I’m heading back to Japan for a couple of weeks, and like last time – I’m flying with Thai Airways again. And for this trip, I figured “Yeah, why not do a review of the airline experience as well?” – so here I am. After an early rise and a final luggage check, I made my way to the airport – with extra time to make full use of Thai Airways’ Royal Prestige Lounge. So now that I’m finally at Suvarnabhumi Airport, it’s time we find out. How Good is Thai Airways & the Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge Actually?
–Suvarnabhumi Airport–
–Thai Airways Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge–
–Boarding Thai Airways–
–Window Seat View–
–In-Flight Meals–
–Arrival at Haneda Airport–
–Travelling from Haneda to Tokyo–
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✈️ Suvarnabhumi Airport & Immigration ✈️
Once you arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport, you can find the Departure Hall over on the 4th Floor. Head over to Check-In Counter D for Thai Airways, present your passport, get your boarding pass (maybe walk around for a bit?), and take the escalators upstairs for security clearance and immigration control.
How early should you arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport? Well, the Check-In counter opens 3 hours before departure, so my usual rule here is to show up exactly when it opens.
Is it overkill to show up that early? Maybe? The lines for Survanabhumi’s immigration process can take quite some time (especially for foreigners + peak travel hours,) so I’d rather just play it safe and show up as early as I can. And if you’re using the lounges here, it’s always best to show up early to maximize your time. But if you really want my minimum recommendation, try to arrive here no later than 2 hours before the flight.
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🚶♂️ Getting to the Lounge 🚶♂️
Once you pass through immigration, you can either head straight to your gate, check out the airport for a bit, or – like what I’ll be doing today – head to your airline’s lounge while you wait to board. Do note that Suvarnabhumi Airport is *Huge*, so make sure you’re headed the right way before walking around (From one extreme end to another, you can be looking at up to a 30 minute walk – but that’s only if you realize your mistake at the literal opposite end of the airport.)
Oh, and if it’s your first time here, do stop by the statue of “Churning of The Milk Ocean,” located right after exiting immigration control. (You can also find towering statues of several Ogres/Yak around the Departure Hall, if you have some extra time before clearing customs.)
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☕ Thai Airways Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge ☕
Thai Airways has a few lounges to choose from, so feel free to head to the one closest to your departure gate. But for the most spacious one, you can head over to the Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge, located at Concourse D of the airport.
Typically, lounge access is just available for Business Class passengers, but there’s a few other ways to access it even when flying Economy, ranging from membership cards, miles redemption, or – in my case – using my credit card’s privileges.
You can check out the details of the lounge + their access policies here: https://www.thaiairways.com/en_KR/experience_my_thai/on_ground/lounges.page
The lounge here is quite spacious (with the seating capacity of around 450 people,) so feel free to choose wherever you want to sit – ideally somewhere close to the buffet line.
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🍽 Food and Drinks at the Lounge 🍽
On the food side of the lounge, there’s honestly quite a wide selection of food, snacks, and drinks here. But I’ll be the one to say – don’t expect anything too fancy. Most of the items here are designed to be quick and easy, with some main courses here and there.
Going into the specifics a little, if you’re in the mood for something filling, you can find dishes such as Pad Thai, Coconut Soup, Fried Rice, Beef Stew, Butter Chicken, a Salad Bar, Som Tam, and some rotating Specials at their live cooking station.
And for something light and/or sweet, the lounge has you covered with items like Fried Foods, Pastries and Cakes, Cookies, and Sandwiches.
On the drink side, you can either head to their fridge section for some water, juice, beer, and soft drinks, or their tea and coffee machines for… tea and coffee. I believe there’s also a Drinks Bar by the cooking station, so do take a look at what’s on offer.
And to go even deeper into the specifics, here’s a brief overview of the items I actually had this time.
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🍗 Popcorn Chicken & Fried Fish with Tartar Sauce 🍗
It’s frozen Popcorn Chicken and Crumbed Fish and Tartar Sauce. It’s nothing fancy, but I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t the stuff keep going back to. Fried food’s always nice to have at a lounge! It’s also one of the more popular stations here, so you can always expect some fresh ones every so often.
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🍛 Butter Chicken 🍛
For my one main course here, I went for their Butter Chicken with Rice.
