Review Thai Airways International Business-Class, Zurich - Bangkok
Paul‘s 203rd Flight Report
Flight: TG971
Route: ZRH - BKK
Flight Time: 10 hours 40 minutes
Travel Class: Business Class
General Impression: 
Before the Flight :
Check-in Process:
Security Control:
Lounge: (not the Thai contracted lounge)
(not the Thai contracted lounge)
Information:
Boarding @ Gate:
Staff @ these points:
Boarding in Cabin:
Welcome Drinks:
Punctuality: , 26 min delay
, 26 min delay
During the Flight :
Food presentation:
Food quality:
Drinks:
Service Procedure:
Amenity Kit:
Entertainment System:
Seat Quality:
Legroom:
Lavatories:
Cleanliness:
General Atmosphere:
Announcement Pilots:
Announcement Cabin:
Cabin Crew:
After the Flight :
De-Boarding:
Baggage Delivery:
—-
= bad, a lot of work needs to be done
= poor, you will be busy with corrections
= good & normal, nothing special
= high level, but the icing on the cake is missing
= topnotch, leave me here!
= Half a Point/sheep
—-
Spoiler Alert: Wow, what a Royal Silk service to Bangkok. The flight was just amazing and the crew were real service and hospitality professionals.
On the Ground:
As in the last couple of weeks Zurich Airport and the Cantonal Police had problems to deliver their so famous standard service. (Massive queues
at security controls, Immigration and Emigration) we arrived almost 3 hours ahead of the scheduled departure time at Zurich Airport.
The Check-in counters of Thai Airways International are located at Check-in area 2 in Terminal 2.
Three hours prior departure all check-in counters were already open. No queue at the priority counters and only a very short queue at the economy lane. Staff was super helpful, friendly and
the entire check-in process was done in no time.
The queue at the security check was not bad at all and we did expect something completely different. It took us maybe around 8 minutes to get through which is a very good time at an
international airport during peak hours.
Staff at security was friendly and helpful.
Also emigration was no problem at all. There was no queue and we were in Terminal E, the terminal of which our flight departed, in about 20 minutes after check-in.
Thai Airways International is using the Swiss International Air Line lounges in Zurich. This is normal as a Star Alliance Carrier being at the homebase of another one.
As Swiss Senator members we know the lounges in Zurich in and out and we were scared that the lounges in Dock E would be packed as timewise it was Swiss Internationals main longhaul departure
wave. Considering the above, we decided to use a different lounge with our Priority Passes instead of the contracted Lounge.
We tried the Prime Class Lounge in Terminal E.
Staff at reception was very friendly and helpful. The lounge itself is very modern and still looks pretty new. They do have a lot of seating space and we had no problem to find to seats for
us.
Usually, a big asset of all the lounges in Terminal E are balconies. It was a very nice day in Zurich and the lounge had the balcony closed. Why?
Food was on the very very poor and cheap side. They had some cheese and ham with bread, some steamed rice, some green beans with vegetables, a completely dried out fish and some penne.
Nothing had any sauce so everything was super dry. The salad bar consisted of 3 different salads.
Same poor game with drinks. 3 different soft drinks, some still and sparkling water, a white and a red wine. That’s basically it, no bubbles no juices etc. As a positive note, they do have
some liquor which is self service but it was just to early.
All in all a very poor F&B performance the Prime Class lounge and not worth the money should you need to pay for this lounge.
If you are flying with Thai Airways International out of Zurich, definitely take the contracted Swiss Lounges as the offered F&B selection is much better.
We were at our departure gate around 10 minutes prior the indicated boarding time. At boarding time the boarding announcement was made and boarding started a few minutes after. The announcements
were clear and understandable. Before boarding a document check was carried out and your passport was checked once more.
Staff at the gate was super friendly and interacted with the customers during the boarding process.
At the aircraft door we were greeted by the cabin chief as well as another cabin crew who were checking the boarding passes.
The other cabin crew members were in the cabin and super friendly and helpful during the boarding process.
The seats were already equipped with a very comfortable and fluffy pillow, a comfy blanket and a seat mattress / cover. In the compartments next to the seat there were some noise cancelling
head phones as well as a water bottle. On the surface next to the seat there was the amenity kit as well as the menu card waiting for us.
Once installed in the seat and seated, the crew came by with a hot towel and asked for a welcome drink. I did choose the Thai Ice-tea to start with.
After the safety demonstration the crew passed by to take the orders for the meal service. They asked for the choice of hot meal for the main service as well as for the hot meal prior to landing.
Inflight:
The Thai Airways International business class on this Boeing 777-300 isn't the newest product anymore. But the seats look still good and the cabin looks tidy and well taken care off.
Our Aircraft had 42 seats in two sections in business class. The bigger section is between door 1 and 2 where there are 24 seats and the smaller section is behind door 2 and before the
Economy Class section. Thai does not offer a Premium Economy on this plane.
Business Class has a 4 seats abrest in a 1-2-1 configuration.
