Thai Airways Lounge Question

[RoninTech]

Hi All,

As a present for me and the missus' 10 year wedding anniversary, we accumulated enough airmiles to get us 2 free first class tickets to Thailand and back. We honeymooned there in January Y2K and have been back a couple of times via economy flights. We will be flying into BKK on Thai Airways first class from Frankfurt this January. We get in at 6:20am and then have to wait 7 hours for our departing Thai airways flight to Hat Yai (business class as there is no first on this leg). My question is do you get any special treatment when arriving on TG international first and what lounge(s) would we have access to to while away the hours? Fingers crossed that we could get into the first class lounge but I'm not sure if having an arrival FC boarding pass stub would qualify us for that?

Cheers,

RoninTech

[smokie36]

If you speak to the cabin crew they should be able to direct you upstairs to the first lounge for a shower and freshen up etc on arrival.

Unfortunately the flight to Had Yai leaves from the domestic terminal where Thai has only a business lounge I believe.

[RoninTech]

Unfortunately the flight to Had Yai leaves from the domestic terminal where Thai has only a business lounge I believe.

Doh! Maybe we could hang in the first class international lounge for 4-5 hours or so and then head over to the departure gate in the domestic terminal. Is it far from one to the other? Since our luggage will probably be checked all the way to Hat Yai, I imagine we wouldn't have to go through customs and check-in at BKK.

Cheers,

RoninTech

[smokie36]

Doh! Maybe we could hang in the first class international lounge for 4-5 hours or so and then head over to the departure gate in the domestic terminal. Is it far from one to the other? Since our luggage will probably be checked all the way to Hat Yai, I imagine we wouldn't have to go through customs and check-in at BKK.

Cheers,

RoninTech

Thats what I would aim to do. Maybe someone to escort you onto your plane later would not be unreasonable too.

Only problem I see with this is whether they have customs at Hat Yai.

[RoninTech]

Thats what I would aim to do. Maybe someone to escort you onto your plane later would not be unreasonable too.

Only problem I see with this is whether they have customs at Hat Yai.

There's definitely customs in HDY. It's an international airport (although dinky). We went through them there a few years ago via Don Muang. That time we had to sit in the DMG domestic departure gate for 5 hours waiting to leave after being bused to the domestic terminal from the international one.

Cheers,

RoininTech

[KhunDave]

You will be met at the gate in BKK by TG staff and have a buggy transfer to the first class lounge. You can stay there until shortly before your domestic flight. You can also be escorted through the airside immigration and to the departure gate if you wish. Thai might not be the world's best airline, but their ground service at BKK is very good.

[Payboy]

You will be met at the gate in BKK by TG staff and have a buggy transfer to the first class lounge.

Mind you however, that if you are bussed-in to immigration from an apron parking position, there is no buggy! You should tell the TG ground staff (usually the lady who gets on the 1st class bus with a wallkie-talkie) that you want to use the 1st class arrival lounge.

It is also advisable to verify in Frankfurt that your luggage is checked through to HDY. Otherwise, TG ground staff will assist you through customs with your luggage and then you only have access to the business lounge at domestic departures.

[flightcrew1]

Unfortunately you will not be able to stay in the international area as you are connecting to a domestic flight so you will have the use of the business class lounge in the domestic area. On the way back domestic to international no problem of course

[RoninTech]

Thanks for the input guys. Khundave, Payboy, have you done what you described at Swampy? I'd feel a whole lot better if I knew people had experienced waiting in the First Class Lounge before heading for a domestic flight. If there's no confirmed instances of anyone doing this I'd tend to go with flightcrew1's evaluation. I also came across this link at Thai Airway's site that says you need a departing first class ticket to use the F class lounge:

Lounge Access :

• Royal First Class passengers departing same day on TG flight
  • One guest allowed
    

  [*] First Class passengers departing same day on any Star Alliance operating flight

  • One guest allowed
    

Again though actual confirmed experiences trump blurbs on websites.

Cheers,

RoninTech

[surangw]

RoninTech

I am intersted to know why you picked hat yai for a vacation spot?

Hi All,

As a present for me and the missus' 10 year wedding anniversary, we accumulated enough airmiles to get us 2 free first class tickets to Thailand and back. We honeymooned there in January Y2K and have been back a couple of times via economy flights. We will be flying into BKK on Thai Airways first class from Frankfurt this January. We get in at 6:20am and then have to wait 7 hours for our departing Thai airways flight to Hat Yai (business class as there is no first on this leg). My question is do you get any special treatment when arriving on TG international first and what lounge(s) would we have access to to while away the hours? Fingers crossed that we could get into the first class lounge but I'm not sure if having an arrival FC boarding pass stub would qualify us for that?

Cheers,

RoninTech

[RoninTech]

RoninTech

I am intersted to know why you picked hat yai for a vacation spot?

Its the closest airport to access the quieter Andaman Thai islands that we enjoy. From there we head to the coast and then take a boat to one of the islands. Lanta, Ao Nang, Phi Phi, Phuket etc. have gone to sh*t in our minds.

Cheers,

RoninTech

[surangw]

RoninTech

I am intersted to know why you picked hat yai for a vacation spot?

Its the closest airport to access the quieter Andaman Thai islands that we enjoy. From there we head to the coast and then take a boat to one of the islands. Lanta, Ao Nang, Phi Phi, Phuket etc. have gone to sh*t in our minds.

Cheers,

RoninTech

good planning then.

have fun

[Payboy]

Thanks for the input guys. Khundave, Payboy, have you done what you described at Swampy?

Hi Ronin, I have used the 1st class lounge at Suv when connecting to a domestic flight.

You just need to talk to the ground hostess that greets you at the aircraft door.

[KhunDave]

I can confirm this too. There is no problem with staying in the international area until you are ready to board your domestic flight, provided of course that you allow a bit of time to pass through immigration into the domestic piers.

The fact that you hold first class tickets entitles you to first class benefits wherever available. There is no first class cabin on your domestic flight, but that in effect is TG's "fault" not yours.

Edited September 29, 2009 by KhunDave

[RoninTech]

Thanks fellas, that's great news! Can't wait. This will be the first time for us experiencing the wonders of first class. Its gonna be quite the transition as we go from that to staying in our usual thatched hut on a beach.

How much time do you figure we should allow to get over to the domestic gate? We have 7 hours to kill.

Cheers,

RoninTech

[KhunDave]

Not much time needed - the first lounge is pretty close to the domestic piers A and B, airside immigration is quite quick too, relative to the long queues you sometimes face when going landside. If it were me I'd allow 15 minutes.

But then again, there has very recently been a change to the security screening locations at BKK. I haven't been through there since this happened. You might just want to do a little research as to whether this will affect the time you need to allow. There's a very detailed account on the TG page of flyertalk.com

Edited September 29, 2009 by KhunDave

[Payboy]

Dont worry - the TG ground hostess will arrange your smooth transfer from the 1st class lounge to domestic terminal.

As someone said eariler, the ground services for arriving 1st class passengers on TG is excellent.

Its a pity though that since moving from DMK to Suv, TG cancelled their free limousine transfer to and from anywhere in Bangkok.