Review: Thai Airways A380 First Class, Frankfurt-Bangkok

Trip To Osaka and Hong Kong Flying Thai Airways First Class & Turkish Airlines Business Class

Since I knew Mike would be in Australia and New Zealand with his Singelresor group in February, I needed to travel somewhere for a few days and thought I'd book a flight from Europe to Japan and back from Hong Kong using my Turkish Airlines miles. So last November, I redeemed 67,500 miles for a first class award flying from Frankfurt to Osaka via Bangkok in Thai Airways First Class. The taxes was just about 800 SEK which was very reasonable. On the flight back from Hong Kong to Stockholm, I redeemed (I actually borrowed miles from Mike) 45,000 miles to fly Turkish Airlines in Business Class. I've been to both Osaka and Hong Kong a few times in the past so my plan was not really to explore them but rather to just see a few sights during this period. I have to admit, to be able to fly on one of my favorite airlines in first class (thanks to their Rimowa amenity kit and excellent first class lounge in Bangkok among others) and visit two amazing cities is just awesome 😉


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Selfie on THAI Airways A380 first class on the way to Bangkok

Flight: TG 921
Departure time in Frankfurt (FRA): 13:45
Arrival time in Bangkok (BKK): 6:20 (+1)
Aircraft: Airbus A380
Seat: 1A
Duration: 10h 35m
Date of flight: February 15, 2017
*This is an award travel, First Class flight #42

Thai Airways Check-in Desks, Terminal 1 Hall C

I took the airport shuttle from Holiday Inn at 10:50am so I was at the airport around 11:10am. There were check-in kiosks at the airport but I prefer getting it from the agent so I went to the check-in desk.

There was one special desk for business class passengers and one for first class passengers. As soon as the passenger ahead of me was done, I was accommodated by a friendly agent at the business class check in and my boarding pass was issued in like a couple of minutes which was very quick, helped by the fact that I did online check-in the night before. I was informed that I could use the Senator Lounge as a first class passenger although I had already planned to use the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge since it's my favorite lounge here in Frankfurt after the Lufthansa First Class Lounges 😉

On my way to the lounge, I caught sight of a Tunisair plane.

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge

I just love the design of this lounge 😉

Aircraft, Airbus A380-800 Mancha Khiri

Today, we fly with Thai's A380 named Mancha Khiri which is Thai's second A380 delivered in November 30, 2012.

Boarding, Gate B46

I left the lounge about five minutes before the scheduled boarding time although boarding was about 10 minutes delayed.

First Class Cabin, Upper Deck

I have reviewed THAI Airways A380 first class on my flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong a few years ago so I will be concentrating more on the service here. On this flight, 8 of the 12 seats were taken.

Seat, 1A

Waiting at the door was the chief crew and after showing him my boarding pass, he directed me to the first class cabin where a flight attendant greeted me.

Already waiting at my seat was the Rimowa amenity kit, a pair of slippers, a blanket and a mattress pad.

Moments later, the flight attendant came to offer me a hot towel and asked if I wanted to have a glass of champagne. I was not planning to drink any alcohol that day so I settled for a glass of water. Already at my seat was a small box of chocolates and an orchid which looked beautiful 👍

There was also a Vittel water under the right armrest.

Glass of water served by Luch, one of the flight attendants working in first class.

She also came back moments later to give me the menu card and wine list and to inform of the flight time of 10 hours and 5 minutes and to confirm my pre-ordered lobster as my main course. She also took my drinks order and I chose a glass of guava juice.

Newspapers were also offered but I declined.

The Rimowa kit contents were no longer the same since they had L'Occitane lipbalm, hand lotion and cologne last time I flew with them. They now have replaced them with Monteil facial moisturizer, refresher mist and lipbalm. Personally, I prefer L'Occitane.

I was also offered a set of pyjamas and chose the M size. The set of pyjamas were almost the same as before but the case is much nicer this time 👍

Unfortunately, the slippers have been downgraded since the old ones were really beautiful 👎

THAI first class blanket

Reading materials, safety instructions card, etc.

Under the left armrest are the entertainment controls and power ports.

