Thai Airways is an airline I’ve flown a few times, but previously only on Business Class. I’ve always been very impressed with them, so I wanted to provide a review of my recent flight from Siem Reap to Hong Kong, via Bangkok, in their Economy cabin. The first flight leg was with Thai Smile, Thai’s partner airline, and the second leg was with Thai Airways itself.
Flight Details:
Airline: Thai Smile and Thai Airways
Route: Siem Reap (REP) – Bangkok (BKK) – Hong Kong (HKG)
Flight: TG 2589 and TG 638
Aircraft: Airbus Industrie A320 and Airbus Industrie A330
Class: Economy
Depart: 09:22
Arrive: 17:40
Duration: 7:20 (including Bangkok layover)
Krisflyer Miles Earned: 629
Flight Review:
Thai Smile is Thai Airways’ budget airline, so I was pretty disappointed to see my first leg was on Smile instead of the full service airline. I needn’t have worried though. The Thai hospitality was present throughout the entire journey, and with it being such a short flight there was no need for the extra frills, although they did provide many ‘frills’ that other budget airlines do not provide. The plane was clean and the seats perfectly fine for a short flight.
Smile have a 20kg luggage allowance which I thought was generous for a budget airline, and they also have pre-assigned seats at no extra cost to the passenger. In truth, after a late night the previous night and then the early morning start, I slept the entire flight so can’t tell you much about this leg. The hour to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi flew by and before I knew it I was trying to navigate my way through BKK.
I really struggle to find my way around BKK no matter how many times I go through the airport. It’s so huge, so confusing, and takes a very long time to get to different parts of the airport. In short I find it a nightmare. I found my way to Boots and bought some supplies, got a chicken burger from Burger King, and then found a quiet space to sit and read before my next flight to Hong Kong.
Boarding the Thai Airways plane I instantly clocked the colourful purple, yellow, and pink Economy seats. I’d only ever flown Business Class on Thai Airways before, and loved the vibrant colours of the seats. So much more interesting than the classic beige or blue so many other airlines have. A pillow and blanket were left on each seat, and every seat had a seatback television.
Hot towels were handed around before takeoff, along with a choice of water or juice. The choice of movies and TV shows was disappointing (although the flight time of 2hrs 50mins was only long enough for one film) and definitely not as varied as Singapore airlines. I’d grabbed the Burger King in Bangkok airport so declined the food onboard, but whatever it was my seatmate next to me had, it didn’t look particularly appetising.
The flight passed quickly and we arrived into Hong Kong ready for a few days of exploring and eating.