Thai A380 First Class HKG-BKK-HKG

[findybear]

The route berween HKG and BKK is relatively short, but there are 2 airline which offer first class flights with the A380. After enjoying the first class flight with Emirates last year, I decided now for Thai Airways. One of the reasons was the cheaper price (by more than 100euros, Thai cost 760euros, return) and the next one was the flight time.

 

Short conclusion: Thai Airways is better. Better lounges and better service on ground. Whereas Thai offered driving to the lounges and to immigration, on the Emirates flight I had to walk and was sweating. On ground in BKK I got a service attendance from the plane to the limousine.

Der A380 is magnificent and feast for the eyes







Invitation to lounge and boarding pass

 

'//an update without name comes

 

View from the lounge

 

Small refreshment in the lounge before going to plane. Note below: There was no champagne offered in the lounge (in HKG). Even the offer of wines was shrinked to white or red. At least the white wine had a good taste.



My seat, 2K. According to seatguru the best seat (besides 2A).

 

Lunch menu on the short trip. The flight time was barely longer than 2 hours. Anyway I wanted to enjoy Dom Perignon so I postponed serving by 30 minutes...



Serving of food

 

The toilettes are somehow also very important. Well we are talking about a bigger space than only a toilette room. This one was sufficient big, but there was only one of them. Emirates is better in this manner, as it offers 2 rooms with a shower.

















After landing, the first class passengers have to wait until the tunnel is ready and the door can be opened. After entering the hall, i got service attendance and was driven to the immigration (fast track). Afterwards to the baggage claim. The baggage came pretty fast.




The return flight was pretty early at 8 o'clock. I had to take taxi at 4 o'clock from Pattaya after an 2 hours sleep.



The way to the plane and saying good bye to Thailand was not easy but I was happy to get out as the protests in Bangkok were escalating. After a very short sleep in Pattaya I decide to try the comfort of the bed in the seat. It was perfect and I could sleep a bit. For long intercontinental flights this is the perfect opportunity to overlap the time difference, of course when the flight is in the evening/night). If there should be an offer of 2500euros again (as in 2009 for FRA-BKK, now an A380 is flying) I would book the flight without hesitating.











BR Filip

[Mick Pattaya]

Great collection of snaps, good to see an aviation enthusiast amongst mongers.

[ertert]

Thankyou for your post. As an Airasia, Ryanair type I enjoyed the view to the other side of the curtain.

I am also yet to fly on an A380. Shower facilities are impressive! Those ribs sound good. Good value

for a first class experience.

[Armadildo]

Ooh first class! I'd like to do that long haul one day. Did a short haul first class on Thai once, Bk to Phuket. I didn't want to get off!

[Shaksey]

What year Dom are they serving? I had some 2005 recently and it was the worst vintage champagne i've ever drank. Considering how good the 1995 and 1999 is I was pretty disappointed.

 

Don't like the colour scheme of those seats..beige....looks very dull and uninspired. 

 

Nice to see a positive review of Thai Air for once, they are getting a hammering lately.

[findybear]

It was one from 2003.

 

[Nws]

Got say flew Thai earlier this year in their business class & it was fantastic, far better than BA

[THAJEC]

When I once too rich, maybe I'll try the luxury. Thanks for sharing space that are so far away to me, or I'm sorry to throw away (for me) hard earned money only for years. I currently prefer really enjoy on solid ground.
This flight is certainly an experience, but my priorities and options are currently set up a little differently.

 

 

 

[Luv2Phuket]

LOVE the photos from the plane!  Thanks for posting them!

 

Thai's First Class ground service is amazing -- they make you feel like a visiting dignitary!  Not only do you get the VERY short, special immigration line, but -- as you say -- they drive you from the plane directly to it!

 

I haven't had a chance to fly an A380 yet, but hope to do so next year.

