Review - Thai Airways Business Class B787-8 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Chengdu Tianfu

TG618 BKK-TFU

August 24th, 2025

Check-in:

Two years ago I flew this exact route on Thai Airways from Bangkok to Chengdu, when it was operated by its A350-900. If “chaotic girlie” is an airline, it would be Thai Airways. The airline operates every single type of aircraft on God’s green earth, and its schedule for this flight was also all over the place. While on most days the flight was operated by A350s, one day a week it’s operated by a B787-8 Dreamliner, and on one other day it’s operated by an A320. Like pero why???

I paid 30,000 Air Canada Aeroplan miles plus $55 in taxes for this flight. I should have just paid cash for it, which came at a reasonable $530. But I had some Aeroplan miles already sitting in my account, and I wanted the ability to cancel should I need to. I wrote in my previous review that Thai Airways was mediocre. So two years later, did it get better na? Nah.

Lounge:

I’ve reviewed Thai Airways Prestige Lounge in the previous review, which was alright. This time I checked out the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge. It was more or less on par. Like I said before, for such a busy and international airport, Suvarnabhumi really lacks good lounge options.

Boarding:

Boarding was on time. I knew these Dreamliners had the old Collins Diamond seats, but damn, to see these seats in real life? In 2025? Potentially on a flight to Milan? Take my name off the list. Thankfully, this flight was just on 2.5 hours, phew.

In all seriousness though, while the seats were dated, they were extremely plush and well padded. As soon as I sat down, I felt like I was sinking into deep space.

Thai Airways B787-8 Business Class Cabin

I love how Southeast Asians have the same relish for strong AC as Americans do, which means there were individual air nozzles. After coming off of a steamy (not the good kind) JAL flight a couple days prior, I was smitten.

I was originally seated in the bulkhead row, with some extra space around your feet. During boarding, someone sat in the empty seat next to mine, so I moved to row 4. The cabin ended up being half occupied. Row 4 was missing a window, for your awareness.

Another tangent - you see how in the safety video the flight attendant was wearing this beautiful Thai dress. I remember some FAs used to wear them during boarding. Is that not the case anymore? They were so pretty, and I loved seeing them so much back in the days.

A common issue with the Collins Diamond seats is the placement of the seat controls, which lied right where you’d naturally rest your arms on. The cleanliness on this flight was quite disappointing. The plane did just come back from Mumbai, but that’s no excuse…

Shortly after settling in, I was offered a welcome beverage and one of many thick and scented towels of this flight, which was served on a towel dish. I went with Thai’s signature butterfly pea tea.

Thai Airways Business Class Pre-departure Drink BKK-TFU

Awaiting at my seat was a menu, which was an addition since my last flight with them. Drink list was still not offered. There were blankets and pillows, although no slippers. Thai Airways is supposedly revamping its soft product on its longer flights, even serving caviar in business class. For this regional flight, it was business as usual.

Inflight:

We had the shortest taxi I’d ever experienced at BKK, as we pushed back and went straight onto the runway. A round of apéritifs was served within 15 minutes of takeoff, along with another thick and scented towel and some mixed nuts. I just had a club soda. You know what I hate? Airlines that lock the dimmable Dreamliner windows. Thai Airways is one of them.

Thai Airways Business Class Lunch Apéritif BKK-TFU

Lunch was then served with everything on a tray, a practice more than sufficient for a 2.5-hour flight. I went with the sous vide duck breast with red curry sauce, served with Thai jasmine rice and stir-fried loofah with eggs and dried shrimps. It was a mistake and a lie covered with the weakest curry I’ve ever tasted, and I’ve had Thai food in Indianapolis. Like if this was the curry served to Europeans when they first came to Asia, none of Asia would have been colonized. The spice trade would have been a conspiracy theory.

If the mistake was on me, then the lie was them. Because if that duck breast was sous vide, then I’ve never let a man buy me a drink😉.

Thai Airways Business Class Lunch BKK-TFU

The redeeming thing on the plate was the stir fried loofah with dried shrimp and egg. I know it sounds a little unusual, but I swear the flavors go crazy together.

While the B787 didn’t have WiFi, my return flight on the A350 did. Thai Airways offered one-hour of complimentary WiFi to business class passengers, which was mighty stingy.

You can see the pricing below. I found it odd that they charged the same price for a two-hour flight as they did for a 12-hour flight.

I didn’t notice it until I asked the FA, but the WiFi voucher was literally printed on your boarding pass, lol.

On Arrival:

Soon enough we touched down at Chengdu Tianfu Airport. Every time I come back to China I’m impressed by the little details. This time the airport baggage workers arranged each suitcase to have its handle face outwards, so it can be picked up more easily from the carousel. I was telling my parents how awesome it was, and they said there must’ve been an inspector from the government that day. Lol, haters.

Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU)

As I alluded, Thai Airways was just, you know, whatever? For a short flight within Asia, it’s perfectly fine. Asia has so many great airlines, though. It’s like Thai doesn’t even try. Not to drag more people into this but Thai reminds me of Malaysia Airlines. It had glorious days, and then it just kinda faded away…

Review - Thai Airways Business Class B787-8 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Chengdu Tianfu

TG618 BKK-TFU

August 24th, 2025

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