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 😉
Photo Review: Holiday Inn Frankfurt Airport
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Review: THAI Airways A380 First Class, Bangkok to Osaka
Review: THAI Royal Orchid Lounge, T1 Osaka Kansai Airport (KIX)
Review: THAI Airways Boeing 747 First Class, Osaka to Bangkok
Review: THAI Airways First Class Lounge Concourse E, Bangkok (BKK)
Review: THAI Airways Business Class, Bangkok to Hong Kong
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Photo Review: THAI Airways Royal Orchid Lounge (HKG)
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Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class, Hong Kong to Istanbul
Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class, Istanbul to Stockholm
THAI Airways first class appetizer, Osaka to Bangkok
Flight: TG 623
Departure time in Osaka (KIX): 11:00
Arrival time in Bangkok (BKK): 15:45
Aircraft: Boeing 747 (74N)
Seat: 3A
Duration: 6h 45m
Date of flight: February 18, 2017
*This is an award travel, First Class flight #44
A Day in Osaka
I only had one full day in Osaka and since I've been here a few times in the past, I only decided to visit the Osaka Science Museum in the morning and the Osaka Castle Plum Orchard in the afternoon, both of which I haven't been to in the past.
Restaurants located near the hotel I stayed at.
Old appliances on display at the Osaka Science Museum 😉
From the Osaka Science Museum on the way back to the metro station, I passed by (again) the Conrad Osaka which is scheduled to open summer of 2017.
It was cool to visit the Osaka Castle Garden this time of the year since I got to experience the start of the plum blossom season ...
... as a few of them were already in full bloom 😍
The Osaka Castle as seen from the Plum Orchard
Train to the Airport
On the day of my flight, I left the hotel at 7:15am since it normaly takes more than an hour to reach the airport and I wanted to be early at the airport to review the THAI business class lounge.
Osaka Kansai Airport Terminal 1
I arrived at the airport around 8:50am and headed directly to the North section of Terminal 1 where THAI check-in desks are located.
Zone D Terminal 1 North, check-in desks
Check-in, Desk D17
Desk D17 was reserved for Royal First passengers.
The agent working in the first class check-in desk was available and I was helped immediately. Within a few minutes, I was given my boarding passes as well as a fast track card. She also confirmed my "lobster thermidor" order for this flight. I was curious if the seat map on their mobile app the other night was updated so I asked if the cabin was full and was told that 5 of the 9 seats were taken, confirming that the mobile app was updated.
Fast Lane, Osaka Airport Terminal 1
As a first class passenger, I was able to use the Fast Lane 👍
After clearing security and immigration, I took the shuttle to Stop #3 which is located near Gate 5.
THAI Royal Orchid Lounge
Then it was time to visit the THAI Royal Orchid Lounge and as a first class passenger, I was escorted by an agent to the reserved room upon presentation of my boarding pass at the reception. I was alone in the room for about half an hour until a French family of four came.
Around 10:15am, an agent came inside the room with a card showing that boarding is to start at 10:20am.
Aircraft, Boeing 747 (74N)
The queen of the skies, Boeing 747 😍
Boarding, Gate 5
Boarding was delayed by 30 minutes and during this time, I had stayed in the queue since we didn't really know when boarding would start. Finally, at 10:50am, boarding started and I was among the first ones to board the aircraft.
First Class Cabin, Main Deck
The first class cabin on this Boeing 747 features the new suite design with only 9 seats. This is definitely a lot better than the first class seat they had when I flew with them from Sydney to Bangkok a few years ago.
This is the only pair seat which is located in the middle of the cabin.
THAI Boeing 747 first class cabin
THAI Boeing 747 first class cabin
Seat, 3A
From the mobile app the night before, only 5 seats were available so I took seat 3A. The seat map also confirmed that I was flying with the Boeing 747 featuring the new "suite" since THAI's old Boeings have 10 seats in first class.
Welcome to my seat, 3A!
As I presented my boarding pass, I was escorted to my seat and then, left alone for sometime when I said I wanted to take some pictures of the cabin 😉
It's really spacious, isn't it 😉
In front of the seat is an ottoman and under it, there is the mattress pad and slippers. One thing about the overhead cabins on the Boeing 747 is that they are small so I had to place my hand carried luggage in the coat room located in front of the cabin.
