Review: Thai Airways Boeing 747 Royal Silk business class (Sydney-Bangkok)
By Chris C., July 5 2017
Route
Sydney - Bangkok
Aircraft Type
Boeing 747-400
Airline
Thai Airways
Flight
TG476
Cabin Class
Business
Seat
18A (upper deck, window)
Notes
The Good
- More flights on the route than any other airline
- Ascend to the upper deck on the iconic jumbo jet
The Bad
- Angled bed without universal direct aisle access
- Power outlets don't accommodate modern laptops
- Slow meal service, low-quality entertainment headphones
X-Factor
- Free 30-minute massage before flying home from Bangkok Airport
Introduction
With 11 return flights each week between Sydney and Bangkok – the most of any airline on the route – Thai Airways offers business travellers flexibility in when they fly, with 'Royal Silk' business class available on every Boeing 747 service.
Passengers can also connect onwards from Bangkok to a host of destinations across Asia and Europe, but on that Sydney-Bangkok leg, the airline's business class seat can't be described as 'competitive', being neither fully flat nor offering direct aisle access.
Australian Business Traveller brings you this review following a recent Thai Airways flight aboard the upper deck of the iconic Queen of the Skies.
Check-in
- Frequent flyer program: Royal Orchid Plus (ROP), Star Alliance. Thai Airways doesn't have an Australian airline partner, so you might choose to earn miles in the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program instead which can be converted into Virgin Australia Velocity points.
- Checked baggage allowance: 40kg, plus a further 10kg for ROP Silver flyers, 20kg for ROP Gold and all other Star Alliance Gold members and 30kg for ROP Platinum cardholders.
- Carry-on baggage allowance: Thai's website advises 1x7kg, 115cm cabin bag plus one small personal item such as a handbag, but we encountered no issues in carrying aboard a full-size laptop bag in addition to a 115cm bag. Being on the upper deck where overhead storage is limited, the cabin crew suggested we leave our larger (locked) bag downstairs throughout the flight and store the laptop bag upstairs.
- Priority check-in, passport control, security, boarding: Yes, although the design of the boarding gate area at Sydney Airport saw business class travellers wading through waiting economy flyers to reach the priority queue. On arrival in Bangkok, follow the 'Royal Silk' signs at passport control and present your boarding pass to use the dedicated fast track queue.
Lounge
Business class passengers are directed to the recently-refurbished Air New Zealand lounge at Sydney Airport for fresh barista-made coffee (or espresso martinis), buffet fare and shower facilities before their flight…
… but a Thai Airways business class boarding pass also provides access to Sydney’s Singapore Airlines SilverKris lounge under Star Alliance rules, as both Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines are members of the same global airline alliance.
We chose the SilverKris lounge and were warmly welcomed with a (self-poured) glass of Champagne.
Travellers with selected high-end American Express cards including the AMEX Platinum Card, Business Platinum Card, Explorer Card, Qantas Ultimate Card, AMEX Velocity Platinum Card and more can also visit the AMEX Lounge at Sydney Airport.
On your return home from Thailand, make sure you allow time for a visit to Thai's Royal Orchid Spa at Bangkok Airport, where all business class passengers can enjoy a complimentary 30-minute foot massage or neck and shoulder massage.
Seat
Thai Airways spreads business class across both the upper deck and the main deck aboard its Boeing 747s, with seats in a 2-2 configuration on both levels (extra space on the main deck is given over to a crew galley):
Each seat transforms into a 190cm/75inch angled-flat bed at a 170-degree recline that’s reasonable for daytime flights such as this one, but rather undesirable for overnight journeys as there’s neither direct aisle access from every seat nor a fully-flat bed: the latter now a staple of international business class, and the former becoming increasingly so.
We like that there’s a sizeable privacy divider in between each seat pair to help minimise any disturbances whether you’re resting or working…
… but we don’t like the placement of the seat’s AC power outlet, which makes no room for larger power bricks – common with Apple Macbook and Microsoft Surface devices – and even if you can plug in, the cable has to run along your seat to reach your device, rather than being accessible from the front of the seat.
We instead kept our Surface powered-up throughout the flight by connecting the USB cable to an AC iPhone charger, but which only provided adequate amperage to keep the tablet at its current battery level rather than recharging it simultaneously.
Thai provides two USB power ports of its own for added charging – suited to smartphones and other small gadgets – which proved useful given that our iPhone charger was put to other use.
When it comes to storage, your options depend on where you sit. All passengers have a literature pocket in front and a water bottle holder, plus a communal pouch for larger items like newspapers…
… and a shared, latched compartment in between each seat pair that’s suitable for amenity kits or smaller water bottles when not in use.