 

The only downside was that your flight was SO short.  I am considering splitting my trip next year between HKG, and and BKK/Pattaya.  I was thinking of booking LAX - HKG on miles and just buying a RT economy ticket from HKG-BKK because it is such a short flight.  Then again, I ave now logged so many 10-15 hour flights (had 4 in Nov. alone) that I am starting to consider a 4 or 5 hours flight "fairly short"!

[Chris50]

What year Dom are they serving? I had some 2005 recently and it was the worst vintage champagne i've ever drank. Considering how good the 1995 and 1999 is I was pretty disappointed.

 

Don't like the colour scheme of those seats..beige....looks very dull and uninspired. 

 

Nice to see a positive review of Thai Air for once, they are getting a hammering lately.

Well you hamered them  again  Don't like the colour scheme of those seats..beige....looks very dull and uninspired.What year Dom are they serving? I had some 2005 recently and it was the worst vintage champagne i've ever drank. Considering how good the 1995 and 1999 is I was pretty disappointed.

[findybear]

There are simultaneously more reasons to take this flight in the first class. First the price. For 760euros I got the chance to fly first class (both ways) which is usually not so cheap not even for similar routes, e.g. BKK-MNL, which makes 1400euros only business class. Second reason is the plane. There are not many routes which are so short and are flown with such huge and modern planes.

To be honest, one bottle of Dom Perignon is about 150euros. Lets drink one bottle each flight so it makes already 300euros only for the champagne. Then there is the ground service with the fast track. Then the visit in the lounge (which can be calculated each 20euros, but again the champagne is not for free in such lounges). And I get tripple miles.

On the end it is relatively cheap experience of luxury life with not really much extra costs.

 

BR Filip

[Luv2Phuket]

There are simultaneously more reasons to take this flight in the first class. First the price. For 760euros I got the chance to fly first class (both ways) which is usually not so cheap not even for similar routes, e.g. BKK-MNL, which makes 1400euros only business class. Second reason is the plane. There are not many routes which are so short and are flown with such huge and modern planes.

To be honest, one bottle of Dom Perignon is about 150euros. Lets drink one bottle each flight so it makes already 300euros only for the champagne. Then there is the ground service with the fast track. Then the visit in the lounge (which can be calculated each 20euros, but again the champagne is not for free in such lounges). And I get tripple miles.

On the end it is relatively cheap experience of luxury life with not really much extra costs.

 

BR Filip

 

Actually, 20 Euros may get you access to a business class lounge, but it will not get you into a first class lounge.  

 

In my experience at BKK, the Thai business class lounge usually has some kind of food set out, buffet-style.  The first class lounge has that, plus made-to-order food that you order with a waitress.  I was blown away with how nice Thai's first class lounge at BKK was, and I have been in a number of business class lounges.

[sneradog]

 

The only downside was that your flight was SO short.  I am considering splitting my trip next year between HKG, and and BKK/Pattaya.  I was thinking of booking LAX - HKG on miles and just buying a RT economy ticket from HKG-BKK because it is such a short flight.  Then again, I ave now logged so many 10-15 hour flights (had 4 in Nov. alone) that I am starting to consider a 4 or 5 hours flight "fairly short"!

 

I am guessing here from you other posts that you wanted to stop in HKG to re-induldge in the delightful Chinese ladies to be found there. Just wanted to hive you a heads-up that the Hong Kong police just busted the entire sex141 site and arrested a number of ladies and pimps. Thus, at this time all the listings are off the sex141 website and I suspect they will not return, as they seized the servers and computers located in Hong Kong. The main website is apparently offshore and the forum is still working, but all the listings for the girls are gone. I am guessing in time a new source will take it's place, but if you were planning to stop there in 2 months, the landscape may be quite different from what it was the last time you were there.

 

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1373896/police-bust-vice-racket-behind-citys-biggest-porn-website-sex-141

[Lok Jit]

Singapore Airlines for sure~~

 

 Hobbyists Fly An Enormous Jet-Powered RC Airbus A380 - Digg

[Gnorman]

Thanks for your review, done that trip in Business on Emirates but certainly not First with Thai. The plane looks good, great photos.

