Thai Airways Boeing 777-300ER Royal Silk Business Class Review [BKK to FRA]

Airline: Thai Airways (TG)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Flight #: TG920
Route: Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
Date: April 16, 2024
Duration: 11 hours, 30 minutes
Cabin and Layout: Royal Silk business class, 42 seats, 1-2-1 configuration (2 cabins)
Seat: 11B (bulkhead)
Cost: 80,000 Aeroplan points or from $1,933 cash for the BKK-FRA leg (the entire trip from BKK to FRA to JFK to YYZ cost 87,500 Aeroplan points)

After an incredible 2 months in Asia — during which I experienced some amazing new places, including Seoul, Taipei, and Manila — the time had come for me to finally head home.

Since I was in Bangkok, the base of Thai Airways, for my last stop of the trip, I thought this was an excellent opportunity to fly its long-haul international Royal Silk business class. However, Thai Airways doesn’t fly its own planes to anywhere in North America, so I knew I’d have to find an itinerary that involved a partner airline. For this, I wanted to fly another new airline for me or one I had previously enjoyed.

Fortunately, the latter scenario worked out. I found last-minute award space relatively easily as I could fly either back home to Chicago (ORD) or to Toronto (YYZ) to visit my fiancée.

Here’s an in-depth look at how I booked this award ticket and the entire experience from the lounge in Bangkok to the Thai Airways Royal Silk flight itself.

Booking Thai Airways Business Class

Thai Airways is a member of Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance in the world, which includes United Airlines, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and All Nippon Airways (ANA).

While not as highly regarded as some of its Asian counterparts, the airline does have a reputation for offering excellent onboard cuisine and service. This is particularly true when flying Thai Airways Royal Silk business class.

Fortunately, you can utilize several different programs to book Thai Airways award tickets, including Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, Turkish Miles&Smiles, and United Airlines MileagePlus.

I chose to book this award redemption using Aeroplan points because I had a huge stash of them to put to use. I began looking for award space from Bangkok (BKK) to both Chicago (ORD) and Toronto (YYZ), knowing that I’d need to book an itinerary with potentially multiple stops due to Thai Airways not flying to North America.

After a few minutes, I found some business class award space from Bangkok to Toronto using Aeroplan’s intuitive search engine. Best of all, this routing included a flight on my favorite airline in the world: Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines operates a fifth-freedom flight (when an airline from 1 country flies between 2 other countries) between Frankfurt (FRA) and New York (JFK).

Hot Tip:

Check out my previous review of Singapore Airlines business class onboard a 777-300ER from JFK to FRA.

Aeroplan is an excellent program for Star Alliance partner awards thanks to its fantastic rates for partner-operated flights. Although Air Canada uses dynamic pricing for its own flights, the program has a published distance-based award chart for partner awards. In fact, its partner award chart has some incredible redemption opportunities.

According to its award chart, Air Canada Aeroplan divides the world into 4 distinct zones: North America, South America, the Atlantic, and the Pacific.

With Aeroplan, award pricing depends on the zones you fly between and the overall distance flown.

To calculate how many points I needed for this award redemption, I looked at the award chart for flights between the North America (U.S. or Canada) and Pacific zones (Thailand):

After calculating the total distance for the planned itinerary and looking at the award chart, I confirmed the pricing. The award redemption was priced at 87,500 Aeroplan points and CA$152 (~$112) in taxes and fees.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to compare what the award price would be if I only wanted to fly between Bangkok (BKK) and Frankfurt (FRA).

For this award, I needed to use the award chart for flights between the Atlantic (Europe) and Pacific zones (Thailand), which are generally priced a bit higher. Using Great Circle Mapper, I calculated the distance between Bangkok (BKK) and Frankfurt (FRA) as 5,598 miles.

According to this award chart, partner-operated flights in the 5,001- to 7,000-mile distance band can be booked for 80,000 Aeroplan points.

Clearly, pricing between the Pacific and Atlantic zones is much higher, considering I could book an itinerary all the way from Bangkok to Toronto (including an 8-hour leg between Frankfurt and New York) for just 7,500 more points than a flight from Bangkok to Frankfurt. I definitely felt like I was taking full advantage of the Aeroplan award chart.

Hot Tip:

Check out our guide on some of the best ways to redeem Air Canada Aeroplan points for maximum value.

Earning Aeroplan points would have been very easy even if I hadn’t already had them in my account. Air Canada Aeroplan partners with several transferable-point programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Marriott Bonvoy.

All the programs above, except for Marriott Bonvoy, transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 ratio to Aeroplan; for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer, you get a 5,000-point bonus.

