. Cheered things up a bit, as it stood proudly in front of the cloudy and smoggy skies.
Landing was excellent. One of the best in a long time. I was not on the side of the golf course, but it didnt matter because it was at night. I still am curious whether anyone has ever shanked a ball into a plane. Customs went as well as expected, and an hour later, I was through and on my way.
Overall, I would grade this flight as about average, but one which was only average due to a balancing factor. Nothing was average, it was either quite good or quite poor. The poorest part was the plane. Earth to Thailand, we are in the year 2001. I agree that the dps-bkk route is probably not the most lucritive, but this was a longhaul plane, probably normally used on the syd-bkk route. Four hours was alright, but if I had to do 9 hours in a soldout flight, I would have flipped a cookie. Best part of the flight was the service, which was excellent. Not as good as CX, but better than any American airline and better than QF biz. I would fly them again if the price was right, but I would make sure to avoid the MD-11.
This was a reroute in Business Class, done when CX cancelled my flights through Hong Kong. Initially, I was to take QF to Singapore and SQ to Bangkok, but then the QF flight was so delayed that there was no way to make a same day connection in Singapore. Since I wasnīt in BKK for all that long, I didnt want to miss a connection. Depending on how many I have time to write, you will find my next several trip reports filled with many, many, many cancellations and changes, none of which were voluntary.
Thai Airways. The plane was on a three class MD-11, though they were only using two of the three classes. Not sure why. Even if it wasnt their usual plane (usually a330), it seems that they would have filled it up with elite and paid pax. Guess not. The business class cabin was about half full, laid out in the 2-3-2 configuration. Dont remember the exact seat, but I was on the right side of the aircraft. Denpasar is one of my favorite airports to leave from because of the serene beauty of the sun reflecting off of the water with the lush green island in the background. Bali has easily become one of my favorite places, though in certain parts it is infected with the common Australias Touristicas virus. Avoid those areas, and it is stunning.
The flight was about four hours long, and easily seemed like it. The seats were not designed by the famous torture specialist, Victor the Mean, but they were old. Very old. This airplane not only didnt belong in service, it belonged in a museum. I think it was the same plane that Moses floated down the Nile on, but I cant say for sure. There was no personal entertainment, other than singing along with the creaks as you ascended into the wild blue sky, and the main screen was misaligned so that you had red and blue ghosts on it. Think it was a circa 1976 front projection unit, made into something that would fit in an airplane. The movie was something really bad with David Arquette, a dog, a kid, and Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile). I am beginning to think that Arquetteīs contracts actually stipulate that the movie has to be bad for him to be in it. Anyway, it was basically an hour and a half of him getting burned, bruised, beaten, and buff. Sorry, only other word I could think of with a B, and yes, there was a nekkid scene in this kids flick.
The flight attendants were very nice and professional, and their attire was pretty, if maybe a bit dysfunctional. Men and women flight attendants were both present, and both were quite good. When I arrived, the one near my seat welcomed me, offered me a drink, asked how my trip to Bali was, and was genuinely very pleasant.
At the moment, I am 7K miles from home, so I dont have the menu with me. Ill do my best. Dinner began with warm mixed nuts and a pre-dinner drink. Appetisers included a piece of salmon (yuk), two slices of cured snapper (better than I expected), and something that I couldnīt name if I tried. It was some sort of cold duck wrap, with nuts and dried fruits (like raisins) inside. I have no idea what it was, and I didnt like it a whole lot. There were three different main course selections, including one western, one non-descript, and one Thai. I opted for the Thai meal, which was chicken and red curry (not too mild, not too spicy), accompanied with rice. It was quite good. Dessert was a fine chocolate and raspberry torte, with a ball of raspberry and vanilla yoghurt. Finally, coffee. The most important food group: the caffiene group.
Back to this plane thing. About 1/2 way through the flight, just as the Thai curry began to remind me why it is not such a good idea to eat spicy food on an airplane, I got up to move around. Bling, bling! What the...? No, it wasnīt the sound of an NBA championship ring, it was the sound of my seatbelt hitting the floor. *sigh*... So as the responsible pax that I am, I tell the attendant and offer to just move to the seat next to me. Nope, that would not do. The next 20 minutes were spent with a little male Thai flight attendant fighting with a seatbelt (and losing), with a big farang standing behind him shaking his head and suggesting that he just leave it for engineering. I think it became his mission, though more like Mission Impossible. After 20 minutes and lots of choice Thai words that I can only imagine translate to, he got it back in place and told me to change seats. Like hell I will. I didnt watch him struggle with it for that long, only to have it not matter. So I took my rightful seat, and enjoyed my newly placed seatbelt. Did I mention that this plane was old?
The rest of the trip was uneventful. At the end, we were each given an orchid and a box that contained a silver thing that I have no idea what it could possibly be used for. Thought maybe it was one of those secret wimmin things that we arent supposed to know about, but my mum didnt know what it was for either. So I gave it to my dad... I did like the orchid a lot, though, and I kept it in my room for the next several days. Cheered things up a bit, as it stood proudly in front of the cloudy and smoggy skies.
