20161027 Thai Airways TG404 Singapore-Bangkok

This was a trip that I had been looking forward to.

I was taking Thai Airways for the first time and I was pretty psyched about it!

Well, if you know me, I have this thing for trying out different airline services. For some people it may be different restaurants or hotels, but for me it is the airlines. I have no idea why but it just happens to be this way! To each his/her own I say.

So when this day finally arrived, I was at the airport way earlier than I had to be, pumped full of adrenaline and excitement. I caught a glimpse of the aircraft when I was at the holding gate and I couldn’t help but inhale sharply at its magnificence.

A Magnificent Boeing 747-400 waiting to go on its next journey

Thai Airways employs its Boeing 747-400 for medium and long haul routes. The double-deck Boeing 747-400 stood smartly at its hold, its massive size making its neighbour aircrafts pale in comparison. I continued to watch as the ground staff began loading luggage into the plane.

Soon, boarding commenced. Obviously it began with the Royal First Class, followed by the Royal Silk Class (Business), then the Star Alliance Gold members, and lastly it was the Economy Class passengers’ turn, which included me.

The colour scheme of the aircraft interior was purple and pink, just like that of the cabin crew’s uniform. The plane was so huge it seemed like the aisles of purple and pink were just never-ending. There were 3 zones for the economy class and a total of 375 seats. I was in the final zone so that meant almost all the way to the back.

At first glance, the economy class seats were on the narrow side, though legroom was definitely ample enough. Typical Asians would likely have no problem fitting into the seats while bigger sized friends from Caucasian countries might have to squeeze a bit. There was a small pillow on every seat and fresh head covers lined every headrest for sanitary reasons. These were pretty much standard.

Fresh head covers for hygiene

I was glad to note that the plane took off on time, despite the number of passengers it had to board. The ascent was a smooth one, though I wasn’t sure if I could really attribute it to the Captain’s skill or to the stability of a larger aircraft. Once in-flight entertainment became available, I quickly checked out what it had to offer. I planned to watch movies until I was ready to fall asleep.

In-flight entertainment did not fail to disappoint! I found a huge repertoire of movies available in every genre under the sun. They were current too – some of the movies were just taken off the screen like a couple of weeks ago. I chose a Thai movie because “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”. Okay, I kid. It was actually because some of the Thai movies were really good so since I had opportunity to watch them, I wasn’t going to let it up.

A huge repertoire of movies was available.

I was barely halfway through the movie when meal service began. With the aromatic smell of piping hot food permeating the aircraft, I realized just how hungry I was. I had skipped dinner because I was busy doing last minute packing for my holiday, and all the adrenaline rush had downplayed the hunger until this moment.

We got to choose between pasta and rice so I chose the latter because Thailand is famous for their Thai fragrant rice. The meal also came with bread, a salad, some slices of fruit and a slice of jelly. Instead of wine or other beverages I requested for water, of which I was given a bottle that I really appreciated. I never fancied those small cups of water much because they were never enough for a hydration monster like me and I hated to trouble the cabin crew especially on such a big load.

To be honest, the aesthetics of the meal was not exactly the most appealing. It just felt very no-frills, but I guess that worked too. Removing the foil cover of my rice meal, I revealed flavoured long grain rice with some blanched green vegetables and carrot slices on the side. I also had a good serving of what I would imagine is soy sauce chicken that had just a slight hint of spiciness. I devoured my meal fervently because I was ravenous.

Rice with vegetables and chicken for my first meal onboard

Taste-wise, it was alright. The chicken was slightly salty, as most airplane meals were. The vegetables were slightly overcooked, as most onboard vegetables will be. I wasn’t pleasantly surprised but neither was I unexpectedly disappointed. I ate up everything with fervor with the exception of the bread, which seemed kind of hard and dry. I usually let the breads go.

The elegant and efficient flight attendants quickly whisked the empty trays away once we were done. I patted my now-satisfied tummy happily like a Snorlax. We would be landing at Bangkok soon, so I decided to leave the remaining movie for the later part of the flight. Obviously now was not a good time to fall asleep either. I decided to turn to the reading materials offered by Thai Airways.

There was plenty of material to keep one occupied. The in-flight magazine Sawasdee was a good 102 pages, while the Duty-free Traveller magazine had 172 pages. The Traveller magazine wasn’t just a sales catalogue. There were plenty of beauty and travel articles for information too. I pored through the catalogue pages merrily, the shopaholic in me arisen like when an eagle spotted its prey. Prices were quoted in U.S. Dollars to make it easily comparable for every nationality.

I had my sights on a cute set of 4 Hello Kitty World Tour perfumes. Somehow I just didn’t notice this set being retailed anywhere else but on in-flight catalogues. Perhaps when the cabin crew was not so busy…

The Sawasdee magazine had plenty of travel reviews in both the English and Thai languages. Of course, there was also a plethora of information about Thailand and Thai Airways. I managed to read some articles about Chiang Mai, Iran, and was midway through a description about the Tokyo Anime Festival when the First Officer’s voice boomed through the PA system, announcing our descent that would happen in just a bit. I stowed the magazine back and made my way to the bathroom to quickly refresh myself, all the while wondering if any duty-free shops at the Bangkok International Airport could possibly still be open.

The flight had been an enjoyable experience thus far, with comfortable legroom, attentive cabin crew service, decent meals and in-flight entertainment, as well as its commendable punctuality. Would I take Thai Airways again? Why, that answer is certainly a resounding “Yes!”.