After filling in some travel information, I reached the final payment screen. Air Canada Aeroplan offers several points and cash combinations for award payments.

I double-checked all my personal information and the travel dates and booked the award ticket.

If I paid cash, the one-way business class fare would have set me back $1,933.

However, since I used 87,500 Aeroplan points (and CA$151.80/~$112 in taxes and fees) for this one-way award, I got a respectable 2.09 cents per point. This is significantly more than our valuation of Air Canada Aeroplan points at 1.5 cents, making it a solid redemption.

I used my Chase Sapphire Reserve^® to pay the taxes and fees for this award ticket. This card is my go-to card for travel purchases, as it offers extensive travel insurance and protections.

Hot Tip:

Aeroplan has a fantastic stopover policy. Stopovers can be booked for just 5,000 Aeroplan points, including with one-way award redemptions.

Suvarnabhumi Airport

After several wonderful days in Bangkok, it was time to head to Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), where I was flying from. I used Bangkok’s fantastic public transportation since I had plenty of time to get to the airport for my late-night flight.

I was staying at the Aloft Bangkok Sukhumvit 11 (review to come!), which made getting to the airport a breeze. I took the BTS SkyTrain from Nana station to Phaya Thai station. I transferred to the Airport Rail Link, which would take me to Suvarnabhumi Airport. It cost around $2.50 and took about 55 minutes.

I arrived at the airport shortly before 5 p.m., several hours before the flight departed. As I got off the Airport Rail Link train at the basement level, I took the elevators to the departures level, on the fourth floor. A large Buddha statue was in the center of the airport terminal, near the elevators.

Thai Airways check-in counters were in Row H. With Bangkok being Thai Airways’ hub airport, several check-in counters were available, separated based on the region you were flying to. There was a separate check-in section for Thai Airways domestic flights. 

As expected, Suvarnabhumi Airport was packed. I quickly looked for a Thai Airways representative and inquired about any dedicated check-in encounters for those flying business class. A kind representative let me know that Thai Airways Royal Silk passengers can access dedicated counters in Row A, located at the end of the departure hall.

Check-In

I followed the signs for the Royal Silk and Royal First check-in counters at the far left end of the departures hall. It was a brief 4-minute walk to Row A.

There were several check-in counters available, however, not a single other passenger was there at the time. I approached one of the check-in desks and was greeted by a Thai Airways representative.

I handed my passport to the check-in agent, and he looked up my flight information. The agent promptly gave me my boarding passes (including my connecting Singapore Airlines-operated flight) and told me I could use the Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge.

In all honesty, the check-in agent wasn’t the friendliest. However, he was incredibly efficient. All things considered, I think I actually prefer that. Overall, check-in was smooth and completed in under 3 minutes. 

After gathering my bags, I headed towards the security checkpoints. Fortunately, there was a dedicated fast-track security checkpoint directly in front of the check-in desk. All business and first class passengers have access to the fast-track area.

The security screening was also efficient and completed in just a few minutes. After clearing security, I collected my bags and headed toward passport control. Several signs showed that it was a restricted area and that no photography was allowed. 

Bottom Line:

Everything at Suvarnabhumi Airport went very smoothly. I collected my boarding passes, cleared security, and passed passport control in under 10 minutes.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge

After clearing passport control, I headed directly to the Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge. Fortunately, one of the lounge entrances was right behind passport control. I went down the escalators to the lounge.

Exiting the escalator, I proceeded to the check-in desk, where the agent quickly scanned my boarding pass.

The lounge was a massive, open-concept area with seating for what I estimate to be at least 300 people. It ran the length of an entire airport section, spanning several international departure gates.

I found several seating areas divided into smaller sections. All were nearly identical, with armchairs featuring decorative pillows and small tables dividing them.

The leather armchairs were surprisingly comfortable, and the tables were large enough for a couple of plates of food.

Although there were a lot of people in the lounge, everybody was spread out, so it didn’t feel too crowded.

Near one of the corner seating areas was a staffed bar with a seemingly good selection of beverages. I skipped this, however.

After walking around the space, I headed to the lounge’s main hot food buffet to see what it offered. Since this lounge was so large, several smaller food stations were spread throughout.

The hot buffet featured a good selection of food, including chicken, fish, pork, curries, and rice.

Across from the hot food section was a dedicated noodle soup station featuring braised pork, shrimp wonton, and tom yum soups. Several toppings were available, including spring onions, coriander, spices, chili, peppers, soy sauce, and dry cabbage leaves.

Desserts and bakery items were available at 2 dedicated stations.