Perch yourself by the windows on the upper deck (the A and K seats) and you’ll also get your own seat-side lockers…
… large enough to store laptop bags and other personal items, and a great place to plonk your other gear like headphones for easy access when not in use.
Read: The best seats in business class aboard Thai Airways' Boeing 747s
Speaking of the upper deck, you can never hear “just upstairs, sir (or ma’am)” too many times at the boarding door…
… and when you do ascend the jumbo’s staircase, there’s reading material waiting for you to peruse.
Each seat also provides an adjustable reading light in addition to the usual overhead lamp, configurable lumbar support and an in-seat massager: activated by pressing the ‘M’ button on the seat control panel.
Meal
Before the main meal service begins, pre-departure drinks are offered: Veuve Clicquot Champagne in our case…
… followed by another round soon after take-off and nuts at room temperature – but which whould have ideally been warmed:
Being a nine-hour daytime flight departing Sydney at 10am local time, lunch is served onboard just before midday, with travellers choosing between Thai Samrab dining or a selection of Western dishes.
We always prefer to try the ‘local’ specialties when flying with overseas-based airlines, and were satisfied with the Thai Samrab option – comprised of deep-fried prawns with papaya and carrot salad (top left), chicken in coconut galangal soup (top right) and stir-fried kalian and steamed jasmine rice (main, centre)…
… plus a choice between chicken in green curry or beef with potato in Massaman curry (selected):
All were tasty but we most enjoyed the coconut galangal soup, which proved particularly flavourful, even at altitude.
Cheeses and fruits come next – and we were pleased to note the presence of crackers, grapes and a knife with this course, which Australian Business Traveller observed to be missing on a previous Thai Airways business class flight… although the cracker-to-cheese ratio still needs improvement:
Dessert finds a choice between a baked pumpkin custard and a lemon meringue tart with mixed berry compote (selected)...
… being a perfect portion size following the cheese course. A bite-sized chocolate concludes the meal…
… while espresso coffee is also available on request. Just note that a ‘cappuccino’ on Thai Airways is more of a chocolate-coffee drink rather than a coffee drink with chocolate powder sprinkled on top as you’d find in Aussie cafes:
Thai Airways doesn’t offer full ‘any time dining’ in business class – instead, the second meal of the flight can be ordered at any time after the main service: perfect if you’re peckish throughout the afternoon and don’t want to wait until closer to landing, but doesn't give you the flexibility to work first and take your first meal later in the flight.
The options given were a rice noodle soup with braised beef; salty fish fried rice with prawns or a Turkish bread roll with grilled herb chicken, Swiss cheese and onion relish, and having tried the Thai option earlier in the flight, we were content with the Western-style roll:
Thai’s wine list is all-French with Veuve Clicquot Brut (NV) joined by two whites from the Loire Valley and Burgundy, two reds also from Burgundy and Bordeaux, and one dessert wine from the same region – but while those we tasted were pleasing, wines don’t need to be French to have great body and finish, so some added variety would be well-received.
Whisky choices included Chivas Regal 12-year and Johnnie Walker Black Label, with Prince Hubert de Polignac XO the Cognac of choice and a range of other spirits available too.
Entertainment & Service
15-inch seatback screens deliver movies, TV shows, music and games throughout the flight, and handily show your flight number on the home page to help you complete any necessary arrivals cards…
… although our system crashed before we’d even left the runway and needed to be rebooted after take-off:
A nearby passenger had the same issue but both reboots did the trick, and while noise-cancelling headphones were provided, ours were of poor quality – delivered with a broken pin and a crackling cable – so we ditched these in favour of our own, rather than asking for a new set.
We also found it best to operate the screen via touch rather than using the in-arm remote control, which only responded to our actions when we squished each key down as hard as we possibly could.
Cabin crew on today’s flight responded promptly to drink requests and addressed passengers by name initially, reverting to a more generic “sir” and “ma’am” soon after, but served meals in a very sporadic way: our seatmate had finished their dessert before we’d received our first bite of food.
Overall, Thai Airways’ Boeing 747 business class service is a decent-enough way to fly from Sydney to Bangkok during daylight hours, but on overnight journeys where sleep takes priority, the same can’t be said.
Thailand’s national carrier is the only airline not to offer fully-flat beds in business class on this route, with competitors Qantas and Emirates providing these as standard, along with direct aisle access from every business class seat, plus free inflight Internet and an onboard bar and lounge area in the case of Emirates.
