Business Class Rocks!

The one unattainable dream for the longest time - scoring a business class flight. I'm not as fortunate as some people that travel on business for work all the time; or am one of those lucky few that get picked by some random formula to be seated at the pointy section of the plane. No, no such luck for me. I've always had to work for things in life, and that includes scoring a business class flight. If you want to find out how I scored a business class flight, read my post from a few months ago.

Alas my 2012 Summer Holiday was going to be THE holiday - not just because I was going to be in Spain, England and France during June, but because I was finally going to experience Business Class Travel! I can report that it was fabulous! How did I survive those long haul flights on Jetstar, United Airlines before? How did I convince myself that Singapore Airlines A380 Economy was the best experience? 

There's a world of difference between Economy & Business. I cannot even imagine the quantum leap between Business and First!

Now lets break down my Thai Airways experience :

Comfort

It's not only the seating that is just so much more comfortable, and the fact that you can recline and actually sleep. I found it was the little things that actually made the experience more comfortable. 

• Proper headphones. I never knew that the pointy end of the plane used noise reducing, cushioned headphones! I could actually hear clearly the dialogue in the movies!
• A thick, soft blankie. I felt like a baby covered in such luxury.  
• Proper branded handcream in the bathrooms. It gets dry up in the air. I found myself hydrating my hands frequently. 
• Abundance of space. No more tripping over bags or books or any other item you have on a flight. No more climbing over other passengers to get to the bathroom. 

Not the best photo, but Herringbone seat config on the Paris-Bangkok flight

Food

I must say airline food has improved incredibly over the years, even in economy class. The food in Business Class however, is just superb. Proper table service. Drinks on arrival. Drinks for the entire flight. A wine list. A drinks cart. Proper steak. Cheese platter. Fruit platter. Fresh bread rolls. Real cutlery. They certainly know how to feed you in business class. After having flown 24 hours to get to Spain from Australia, I was completely stuffed upon arrival, as I ate pretty much everything that was presented to me on the 2 flights to get there. Amateur mistake? Nah, just making sure I enjoyed the experience.

The Menu

Just some of the food I ate on the flights.

Service

Incredible. The best service I received was on my Bangkok to Madrid flight. Unfortunately the Bangkok to Madrid flight was in an old 747 still stuck in the 1990s, but what they lacked in facilities, the staff made up for it big time in service. Just little things like greeting me by name put a smile on my face. 

Lounges

Access to a lounge is a fine perk. In my case I flew with Thai Airways so upon arrival at Bangkok, one can choose to get either a free foot massage or a free head/shoulder massage. I only managed to take advantage of this freebie on my return stopover, and it was so worth it. The variety of food and drinks option is also a bonus. After 26 days in Europe, I was desperate to eat some steamed asian buns and dim sims, there you have it at the lounge, freshly cooked! You never have to spend top dollar buying average food at an airport. If you have a long stopover (which I had on my return trip), you can even use awesome showers. I was expecting a dorm style like shower room. The bathroom at the Thai Airways lounge in Bangkok was triple the size of my bathroom in Sydney.  I had so much room to lay everything out! You don't have to worry about cleanliness or hygiene either as they scrub down the bathroom after each use. Luxury. Convenience. Free. 

Checkin Process

It's fast and there are no queues. Enough said. 

Prior to going away on my holiday, I started to obsesses about planes and seats. I never used to pay any attention to the type of aircraft I'd be flying, but since I was introduced to the world of business class travel, I found myself on flyertalk forums, seatguru.com trying to learn everything I could about service,  routes, seat allocations etc. I was obsessing about the Thai Boeing 747 plane that I'd be flying - whether it was going to be the newly fitted or the ones stuck in the 1990s. Checking flight schedules to ensure Thai Airways didn't change the rosters. 

Now how can I go back to budget or economy class again? I don't think I will be unless it's a domestic trip. I'm definitely aiming for more business or even first class travel in the future!