Offerings included scones, almond croissants, blueberry pastries, and chocolate fudge cake slices.

The bakery case boasted slices of lemon, red velvet, and mango cake. There was also an assortment of sandwiches next to the cake slices.

Sandwiches included ham, tuna, cheese, and crab stick.

After I surveyed all my options, I started with the hot buffet and got some stir-fried chicken with basil, deep-fried seabass with sweet-and-sour sauce, and a generous portion of steamed white rice. I also got a bowl of tom yum soup.

The steamed rice and sweet-and-sour seabass were so good that I had to have a second plate. I also enjoyed some delicious traditional Thai tea to pair with it.

I also decided to try several items from the bakery selection. The pastries were fantastic, especially when paired with a traditional Thai tea.

After eating a lot more than I was expecting to, I was ready to take a shower. Fortunately, the lounge had several individual shower rooms available.

The lounge bathroom staff brought me towels and complimentary toiletries. Although the shower suite was relatively basic, it did the job. I felt wonderfully refreshed after my shower.

Bottom Line:

The Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge was a fantastic way to spend a few hours at the airport. The seats were comfortable, and there was high-speed Wi-Fi available.

The food was also plentiful and varied. I particularly enjoyed the seabass and the traditional Thai tea, both of which tasted great. I was also glad I could take a shower before my overnight flight.

Boarding at BKK

After a few hours in the lounge, it was time to head to the gate. I checked a nearby international departures board to confirm my departure gate. The Thai Airways flight to Frankfurt was set to depart from gate C3, about a 10-minute walk from the lounge.

After a short walk, I reached Gate C3 about 15 minutes before the official boarding time.

I was hoping to snap a picture of the Thai Airways 777-300ER taking us to Frankfurt. Unfortunately, I couldn’t because of the dirty windows and window glare from the massive overhead lights.

There was a dedicated priority boarding line for Royal Silk passengers, Thai Royal Orchard Plus Platinum members, and Star Alliance Gold members. I got in line as several passengers were already waiting.

Boarding began about 25 minutes behind schedule, around 11:30 p.m., and started with passengers requiring extra assistance. Priority passengers, including those flying in Thai Royal Silk, were then called to board.

The boarding process was chaotic, as groups lined up near the gate entrance. The gate agents made multiple announcements requesting passengers to step away from the gate entrance, but it didn’t do much.

On Board the Thai Airways Boeing 777-300ER

First class and business class passengers could enter through the door on the left.

As I boarded the Boeing 777-300ER through the left door, I was greeted by a friendly flight attendant who welcomed me and showed me to my seat, 11B, the first window seat in the front cabin.

I immediately noticed the prominent use of the color purple throughout the cabin, which is a central component of the airline’s brand identity.

Thai Airways’ 777-300ERs offer a total of 42 Royal Silk business class seats: 24 in the main cabin up front and 18 in a smaller cabin behind the center galley.

The business class cabin is arranged in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration, ensuring all business class passengers have direct aisle access.

The window seats alternate between being closer to the window (seats “A” and “K”) and closer to the aisle (seats “B” and “J”), which is common with staggered seating configurations.

The middle seats are also staggered, with some rows closer to the aisle and others closer to each other (seats “E” and “F”), separated by only a few inches. These are commonly known as “honeymoon seats,” and solo travelers would likely want to avoid these seats.

If you’re traveling by yourself (like I was), your best bet would be to select a “non-honeymoon” center seat or a window seat closer to the window (seats “A” or “K”) as these seats are much further from the aisle and have a small table that helps create separation.

Business Class Seat

As I sat down, I began checking out all of the details of my seat. Mine was “exposed” to the aisle, which became immediately apparent.

There were no dividers on or around the armrest, and there was no privacy to speak of. I thought this would be a concern when sleeping — and it was. More on that later.

Trying to distract myself from the lack of privacy, I looked at what else the seat offered. Directly in front of me was the inflight entertainment system. The TV screen was relatively small and far from the seat, though it was operable by touch input.

I noticed 2 USB-A charging ports below the IFE screen. However, these were useless to me as I no longer carry USB-A charging cables in favor of faster charging USB-C. Many airlines haven’t had the chance to catch up to the USB-C standard that technology has moved to.

Directly below the screen was the footwell, which was fairly deep and wide, providing ample space to put my feet up. Below the footwell, there was also some additional storage for small items.

To the left of the IFE was the tray table, which was located against the seat shell and held in place with a latch. Coats could be hung up on the hook to the left of the tray table.

The tray table had a wood-look top, and I found it easy to fold and swivel it in and out of place.

