The flag carrier of Thailand had a reputation for excellent service on their flights, with cabin experiences to match. Unfortunately, the airline has faced a number of difficulties over the past decade, from bankruptcy and fleet rationalisation (with the exit of the A380 and 747) to Covid and the convoluted Thailand entry rules until last year. Here’s a look at the Thai Airways Royal Silk long-haul Business Class experience on board the Airbus A350 from Brussels Airport to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi.
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Facilities at Brussels Airport
Being the hub for fellow Star Alliance member Brussels Airlines, you would expect a half decent lounge experience but this is not the case. While there is a Brussels Airlines-operated lounge in the Schengen portion of the airport, The Suite lounge has not reopened since the pandemic and looks highly unlikely to from the pictures below.
Thai Airways passengers are invited instead to the Diamond Lounge (short review here), a simple third-party contract lounge that is used by most international airlines from Brussels.
Next was the awful passport control queue at Brussels which moved extremely slowly, and made worse by the fact EU nationals couldn’t use eGates. Finally, and unsurprisingly with these connections, my luggage did not make my connecting flights. After that stressful morning, I was looking forward to my flight to Bangkok as the Airbus A350 pulled into the gate.
Initial impressions for Thai Airways Royal Silk Business Class
Thai Airways’ A350 feels seriously dated despite being a modern aircraft. I can’t work out whether it feels dated because the seat is an older design, due to the colour scheme implemented or a combination of both.
Seating is arranged in a 1-2-1 layout with some window seats closer to the aisle than the window. I opted for one next to the window with slightly better privacy. Seats in the centre of the aircraft are placed extremely close to each other, in a ‘honeymoon’ style, or divided by a central console. Avoid the former if you are travelling solo.
While I managed to board early, thanks to a Business Class ticket and Star Gold status, this was a full flight. From what I could tell, Economy was oversold and many passengers got upgraded by the gate staff – a nice surprise for some. The flight departed around one-hour late as a consequence of long queues at the external Schengen border control.
Thai Airways Royal Silk Business Class Seat
I’ll rarely grumble or complain about flying Business on long-haul flights. Materially, we all appreciate the added leg room and ability to rest a bit. However, Thai Airways does comparatively has a poor hard product.
While I may not be a fan of the colour scheme, one thing it does seem to do is hide most marks on the material at first sight and make any broken elements blend into the surroundings. Look closer and things change. Heavily scuffed and broken plastic in areas, Thai Airways have not properly invested in maintaining their product to a high standard.
The seat is controlled and reclined by using the plethora of buttons which are poorly placed and easily knocked – although this complaint can be levelled against many airlines globally. Below this is a remote with touchscreen to control the in-flight entertainment system – more on that later.
Thai’s seat quickly and easily reclines into the sleeping mode. A decent duvet blanket and small pillow are provided, but no seat cover or mattress protector. I didn’t find this seat to be a particularly comfortable place to lay because the padding felt awfully bumpy and uncomfortable, leading to a restless sleep. It’s worth noting that the foot cubby is a reasonable size and less constricted than some other seats.
Inflight entertainment for Thai Airways Royal Silk Business Class
The display on this seat is in a fixed position, meaning it does not have to be stowed during take-off and landing – a plus when compared to many seats like this. Despite this, and that it could *technically* be used from gate to gate, the airline insists on airing a very dated (mid-noughties?) promotional video for Amazing Thailand. Now, I certainly agree Thailand is pretty amazing and they’re promoting the destination as a government-owned entity but it’s just plain irritating, especially with a delay.
The entertainment system itself is fine. Again, just like the seat, the interface is dated and not particularly intuitive but the selection of content was serviceable for anybody who isn’t a frequent traveller. Plus points are certainly given for installing a tail camera – take note, BA.
Thai Airways Royal Silk Business Class Food and drink
I was anticipating food to be great on Thai Airways, but, just like the rest of the experience, it was middling.
On the positive, the lunch service was well-paced and came soon after take-off from Brussels Airport, while the airline has attempted to ensure that they are incorporating Thai cuisine into their options. Equally, I like how Thai Airways seem to brand their service at every opportunity – from the logo on the cutlery to Royal Silk branding on the plates and table mat. Finally, the table itself is a reasonable size and moves back and forth with ease, while the lack of fold means it doesn’t bend when in use.
The start consisted of a random salad with a solitary prawn, a piece of asparagus and a rock-hard bread roll with cold garlic bread. Far from Thai culinary delights and a poor option for a starter – it tastes as bad as it sounds.
Forgive the photo presentation, but the main course was actually pretty good, consisting of a sizeable portion of Beef Massaman curry, plain rice and stir-fried vegetables. The curry was flavourful, with a sufficient amount of meat to the sauce, while the vegetables provided a good variation to the primary part of the course—thumbs up from me.
Dessert finished with two parts, a cheese course with Red Leicester, Blue Cheese, and grapes, as well as a strawberry cheesecake. Neither particularly impressed me and were forgettable. I did enjoy an iced coffee after which finished off the lunch service well.