Inflight safety video

New movies

From the recent release, I ended up watching Doctor Strange. The headphones (right side) made some scratching sound every time I put them on although I did not bother to change them.

Take off was at 14:10 which went smoothly.

View after take off.

Dining

Menu card and wine list

The champagne on board was Dom Perignon Vintage 2006 👍

Wine list

The lunch menu read as follows:



The anytime cuisine and breakfast menu read as follows:



Around 14:34, my glass of guava juice was served together with some macadamia nuts, the same nuts offered by Lufthansa on their first class flights 😉

Thai Airways fine bone china, Patra

Canapes

After enjoying my canapes, Luch came back to set up the table. The cutleries were not really placed perfectly so I guess their friends from Singapore Airlines could teach them how it is done 😉

Caviar service

The caviar presentation was lovely, it was probably the best presentation I've seen 👍

Som Tum, Thai green papaya salad 😋

Khai Pam and Sai Oua

Grilled zucchini and bell pepper, marinated prawn, Keta caviar

From the Thai Airways website, I had pre-ordered my main course of lobster 👍

Lobster meat with Truffle sauce 😋

I was also offered some fruits and cheese and which I had together with a cup of green tea.

I also had the Thai dessert ...

... and the international choice.

Complimentary Wifi (20MB)

As soon as lunch service was done, we were given a wifi voucher to use for up to 20MB. Immigration forms were also offered but I informed them I was on transit.

It was not free unlike Qatar Airways' wifi but it's still good since other airlines do not give any free connection at all.

To end the meal service, a hot towel was offered.

Lavatory

The lavatory amenities are now from L'Occitane (two perfumes and one body milk) instead of Bulgari although for me, it was not really that important. I noticed though that the THAI toothbrush and toothpaste were no longer offered though.

Lounge Area


Time to Sleep

I did not see any flight attendant when I wanted the turn down service so I made the bed myself. It was not that complicated as Etihad has on their first apartments so it was okay.

Self-serve Bar

The self serve bar had some Lays potato chips, pralines and some Thai sweets although no drinks were on display.

Pralines

Second Serving

I was able to sleep for a few hours and since I couldn't fall asleep anymore, I continued watching some more films. About two hours before landing, Luch came to my seat and offered me a hot towel.

The table set up was almost perfect except for the bread crumb on the bread plate. I guess I could have ignored it if I were flying in business class but since it was first class, then my expectations were high.

Fruits fruits

I personally do not like breakfast on the plane so I instead opted for the Shrimp Wonton Soup from the Anytime Cuisine which tasted really good 👍

Airshow

Airshow enroute to Bangkok

The captain came on the PA and advised us that we would be landing in 35 minutes, at 6:05am in Bangkok.

Bangkok Airport Guide

A few minutes before landing, a video of the Bangkok Airport Guide was shown.

Just before landing, Luch and the Chief Crew came to our seats (all the first class passengers) to thank us for flying with them, addressing us with our names.

Drive to the First Class Lounge

We landed at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport at 6:05am although it took us awhile to reach the gate. Upon disembarking, we were met by a staff and were driven by a golf cart to the first class lounge.

THAI Royal First Lounge, Bangkok Airport

Thai Royal first lounge

After a long flight, it was time to have a shower. The toiletries were the same as before, which were from L'Occitane 👍

CONCLUSION

As with all the other flights I've flown in first class, there is always the good things and the not so good things. The not so good things: I was never offered a refill of my guava juice, the slippers have been downgraded and looked like slippers offered in business class, the table set up with the cutleries not in perfect line 😉 , the bread plate served with a bread crumb on it and the headphones which are not in perfect working condition. The good things: I would find my blanket folded every time I would return from the lavatory, the lobster which I pre ordered from their website, the caviar since not all airlines serve caviar in first class (and the lovely presentation 👍), the 20Mb free wifi, being served both the local and international desserts and the Rimowa amenity kit since they are one of the best. Overall, the not so good things were very minor and as a whole, I really enjoyed my flight with Thai Airways and they will always be one of my favorite airlines in first class. PS. I hope they bring back the nice slippers 😉


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