The wooden seat console was located directly to the left of the seat. It featured some surface space, a drink holder, and a reading light.

I noticed a real lack of proper storage space, so I used the space I did have somewhat unconventionally. For example, I stored my AirPods case in the drink holder for most of the flight.

The seat controls reflected the seat’s age, but they were conveniently located, easy to use, and clearly indicated which buttons would do what.

The inflight entertainment remote was located directly beneath the seat controls.

The controller was predictably outdated, but easy to use, with several clickable buttons. It was unresponsive at times and froze up on me several times during the flight.

The padded armrest directly next to the IFE remote controller opened to reveal a small storage nook. There was enough space for a single water bottle and my MacBook charging brick and cable.

The seat also featured a single AC power outlet on the panel next to the seat. Although the location wasn’t ideal, my charger never once came loose.

In bed mode, the seat was made even more comfortable thanks to the airline-provided pillow, comforter, and duvet. Unfortunately, no mattress pad was provided.

I found the bed to be generally comfortable, though I did feel cramped at times.

Due to my seat being exposed to the aisle, flight attendants would brush my seat as they passed through. This may not sound like a big deal, but it was frustrating as it was enough to wake me up from time to time.

Overall, the Thai Airways 777 Royal Silk business class seat and cabin were not up to my standards. I was not impressed with the seat as it lacked a lot of what makes a business class seat good.

The most glaring infraction was the lack of privacy from the aisle. I can’t reiterate enough how important it is for solo travelers to opt for seats located closer to the window, as they provide significantly more privacy.

There was also the lack of storage — in addition to finding weird places for my smaller belongings, I had to store my personal item in the overhead bin as no stowage was allowed above or below the footrest during taxi, takeoff, and landing.

Bottom Line:

Simply put, the Thai Airways 777 Royal Silk business class seat is outdated, and it’s time for the airline to begin a retrofit program for these aircraft.

Food and Beverage

Thai Airways is considered to be one of the best airlines in the world when it comes to the inflight meal service. Let’s look at what the food and beverage offering was like on my flight.

Pre-Select Meals

Thai Airways now offers pre-select meal service for passengers traveling in first class, business class, and economy class (Royal Orchid Plus Platinum and Gold Members only). Pre-selecting inflight meals is limited to international flights departing from Bangkok.

The service provides a fantastic selection of dishes and ensures that you get to enjoy the food you desire during the flight.

To utilize this service, head to Thai Airways’ website. From here, you can select Manage Booking with your booking reference code. Meal selections must be made at least 72 hours before departing from Bangkok.

Inflight Dining Experience

Shortly after I settled into my seat, a flight attendant offered me a predeparture beverage. Options included Champagne, apple juice, and orange juice. I opted for the orange juice.

The meal service began after reaching cruising altitude, about 15 minutes after takeoff. Menus were placed in the seat pockets, and I looked through them to see what I would choose for this flight. The dinner service included an appetizer, a starter, a main course, and a dessert.

A separate beverage menu was also provided. The menu included several non-alcoholic options, including coffee, tea, hot chocolate, sparkling water, fruit juices, and soft drinks. It also had an extensive selection of Champagne and wine.

A flight attendant came by and asked about drink preferences. I opted for a Thai iced tea with grass jelly and a gin and tonic.

A few minutes later, a flight attendant brought me my drinks of choice, which were served with the amuse-bouche: prawn and vegan caviar with tom yum sauce on a skewer and savory cream cheese tart with vegan caviar. The prawn was fantastic, mostly thanks to the delicious sauce.

This was paired with an assortment of fruit and nuts, including cashews, almonds, and raisins. 

About 15 minutes later, a crew member served the starter course. The starter consisted of salmon and crab meat tartare with Seiko and a balsamic glaze. Although it sounded fantastic when I saw it on the menu, the tartare did not taste good.

The flight attendants also brought a selection of bread. I opted for the garlic bread, which was soft to the touch and delicious.

Shortly after, a flight attendant brought the main course. For the main course, I opted for the lamb chops in red curry with green banana.

The lamb was served with Thai jasmine rice, 5-spice braised Ratchaburi black tofu and soft-boiled egg, sautéed French beans, and grilled sweet corn. I paired the lamb curry with another Thai iced tea. The lamb tasted delicious, however, the red curry was a bit strong and overpowered the taste of the lamb chops.

Shortly after I finished the main course, the flight attendant brought a small plate, which they called “the bites” on the menu. This consisted of an assortment of cheeses and fruits with crackers served with mango chutney.

This plate was not all that great, probably because I’m just not a fan of random cheeses. The mango chutney was also spicier than I expected it to be.

