the waygabounds

Today’s article is about how I always thought it’s just not necessary to fly business or first class and how I changed my mind about that. So, put your seat in an upfront position, stow back your tables and fasten your seatbelts. Haha, what a clever introduction, right? Well, okay. Let’s get down do business. First of all: Yes. I always thought it’s a waste of time to spend money on flying business or first class, as the plane will take exactly as long to get to its final destination no matter which class you’re flying. In my opinion it doesn’t matter if you get plastic cutlery and boxed juice instead of porcelain and champagne. I mean – you can easily spend the saved money on something else at the holiday destination, like a nicer room or a new bikini or whatever. But then I had a business trip scheduled to go from Vienna to Bangkok, with the first meeting at 7:30 am – which was like an hour after landing. After a 10 hour flight.

So my thoughts were as follows: I have a business meeting about an hour after landing. I can’t rely on falling asleep and actually getting some sleep when I’m flying Economy Class, that’s what I know for a fact. Sometimes I do sleep well, sometimes I don’t close an eye for the whole duration of the flight. I don’t want to take sleeping pills, as they leave me in a dizzy state for a few hours the following day. Also: My birthday was coming up and I had heard that Thai Airways’ Royal Silk Class is something one should just allow oneself to experience at least once in a lifetime. See, perfectly reasonable.

And even though I had expected that it’s going to be great, I was in awe. First of all, the check-in was so fast and the Thai Airways employees all smiling and helpful. I spent the time before take off in their lounge, which provided an amazing view of the tarmac and the landing and leaving planes. I pampered myself with free magazines, free coffee and free cookies. Well, technically I had paid for those things with my ticket, but still, it felt great to spend the time before take off in a cozy lounge and not at the gate. There was a whole buffet lined up but I had heard that Thai Airways’ catering is pretty good, so I left some space in my tummy for that. Of course you have pre-boarding if you’re a Royal Silk Class guest, so no waiting time at all. You pass the loooong queue of waiting passengers and just walk into the plane to your seat.

I took some time to explore the Economy Class, which looked pretty nice as well. The seats seemed spacious and the entertainment screens were big, the crew supernice. I could have easily flown in Eco to Bangkok but after I saw and experienced Royal Silk, I was totally spoiled. The seats there are in a 1-2-1 layout. All of them are reclining, you can turn them into 180° fully flat beds. Besides of a pillow, sleeping mask and blanket there’s also an additional mattress provided, in order to make the chair you turned into a bed even more comfortable. The way the seats are arranged provides you with a maximum of privacy. So I made myself at home in my little bunk, which was my lounge, office and bed in the clouds and while I was at it, the lovely stewardess came and greeted me by my name. I got a glass of champagne and was all ready for the journey.

Of course it took some time until boarding was completed, but I couldn’t care less. I was zapping through the channels on my 15” flatscreen with it’s award winning entertainment system, checked out the USB ports, the menu and the travel amenity bag with toothpaste, toothbrush, eye mask, handcream and so on. It was from Furla. Nice, eh? The flight itself was smooth as silk and the service simply amazing. You can order your food anytime, you get a table cloth, porcelain, real cutlery and only the most delicious food available up in the air. I celebrated myself, my birthday and life itself while up in the air. After I had my dinner, I enjoyed a movie, read a bit and then got myself a full night’s sleep before we got breakfast and landed in Bangkok. Thai Airways’ Royal Silk Class is something I will treat myself to in the near future again, especially if I’m travelling for business purposes.

Keep your eyes peeled for special offers, cause you can get some pretty good deals on Thai Airways’ website. There are flights from about 569 Euros from Vienna to Bangkok in Economy Class and from 2.108 Euros in Royal Silk Class right now (March 2018).

Booking & information:
www.thaiairways.com