Star Alliance Mega-Trip 2012: First Class on Thai Airways BKK-HKG

Star Alliance Mega-Trip 2012  

a.      Introduction/Preface

b.      United Club at DFW and First Class on United DFW-SFO

c.       United First Class lounge at SFO

d.      First Class on Lufthansa SFO-FRA

e.       Lufthansa Welcome Lounge at FRA

f.       Exploring Frankfurt

g.      Lufthansa First Class Lounge at FRA

h.      First Class on Thai Airways FRA-BKK

i.        Thai First Class Lounge and Spa at BKK

j.        First Class on Thai Airways BKK-HKG

k.      Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong

l.        Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge (The Wing)

m.    Business Class on Dragon Air from HKG

n.      Business Class on Dragon Air to HKG

o.      Cathay Pacific Lounge (The Arrival)

p.      Exploring Hong Kong and Macau

q.      Business Class on Asiana Airlines HKG-ICN

r.        Asiana Business Class & First Class Lounge at ICN

s.       First Class on Asiana Airlines ICN-NRT

t.        Conrad Tokyo

u.      Exploring Tokyo

v.      United Airlines First Class Lounge/United Club at NRT

w.    All Nippon Airways First Class lounge at NRT

x.      First Class on All Nippon Airways NRT-IAD

y.      Lufthansa Lounge and British Airways Lounge at IAD

z.       United Economy Class IAD-DFW plus Conclusion and Final Thoughts

First Class on Thai Airways BKK-HKG

Thai Airways 606 BKK-HKG  Boeing 747
Wednesday, January 20
Depart: 4:00PM  Arrive: 7:45PM 
Duration: 2hr45min
Seat: 1A (First Class)

We departed from gate D8 on an older regional 747 aircraft.  There were two jet bridges available and I used the left one for premium cabin passengers.  The purser came by before take-off offered me a pre-departure beverage which I declined.  He also mentioned/confirmed that I ordered a special meal that was spicy.   

The safety video was played on the old style overhead projector screen.  Being seated in 1A, it was hard to see it clearly.  After we took off, the meal service started immediately with the hot towel service to kick it off.  I started off with a still water when not nuts were brought out.

Then an appetizer of pork satay with peanut sauce and cucumbers were given.  The purser suggested that I enjoy some Dom Perignon with it... which I accepted.  Then the bread basket with butter came along with the pumpkin soup. 

My main course chosen on this flight was the Spicy Thai Basil with Beef served with a fried egg and it was delicious.  Next we had a fruit and cheese plate followed by a chocolate mousse tart with almond crème. 

This was all followed by a cup of green tea and landing card for Hong Kong.  I had my personal TV turned to the airshow so I could follow our progress into Hong Kong.

After I filled the landing card out, I asked the purser for a tour of the Business class split amongst the front of the plane on the main deck and the upper deck.  In First, there were 4 passengers including myself with seating enough for 10 passengers.  One passenger was a monk who I believe was upgraded to First by the gate agent.  The safety video we had was shown on the old style projector screen (this bird is very dated).  The galley for First and Business occupied the right middle section of the plane (similar to KLM’s 747) which is a rarity for 747 configurations.  

In the upper deck, there was 1 passenger (private cabin) and about 5 on the main deck.  Upon returning to my seat… and once again, I blogged and tried to catch up before I forget the details on my last few days of whirlwind travel.  I did manage to recline the seat into the bed position and grabbed a few winks before landing.  Since the cabin lights were turned off, I managed to fall asleep rather quickly and even had a short little nightmare “napmare”.  The service was very good on this flight and I would not accept anything less from Thai Airways.  We landed in Terminal 2 of Hong Kong International Airport.

Upon landing, there was an agent with three names on the paper waiting on the jet bridge… the three official passengers in First as the monk had a wheelchair for him upon arrival.  We were taken by shuttle to the immigration area and it would have been about a 10 minute walk without the golf cart service.  The line for visitors to Hong Kong was pretty long and took about 15 minutes to get through. 

The e-channel for frequent visitors of HKIA automated gates looks like an easy process to go through.  Based on previous research, the only requirement was for someone to enter/leave Hong Kong 3 times within a 12 month period.  This trip would fulfill at least 2 of the 3 times for me as both on the inbound and outbound fights to china, I would be clearing customs/immigration on both sides of the trip into/out of Hong Kong.