Review: Thai Airways A380 First Class Osaka to Bangkok - TG623

I have been wanting to fly Thai Airways First Class on their newly delivered A380 for some time now. I finally had the chance when I could find award pace from Osaka to Bangkok as a connection to my trip to Asia.

Osaka is a good new airport though it's rather dark and grey this time of the year. The lounges fail to excite and the train system makes it tricky to grab Sushi at the only Sushi stall behind security (there are many before security though).

Getting my boarding pass issued had their own issues and the apologetic lounge attendant mentioned that Thai Airways A380 in First Class is 'not really luxury'. Well she could have been no more wrong :)

Thai Airways has the first class on the Upper Deck just when you enter the upper deck of the A380. The cabin was just 1/3 full and the flight attendants made sure everyone could settle in nicely. Drinks were served immediately.

I really liked the airy and fresh cabin setup. Lot's of space between the individual suites but it wasn't just walls to see. The suite itself is large - matching almost everyone else out there. I really liked the color scheme and the huge, crisp TV screen. I tested the new Thai First Class on their Boeing 747 from Tokyo last year and the A380 was very similar.

The entertainment system and seat controls are uselessly complicated though. I'm not sure if any of the airline personal tested them before installation but reading the manual is a good idea in this case.

There is a good number of movies installed in the entertainment system. Not a ton as you'd expect from such a huge screen but enough to keep you somewhat busy.

The catering is usually a disappointment with Thai Airways and so was this flight. The food was just borderline edible. The sushi restaurant at the Osaka airport dishes out MUCH better food for less than $20 for you. I'm always amazed how airlines can come up with such complicated, bad tasting food while serving food every day and get away with it. My absolute highlight was the Häagen-Dazs Green Tea ice cream (retail value about $2) that was served in unlimited quantities (yes I had 2!!).

However Thai Airways serves Dom Perignon in their First Class - so if you are into brand name champagnes - this is a goodie for you.

The seat transforms into a fully flat bed which the flight attendants improve further by adding a mattress pad for you. The comforter is nice though a little thin of you get cold easily.

This route usually features pretty bad headwinds and this flight was pretty turbulent pretty much the whole time. Nothing horrible though.

We got into Bangkok about 30 minutes late and the huge plane landed so seamlessly into hot Bangkok.