Seat controls
IFE controls, USB ports
THAI first class headphones
Unfortunately, the movie selection was not that extensive.
Reading lamp
Reading materials
Inflight magazine and safety on board card
Closet
After a few minutes of taking pictures here and there, the flight attendant came to my seat to offer me a hot towel and at the same time asked for my drinks order. I settled for a glass of water with a slice of lemon. Another flight attendant came to my seat to welcome me onboard moments later.
Hot towel and a glass of water
Then, I opened the Rimowa amenity kit which had the same contents: Monteil facial moisturizer, refresher mist and lip balm plus the usual toothbrush and toothpaste, Fluocaril mouthwash, eye mask, socks and comb. As this was a dayflight, no pyjamas were provided.
View from my seat.
Moments later, I was offered the menu card and wine list and my lobster order was also confirmed at the same time. Ting, the lady flight attendant who would be taking care of my aisle of the first class cabin introduced herself. Around 11:04am, doors were closed.
Pushback was at 11:06am where I got a better view of the Jeju Air plane parked to our left.
Airshow
Airshow enroute to Bangkok
Inflight Safety Video
As we taxiid, the inflight safety video started to play. An announcement was also made, mentioning our flight time to Bangkok of 6 hours and 5 minutes among others. While checking our seatbelts, Ting saw I had my mobile in flight mode and told me that flight mode is not allowed during take off and landing. I find it strange since on my past flights with THAI, no one had reminded me about it.
There was a long queue for take off so I was able to take pictures of the airlines ahead of us starting with the Malaysia Airlines plane with the OneWorld livery ...
Air Busan
Fed Ex
Star Flyer Airbus A320 bound for Tokyo Haneda and Aircalin, an airline from New Caledonia, both of which I have seen for the first time 😊
At 11:35am, take off went smoothly.
Dining
Five minutes after take off, the seatbelt sign was turned off and moments later, chocolates were offered. Drinks order were taken and I chose my usual glass of guava juice.
THAI first class menu card, although it says "drinks" on the cover 😉
The menu read as follows:
The champagne was Dom Perignon Vintage 2006 and the Cognac was 1795 Extra Cognac Otard.
Ting came to serve some almonds and a couple of minutes later, my guava juice was also served.
Hot Savoury
Fried Scallop with sesame curry flavour
Chicken roll teriyaki sauce
Fried octopus, sweet green pepper
I was also offered green tea and which I gladly accepted.
Som Tum
THAI first class table setting
I was also offered a refill of green tea which I accepted and since there were not so many passengers in the cabin, I was able to have a chat with Ting. I learned from her that as a cabin crew, they are required to work both on Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 but can choose between the A380 and Boeing 747. Obviously, Ting chose the Boeing 747 as the A380 destinations are quite limited.
I was also offered some garlic bread although I declined.
Pumpkin Soup
Ting forgot to serve the napkin and only remembered it when I was already halfway done with my soup, which by the way tasted excellent 😋
First Serving
Seafood pomponette
Smoked salmon, salmon roe
Crab meat and scallop
Yellow Pimento sauce
Although I did not have a glass of Dom, I had to take a picture of it 😉
I was also offered a refill of guava juice although I declined.
As for my main course, I had pre-ordered the lobster thermidor which is only available for first class passengers.
Lobster Thermidor
The lobster was great but the veggies were overcooked unfortunately.
Assorted cheese, fresh fruits
I was also offered some desserts which was Black Forest Cake but I really had to decline since I was already full by this time. A bottle of Evian was also offered to end the meal service. Unlike my previous flights on the A380, this doesn't end with the flight attendant distributing complimentary wifi voucher as there is no wifi connection on the Boeing 747.
The meal service was very efficient giving us a lot of time to rest afterwards. Blankets were offered and which I gladly accepted since I had planned to sleep for a few hours. I woke up around 3pm, with 45 minutes left before landing. As soon as Ting noticed that I was awake, she came to my seat to offer me some Haagen Dazs ice cream from the refreshment menu although I declined.
