Time to head to Bangkok! We ordered a Grab to the airport, got checked in, and made our way to the lounge. The flight only cost 1090 THB (around $34.35) and with my Star Alliance Gold status, we received a higher luggage allowance and lounge access, further negating the need to fly in business class for this short hop.

The regular lounge was currently undergoing refurbishments, so Thai Airways had a temporary lounge set up landside, before security. I was still stuffed from breakfast, so I didn’t eat much, but it was nice to sit and watch the planes for a short while.

After clearing security, I got to check out a 747-400 getting pushed back. It’s too bad I wasn’t on this flight, but it’s hard to plan on flying a specific aircraft on Thai Airways with their frequent plane swaps.

 

Bangkok to Phuket

Thai Airways flight 685
HKT [Phuket] to BKK [Bangkok]
July 5, 2019
Depart: 11:50 AM
Arrive: 1:20 PM
Duration: 1hr30min
Aircraft: 777-300ER
Seat: 34A

We boarded right on time and through a proper jetway this time. I hadn’t flown in economy on a widebody commercial flight since 2017, so it did feel a bit different than what I’m used to. Fortunately Thai Airways arranges their seats in a 3-3-3 arrangement with the seats 18″ in width and with a generous 32″ of pitch, so it truly wasn’t bad at all.

The interior was quite vibrant and the seats were nicely padded.

The flight even had IFE, but it was difficult to control and with a flight time of under an hour, there was no sense trying to watch anything anyhow.

The takeoff out of Phuket was picture perfect.

Once we leveled off, the crew distributed a snack of “Smoke Chicken Slice with Thousand Sauce”. It definitely wasn’t bad. I honestly think it was more than half as good as the meal I had in business class on the way to Phuket.

Shortly after the meal, we began our descent and were on the ground right on time.

Just as before, we used an international gate and were bussed to the domestic terminal. Unfortunately, no fancy business class bus this time.

Overall, the Thai Airways economy experience was superb. There was enough space and elbow room for my large frame, there was food, and the economy service was great. Economy was so good, that I would actually say that business class isn’t even worth the thought on these short routes and I would gladly pick economy again for my short-haul flying in and out of Thailand.

Next up, exploring Bangkok.

Thanks for reading!

-Matt