Landing was excellent. One of the best in a long time. I was not on the side of the golf course, but it didnt matter because it was at night. I still am curious whether anyone has ever shanked a ball into a plane. Customs went as well as expected, and an hour later, I was through and on my way.
Overall, I would grade this flight as about average, but one which was only average due to a balancing factor. Nothing was average, it was either quite good or quite poor. The poorest part was the plane. Earth to Thailand, we are in the year 2001. I agree that the dps-bkk route is probably not the most lucritive, but this was a longhaul plane, probably normally used on the syd-bkk route. Four hours was alright, but if I had to do 9 hours in a soldout flight, I would have flipped a cookie. Best part of the flight was the service, which was excellent. Not as good as CX, but better than any American airline and better than QF biz. I would fly them again if the price was right, but I would make sure to avoid the MD-11.
Jul 22, 2001, 10:02 pm
#2
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,352
Thanks for the trip report! Hopefully we can read about your trips throughout Asia.
Sorry to tell you that these MD-11s are still used extensively on Thai's network. They are on couple European routes -- Stockholm or Copenhagen, and used on various regional flights. TG will phase them out as they received more A330s. I am shock to find out that MD-11s do not have PTVs. But then TG has been slacking in terms of rennovating its F and J cabins.
The food sounds fine...
Thanks,
Carfield
Sorry to tell you that these MD-11s are still used extensively on Thai's network. They are on couple European routes -- Stockholm or Copenhagen, and used on various regional flights. TG will phase them out as they received more A330s. I am shock to find out that MD-11s do not have PTVs. But then TG has been slacking in terms of rennovating its F and J cabins.
The food sounds fine...
Thanks,
Carfield
Jul 23, 2001, 8:46 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Circle City
Posts: 3,568
Thanks, Carfield.
Yeh, the plane was a bit of a shocker. I dont know if the first cabin had ptvs (I only poked my head in as I went to the loo), but biz most certainly did not. At this point, I am curious as to the difference between the 330 and the m11. But at the prices, I dont think I will go out of my way anytime soon to find out.
The food was good, but you sort of have to like Thai food. I do, so it was easy for me to like. Booze selection was average, I guess, but not outstanding. I dont drink much, though, so I didnt care. Tonight, I go out on a Lan Chile flight, which has an outstanding wine list. Something I am looking forward to. Mmmmm...Vina Tarapaca.... Made the mistake of taking AA down here, but never again. Even if I have to wait 3 months for my LA miles to post, it is 100% worth it. Actually looking forward to this flight. Will certainly do a report on it, as I dont think very many have been done. Will also finish and post my Bali report, if I can. *sigh*...I think that if I were able to buy time with miles on AOLAAdvantage, I would. I also want to write on my AAdventures. Wonīt be pretty, I can give you that right now.
Yeh, the plane was a bit of a shocker. I dont know if the first cabin had ptvs (I only poked my head in as I went to the loo), but biz most certainly did not. At this point, I am curious as to the difference between the 330 and the m11. But at the prices, I dont think I will go out of my way anytime soon to find out.
The food was good, but you sort of have to like Thai food. I do, so it was easy for me to like. Booze selection was average, I guess, but not outstanding. I dont drink much, though, so I didnt care. Tonight, I go out on a Lan Chile flight, which has an outstanding wine list. Something I am looking forward to. Mmmmm...Vina Tarapaca.... Made the mistake of taking AA down here, but never again. Even if I have to wait 3 months for my LA miles to post, it is 100% worth it. Actually looking forward to this flight. Will certainly do a report on it, as I dont think very many have been done. Will also finish and post my Bali report, if I can. *sigh*...I think that if I were able to buy time with miles on AOLAAdvantage, I would. I also want to write on my AAdventures. Wonīt be pretty, I can give you that right now.
Jul 23, 2001, 12:56 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 2,055
Well, when you consider that the competition is Garuda you can understand why these planes are still used. My last, and hopefully last, flights on Garuda were BKK-CGK and then CGK-MEL, both about 5 years ago. The BKK-CGK flight was on an old, old 200 (maybe 100) series 747 that was coming on from LHR. Boarding in BKK I thought I was stepping back in time. I was sitting at the front of the rear section in the exit row with a clear view forward. During the takeoff roll I was quite sure the plane was going to shake itself to bits, decrepit overhead bins spilling their contents all over.
The continuing flight to MEL was a DC-10 of sufficient age that it most likely predates my grandmother. It was another crazy flight, I was glad when we got to OZ.
I'm chagrined to see that that route is no longer operated by GA. Only BKK-DPS now on a 747-400. However, lucky you gets to connect DPS-CGK on either a DC10 or 747-200. Get 'em while they last!!
The continuing flight to MEL was a DC-10 of sufficient age that it most likely predates my grandmother. It was another crazy flight, I was glad when we got to OZ.
I'm chagrined to see that that route is no longer operated by GA. Only BKK-DPS now on a 747-400. However, lucky you gets to connect DPS-CGK on either a DC10 or 747-200. Get 'em while they last!!