Lavatory
THAI Boeing 747 first class lavatory
Both the lavatories were small and are located in the back of the cabin. It had the usual L'Occitane perfumes and Tono Body Lotion by Borghese.
THAI Boeing 747 first class toilet
Around 3:15pm, the captain came on the PA to give us updated flight informations: that we would land at 3:45pm, among others.
At 3:25pm, a video of Bangkok Airport Arrivals and Transit guide was shown. I thought the elbow of the guy on the video was funny 😉 Moments later, Ting and the other flight attendant came to our seats to thank us for flying with THAI.
Landing at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
We made a smooth landing at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport at 3:45pm ...
... and passed by El Al Boeing 747 among others while taxiing. Less than 10 minutes later, we reached our parking gate which was C10.
THAI Airways first class ground service where I was driven to the first class lounge right after disembarking 👍
Immediately after disembarking, I was met by an agent holding a card with my name on it and we drove to the security controls nearest the first class lounge. Even though my connecting flight to Hong Kong was in business class, I got to use the First Class Lounge. As long as you are arriving from a first class flight, THAI allows you to use their gorgeous first class lounge which is a big plus 👍 As soon as we got to the lounge, I was asked by the agent if I wanted to book a massage in their gorgeous Royal Orchid Spa (I actually had an hour long massage there a few years ago) but I had to decline since I had to do some work. Since the lounge was not that busy, I was given my own semi private room where I was offered food and drinks while waiting for my flight to Bangkok 😉
CONCLUSION
There it was, another great flight in THAI Airways first class. I loved the fact that I had one of the best crew on this flight specially Ting who with her Thai hospitality, really did her best to make this flight memorable. The food was actually very good overall, the suite which I was able to enjoy for the first time was just lovely and of course I got another Rimowa amenity kit for my collection. Unfortunately, the vegetables served with my lobster were overcooked, there was no wifi and Ting forgot to offer the table napkins in the beginning of the meal service, all of which were minor issues. Overall, it was a very nice flight and I wouldn't hesitate to fly with THAI first class again if I get the chance 😍
*This trip from Osaka to Bangkok in First Class and Bangkok to Hong Kong in Business class would have cost me 43,927 SEK if I had not booked it with miles.
Related Posts:
Review: Lufthansa A330 Dubai to Frankfurt
Review: Lufthansa A330, Astana to Frankfurt
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 😉
Photo Review: Holiday Inn Frankfurt Airport
Review: THAI Airways A380 First Class, Frankfurt to Bangkok
Review: THAI Airways A380 First Class, Bangkok to Osaka
Review: THAI Royal Orchid Lounge, T1 Osaka Kansai Airport (KIX)
Review: THAI Airways Boeing 747 First Class, Osaka to Bangkok
Review: THAI Airways First Class Lounge Concourse E, Bangkok (BKK)
Review: THAI Airways Business Class, Bangkok to Hong Kong
Review: Hilton Garden Inn Hong Kong Mongkok
Photo Review: Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge, Hong Kong (HKG)
Photo Review: THAI Airways Royal Orchid Lounge (HKG)
Photo Review: Plaza Premium Lounge, West Hall T1 (HKG)
Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class, Hong Kong to Istanbul
Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class, Istanbul to Stockholm
Flight: TG 623
Departure time in Osaka (KIX): 11:00
Arrival time in Bangkok (BKK): 15:45
Aircraft: Boeing 747 (74N)
Seat: 3A
Duration: 6h 45m
Date of flight: February 18, 2017
*This is an award travel, First Class flight #44
A Day in Osaka
I only had one full day in Osaka and since I've been here a few times in the past, I only decided to visit the Osaka Science Museum in the morning and the Osaka Castle Plum Orchard in the afternoon, both of which I haven't been to in the past.
Train to the Airport
Osaka Kansai Airport Terminal 1
Check-in, Desk D17
Fast Lane, Osaka Airport Terminal 1
THAI Royal Orchid Lounge
Then it was time to visit the THAI Royal Orchid Lounge and as a first class passenger, I was escorted by an agent to the reserved room upon presentation of my boarding pass at the reception. I was alone in the room for about half an hour until a French family of four came.