Looking at the visuals, it’s not what I usually think of when it comes to Butter Chicken, so I’ll share my thoughts of this dish as a chicken stew dish. It’s ok – a good little chicken dish if you need something warm with a touch of mild spices.
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🍜 Special Lunch Menu – Spicy Instant Noodles with Shrimp and Onsen Egg 🍜
You’ll also find a live cooking station at the lounge, and today’s special is a bowl of Instant Noodles with Shrimp, Mushrooms, and an Onsen Egg.
It’s quite nice, and the added toppings elevate the dish to more than just “a bowl of instant noodles.” The soup’s a little mild, but you can always flavor it your way with additional seasonings at the ordering table.
Side Note – Their specials rotate from time to time, so maybe it’ll be something different on your visit. (Let me know what they have on yours!)
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As for some other facilities, there’s complimentary wifi, bathrooms within the lounge, and also a shower area (currently closed as of my visit.)
Also worth mentioning, I suppose, but you can find power outlets located around your seats. (Depends on seating type and location)
And as a little reminder, you won’t be able to hear any boarding announcements while at the lounge, so make sure to keep note of your boarding time and plan accordingly.
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⭐ Mini Verdict – How Good is Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge Actually? ⭐
You’re not gonna get a restaurant experience from a lounge, let’s clear that first. But the lounge as an added service to the overall journey? Yeah, it’s really good! A comfy place to relax, a good selection of snacks, snack foods, drinks, and a few full-on meals, the Royal Orchid Lounge definitely checks all those boxes. If you’re planning to visit the lounge before the flight, make sure to head to the airport as early as possible to maximize your time here.
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🛫 Boarding Thai Airways 🛫
Now that it’s about time to board, head over to the boarding gates (Gate C10 for me today) and wait until boarding begins.
They’ll usually start by calling Business Class passengers and passengers seated towards the end of the plane first, so if you’re sitting in one of the earlier seats… maybe find somewhere to sit while you wait a couple of minutes.
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✈️ On the Plane ✈️
My flight was on TG660, an Airbus A330-300 – with Business Class seats arranged in a 1-2-1 formation, and a 2-4-2 seat formation for Economy Class. The total flight time is roughly about 6 hours and 10 minutes – although in my case, we ended up ahead of schedule by 30 minutes or so (thanks, tailwinds!)
Now, I don’t know how to properly measure leg space, but my thoughts on the overall seating experience here was “surprisingly comfy.” I’m no expert here, so that’s all I can offer.
Details on Plane Model here: https://www.thaiairways.com/th_TH/experience_my_thai/our_aircraft/aircraft/333.page?
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✈️ Window Seat View ✈️
If you booked the same flight schedule as me, (TG660, 1 P.M. to 9:10 P.M.) you’ll be treated to a whole variety of scenes out the window (if you’ve booked window seats, of course.)
Right after takeoff, you can look out the window and observe the bright afternoon sky – with varying cloud coverage.
As nightfall approaches, you can witness the entire sunset, 10,000 meters from the ground.
And for my favorite view, gaze out the window a little bit higher than usual once the sun sets. With not many sources of light this high up in the sky, you’ll be able to observe a vast sea of stars right from your airplane window. It’s genuinely a breathtaking view! (Trust me, it looks infinitely better [and brighter] in person.)
And as the flight nears its completion, don’t forget to give nighttime Japan a look as the plane makes its descent towards Haneda Airport.
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🍱 In-Flight Meal 🍱
Not too long after takeoff (around 50 minutes into my flight), the flight attendants will be going around the plane with some in-flight meals.
Specific meals will vary between seasons, but for my flight, we had two mains to choose from – a Massaman Chicken Curry with Rice, and a Pasta dish with Shrimps in a Tomato Sauce, alongside a few sides of a bread roll, Chicken Larb, and an Orange Cake for Dessert. My overall opinion of the food? They’re cooked quite well.
The Massaman Curry’s a little towards the bland side (just your usual fare with high-altitude eating), but the spices are still quite pronounced. Combine that with some rice, potatoes, carrots and green beans, and tender chicken, and it’s honestly quite the nice meal.
