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After reading so much about flying during this sort of Pandemic recovery period in the West, I think it will be interesting to see how some of the more unknown country treat flying in this Covid-19 world. On my way back to Hong Kong, I decided to spend a week in Thailand, and a week in Singapore before flying to Hong Kong. When I booked the ticket, USA is still on Hong Kong’s banned list, so I was going to “wash out” in these two countries. Singapore to Hong Kong is also a reliable route in case my flight got suspended for some stupid reasons again. If SQ got banned, I could fly Scoot or CX or Hong Kong Express. Anyway, since I had three full days in Bangkok, I decided to spend half a day flying these domestic flights. I want to add a new airline to my list, as well as a new airport. In the end, I settled on this route: Thai VietJet, a new Thai subsidiary of VietJet from Bangkok to Phuket, Bangkok Airways’ unique ATR-72 flight from Phuket to Hat Yai, a new airport for my list, and Thai Smile Airways from Hat Yai to Bangkok.

I was fortunate that all three flights went on time, and picking Thai VietJet as my first flight was a strategy to make sure that I flew the first flight of the day so I won’t run into delay problems. Bangkok Airways was as good as ever, but sadly the rain sort of dampened the mood a bit, as we were boarding. Thai Smile Airways’ Plus cabin was pretty good, but given that the Thailand government still has a ban on inflight service on all domestic flights, paying for a Plus cabin does not make sense, even I got a hot lunch box to go. There was not much to report on for in-flight service because all food and beverage service was suspended on board all Thailand domestic flights now, as well as no newspapers were allowed too. You have to wear your mask 100% of the flight. Without food and beverage, passenger have no excuse to remove masks. I found out during my first flight, but would appreciate if airlines would actually remind passengers such rules during the booking process.

Anyway here is the full report:

June 26, 2022
VZ [Thai VietJet] 300 BKK-HKT Lv0620 Arr0745 Airbus A320-200 Sharklet HS-VKN

A word about booking a flight on Thai VietJet:
When I first tried to book a flight on it, I just used Google to search for the airline and clicked on the first available link. I was directed to actually a third-party site with a deceptive address using thaivietair. So be really careful and both Google and Thai VietJet should be aware of it. I reported it to Google but as of this point, it was still not fixed. Here is the correct website: https://th.vietjetair.com/#

While Thai VietJet is cheap, most Thai people that I talked are not a fan of it, due to its frequent delays. However, it is fairly common with these low cost carriers so I purposefully select the airline as the operating carrier for my first flight of the day to minimize opportunities for delays.

I also decided to book “Deluxe” fare category so I have access to priority desk and priority boarding. Despite my flight ended up using a bus gate, it was still worth it to have access to priority desk for check-in. Thai VietJet actually has a higher fare category known as SKYBOSS, but the fare was a bit higher than I liked. Plus if I am willing to pay for SKYBOSS fares, I mind as well fly Thai Smile Plus class. However SKYBOSS will get you a private bus shuttle to the plane, and also beware that only row 1, the bulkhead row, featured extra legroom. Row 2 & 3 have no additional legroom. Anyway as a deluxe passenger, I don’t get access to seats on Row 1-3 but free access to exit row seats, which I prefer anyway. The check-in agent asked if I wanted to switch, I said “no”!

Check-in area – well-staffed and still quiet on these morning hours





Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport is still the world’s worse new airport, and the design just does not make sense at all. All domestic flights use Concourse A/B now and there is a checkpoint before entering those areas, but you don’t actually go through security until you head to the gates. You cannot buy any bottled beverages and even if you buy like bottle of lotion in BOOT, they have to put in those sealed plastic bag. It does not make sense at all.

Most VietJet flights seem to use remote bus gates and my flight was no exception.




Boarding began right on time at 5:35am, but we actually spent much time waiting inside the bus, like most European flights. At least they kept the a/c on and the Thai government regulation did not allow them to pack the bus. It was quite chaotic once we were let off the bus, but I did not mind, as I could take these following pictures.

