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Browsing Tag: Thai Airways

Flying a Thai Airways A380 in Royal First Class

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Thai Airways Airbus A380 - Photo: Aero Icarus

Thai Airways Airbus A380 – Photo: Aero Icarus | FlickrCC

Airline: Thai Airways International
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800
Departed: Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Arrived: Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK)
Class: First Class
Seats: 1E & 1F
Length: About 6 hours

My wife and I recently embarked on a major bucket list trip to Thailand.  Since this was a rare sans-toddler trip, we decided to go all-out and burn pretty much all the miles and points we could get our hands on to fly some premium cabins.  We were fortunate enough to be able to scrape together just enough points (mostly thanks to being new homeowners) to fly to Bangkok in first class.  Our final leg of the inbound journey was on a Thai Airways A380 from Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK).

Thai Airways' A380 First Class Cabin - Photo: David Delagarza | AirlineReporter.com

Thai Airways’ A380 Royal First Class cabin – Photo: David Delagarza | AirlineReporter

We arrived at Tokyo Narita on ANA’s new Houston to Tokyo service in first class which, in and of itself, was an amazing experience.  Our layover at Narita was about three hours long, during which time we availed ourselves of ANA’s First Class suite lounge.

BONUS: Flight Review: ANA First Class Houston to Tokyo on a 777-300ER

Shortly after taking our seats in the lounge, a representative from Thai Airways found us, introduced herself, and asked if we needed anything.  We asked if she could look into the status of our checked bags, as we’d had a little bit of difficulty getting them checked all the way through to Bangkok.  She left with our passports, boarding passes, and bag claim tickets.  When she returned she had new boarding passes printed on Thai stock and she informed us that they had located our bags and they were all set to be loaded on the aircraft.  She also informed us that due to a late inbound aircraft, the flight would be about fifteen minutes late, and she would get us when it was time to board.  No problem, I needed a shower anyway. Is there any greater feeling than showering in the lounge between long-haul flights?

UPDATED: Thai Airways Airbus A330 Accident on Landing at Bangkok

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Picture of the Thai Airways Airbus A330 (HS-TEF) involved in the incident. Image: Ken Fielding.

Picture of the Thai Airways Airbus A330 (HS-TEF) involved in the incident. Image: Ken Fielding.

Late Sunday night, local time in Bangkok, Thailand, a Thai Airways Airbus A330-300 landed and experienced a failure of its front landing gear. Flight 679 departed from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) in China and landed at the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) at about 11:00pm. The aircraft was carrying 278 passengers and 14 crew members. The airline is reporting that eight passengers were ’œslightly injured.’ We reached to Airbus and they explained that they currently do not have a statement, but are monitoring the situation. The Airbus A330-300 involved in the incident is registered HS-TEF and was delivered to Thai Airways in March of 1995.

Airline Livery of the Week: Thai Airways

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Thai Airways Boeing 747-4D7 HS-TGO in newer airline livery

Thai Airways is the national carrier (can you guess) of Thailand. It was founded in 1960. It is almost 54% owned by the Thai Government and has achieved profit over the last 40 consecutive years.

As of October 2009, Thai Airways had almost 100 aircraft. The largest being a Boeing 747-400 and smallest an ATR-72. The airline also owns a 39% stake in Nok Air.

Check out a video that shows a Boeing 747-400 landing with old livery, then one with new livery. You can also see two Boeing 777’s next to each other — one with the new and one with the old livery.

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Image: Thomas Becker