Breakfast aside, I am happy to give Thai the benefit of the doubt. The main meal service showed the potential of the airline if the staff had more training on their plating presentation skills or dropped the asparagus. I would be interested to see how this service compared to that out of their hub at Suvarnabhumi Airport, where I would hope the level of food would be of a higher standard.
Amenities and service at Thai Airways Royal Silk Business Class
A packed amenity kit is provided at the seat upon boarding. While the flashy yellow design with Mandarina Duck branding isn’t my cup of tea, the contents were useful but low quality – including hair brush, toothbrush and paste, socks and earplugs. As with other Asian airlines, slippers are provided which I appreciate when in-flight.
In the bathroom, large and beautifully scented Institut Karite facial moisturisers are provided for use by passengers. Cleanliness in here wasn’t a high point. While passengers should be more responsible in keeping the area clean after use, it was clear that unlike Singapore Airlines the crew did not clean it frequently.
Conclusion for Thai Airways Royal Silk Business Class
Thai Airways is not a bad airline, but it is underperforming. Once a jewel in the aviation crown, years of problems have meant the airline has fallen behind. Whether it’s the poorly maintained seats, dated products, lack of food presentation or mixed service, Thai Airways can do better.
I paid around GBP 1200 (SEK 15,000) for this return connecting flight from Stockholm to Bangkok, which represented great value. The opportunity to combine Thai Airways with Lufthansa Group Airlines is also good for interesting flight itineraries from Europe to try out different products in each direction. For that price, it was worth the money, and I would fly them again.
Unless the price is a steal, I struggle to see why anybody would choose Thai Airways (over other regional airlines) in its current state beyond a passenger looking for a non-stop flight. This is a shame, especially when Thailand has much potential as a destination – nevertheless, their national airline is letting down the image of the country they are attempting to promote.
Like our Thai Airways Royal Silk A350 Business Class review? You can read another flight review about Thai Airways A350 Starts From London + B787-9 New Business Class Seats here.
11 comments
Disap? That word doesn’t begin to describe the poor hard product! Avoid is the word that came to mind in response to your smashing detailed review! I’d switch a tail camera for good food and service any day.
It’s been several years since I flew business class with Thai, but even then, the colour scheme gave the cabin a dowdy and tired look. That said, the food and service experience was superior to what you endured. Makes you wonder if the powers that be ever fly on their own airline?
What a shame that this airline has gone downhill.
Once up on a time I dreamed of flying in business class with Thai airline from London to Bangkok.
It didn’t happen but now it doesn’t matter as I wouldn’t fly with them.
So sad you had a disappointing experience!
I flew them in FEB from Melbourne to Bangkok to Singapore and thought they were great! I actually preferred the experience on Thai to what I later had on Singapore Airlines from Singapore back to Melbourne.
But when you land in BKK the challenges Thai is facing are obvious. Line after line of multiple Thai Airways aircraft parked up long term.
Thanks to TLFL I’ve sat in many business class cabins but have often wondered if the airline could survive if everyone had paid the fare I had.
For most carriers reduced fares with little yield can be offset by more expensive fares or other high yield routes on their network. Unfortunately for Thai, the Thailand market has always been dominated by great value fares for customers, so it’s little wonder they struggle. It might seem inexpensive for us to visit Thailand but, in comparison, Thai must find their overseas costs for everything from ground handling and services to onboard food debilitating.
Have flown Thai business class regularly for several decades as I lived in Thailand. there were the bad old days in the 2000s when the product was dated, it got better, and then in the few years before the pandemic service got seriously good. As did the food. Hard product always middling but not bad.
Since the pandemic the food and beverage has seriously slipped. Food now similar to economy class. And the hard product simply hasn’t kept pace.
I know avoid Thai, even as they are one of the few to offer a direct service from the UK
I cannot believe that this is Thai airways, I have used them numerous times in the past & have always been happy with their services & food, as you have said the people at the top don’t care about their customers & need to be made to fly on all of their routes instead of sitting in their plush offices, twiddling their thumbs & collecting the fat pay cheques.
I flew them a few times in the last 6 months and was quite surprised that the crew service wasn’t up to acceptable standard. Especially the LHR-BKK flight.
Fly with Thai a lot prior to COVID and was always happy. No longer fly into Australia. Noticed Singapore has recently not Impressed with Business nor has Malaysia but Turkish was great
An airline is not a 5 star restaurant, it’s to get from one destination to another safely and as comfortably as possible. I jave flown Thai for 20yrs and have been on time (more than others) and even landed earlier at times. Generally a good experience and good value for money. But forget about trying to call or get email reply from their Australian call centers…that needs great improvements. You need to fly Australian Jetstar to appreciate how good Thai Airways are
Hmm…in some respects you are correct (safety etc.) but frankly you are comparing a premium airline to low cost carrier. I’ve flown Ryanair numerous times – cheap and it gets you there. If I wanted a similar experience to Asia, I would fly Scoot etc. Thai Airways in its current incarnation is a poor relation to its other Asian counterparts like SQ, CX and NH. If you’ve been paying for Thai Airways for 20 years, I’d certainly recommend trying something else to open your eyes to a better experience.
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