When I had a recurrence of my colon cancer in June 2019 I was determined to book a Christmas holiday back at The Datai, Langkawi to give myself a motivational target for my recovery. And thoughts of my mortality made me want to treat myself with First class travel to boot!  Searches into flight schedules, routes, fares and aircraft operating, lead me to decide upon Thai Airways (TG).  I first flew in Thai Royal First class on 1st January 2018 and scored it 10/10, but for Avgeek purposes, and to trim the cost, this time I chose to fly out to Bangkok (BKK) from London (LHR) in Royal First and back in Royal Silk, the name they give to Business class. Between BKK and Kuala Lumpur (KUL) I would fly in their regional Royal Silk, because that’s the highest category available on that route.  The total return fare for 2 pax was £11,300.

Thai has 2 flights a day between LHR and BKK; one using an A380 Superjumbo and the other a B777.  Only the A380 has a First class cabin, so I booked onto flight TG911 to leave LHR at 11:50 and land in BKK at 06:15 the next day.  I so much prefer daylight departures, so I can comfortably have lunch after take-off then a sleep, and I prefer daylight arrivals so I can see where I am!

Checking in at LHR Terminal 2 just after 9am was easy enough, except the Thai check in desks are at the far left end of the concourse, somewhat hidden behind crowds of pax queueing for other Star Alliance flights and self-service check in terminals. Being of reduced mobility, I phoned Thai a few days before the flight to ask for buggies at LHR and BKK and was told that “all First class pax get buggies, there’s no need to book one”, but at check-in I was offered a wheelchair, not a buggy. I declined the wheelchair because it makes me very self-conscious, and was a little disgruntled when I found, after security, that the Singapore Airlines (SQ) buggies are only for SQ pax, so I was refused a lift to the SQ First lounge, which is where I was heading, because that’s the lounge TG First pax are invited to use.

It was a happy return to the SQ First lounge, which I’d first enjoyed back in the summer when I was flying SQ First (Suites) class towards Bali.  We took the same seats for the views of the big hole they’re digging and of the runways, and relaxed while a server brought us Bucks Fizzes and Eggs Benedict.  The latter had reconstituted ham, and the egg wasn’t runny, which didn’t impress 5/10.

We boarded the magnificent plane, registered HS-TUE at 11:30, through gate B46 which was very close to the lounge.  Boarding through the upper deck door 2L, I was shown to my open suite 2A, on the port side. Mr A sat behind me in 3A.  Boarding appeared quite rushed; the FA didn’t give me much of a welcome, though a little later another FA came to give me a glass of 2009 Dom Perignon and then another to give me menus.  And we didn’t get a personal welcome from the Cabin Services Director, which is customary in first class, and because we’re gold card frequent flyers.

I was appalled to see that my seat hadn’t been properly cleaned at LHR – there were crumbs and pieces of plastic in a cubby hole under the armrest.  And the seat frames were quite scuffed, making it look much older than the plane’s 6 years.

During the flight I went to the galley to ask the crew to put both these faults in their log, but I was given a form and told to fill it in myself. Thai emailed me an apologetic response just 3 days later, which was decent of them, though it didn’t solve my immediate concerns.

We pushed back from stand just 3 minutes late, at 11:53, and took off from runway 27R at 12:10.  Shortly after departure lunch was served to the whole cabin (Thai doesn’t do ‘dine on demand’).

Service began with more Dom Perignon and some weird canapés, which were unidentifiable; such as in the photo above, which appears to be a Thai fishcake in custard! Not nice 2/10

Next came the caviar course; my personal highlight of flying First!  But the caviar seemed a bit wet and the melba toasts weren’t the best.  The cabin filled with the strong sweet aroma of garlic when they gave everyone half a baked garlic bulb each. I had to ask how I should eat it and was told to just spread the cloves on some bread. It was very nice to begin with, but after a while it was a bit too pungent for me, and my bread was dry and stale.  8/10

Next up was another unidentifiable dish, which I gathered featured chicken. The meat was incredibly tough and chewy and flavours were all confused. Because I was restricted to a soft diet after my bowel surgery I couldn’t eat this.  It was a very poor dish to serve to an international clientele in first class! 1/10

My main course was halibut, a wonderful meaty but soft fish, but sadly this example very overcooked, dry and, for me, inedible.  The vegetable accompaniments were fine. 2/10. The meal had taken away my appetite in a bad way, so I declined dessert and cheese.

I didn’t manage any ‘proper’ sleep, but I did get several hours of good rest. The seat/bed was very wide, but there was an uncomfortable hard lump in my lower back area. But I think my lack of sleep was just down to holiday excitement and my body clock being on ‘daytime’.

Breakfast was served a couple of hours before BKK and it began with some anaemic fruit, some birchermuesli and a good cappuccino.

The main part of breakfast was scrambled eggs, which were not light and fluffy, sausages, bacon, beans and a rosti.  It was OK, but a long way from ‘great’. 4/10

I was quite disappointed that this flight wasn’t nearly as good as the one in 2018. The major failing was in the catering, which was well below the standards expected in First class.  The cabin looked shabby and in need of repair, and my seat needed to be replaced by a newer, better padded one. The FAs were woefully unfriendly and unengaging.  I tried to make use of the free wifi provided to First pax, but it was so slow I couldn’t use it.

Overall score 3/10

We landed at BKK at 05:38, before the sun had risen, on runway 19R.  We got to stand C3 at 05:46, about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.  I was delighted that a buggy was there for me; it took me through a very irritating arrival security check and onto the Royal First lounge.

At first sight the lounge appeared to be empty, but we discovered that all of the ‘VIP side rooms’ were occupied, so we sat in the deserted main open area for coffees and juices.  I enquired about a massage (First pax are entitled to a 60mins massage) but I was offered only a 30 minute neck and shoulder massage.  That was delivered in a relatively open part of the spa, but I was fully clothed, and it felt pretty nice after a 12 hour flight.

When it came to boarding time for our connecting flight to KUL I was told that there were no buggies to take me there, but that the gate was very close. We set off, but I quickly discovered that the gate was a long way off – too far for me to walk – so we returned to the lounge and waited while they called a wheelchair for me.