The 4th and final sector of my Thai (TG) flights to and from Malaysia enabled me to sample TG’s long haul Royal Silk (business class) product for the first time. My previous two long haul flights on TG had been in Royal First class, but I had had experience of Royal Silk on TG’s regional flights.  The most recent flight in regional Royal Silk was a bit underwhelming and I was praying this long haul flight to London (LHR) would be significantly better!

My flight from Kuala Lumpur arrived late. I was met with a wheelchair and taken to the Thai Royal Silk lounge close to the C gates, from where our flight TG910 to LHR would depart.  If you have time to get to them I strongly commend the main lounge close to security, or a newly opened lounge near some other gates, because they’re much better than this lounge!  For starters it was packed when we arrived just after 11pm.

It did clear a little later, as TG’s European departures were called, but the lounge seats were still very closely arranged, which made it hard to access them (if you have mobility issues like I do).

This tired old lounge had a very basic food and drinks offering, which wasn’t ideal for passengers wanting to eat on the ground in order to maximise sleep time on the late night/early morning long flights to Europe.  I suspect that other Star Alliance member flights to Europe (Lufthansa, Swiss, EVA) would also share this lounge, so beware! The lounge doesn’t have wine, never mind Champagne, so I made do with a can of Thai beer and then a Mekong (Thai whiskey) and coke.  Although there was a small selection of soft drinks, the lounge didn’t even have any chilled water!

We boarded our 6 year old A380 Superjumbo, registered HS-TUE at 00:05. It was exactly the same plane we flew out of LHR on, in a first class cabin that had seen better days, but I was glad to see that my seat 17K (over the starboard wing) looked cleaner and newer than my First seat did up front.  The cabin was laid out 1-2-1 in a now common ‘reverse herringbone’ configuration which allows everyone unobstructed access to the aisles.  Provided that you’re not put off by the amount of purple on display, it’s an airy, relaxing and spacious cabin on the upper deck.  On the seat were a very basic amenities bag, a mattress cover, blanket and slippers. No PJs, socks or eye mask, but I’d brought my own.  But joy of joys we were offered a glass of Piper Heidsieck Essentiel nv Champagne while still on the ground!

We pushed back at 00:32, 17 minutes later than scheduled, but the captain advised us of a good flight time and an early arrival into LHR.  We had to place our orders for dinner and breakfast before take-off, which came at 00:46 from runway 19L. TG does not offer ‘Dine on Demand’ in Business (or First) and I declined dinner, save for some cheese and a glass of port to help me sleep.

As soon as the seatbelt signs had been turned off I went to the lav to change into my PJs, and asked an FA to make my bed for me.  With no personal wardrobe I folded my clothes and put them in the overhead lockers. But right next to my seat were two very useful stowages, in which I kept my toiletry bag, my headphones and all the waste packaging which came off the bedding.  The phone cable in the photo above went to my own battery charger, but the plane did have at-seat universal power sockets and USB ports.  One thing the A380 lacks though is a personal overhead air vent.

The seat as a bed was much narrower than I’m used to on Qatar Airways, harder and also a little shorter.  The narrow width restricted me in how I could lie, but I managed to sleep on and off for a good 8 hours. When I regularly woke to go to the toilets, I found the cabin to be in complete darkness, which was a challenge to navigate!  I came so close to sitting on top of someone when I returned to the wrong seat once!

After waking myself I watched ‘Yesterday’ on the IFE, and just as it was ending it was time for the breakfast service.

It began with a good cappuccino and a glass of fresh OJ, then the main breakfast tray which had fresh fruits, a birchermuesli with peaches and strawberry compote, a bread basket with a plain roll, a croissant and a Danish, with Bon Maman strawberry jam, and the Eggs Benedict I’d chosen from the menu.  It was an excellent nutritious and balanced breakfast, actually better than the one I had in First two weeks previous.  The absolute highlight was the fact that my eggs were still runny.  I have no idea how they achieve this on an aeroplane!  10/10

I went to the galley to thank and praise the crew for this terrific breakfast, and to thank the Cabin Services Director for lowering the temperature around my seat during the night to help me sleep (I’d asked him before retiring).  My meal had really made me feel positive about the whole flight experience, and I wasn’t the only one who was impressed: I saw a man across the aisle from me offering his FA a few banknotes as a tip, which I’ve never seen on a flight before. She politely and professionally declined the money.

One other good thing to report is the novel design of the seat’s table. It’s stowed against the seat back in front, then folds down when you need it. But it can swivel away from you to allow you to get up during service times.

Royal Silk pax get 5MB free wifi access, but I didn’t even bother trying it because of past failures.

As ever, our estimated early arrival at LHR turned into a delay because we had to circle over Essex. I can’t understand why Heathrow doesn’t allow simultaneous landings on its 2 runways in rush hour. At 6am there are very few departures, but scores of landings.

We landed at 06:33 on runway 27L and were on stand in Terminal 2 twenty-two minutes late at 06:42

I really enjoyed this flight (more than my outbound journey in First) and would happily choose TG long haul Royal Silk again in the future. 8.5/10