Today’s flight is on an extremely rare sight these days: the last remaining Thai Airways 777-200ER in service. Out of a fleet of 14 aircraft, only HS-TJV (“Nakhon Pathom”) remains active with the airline, operating on routes to China, Taiwan, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Singapore. With the aircraft’s days with Thai very much numbered, it was a natural choice for a flight out of Lahore, and I’m happy I got it in before it retires for good. Hope you all enjoy!
Server: Solo
Airline: Thai Airways
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200ER
Origin: Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, Pakistan (LHE)
Destination: Suvarnabhumi Airport, Racha Thewa, Thailand (BKK)
Flight Number: TG346
Route: OPLA-VTBS
Seat: 53A (Economy)
Time En Route: 4 Hours 25 Minutes
After a check-in process that can best be described as unbridled chaos, it’s finally time to board our flight to Bangkok! We’ve lucked out tonight, as we’re going to be flying to Suvarnabhumi on the last 777-200ER in the Thai Airways fleet. In another stroke of luck, it’s the same airframe we flew on to BKK from Jakarta last year. However, we’re going to be flying in economy this time, a first for us on a Thai Airways 777.
Starting to taxi after pushing back from Lahore’s ornate passenger terminal. The economy seats on this aircraft, like the ones in business class, are old but comfy. Thai Airways has not allowed the cabin to languish greatly in its declining years, which is very good for us, since we’ll be spending almost four and a half hours in it after a long day in Lahore. Of course, it also helps for overall comfort that there’s nobody in the middle seat in our row.
Departing LHE into a a smoggy nighttime sky. We don’t fly on Trent 800-equipped 777s in economy much, so it’s a bit of a novelty listening to them from behind the wing. Even this far back, there’s a hint of the distinctive Rolls-Royce buzzsaw note. The cabin lights have been dimmed for the night, but thanks to residual jetlag, we may or may not end up actually falling asleep on this flight.
We’ve crossed the border into India just south of Amritsar as we climb to our cruising altitude. Besides being solidly-built and well-padded, Thai’s 777-200ER economy seats have a personal IFE screen and in-seat power, both of which are in working order and will be more than adequate for us on a medium-haul flight like this one. The menu also looks pretty solid, with various example of traditional Thai cuisine avaliable to order. Seems to us it’ll be a very satisfactory flight, absent any bad weather.
Cruising along at 33,000 feet over Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. The in-flight meal is being served in economy, and since this is Thai Airways, after all, we’ve selected one of the Thai options. It has just the right amount of spiciness at altitude, so it’d likely just about light our tongue on fire at sea level, where our sensitivity to capsaicin isn’t dulled. The economy dining on this flight gets a solid two thumbs up from us any day of the week.
Somewhere over the eastern part of the Bay of Bengal a few hours later. As we approach the Burmese coast, we’re finishing up one of the numerous English-language movie options on this flight. Unsurprisingly, we haven’t been able to fall asleep on this flight, instead enjoying a quiet economy cabin while our jet flies through the night to Bangkok. Not a bad way to travel at all.
In our inital descent over rural Thailand as the first light of dawn appears over the horizon. Some of the passengers are waking up, but a plurality of them are still sound asleep. Should be on the ground soon, so it’ll be interesting to see if they stay awake. Despite the cloud cover, we’re supposed to have a beautiful morning in Bangkok when we arrive.
Landing on Runway 20L as the Sun comes up over Suvarnabhumi. This arrival was likely our gentlest and smoothest with Thai Airways yet, with the main gear trucks just barely kissing the runway. While most passengers who slept through the descent have been awoken, a few holdouts remain, sawing logs as if they were at home and not on a couple hundred thousand pounds of aircraft that has just landed at around 150 miles an hour. We’re slightly envious of them, in a way, that they’re able to sleep through what most people would consider at least a minor commotion.
Taxiing to the eastern side of the airport behind the Satellite Terminal, which is packed with aircraft preparing for their morning journeys. Framed between the outboard aileron and the terminal roof is Suvarnabhumi Tower, the third-tallest ATC tower in the world. It looks absolutely miniscule from this distance, but up close it towers over the airport, for lack of a better word, at 433 feet. The last passengers who slept through the descent, approach, and landing are finally being gently awoken by the cabin crew, who are informing them that they’re in Bangkok and will be deplaning soon.
Disembarked at Gate C7 following a relatively short flight for a 777-200ER. We had a wonderful time with Thai Airways aboard this aircraft, but it’s something of a bittersweet experience. As the last active 777-200ER in the fleet, Nakhon Pathom will soon join her sisters in retirement, which means that this may be our last flight on the original long-range 777 variant with Thai Airways. Almost as if to accentuate this fact, the rising Sun is gleaming off the fuselage of the aircraft that’s well into the sunset of its career. Hopefully, we can find another opportunity to fly on this aircraft before it’s too late.