Jul 23, 2001, 7:51 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2001
Programs: Emirates Gold, SQ Gold, Jet Airways Gold, BA Silver, Qatar Silver, Starwood Lifetime Gold
Posts: 1,167
Interesting report. However I'm surprised to see the MD11 being described as a museum piece -- it is of relatively recent vintage, introduced in the late 1980s, around the same time as the 747-400. It has a glass cockpit and stuff, and is really quite a modern airplane.
Jul 23, 2001, 8:18 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Circle City
Posts: 3,568
Yikes, you are right. Dont suppose Thai still uses the DC-10 anywhere, as they look the same to my untrained eye. If not, then they need to seriously go in there and refurb that plane. It looked about 20 years old, with the associated problems.
Jul 23, 2001, 9:18 pm
#7
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Abu Dhabi UAE
Programs: EY Plat, IHG Plat Amb
Posts: 895
An MD11 has a different (longer) tail and winglets. It is quite a modern airplane and should fly for quite a few years to come. I think production only closes about now, but it is still on the boeing website.
Thai of course has a problem with its 1st class because there are no revenue passangers in there, only retired directors and their extended family. So Thai would like to phase out 1st class, but then it will really not be able to compete with SQ and CX anymore.
The 777's and 330's are 2 class and have weird layouts as discussed aerlier on this forum, (777 with 3-4-3 in Y?).
In my opinion Thai should change its focus on becoming a volume carrier without having to compete with SQ and CX. The competition on BKK airport is so fierce that TG has no other choice. SQ BKK-SIN-DPS is only USD 300 r/t, but SIN-DPS r/t costs USD 350. Highway robbery rates as they are referred to here will always give SQ and CX a revenue advantage. If TG doesnt have that advantage then dont try to compete on the same playing field.
Thai of course has a problem with its 1st class because there are no revenue passangers in there, only retired directors and their extended family. So Thai would like to phase out 1st class, but then it will really not be able to compete with SQ and CX anymore.
The 777's and 330's are 2 class and have weird layouts as discussed aerlier on this forum, (777 with 3-4-3 in Y?).
In my opinion Thai should change its focus on becoming a volume carrier without having to compete with SQ and CX. The competition on BKK airport is so fierce that TG has no other choice. SQ BKK-SIN-DPS is only USD 300 r/t, but SIN-DPS r/t costs USD 350. Highway robbery rates as they are referred to here will always give SQ and CX a revenue advantage. If TG doesnt have that advantage then dont try to compete on the same playing field.
Jul 24, 2001, 1:49 am
#10
Join Date: May 2001
Programs: AA PLT 2MM, LH SEN *, HH Gold
Posts: 3,075
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">It is at least 2 years ago Thai stopped using MD-11 on the BKK-CPH route, they are using 747/300-400 now.</font>
Jul 25, 2001, 1:43 am
#11
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: SIN
Posts: 493
as for the question on ptvs, i believe many/all airlines have no ptvs in their md-11s? i think this is to do with a suspected wiring problem speculated to be the cause for the sr111 accident, so airlines have pulled the plug (bad pun) on ptvs in md-11s.
Jul 26, 2001, 6:31 am
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Circle City
Posts: 3,568
No, first time.
Mmmm...maybe Impractical would be a better word. They had lots of flowing thingies that seemed like they were always flowing off. The FA (female, as the males wore different uniforms) seemed to be constantly fighting with them.
Mmmm...maybe Impractical would be a better word. They had lots of flowing thingies that seemed like they were always flowing off. The FA (female, as the males wore different uniforms) seemed to be constantly fighting with them.
Jul 26, 2001, 8:03 pm
#14
Join Date: Jan 2001
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Posts: 2,228
i am still curious why i heard so much that "TG is great".
i flew them a few times 2 years ago in J.
exactly the same experience as darren.
service is okay, on par with other asian airlines
the cabin and the seats are really shabby.
i also remember reading here (UA board?) that TG said it will take them 10 years (i.e. till 2005 or so) to have all those antiques replaced
i flew them a few times 2 years ago in J.
exactly the same experience as darren.
service is okay, on par with other asian airlines
the cabin and the seats are really shabby.
i also remember reading here (UA board?) that TG said it will take them 10 years (i.e. till 2005 or so) to have all those antiques replaced
Jul 26, 2001, 10:59 pm
#15
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: BKK when I'm not in Princeton
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Posts: 2,017
I arrived in New York on UA820 from HKG a few hours ago. I was in F, and wish that I could have swapped the TG crew for the UA crew (but I would keep the UA purser, who was excellent).
I fly TG a lot, but call it like it is, and can attest to the shabby state of their aircraft, and the dearth of in-flight entertainment. Unfortunately, they recently scuttled plans for upgrades, pending the selection of a new THAI president. I imagine that the earliest any significant upgrade plans (fleet or otherwise) will gell, will not be until early 2002.
I fly TG a lot, but call it like it is, and can attest to the shabby state of their aircraft, and the dearth of in-flight entertainment. Unfortunately, they recently scuttled plans for upgrades, pending the selection of a new THAI president. I imagine that the earliest any significant upgrade plans (fleet or otherwise) will gell, will not be until early 2002.