Around 10:15am, an agent came inside the room with a card showing that boarding is to start at 10:20am.
Aircraft, Boeing 747 (74N)
Boarding, Gate 5
First Class Cabin, Main Deck
Seat, 3A
From the mobile app the night before, only 5 seats were available so I took seat 3A. The seat map also confirmed that I was flying with the Boeing 747 featuring the new "suite" since THAI's old Boeings have 10 seats in first class.
As I presented my boarding pass, I was escorted to my seat and then, left alone for sometime when I said I wanted to take some pictures of the cabin 😉
Moments later, I was offered the menu card and wine list and my lobster order was also confirmed at the same time. Ting, the lady flight attendant who would be taking care of my aisle of the first class cabin introduced herself. Around 11:04am, doors were closed.
Airshow
Inflight Safety Video
At 11:35am, take off went smoothly.
Dining
The menu read as follows:
Fried Scallop with sesame curry flavour
Chicken roll teriyaki sauce
Fried octopus, sweet green pepper
I was also offered green tea and which I gladly accepted.
I was also offered a refill of green tea which I accepted and since there were not so many passengers in the cabin, I was able to have a chat with Ting. I learned from her that as a cabin crew, they are required to work both on Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 but can choose between the A380 and Boeing 747. Obviously, Ting chose the Boeing 747 as the A380 destinations are quite limited.
I was also offered some garlic bread although I declined.
Ting forgot to serve the napkin and only remembered it when I was already halfway done with my soup, which by the way tasted excellent 😋
Seafood pomponette
Smoked salmon, salmon roe
Crab meat and scallop
Yellow Pimento sauce
I was also offered a refill of guava juice although I declined.
The lobster was great but the veggies were overcooked unfortunately.
I was also offered some desserts which was Black Forest Cake but I really had to decline since I was already full by this time. A bottle of Evian was also offered to end the meal service. Unlike my previous flights on the A380, this doesn't end with the flight attendant distributing complimentary wifi voucher as there is no wifi connection on the Boeing 747.
The meal service was very efficient giving us a lot of time to rest afterwards. Blankets were offered and which I gladly accepted since I had planned to sleep for a few hours. I woke up around 3pm, with 45 minutes left before landing. As soon as Ting noticed that I was awake, she came to my seat to offer me some Haagen Dazs ice cream from the refreshment menu although I declined.
Lavatory
Around 3:15pm, the captain came on the PA to give us updated flight informations: that we would land at 3:45pm, among others.
Landing at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
Immediately after disembarking, I was met by an agent holding a card with my name on it and we drove to the security controls nearest the first class lounge. Even though my connecting flight to Hong Kong was in business class, I got to use the First Class Lounge. As long as you are arriving from a first class flight, THAI allows you to use their gorgeous first class lounge which is a big plus 👍 As soon as we got to the lounge, I was asked by the agent if I wanted to book a massage in their gorgeous Royal Orchid Spa (I actually had an hour long massage there a few years ago) but I had to decline since I had to do some work. Since the lounge was not that busy, I was given my own semi private room where I was offered food and drinks while waiting for my flight to Bangkok 😉
CONCLUSION
There it was, another great flight in THAI Airways first class. I loved the fact that I had one of the best crew on this flight specially Ting who with her Thai hospitality, really did her best to make this flight memorable. The food was actually very good overall, the suite which I was able to enjoy for the first time was just lovely and of course I got another Rimowa amenity kit for my collection. Unfortunately, the vegetables served with my lobster were overcooked, there was no wifi and Ting forgot to offer the table napkins in the beginning of the meal service, all of which were minor issues. Overall, it was a very nice flight and I wouldn't hesitate to fly with THAI first class again if I get the chance 😍
*This trip from Osaka to Bangkok in First Class and Bangkok to Hong Kong in Business class would have cost me 43,927 SEK if I had not booked it with miles.
Related Posts:
Review: Lufthansa A330 Dubai to Frankfurt
Review: Lufthansa A330, Astana to Frankfurt