There was a nearby A321.





The aircraft used on my flight was a transplant from parent company and they just added the Thai label and changed the registration to Thailand. This A320 was not the cleanest but looked decent enough.






Cabin shot






Exit Row – I was the only occupant and was glad that I paid for the extra legroom.






I got a briefing from the friendly F/A, and boarding was stopped at one point, due to some unknown passenger issues with two gentlemen. I did not speak Thai so could not report what’s wrong. Eventually the issue was resolved and boarding continued. Door was closed on time though, and we pushed back at 6:26am.

Sadly Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport was still not busy at all, and we took off from R/W19L at 6:36am.




Flying time was an hour and one minute with a cruising altitude of 36,000feet.

As of this point, I have already found out from the P/A that there was no inflight sales service because Thai government banned eating and drinking on board. You are technically not allowed to even bring your own beverage and food on board too. I saw passengers drinking water from their own bottles or bring their own bottled waters. No F/A seemed to stop them, but no one tried to eat. However, the F/As are allowed to do so, as I saw F/As eating their meals and snacks in the galley on two of the three flights I was on. Since there was no service and any form of entertainment, most passengers just went to sleep on this morning flight. I just read my ebook for the flight.

Safety card is Thai VietJet branded and vomit bag is VietJet branded




Bathroom – at least they have extra cash for flowers




Most interesting part is that a F/A was waiting for me as I came out from the bathroom and offering me some hand-sanitizer. It happened on my Thai Smile flight too. Since they are not allowed to provide any service, offering hand sanitizer seems to be a priority for F/As.

It was a gloomy day in Phuket so I did not take many pictures on arrival.

Descent began at 7:12am and VZ 300 landed on R/W27 at 7:37am, and parked at gate four at 7:41am.

PG 298 HKT-HDY Lv0935 Arr1035 ATR 72-600 HS-PZB

The next flight was short hop from Phuket to Hat Yai on Bangkok Airways.
Bangkok Airways was the only airline, which has clearly stated that no inflight service was provided due to the airline’s own Covid-19 protocol. However, a snack bag will be distributed on arrival. In some ways, it is no different from how service was provided on these short hop flights prior to Covid-19. They served a box with pastry and cup of water and the only difference is that there is a beverage run after the distribution of snack box.

I want to remark on its improved booking system and now I can reserve a seat assignment, unlike before. I definitely appreciate this new feature.

Check=in



Phuket has sadly still not recovered to its previous level, and most of the domestic gates are still not busy. However, most shops and eateries have reopened. Bangkok Airways offers free lounge for all its passengers but since our bus gate is located on the other end of the airport, I chose to go to the Coral Lounge, which was a priority pass lounge. I was quite impressed with its food offering and seating. The décor is lovely.






Gate 83 was our gate this afternoon, and it was of course a bus gate. Despite not a full load, Bangkok Airways used two separate buses to avoid crowding. Despite boarding began at 9:03am, we had to wait inside the bus, while the aircraft was still being cleaned after arriving from Samui. At one point, I saw our bus driver rushing out to the plane to help with one of the servicing trucks.

Unfortunately, rain began to fall and it was a bit of a hassle to board. A Bangkok Airways staff actually individually escorted each passenger to the door of the plane with the umbrella. It was a nice gesture.




A flight attendant was welcoming passengers at the entrance and handing out paper towel. It was another nice touch. The cabin was really nice. The flight was not full but I had a neighbor.







Door was finally closed at 9:28am and we pushed back four minutes early. We took off from R/W27 at 9:37am for our forty-three minutes flight. This was the only flight that the pilot came on the P/A giving us a detailed welcome. We cruised at 15,000ft for the short flight. As I said, there was no in-flight service, so the F/As left us alone during the flight. The scenery was beautiful during the flight.