We choose two seats in the middle of the aircraft so each of us had direct aisle access.
The seats are fully lie flat and very comfortable. You got a lot of private space.
Unfortunately also Thai`s Business Class seats do not offer a lot of space by the shoulders. When I wanted to lay down, I was not able to lay down on my back and keep my arms on the side. I
had to choose a side position to be able to have some space to place my arms.
After take off, once the fasten seat belt sign was switched off, the cabin crew started very swiftly with their royal silk inflight service. Wow, were we spoiled.
They started with an aperitive service and the crew offered actively champagne or wine and the drink was accompanied with some delicious salted mixed nuts. The champagne was offered in a
classic champagne flute glass and there aren’t many airlines left who so in business class. Shortly after an amuse bouche was served, chicken satay with peanut sauce. They were super
delicious.
The plates were collected and then, because it was finger food, a next round of hot towels were offered.
The crew then passed and set up the tables with a very nice embraided table cloth and set up the first course. First course were some shrimps with cherry tomatoes and cream cheese. Bread was
offered and I took some garlic bread and a multigrain bun.
Again, the crew passed with the drinks trolley and offered a full drink service and refill.
The plates of the first course were cleared and the main course served. I did choose the beef massaman curry and my better half decided on the roast corn-fed chicken with chimichurri sauce.
The mains were simply wow. Very tasty, the right amount of spiciness and just very delicious. Also with the mains the crew passed again with the drink trolley and offered actively wine to the
main dishes. Thai Airways has real big wine glasses in business class and it gives the whole dish a more exclusive and expensive look compared to the “one fits all drinks” glasses other
airlines use.
After the main, the crew then passed with a huge cheese platter. The cheese was super delicious and in combination with the cheese some port wine was offered. And you know what, Thai Airways
has also a special glass for port wine.
The plates were cleared and then the crew served the dessert. A delicious non to sweet mascarpone cream with raspberry mousse. A dream.
Along with the dessert, fresh coffee and tea was served and also some digestives were available.
I would rank this main meal service as one of the best inflight services I have ever had. The food was super delicious, well presented and the portions were on the bigger side for airplane meals. The cabin crew did an amazing job. This for sure was a Royal Silk service.
After the main service, the cabin was cleared, and the lights were dimmed for some rest. During the entire night the crew was super present in the cabin and offered actively drinks and snacks. Should you be traveling with Thai Airways you have to try the Thai Ice-Tea ice cream.
Around 1.5 hours prior to landing in Bangkok, breakfast was served. Also here the crew was super present and did an amazing job.
The table was again set up with a tablecloth and the breakfast was served on a full size tray. The tray consisted of seasonal fruits and yoghurt, croissants and bread rolls as well as the
main dish you have chosen. I went for the omelet and the better half for the buttermilk pancakes. The food was very fresh and tasty and everything was accompanied by a full drink service.
The amenity kit is okay and offers the regular content. (socks, toothbrush, earplugs, eye mask some lip balm and hand cream) except one item which nowadays is not very common anymore, a shoe horn. Most of the items of the amenity kit are biodegradable.
The inflight entertainment is good and the screens are okay with a good size and resolution for business class. The screens are touch screens, but it takes a little while until they respond,
but the system was super reliable.
The inflight entertainment is offered in 8 different languages and Thai Airways has a good choice in movies, music as well as TV shows.
But then who needs a new movie if there is the most important and famous film in aviation available. “The map”
The Boeing 777 fleet of Thai Airways is not equipped with WiFi. Thai only offers that service on board their Dreamliner Fleet as well as the new Airbus A350.
Toilets were super clean throughout the entire flight and the cabin crew checked them super regularly and stocked and cleaned them all the time.
After the Flight:
Arrival in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport was at a gate position and very early in the morning. We were at our stand at 5:35 AM.
10 minutes after arrival at the stand we had already passed the immigration. There was no queue at all.
Baggage delivery worked very well this time. First bag was delivered on the belt 16 minutes after the aircraft arrived on the stand. Priority bags were delivered first.
Actually arrival was really great as 20 minutes after our arrival we were already standing outside at the taxi stand.
Summary:
All in all, a fantastic flight with Thai Airways International.
The inflight service was stunning and everything was delicious. The crew did an amazing job and showed professionalism along the way, and they went the extra mile for every single passenger.
They definitely offered a Royal Silk service.
The hard product such as seat and amenities were good as well. It is not the newest and fanciest product anymore but hey, if everything works fine and the rest is top notch, then this does not matter at all.
I would rate this flight with Thai Airways as one of our best flights we have ever had.
We would definitely recommend Thai Airways International and we can not even imagine how they are doing when they are finally back on full track after covid.
Notes:
- Paul the Sheep does not get any benefits from the Hotels/Airlines etc.
- Paul will always pay for the services in order to be able to rate freely and truly about the experiences.
-If you are interested in more details, please send me a private message and I will be happy to share