Although I was quite full from the meal service so far, I knew I could make room for dessert. My choices were mango sticky rice with crème brulée or chocolate hazelnut ganache with vanilla sauce.

Since I wasn’t sure which to try, I requested to try both. The flight attendant told me there was plenty of dessert on board and that it would be no problem.

The desserts were not bad — I preferred the chocolate hazelnut ganache to the mango sticky rice, which would have tasted better if the mango had been colder.

About an hour and a half before landing, the flight attendants began the breakfast service. I opted for Thai jasmine rice in tom yum-style soup with seafood with salmon roll and onsen egg.

The meal was accompanied by a small fruit bowl, a couple of pastries, yogurt, and small jars of Australian honey and strawberry jam.

The tom yum soup was delicious and the highlight of the meal service. Thanks to the great balance of flavors, it had a tangy taste.

Bottom Line:

Although Thai Airways is known for its excellent onboard cuisine, I found it average at best. I think I had some high expectations as I had recently flown Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, and Turkish Airlines in the weeks leading up to this flight, all of which were better, food-wise.

Amenities

Thai Airways offered basic amenities for business class passengers. However, it was also severely lacking in some places. For example, there were no pajamas, which was a miss, especially considering this was a flight that departed after midnight.

Inflight Entertainment

Although I barely used the IFE during our late-night flight, I still checked our flight path from time to time. As I poked through the entertainment options, I found a decent collection of Thai, Hollywood, and Bollywood movies. The selection of TV shows was lacking, with only a few episodes plucked from a few Western series.

I found Thai Airways’ inflight entertainment to be mediocre at best. The IFE screen was quite small and slow and unresponsive at times, especially when using the remote. The touchscreen monitor was much more responsive.

However, the outdated IFE screen also crashed on me several times during the flight. The map sometimes would not load and would present a message on a blank screen: “Requested document was not found.”  

Noise-Canceling Headphones

Each business class passenger received a pair of noise-canceling headphones. However, I did not find them too comfortable and did not use them after trying them out.

Amenity Kit

The amenity kit came from Jim Thompson. It was a relatively simple pouch, but it felt high-quality.

Inside were a toothbrush set, a sleeping mask, a shoehorn, comfort socks, and earplugs. It also included several products, such as moisturizing lotion, lip balm, and an aromatherapy roller.

Having slippers was a nice touch, though they were pretty bare-bones.

Onboard Wi-Fi

Thai Airways does not offer Wi-Fi on its older Boeing 777-300ERs. In today’s highly connected world, there’s no excuse for not having Wi-Fi on a long-haul flight. Access to Wi-Fi during long-haul flights has become almost a necessity nowadays, particularly for business travelers who need to stay productive and connected while in the air.

While airlines may have challenges in providing Wi-Fi services (technical limitations or even cost considerations), this amenity has become increasingly standard among many major carriers.

Service

Although Thai Airways is known for its excellent service, I didn’t really get that feeling during this flight, which was the most surprising part of the overall flight experience.

Although the cabin crew was friendly and courteous, I found a lack of engagement and personal touches. The crew was also a bit slow to respond to my requests, particularly during the meal service.

The cabin crew also failed to be proactive. For example, a flight attendant walked by my seat 4 times before clearing off my table tray after the dinner service. It was only cleared once I placed all my dirty napkins in my food, making it obvious it was time to clear my tray table. Still, the flight attendant could have been proactive and asked.

Overall, I found the service below the standard set by many of Thai’s regional competitors.

Arrival at Frankfurt Airport

We arrived in Frankfurt around 7 a.m., about 40 minutes behind our scheduled arrival time. As I entered the Frankfurt terminal, I looked back to take a picture of the 777-300ER that had transported us from Bangkok.

Since I had a tight connection ahead of my Singapore Airlines flight to New York, I quickly headed toward security screening.

Final Thoughts

I was genuinely excited to finally have the opportunity to fly Thai Airways in business class. Unfortunately, though, the experience wasn’t all that great.

The aircraft was old and visibly outdated, it lacked Wi-Fi, and the seat lacked storage and any sort of privacy. I think having a true window seat blocking some of the aisle activity would have made this aspect of the flight a little better.

The soft product was not much better. I found the service to be average at best, not up to par with many other international airlines. The food was not bad, but again, I didn’t find it on par with other Asian carriers like Singapore Airlines or Japan Airlines.

So far, this was the least impressive long-haul premium cabin I’ve flown all year. With the many incredible international airlines in Asia, I’m in no rush to fly this airline again. However, if I need to fly Thai Airways, I will hopefully get the chance to fly on one of its newer planes.