Airline review: THAI A330-300 business class, Bangkok to Taipei

Arguably my best flight so far - my review of THAI A330-300 business class, Bangkok (BKK) to Taipei (TPE)
---
01. Trip report introduction
02. SAS A320 business class, Stockholm to London
03. SilverKris Lounge, Heathrow
04. Thai Airways A380 Royal First class, London to Bangkok
05. Thai Airways Royal First Lounge, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi
06. Thai Airways A330 Royal Silk (business class), Bangkok to Taipei
07. Pacific Business Hotel, Taipei
08. Photo Essay: Taipei
09. The Infinity Lounge by EVA Air, Taoyuan Airport
10. EVA Air B777-300ER Royal Laurel (business class), Taipei to Amsterdam (via Bangkok), part 1
11. EVA Air B777-300ER Royal Laurel (business class), Taipei to Amsterdam (via Bangkok), part 2
12. Steigenberger Airport Hotel, Amsterdam 
13. SAS A320 business class, Amsterdam to Stockholm
14. Trip summary
---

Bangkok (BKK) to Taipei (TPE)

Date: 2018-10-05
Flight number: TG632
Aircraft: Airbus A330
Registration: HS-TEN
Age of aircraft: 9 years
Duration of flight: 3:56 (gate to gate)
Seat: 17A (business class)

Seat map of the B787-900 that was originally scheduled for this flight, with my chosen seat (17A) in red. Courtesy of Seatguru.com (The THAI A330 that I flew is not on Seatguru.)

Bummer! I've mentioned before that THAI are notorious for their equipment changes. While the A380 stayed, this leg of the trip got a change. This was originally scheduled to be a Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner, with a 1-2-1 configuration and lie-flat beds. I was really looking forward to this Dreamliner flight, and had carefully chosen my seat in order to get some good pictures of the engine, before sleeping in my lie-flat bed for most of this flight. A couple of weeks before the trip, THAI  switched to an Airbus 330, with 2-2-2 configuration and angled seats. Oh, well... I was still happy to start this last leg, and be on my way to Taipei.

Boarding started almost on time, and it was a bus boarding to a remote stand. There was no separate business class bus, so just when I flew from Zagreb to Copenhagen the whole idea of priority boarding was lost, as the business class passengers got on the bus first, and therefore got off the bus last... It was a fairly short 6 minute ride to the airplane, but I dozed off several times during those minutes, so it felt longer. Hopefully I would be able to sleep in the angled seats onboard.

Boarding the last flight of this trip to Taipei

While I strongly dislike taking a bus to/from an aircraft, I like the actual boarding process at remote stands, as that means I can get a good look at the aircraft before getting on. The A330 is not a personal favourite, but it's always fun to get close to such a big bird from the outside. And wouldn't you know it? As I stepped onboard, the flight attendant showed me to a lie-flat seat that was by itself, as the configuration seemed to be 1-2-2/1-2-1 (with throne seats on every other row of the right hand side of the aircraft).

"This cannot be an A330?!" I incredulously asked the cabin manager. "Yes it is," he smiled and said. "We've reconfigured this aircraft." Perfect! I had no seat mate (as the seats on the left hand side of the cabin were lone seats), and it was a lie-flat sleep.

Single seats on the left hand side of the cabin - this is where I'll sit/lie on our hop to Taipei

Safety card also confirming that it is indeed an A330

Orchids at every business class seat

Nice, soft pillow - this will come in handy!

Menus were handed out while on the ground, and they had Bircher muesli onboard this flight as well - my third on this trip. They are extremely tasty, and I might have found a new favourite breakfast...

Breakfast was served on this flight

Huge inflight entertainment screen - although I only used it for the moving map function

We pushed back a few minutes early, which ended up being a good thing, since taxi was slow. We didn't take off until just over 15 minutes after scheduled time of departure. Take-off was smooth, and soon breakfast was served.

Goodbye, Bangkok!

Slowly making our way to the runway

Leaving Bangkok behind

Lavatory selfie - a tired traveller at this point!

Not as large as the first class lavatory on the A380, but still kept in a great condition

The first part of the breakfast (the Bircher muesli and fresh fruits) was absolutely delicious, and certainly among the best meals I've ever had on an airplane. For drinks, I had an excellent cup of Earl Grey tea. I wanted to avoid coffee, although I think I would've slept soundly even if I had drunk a whole pot of joe.

For the main meal, I chose the Thai option - boiled rice with braised duck. Little did I know that this was served as soup, with an incredibly generous serving of coriander. I'm sure it was great if you're into that kind of stuff, but for me it was totally inedible. The omelet was good, though.

Fresh fruits and Bircher muesli - yum!!!

A tasty omelet and, sadly, a bowl full of coriander

Somewhere above Thailand or Laos

I slept for about half of this flight, and it was actually a good sleep. As I was sleeping, the flight attendants closed the window blinds at my window, and they put a bottle of water next to me for when I woke up. The service was incredibly professional and thoughtful throughout this flight. Definitely one of the best cabin crews I've had the pleasure of flying with!

Soon enough, we reached Taiwan, and could start our descent towards Taoyuan International Airport outside Taipei, in northern Taiwan. As we landed from the north, we were provided with some great views of Taipei and the surrounding area as we descended. It really was a spectacular landing!

Flying across the South China Sea

Land ho!

Coastline of Yunlin County

Chemical plant in Mailiao township

Getting closer to Taipei!

Wow - how's that for a great view!?

Flying over the river Tamsui - and that's Taipei underneath that hazy layer of clouds

I might have missed a view of downtown London upon descent into Heathrow, but this made up for it!

We landed a couple of minutes ahead of schedule, but just as in Bangkok, it was kind of a long taxi until we reached the gate and I could head to immigration. This had been a magnificent flight. The cabin was kept in excellent condition, the seat was comfortable, the crew was probably the best I've ever encountered, and the food was great (apart from the coriander soup). Might this even be my best flight ever? Arguably! The weather was really shaping up (after having rained earlier in the day), and I was really excited about finally being here!

EVA Air, one of Taiwan's two main carriers (the other being China Airlines)

Flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan)