Since the last blog post I flew back to Hong Kong from Melbourne via Singapore Airlines. After one night in Hong Kong at the Conrad Hotel I took the ferry over to Macau for a spot of gambling. Stayed at the still lovely original Lisboa Hotel for a couple of nights and really enjoyed it. I do like Macau!
On the day of departure to Bangkok I took the direct TurboJet ferry from Macau to HK International Airport. I left Macau about 3pm for the 6.55pm TG639 service to Bangkok. The ferry ride was uneventful and in fact I dozed off for most of the trip and woke up as we pulled into the dock at HKIA. When you arrive at the port there is a bunch of check-in desks for the various airlines and I joined the queue for Thai Airways which was also serving Virgin Atlantic customers. I deposited my luggage on the belt and the agent checked me in, she advised my seat selections had changed due to an aircraft configuration change to the old A330. I was slightly disappointed but the A330 recliners are perfectly suitable for a 2 hour dinnertime flight!
After a nice snack/meal at the Krisflyer lounge I made my way onwards to the Thai Airways lounge which is conveniently located right above the gate that Thai Airways tends to use in Hong Kong.
I settled down with a nice glass of wine and watched the goings on around the tarmac. The Royal Orchid lounge is situated on a platform above the departures floor with nice views our the windows. Very pleasant indeed. I noted that our aircraft had yet to arrive!
A short time later that familiar purple tail was seen heading across the tarmac and parking at the gate below me.
As this was a relatively short sector the crew came around taking dinner orders during the boarding process. I chose the seared duck breast.
A few moments later doors were closed and the safety video was shown on the overhead projector. We pushed back on a dark cloudy night in Hong Kong and made our way to the runway to depart. After takeoff we quickly entered thick cloud and encountered some mild turbulence until we climbed above it and set course for Bangkok.
This version of Thai's A330 (which makes up most of the Thai A330 fleet) comes equipped with a looping mult-channel personal entertainment system in business class. You can see the screen above. There is several TV and movie channels to choose from. It's a basic system but fine for a short flight like this where you spend most of the time eating and drinking anyway. In economy class there is only overhead entertainment and no personal screens.
The food was all quite good and the crew were very attentive and friendly. Drink top ups were frequent and I was quite impressed overall. By the time the meal service was over and cleared away we were only about 40 mins out of Bangkok. I sat back in my seat and relaxed and I think I dozed off for a few minutes.
I didn't take any more photos as we landed at night in Bangkok, but it was a routine landing and we parked at a jetway quite far from immigration so it was a long walk. But the immigration lines were empty thankfully and I was out with my bags in no time and in a cab.