This is going to be slightly different review. This flight was only 40 min and took us from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, our second stop in Thailand. The uniqueness of the flight is that it was operated by a 777 which are usually used for long-haul international routes.

You can find some earlier installments of the trip below:

• HK Airlines LAX – HKG – BKK
• HKG Autus Lounge
• St Regis Bangkok
• Gaggan (Asia’s top rated restaurant)
• Exploring and Activities – Bangkok
• Thai Airways – 777 for 40min flight
• Le Meridian Chiang Mai
• Elephant Sanctuary
• Exploring and Activities – Chiang Mai
• BKK Miracle Lounge
• Thai Smile and way home

Airport and Check-In

We took a car service to the airport at 5:30 am. Since we left so early, the St. Regis butler packed a to-go breakfast bag for us. We definitely left way too early for our 8 am flight, however everyone had warned us about the potential bad traffic. We didn’t encounter any of it though.

The same was true for our check-in and security experience. It took all of five minutes for us to accomplish both and we were off to the lounge to kill some time. Again, this doesn’t sound like is the norm and maybe we just got lucky.

Thanks to Elli’s United status we were able to use the priority lane for Thai Airways. Both airlines are part of the Star Alliance and Gold status grants you that.

Pro Tip: Bangkok has two airports, so double check where you are flying to and from.

Lounge/Gate

That same Star Alliance Gold status allowed us to access the Thai Airways  Orchid lounge. There are quite a few around the airport and we picked the one closest to our gate.

The lounge was super crowded and we were barely found two seats together in the back corner. Based on it being so crowded I didn’t take any pictures. The breakfast food on display was delicious and a bigger spread then what you find in American lounges. According to Elli, they also had great coffee.

Once we got to the gate there was still a short wait. In Bangkok it is set up in a way that you get your boarding pass checked, and then are in a separate gate area for your flight before you actually board. Boarding was quick and efficient, but unfortunately we got delayed due to airport congestion.

Seating

We were in Seats 34A and 34B: a window and middle seat. The plane itself had a 3-3-3 seat layout in Economy. There were also two Business class cabins, however I only saw two people in it overall. Apparently Thai Airways swaps out planes quite frequently, so we were only seats assigned the night before and explains why no one was in Business class.

The overall legroom was pretty standard, but each seat had an individual entertainment screen, as well as a foot rest. The foot rest is not very common and felt more in the way then adding comfort. This might differ for other a bit shorter then me.

There was also a blanket waiting at each seat. Being so used to US flight standings, this seemed pretty excessive for a 40 min flight. The seat padding was pretty grim, so while it was fine for 40 minutes, I tried not to imagine how it would feel on their typical flights up to 9 hour long. Overall, the plane had probably seen better days.

Entertainment

The flight was listed with a flying time of one hour and twenty minutes, but  the actual flight time was 40 min. Barely enough to watch anything on the entertainment screen. They had their long-haul entertainment loaded, so a sizable selection. I napped and looked out the window. Can’t beat the natural window seat entertainment sometimes.

Food and Service:

Surprisingly, they did serve a little breakfast snack on this flight. They served a breakfast sausage calzone: I only had one bite. Luckily, Elli slept through this and avoided it. They also passed out a water bottle with the calzone. Afterwards they came through the cabin for a tea, coffee and juice service as well. I had some juice which was phenomenal.

They certainly did a great job getting all this done in such a short time frame. While the snack was forgettable, I appreciate them offering food and drinks.

Cost:

We booked this flight directly through Thai Airways. The flight cost was $42 per person.

While there were even cheaper options available this flight fit best with our schedule.

Summary:

Intra-Thailand flights are super cheap and it was cool to be on such a big plane for such a short flight. Otherwise the flight was uneventful, which I guess is not a bad thing. I would certainly fly Thai in a heartbeat again to get around Thailand or Asia.