I’m excited to be flying on a Thai Airways super jumbo Airbus a380. Since I had flown Thai Airways a few months earlier, domestically within Thailand, I’m expecting great things, although maybe I shouldn’t get too excited too quickly….

Read my Thai Airways Chiang Mai to Bangkok review here.

Get up to date FreakyFlier posts delivered direct to your inbox! Sign up at the bottom of the page!

I’m at Paris’ Charles De Gaulle airport early and about the 5th person to check in, I ask for an aisle seat but the check in agent goes one better and offers me a bulkhead seat.  I accept, grab my boarding pass and head to the Salon iCare, a pay per entry lounge, for a bit of R’n’R before the flight.

Read my Salon iCare Lounge review here.

Thai Airways operate 6 Airbus A380’s, which they fly daily on the Bangkok – Paris – Bangkok route,  seating 507 passengers over 3 classes. While the upper deck has First, Business and a small Economy Class cabin at the rear, the main deck where I am seated is all Economy Class, all 377 seats.

The main deck Economy Class seating is 10 abreast in a 3-4-3 layout. Each seat has a comfortable 18″ of width and 31-31″ of pitch.

I’m seated at 55C, as mentioned, an aisle bulkhead seat towards the second half of the aircraft’s cabin and it has an huge amount of legroom.

I’m talking a hugely enormous amount of room – that’s the tips of my shoes when stretched out in the bottom of the picture – although this also makes it an area for people to congregate and stretch out themselves mid flight – Yoga anyone?

Of course, being the bulkhead row, the armrests are mobilised so if you are lucky to get the row to yourself..highly unlikely!.. Or you are travelling with someone, you wont be able to lay across the seats as the AVOD screen and tray table are located in those armrests.

FreakyFlier Travel Hacks – Scoring The Exit Row For Free (Australian Domestic Flights)

Having that AVOD screen in the armrest also means no entertainment until the seatbelt signs are off as they must be stowed for take off and landing. Finally when they are off I check out the on demand options. Sadly I am a little disappointed as there is not much that grabs my attention. I wonder if its me… are we too spoiled for choice in these days of streaming when on the ground?

There is a pre dinner drinks service and I go for a white wine. The half a cup of wine was ok and after the 45 minutes or so it took the crew to serve my section of the cabin I politely stopped the Flight attendant on her way back past with the trolley and asked for a refill. Well, you would have thought I asked for the whole bottle with the look of disbelief I received from her!

For the main meal I order the western option of baked chicken and potato gratin which comes with peas and baby carrots. Everything is nice and although there is not much chicken, I do love the potato gratin.

There is a side salad of iceberg lettuce and grated carrot with a single olive. I’ve mentioned this before, I’m not a fan of raw carrot, so I pick out the lettuce and enjoy the olive. Also on the tray is a small Portuguese tart, some crackers and spreadable cheese and a small turkish bread roll. I manage to get a few hours sleep, as best one can tossing from side to side in the seat.

About half way through the night, the crew come through with a snack. It’s a foccacia type bread with cheese and some mystery meat on it. I take a bite and decide its not for me. The bread is cold and dry and overall its just darn weird and hard to swallow so I head back to my tossing and turning.

When it was time for breakfast I choose the hot option of cheese omelet with tomato chutney, macaire potato and chicken sausages.

Macaire potato…. I’ve never heard of it before, it was like cross between a potato patty and a hash brown, breaded on the outside although it doesn’t transfer well when reheated inflight. I couldn’t taste much cheese flavour in the omelet, the chutney was more like a sauce but the chicken sausages were ok. The best thing about this meal was that we were about to land in Bangkok.

I disembark and find my way to a lounge –  the Miracle First Class Lounge – to relax for a couple of hours before I head on the next leg to Sydney. I’ve had better and I’ve had worse flights but there is one small reward at the end that I am surprised about.

Read my review of  the Miracle First Class Lounge here.

Have you flown Thai Airways and what did you think? Do you think I was rude by asking for another wine?

FreakyFlier paid for his flights independently.

Get up to date FreakyFlier posts delivered direct to your inbox! Sign up at the bottom of the page!