| | | | |

Trip Report: Koh Samui to Bangkok in Thai Biz Class

a sign on a stone wall

I’ve never regretted buying business class. I don’t do it very often and the relief I felt when checking in for the Koh Samui to Bangkok flight made it entirely worth it.  Months before I’d dithered about whether a $60 difference in price was worth it just to fly in business class for an hour.

In the end I decided it was, not necessarily for the bigger seat during the flight, but for the amenities and service we’d get on the ground. I’d lost Star Alliance Gold Status earlier in the year, so we wouldn’t qualify for lounge access and it’s always nice to have the extra free luggage and overage just in case I fell in love with some giant stone carving that I just had to haul back with me.

a group of people standing in front of a counter

So, checking in at the Royal Silk desk was a much more relaxing experience than our Firefly flight to Koh Samui. We bypassed the Economy line that was 30 people deep and only had to wait a few minutes before our bags were tagged with the magic Royal Silk and orange priority tags and we were handed invitations to the Bangkok Airways Lounge.

a close-up of a ticket

Heading towards our gate we had the option of an outdoor stroll or a complimentary cart.

a sign on a roof

a white vehicle with blue seats

Had we known it was quite as long as it was, we probably would have taken the cart. But then we would have missed out on the full experience of the Disney Main Street meets shopping ghost town.

a tree growing in a square pot

a street with trees and flowers

Security wasn’t a problem, we made it through in a few minutes, and the gate area reminded me a lot of Hawaiian airports but even more open air. They looked rather like a series of connected mahogany wood huts interspersed with high end shops (which were closed at the time).

a group of people sitting in a room

There was even, a strange concept, a “lounge” open to everyone with basic sandwiches and snacks.

a woman sitting at a counter

There was also a kitsch lounge perfect for pictures…

a white bench and a bench in a garden

The gate was extremely crowded, even an hour before boarding, and there were enough birds flying around to trigger some fears first started by Alfred Hitchcock, so I was excited to head to the Bangkok Airways lounge.

a sign with text on it

Which was a wicker wonderland complete with giant bear!

a room with blue pillows and a striped couch

a room with a tv and chairs
a display case with food on it

a table full of food

The food spread was basic, but you could order specials from the attendants which wound up being shrimp wonton soup (pretty good).

a bowl of soup on a table

When the time came, boarding was a hectic process with the only benefit to being in business class was squeezing into the festive trolley first.

a group of people on a trolley

a view from the back of a bus

The seats were old business glass without much leg room, but our flight time was less than an hour so it didn’t matter at all.

a close-up of a seat

a person's legs in a pocket

We had the usual welcome drink options, I chose lemon tea, and a cold cloth, quite welcome after the trolley.

a glass of liquid on a tray

They even managed to serve us a light breakfast of some kind of beef crepe-like thing.

a plate of food on a tray

By the time we landed in Bangkok we were back to being relaxed and ready to scope out the recently rennovated Grand Hyatt Erawan.

Feeling adventurous? Read about the whole trip!

Checking In and Air France Lounge at IAD
Korean Airlines First Class IAD-ICN
Hyatt Regency Incheon: Great Service, Hard Beds
Accidentally Seeing Seoul Like a Native
Tight Quarters at the Park Hyatt Seoul
Worth a Hike — Bukchon Hanok Village
Checking In for a Flight from Downtown Seoul 
Korean Airlines First Class Lounge Incheon Airport
Korean Airlines First Class Seoul to Kuala Lumpur
You Don’t Get Massaged By a Blind Paralympic Everyday...
Great Value at the Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur
Flying Firefly Airlines from Subang to Penang
Is Penang Hill Worth It?
Tour Bust in Penang
Campbell House: the Highlight of Penang
Penang to Koh Samui on Firefly
Sunsets & Villas at the Intercontinental Koh Samui
I Went Looking For a Fight in Thailand
After Waiting Years to Stay, Did the Conrad Koh Samui Live Up to Expectations?

——–

Don’t miss out on any of Jeanne & Keri’s adventures and tips. Follow us:

a logo of rss Invalid request error occurred. a blue square with white letter t a blue square with a white letter f

Full Disclosure: I may receive affiliate credit from links in this post or on this site which will help fund my travels. Thank you for your support!

Related Posts:

3 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *