I’m starting a series to trip reports today coming back from Mumbai, which go from India back to West Coast in yet another circumnavigation…sort of. First order of business is heading east to Bangkok on our first of two flights aboard Thai flag carrier Thai Airways.
Server: Solo
Airline: Thai Airways
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Origin: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, India (BOM)
Destination: Suvarnabhumi Airport, Racha Thewa, Thailand (BKK)
Flight Number: TG318
Route: VABB-VTBS
Seat: 32A (Economy)
Time En Route: 4 Hours 16 Minutes
Waiting to board our aircraft, an A330-300 registered as HS-TBB and named Phrae, after the province and eponymous city in northern Thailand. Thai Airways currently has a fleet of 5 active A330-300s, 2 of its original 27-aircraft order and 3 ex-Virgin Atlantic aircraft. A further airframe, registered HS-TEO and named Chutamat, is parked for heavy maintenance. As for the real-world version of our aircraft, it was withdrawn from use by TG in 2021 and stored for 2 years at Suvarnabhumi, before being ferried to Woensdrecht, where it is currently parked under the ownership of Cargo Aircraft Management and re-registered as N871CM, after wearing 2-STBB under the ownership of HSBC Bank and Dipper Aviation.
We’ve got a great view of BOM’s expansive Terminal 2 as we taxi to the runway for an early morning takeoff. As far as the economy class seats are, they’re still comfortable and high-quality, even if the IFE system is quite dated.
Rocketing out of Mumbai as the Trent 700s sing their song. Unlike its A340 cousin, the A330 is no ground hog on takeoff, especially with a comparatively light load.
Climbing over the Arabian Sea before turning back east towards the coast. Since this flight is only a few hours, there’s really not going to be much reason to get a lot of sleeping done.
In cruise over the state of Telangana, about to cross into Chhattisgarh
Nearing the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the easternmost part of India, as the union territory lies around 740 miles from Chennai and 780 from Kolkata. We’re less than 90 minutes out from starting our descent and so far, it’s been a pretty good journey.
In our descent over the far reaches of western Thailand. The first bit of pre-dawn light is starting to reflect off the clouds.
Bouncy landing in Bangkok, with the 3rd-tallest ATC tower in the world off to the left
Taxiing past the main terminal on the way to the satellite
Looking across the ramp from Gate S119. After flying across a couple time zones and spending almost a full 24 hours awake, it’s time to head off to our hotel and get some sleep before starting the next leg of our journey tomorrow evening.