As we got closer to Hat Yai, the scenery changed from blue sea to beautiful greenery.









Descend began at 10:09am and we landed on R/W08 at 10:20am.






We parked at Stand 3 two minutes later.

Farewell to HS-PZB





As promised, the male F/A passed out these brown snack bags on arrival.






The content was a Chicken Tom Kha puff, chocolate marble muffin and a bottle of water. Despite the humble contents, both the puff and cake tasted great. I am glad that Bangkok Airways maintains its high standard of catering. I hope this nonsense ban will end soon so Bangkok Airways will serve their high quality food again, as well as start to sell its business class cabin again.

WE 264 HDY-BKK Lv1325 Arr1455 Airbus A320-200 Sharklet HS-TXJ “Ang Thong”

Check-in area






The flight was quite busy but being a Smile Plus passenger, I got access to priority check-in. There was zero wait, especially I did not have any check-in bag.

Smile Plus is not exactly a business class product, and Thai Smile calls it a “premium economy” product. It operates a small cabin of three rows of seats with improved seat pitch and a blocked middle seat. It did not adjust the cabin like European airlines though. There are only three rows of Smile Plus seats, and I presume that they will operate some flights as mono-economy and will sell those middle seats in the first three rows. Smile Plus comes with 30kg of checked baggage allowance, priority boarding and check-in, as well as lounge access to Thai Airways’ Orchid lounge.

Thai Orchid Lounge in Hat Yai is rather underwhelming with some limited refreshment like steamed buns, sandwiches, biscuits and mini desserts, along with the usual array of soft drinks and hot beverages. I had a few sandwiches, as I knew there was no inflight service.








Thai Smile flight used gate 5, and HS-TXJ “Ang Thong” arrived on time from Bangkok.




Boarding began at 12:55pm and here is a cabin shot of Smile Plus cabin.




Boarding was completed early and door was closed at 1:15pm. The Smile Plus F/A greeted each passenger individually and apologized for the lack of inflight service due to the government ban. However, the hot meal would now be served in a paper box and she would prepare them for us to take home along with a box of apple juice and a bottle of water. The hot meal today was Stir-fried minced chicken with basil.

We pushed back at 1:22pm and taxied towards R/W26.







After the Thai VietJet flight landed, we immediately taxied into position, and took off at 1:29pm for our one hour and twenty minutes flight to Bangkok. We cruised at 38,000 feet.










There was no inflight service but you could smell food inside the cabin, as the F/A was heating up the meal boxes for passengers to take home. For some reasons, catering was still done before the flight at each departure point. I wonder why can’t the airlines just hand out the meal boxes and snack bags on arrival? They don’t need to cater the plane and can save some gas for the weight of the food and drinks. Labor shortage wasn’t an issue here in Thailand. I suppose that some out stations like Hat Yai might not have their catering kitchen, so the plane has to be double catered. However, they can just ship many of these snack bags to these out stations too. While it is nice to have a hot meal box to take home, these meal boxes will be cold when Smile Plus passengers bring them home. Sure you can reheat them in a microwave but the food would have reheated twice affecting the quality. I think the airline can still provide maybe a full-sized sandwich or a nicer piece of cake for Smile Plus passengers to bring home. Bakery seems to be popular in Thailand and they can provide some high-quality bakery items for Smile Plus passengers to take home. Maybe the airlines think it is a short-term ban so they don’t want to upset the current system. Anyway, it is just interesting.








For the record, I did not have a microwave in my hotel, but the meal still tasted good when I got to my hotel forty-five minutes later. It was just unfortunate that I could not enjoy it fresh. For my next domestic flight back to Phuket, I just politely declined the to-go meal box, as it was no point having a cold takeaway meal. I just asked for a bottle of water for use on the road to the hotel.