 

Just a side note.....I might be paranoid but I wouldn't post my boarding pass with my full name on it on the internet.

[wtbt]

Thanks for the review.

 

I've flow CDG-BKK and NRT-BKK which were on the jet airways purchased 77W's with the first class suites, as well as BKK-SYD which is the older Thai first class seats.

 

The suites are fantastic, the new A380 seats seem similar, which is nice because the old first class seats were a bit tired. Not even full lie flat.

 

As you mentioned, one of the best things about Thai first class is the ground service in BKK. One thing you might have missed is the free massage in the spa.

 

If you have a business class ticket you can get a 30 min foot or head massage, but with a first class ticket you get a 1 hour full body massage, in a fantastic private room with great shower facilities.

 

I've flown a lot of premium flights with miles, experienced a lot of lounges. But I still could not believe I was in an airport when I was getting my full body massage.

[Luv2Phuket]

I am guessing here from you other posts that you wanted to stop in HKG to re-induldge in the delightful Chinese ladies to be found there. Just wanted to hive you a heads-up that the Hong Kong police just busted the entire sex141 site and arrested a number of ladies and pimps. Thus, at this time all the listings are off the sex141 website and I suspect they will not return, as they seized the servers and computers located in Hong Kong. The main website is apparently offshore and the forum is still working, but all the listings for the girls are gone. I am guessing in time a new source will take it's place, but if you were planning to stop there in 2 months, the landscape may be quite different from what it was the last time you were there.

 

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1373896/police-bust-vice-racket-behind-citys-biggest-porn-website-sex-141

 

Thanks for the heads up!  

 

WOW!  I guess I got in just under the wire!

[findybear]

... One thing you might have missed is the free massage in the spa...

 

I knew the possibility of using the SPA facilities. But on the way to the lounge I recognized a sign "closed" in front of the entrance to the spa. It was before 6 o'clock in the morning so I guess they open a bit later. Even if they would open let say 30 minutes later an one hour massage would not be possible.

 

But you are right - I missed it ;)

 

BR Filip

 

 

[ICWATERS]

thanks for the great pics  one day I would hope to fly on board an A  380 at the pointy end , tell self must work a little harder and find those smart deals really like the price you got  , enjoyed the chance to be on the plane through your pics and did not have to pay for the seat

 

cheers

[bgtp]

Thanks for the report findybear. Nice pics!

 

This guy made a couple of nice videos travelling on Thai Royal First, one the ground in BKK and also BKK-FRA on the A380

 

 

[Colin back in Pattaya]

Last summer I flew Etihad Bangkok - Abu Dhabi - Manchester & return in business (they don't offer First on this route). The cabin in both the B777-300 and the A330-243 was beautifully appointed and spacious. Like THAI A380 first class, there are only four seats across the cabin. Round trip fare was THB 98500, a lot less than anyone else, while the service was brilliant.

[wackyjacky]

Good call on Thai 1st. IMO a great deal. It's regional Biz that's the rip-off. I've yet to fly anyone that's 1/2 as good as long haul. I would never pay for it.

[Shaksey]

Well you hamered them  again  Don't like the colour scheme of those seats..beige....looks very dull and uninspired.What year Dom are they serving? I had some 2005 recently and it was the worst vintage champagne i've ever drank. Considering how good the 1995 and 1999 is I was pretty disappointed.

 

Lol, i wouldn't say not liking their choice of fabric was hammering them, especially compared to the reviews they get on the mainstream forums and travel forums for the last year or so!

[themosch]

Thanks for the pics. I always fly economy with Thai and never been into the A380 so was nice to see the luxury and comfort but personally i prefer to fly economy and use the extra baht's for my rural activities in Isaan!

[Slift]

Thanks for the review. I'm really impressed.

 

For my 2nd LOS trip I'll get the opportunity to fly with Thai's First Class from FRA-BKK (A340-600) and BKK-CDG (A380) in April/May next year.

 

Can't wait.