We hope that when Thai Airways eventually retires its Boeing 747s from Sydney, they’ll be replaced by a jet with a more competitive and up-to-date business class seat – at the very least, one that extends completely flat.
Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
30 Aug 2013
Total posts 437
This really is an awful J seat in 2017 – I’ve flown it a few times and its really uncomfortable for sleeping. Its good to see Thai have finally upgraded the presentation of their J meal service – the main courses for a long time were just economy meals in a ceramic dish. I’m sure Thai are in quite a conundrum over this route – retire the 747 and they lose F class (their new 787s, A350s and 777s all do not feature F class) but improve J class. My understanding is they sell almost no F seats on the route (hence why award availability is incredible) but want to keep the prestige of offering F to Sydney, even if its at the expense of J.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Feb 2017
Total posts 9
The reason that have F on the A380 is so they can accede to the demands of certain locals demanding an upgrade. I was asked to vacate my F seat because some wanker wanted to upgrade his tribe from economy. I refused of course but beware, it's real.
Air New Zealand - Airpoints
31 Oct 2016
Total posts 71
The only plus side I can see is the Veuve
QF
29 Oct 2012
Total posts 17
Flew these seats in the 772 on the MEL route, and they are truly awful even for day flights. Very uncomfortable and worn out, you can feel the rods pushing into your back. IFE also rubbish. Avoid if you can...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Oct 2015
Total posts 27
The seats may not be "lie-flat" but they are wide - unlike the "coffins" increasing offered by other airlines where the price of lie-flat and direct aisle access is that your shoulders are pressing against the surrounds on both sides, and your legs funneled into an even smaller area. Frankly I sleep better in these seats than the "coffin" style as I can move around and change position more easily.
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
31 Jan 2013
Total posts 26
Very odd placement of the crew seats for a J class cabin.
01 Mar 2017
Total posts 9
I love Thai Air.
I've never had any issues with them.
Royal Silk is smooth as.
B747 is still the queen of the skies, imho.
just saying …
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Feb 2017
Total posts 9
@jventham Good to see you like TG and flying Royal Silk. Surprised youre not a member of any FF program. Youre missing out on all those points on TG.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2432
Hardytraveller: Just an FYI that not every AusBT user fills these fields out - they're optional. :)
01 Mar 2017
Total posts 9
umm nope, 'hardytraveller'
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
24 May 2015
Total posts 8
Yes this is an old product but i don't think Thai should be discredited so heavily. The 747 operates out of Sydney due to necessity, they always have at least 50% of their F cabin and close to 100% of their Royal Silk Cabin. When it comes time to retire the 747 i believe the service will be improved to the standard of the Melbourne 777-300ER flights which are exceptional.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Apr 2017
Total posts 132
I'm sure they could justify an A380 to SYD. I think the Thai 747 was one of the greats of its time but that time has passed.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 Oct 2014
Total posts 691
old Chivas Regal in J. Really .. ???
31 Jan 2013
Total posts 44
Are you saying good or bad? Love my Chivas.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 Oct 2014
Total posts 691
Yes, Chivas is quite acceptable - but in Business Class (J) I would be inclined to expect 18 yr old Chivas for a true premium experience.
25 Sep 2013
Total posts 1242
Those really are not competitive seats.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Jul 2017
Total posts 4
01 Mar 2017
Total posts 9
Lufthansa and KLM love the B747, which is why they've ordered the latest iteration.
29 Jan 2012
Total posts 182
Love the option of flying on the 747 upper deck again, and the lounge options along with the on board catering look to compliment the service well, the seating however disappoints.
Singapore Airlines - The PPS Club
03 Jul 2017
Total posts 17
jventham great words I agree the 747 is beautiful.i have flown the sia a350 11 times since they were added to the fleet and I keep shaking my head how can they say this is the new or the newest planes.the seats are cramped I can barely cross my legs and I am not overally tall,when the bed is laid out it is very uncomfortable,the walkway inside the plane is very tight and for all the high talking about the a350 iam very diassappointed so give me a 747 anytime.
Singapore Airlines - The PPS Club
03 Jul 2017
Total posts 17
Virgin Atlantic Airways - Flying Club
06 Jan 2018
Total posts 1
Fed up with going round in circles, can somebody give me a definitive answer to aircraft type being used on Thai Business from BKK to SYD at present. Are they using flat beds or 170?
Air New Zealand - Airpoints
06 Jul 2015
Total posts 15
It is all 747 metal BKK to Sydney so expect the older 170 inclined style seats as mentioned in this review.
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