Descend began at 2:14pm and we landed on R/W19L at 2:49pm. We parked at gate D3 at 2:55pm. Because of us parking in an international gate, we had to walk down the stairs and onto a bus, and then the bus went all the way down the course and turned right back to where our gate but at the opposite side, as there was a domestic arrival entrance. It was just stupid. Would it make more sense to have staffs escorted us to the arrival level? Or even walk across the road onto the domestic arrival hall?






In conclusion, it was an interesting time to fly these domestic flights in Thailand. The ban on food and beverage on flights seem a bit ironic given that the country is pretty reopened for tourism, and international flights still permit food & beverage. Thailand has just lifted all mask mandates indoor and outdoor this week (July 13, 2022), and maybe the Civil Authority of Thailand will lift the ban on food and beverage on Thailand domestic flights soon. I don’t see them lifting the mask mandates on planes yet, but at least they should allow airlines to sell food and drinks (which LCCs like Air Asia and Thai VietJet made plenty of money), and full-service airlines like Thai Smile and Bangkok Airways to serve food and beverage onboard again. These to-go bags are just temporary solutions and ultimately there is no difference flying Thai VietJet or Thai Smile, when you don’t have inflight service. If I want more legroom, I can fly Thai Air Asia and pay for exit rows. Hopefully onboard service will be back next time I am back in Thailand.

Carfield

Excellent trip report. I remember your reports from when I lived in Japan 2005-2009. I have lived in Thailand since 2009. BKK Suvarnabhumi was opened in 2007. I haven't been there in over 2 years because I haven't flown anywhere. It is not the place to go for plane spotting....I'll stick with HND and NRT. You mentioned it being chaotic. Thailand is chaotic in comparison to Japan. The people are very friendly, but it still is chaotic. They are usually laid back, unlike Japan which was type A. There the trains run on time, exactly to the minute. In Thailand, they go whenever they are ready. So plan on going with the flow next time you're here. It is disorderly at times, but the Thais are wonderful people and I am so thankful to be here. BKK is much cheaper than Tokyo.
I have flown Bangkok Airways, Asia's Boutique Airline. They do give box meals on their flights (prior to coronavirus) and all passengers have lounge access. I'm not sure why they have the arrivals the way they do. The times I've flown Bangkok Airways, they park at a remote stand and bus us to the same place where you got off. Most likely when you arrived at an international gate, they had to bus you to domestic arrivals as it is the only area for that. Most of my flying is international so we walk to immigrations and customs when we deplane. Suvarnabhumi only has the one terminal building, and then designated gate areas, but they are often a long walk to/from the airplanes. The only observation deck they have is on the top floor of the main terminal building, and the view is obstructed. I don't know if spotting is permitted along the airport perimeter; I've never tried it before.
It is hot all year round here, so if you come late at night, you will see heavy 747-400's and A380's making hot and heavy takeoffs. I flew BKK-LHR on a Thai 747-400 a few years ago, and it was definitely a hot and heavy takeoff. Usually the service on Thai is excellent but not always. On that particular flight I asked if I could visit the cockpit after we landed in LHR. The captain told me to sit in his seat and he would take my picture.
Thailand is very popular with tourists so it's great you could come here. And I hope to meet you in person if you ever come to BKK again. I remember your trip reports from 17 years ago and they were great.

Thanks for a great trip report. I am in Phuket next month and flying on Bangkok Airways so looking forward to checking them out.

Great trip report, As i life in Phuket i always try to get Bangkok Airways when i'm traveling domestically as they are hands down the best local airline and even during Covid they didn't cancel flights at the last moment as others did.
But i have a question about your domestic flight from Suvarnabhumi to Phuket. Do they allow liquids in hand carry as long they are in the temper proof duty free bag with the receipt ?
I ask this as my next flight will be to Bangkok where i do immigration and then fly onwards to Phuket.
As i don't have checked luggage i will carry my international duty free in my carry on.
But till now nobody can confirm if i'm allowed to take the duty free (in the temper free bag with the receipt as required) in my carry on when i fly from Bangkok to Phuket .