Booking the Trip: A Southeast Asian Path to India
Review: American Airlines Admiral’s Club LAX
Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge LAX
Review: American Airlines 787-9 Main Cabin Extra Los Angeles to Tokyo Narita
Review: Japan Airlines Sakura Business Class Lounge Tokyo Narita
Review: Japan Airlines 777-200ER Economy Class Tokyo Narita to Singapore
Review: Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class Lounge Terminal 3 Singapore
Review: Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Singapore
Review: Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class Lounge Terminal 2 Singapore
Review: Thai Airways A350-900 Royal Silk Business Class Singapore to Bangkok
Review: Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Bangkok
Review: Eva Air Infinity Lounge Bangkok
Review: Thai Airways 747-400 Royal Silk Business Class Bangkok to Mumbai
Review: GVK Domestic Lounge Mumbai
Review: Jet Airways 737-800 Economy Class Mumbai to Pune
Review: GVK International Business Class Lounge East Wing Mumbai
Review: Thai Airways 747-400 Royal Silk Business Class Mumbai to Bangkok
Review: Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse D Bangkok
Review: Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse C gate C1 Bangkok
Review: Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse C gate C2 Bangkok
Review: Singapore SilverKris Business Class Lounge Bangkok
Review: Thai Airways A350-900 Royal Silk Business Class Bangkok to Singapore
Review: Qantas Business Class Lounge Singapore
Review: Qantas A330-200 Economy Class Singapore to Sydney
Review: Qantas International Business Class Lounge Sydney
Review: American Airlines 787-9 Main Cabin Extra Sydney to Los Angeles
YOUTUBE: American Airlines: Los Angeles to Tokyo
YOUTUBE: Japan Airlines: Tokyo to Singapore
YOUTUBE: Thai Airways: Singapore to Bangkok
YOUTUBE: Thai Airways: Bangkok to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: Thai Airways: Mumbai to Bangkok
YOUTUBE: Thai Airways: Bangkok to Singapore
YOUTUBE: Qantas Airways: Singapore to Sydney
YOUTUBE: American Airlines: Sydney to Los Angeles
After spending a while in the Thai Lounge in Concourse E, I headed to the gate to board my flight.
Boarding was delayed as per a sign in the lounge so I was in no rush.
Once boarding began via bus to a remote stand, we got off the bus and I was able to get this quick picture of the queen before boarding.
After boarding, I turned left into the first class cabin and was sad to see the old seats. But wait….I know what you are thinking: “I thought I’m reading a business class review.” Here is how it works. Thai operates a 747-400 between Bangkok and Mumbai and all their 747s have 3 classes, economy, Royal Silk Business, and Royal First. However, between Mumbai and Bangkok, Thai only operates the flight as Royal Silk Business and economy. Which means the “business class cabin” included the actual business class cabin and the first class cabin. During booking, the first class seats are up for grabs which I took advantage of and talked about in my introduction to this trip.
But anyways, now to the seat! This is Thai’s 747’s old first class seat. I was hoping to have their new suites but I guess it makes sense to give the old seats to a flight where this seat is marketed as business class.
The seat cushion was hard and worn. The back padding was also quite hard for my liking. The headrest was also hard but It was fine given that this seat was old and being changed soon.
A pillow and blanket were provided for this flight. For those that get cold quickly, you will need this on this flight because they kept the cabin quite cool. I like a cabin like this but that’s all a matter of personal preference.
After taking my seat, the crew came around with pre-departure beverages and I chose purple lime tea which I always enjoy on Thai.
This old 747 still even has the old-fashioned screen.
We had the menus for the flight as well.
And In the middle of the first class cabin there were newspapers.
Finally, we began taxi about an hour late and prepped for departure. We were next in line for takeoff behind a Cathay 77W.
Finally it was our turn for departure.
We had a fairly quick layout for a Boeing 747.
At this point, let’s have a look at the amenity kit provided.
The contents were pretty good for a 4-hour flight and I was especially pleasantly surprised to see slippers.
The crew took menu orders and drink orders on the ground.
There was a small bowl of nuts with dried fruit to start.
And some green tea.
And a few minutes after, dinner was brought out.
The main course included rice with eggs and salmon. The rice was cooked well but had a nice taste after the chili sauce was added. The eggs were nice and hot too but the flavor was alright.
This was the spicy sauce and I liked it.
This was the appetizer. It was a chicken salad and it was very flavorful. It had the right amount of spice and acidity which together made for an amazing combination.
The salon was way overcooked but the curry was nicely flavored.
Dessert was brought out separately.
I went for the Thai option which was a phenomenal sticky rice pudding. The savory yogurt on top perfectly counter-balanced the sweetness of the rice. It was awesome!
After dinner, the crew did another beverage round and I just wanted hot water. They also came around with a water bottle and a Ferrero Rocher chocolate for each passenger.
I fell asleep for the rest of the flight and woke up when the crew woke me up during our descent into Mumbai and helped me store all my belongings.
And through the clouds came Mumbai.
And we touched down about 30 minutes late.
We taxiied to the gate while the humidity was visibly building on the door.
Overall, this was quite a fun flight. It’s fun to fly in the nose of the 747, and to fly in a first class seat on a business class ticket. Wait for the real treat on the return journey from Mumbai to Bangkok. Stay tuned for the rest meanwhile. Cheers!