And as for the pasta with shrimp? Well, my brother had this dish, but his general impressions were also on the positive end. Also sorta bland (again, per the usual high-altitude eating), but pretty nice when you mix the penne and sauce together.
As for the sides? I actually quite like the Chicken Larb. It’s served cold, but the spices here serve as a very welcome contrast to the more milder tasting main course.
A little bit later, they’ll also come around with a few drinks to choose from, ranging from soft drinks, juices, and wine, to the more standard tea and coffee. (You should be able to ask for these anytime during the flight as well)
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🍪 In-Flight Snacks 🍪
Later in the flight (around 4 hours in), the flight attendants will be distributing some water and snacks for you to enjoy – fruitcake in may case. I wish I remembered how this tasted… Pretty sure I had it after my quick rest on the plane.
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🛬 Arrival at Haneda Airport 🛬
Now that you’ve arrived at Haneda, the next step is to clear the Japan side of customs and immigration. Finding where to go is simple enough, either follow the signs towards customs, or (the much easier option,) just follow where literally everyone else is headed.
Side Note – Like any other country, Japan requires you to fill out a few forms before getting through customs. If you want to complete the forms even before arriving at the airport, you have the option to pre-register them using the Visit Japan Web site.
Create your account and set up your personal details, then fill out the immigration and customs forms through the “Register Planned Entry/Return” section of the site. The entire process takes around 10 minutes to complete, but once you arrive in Japan, show them your QR code on the site and you’re good to go.
Pre-Register for Immigrations and Customs here: https://www.vjw.digital.go.jp/main/#/vjwplo001
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🚊 Quick notes: Haneda → Tokyo 🚊
Alright, you’ve cleared customs and you got your luggage, how do you head to the city area? For something convenient and economical, I’d suggest taking the Keikyu Subway Line, located right at the airport. You can purchase your tickets via the ticketing machine at the station entrance. And if you’re using your own IC Card from a previous trip, you can check or top-up your balance at the IC Card machines.
Once you have your ticket and scanned into the ticket gates, take the elevator down to Floor B2 and the trains are a straight walk ahead (Platform 2.) From there, have a look at where to transfer (or not) and you’ll be on your way.
Here’s a rough guide on how long the train ride will take to some popular stations.
Ueno Station – 43 Minutes (Transfer at Shinagawa Station)
Tokyo Station – 42 Minutes (Transfer at Shinagawa Station)
Shibuya Station – 42 Minutes (Transfer at Shinagawa Station)
Shinjuku Station – 50 Minutes (Transfer at Shinagawa Station)
Asakusa Station – 45 Minutes (No Transfers)
Side Note – The Haneda Station → Asakusa Station route technically uses two separate subway lines (Keikyu and Asakusa Lines.) Some Keikyu trains will automatically transfer over to the Asakusa Line once you reach Sengakuji Station, so if you want to head to Asakusa without transferring (either for convenience or if you’ve gotten a seat in the train,) I’d recommend you board the trains that’ll switch over to the Asakusa Line.
The best way to check any train schedule in Japan is Google Maps, so have a look at the schedule there for your specific time.
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⭐VERDICT⭐
So how good is Thai Airways & the Royal Orchid Lounge actually? The prices of airline tickets can range wildly depending on a number of factors, so I’ll be talking more about the overall experience of flying with Thai Airways.
The check-in procedures is standard fare for all the airlines here at Suvarnabhumi, so not much to say other than the lines for immigration can get a bit long at times (moreso an airport issue, but it’s with noting.)
The lounge, while not a place with “must have” food (lounges aren’t really meant for that anyways,) is just a really nice place to hang around, grab some food and drinks, and just relax while you wait for your flight. It’s certainly better than any other place to sit at the airport, that’s for sure.
The plane ride was surprisingly nice. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a plane, but the one thing I distinctly remember coming off the plane today was “That was honestly a really comfy ride.”
Specific rambling thoughts aside, the overall trip was quite the pleasant one. So if you’re thinking of heading to Tokyo from Bangkok, have a look at Thai Airways’s current prices. And if you do decide to fly on Thai Airways, I say your flight experience should be just as positive as mine!
Thai Airways & Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge (BKK→HND)
💻 Website: https://www.thaiairways.com/
