Thailand

Flying on Lufthansa from Zürich to Bangkok

Last summer my girlfriend and I booked a three week trip to Thailand. Of course, I took charge of finding some cheap (and perhaps interesting) flights. When I heard about Lufthansa operating the Airbus A380 to Bangkok during the winter season, I of course had to check if there was a cheap option to book ourselves on that flight.

Flying from Zürich to Bangkok via Munich and flying back non-stop with Swiss actually turned out to be one of the cheapest options, so little convincing had to be done and I was able to solidify my plans

When the time finally came, I was filled with excitement. This would be my first time flying on an A380, an absolute bucketlist item for most avgeeks, including myself!

We took the train from where we live in Bern to Zürich Airport on a cold Thursday afternoon to catch our first flight. Flight LH2373 would take us from Zürich to Munich Airport, departing at 8:15PM. The flight would be operated by a Lufthansa Cityline Bombardier CRJ-900, another first for me!
More specifically, it was a 2011 built CRJ-900LR registered as D-ACNV, which had spent its entire life flying for different German regional carriers before ending up with its current operator in 2017.

As in proper Swiss fashion, we arrived at the airport way too early and had to kill lots of time before it was finally time to board the CRJ. The bus took us out to a remote stand, which is my absolute favourite way to board an aircraft. The flight attendant welcomed us on board and we made our way to row 8, where we‘d sit in seat 8D and 8F respectively. Legroom was very tight on this CRJ, but for a flight as short as this was it did not irritate me much. With a small delay of about 15 minutes we took off from runway 28. Shortly after, we banked left heading north-east, climbing to FL240.

As soon as the seatbelt signs turned off, the crew started handing out drinks and chocolates and shortly after we already started our descend. It really is a short flight, usually taking only about half an hour.

We touched down on runway 26L, 33 minutes after departing from ZRH. After a short taxi roll we disembarked. Our layover was only about an hour, so we headed straight to our departure gate, passing through passport control on the way there.

Seeing the A380 waiting at the gate gave me a kick of excitement, keeping me awake. Boarding was supposed to start at 9:40PM, though it would take a bit longer than that. Getting more than 500 people into one plane didn't appear to be an easy task, judging by how long the process took.

At some point it was finally our turn and we boarded D-AIMC, a 2010 built Airbus A380-841, operating flight LH772 that day. What an absolute beast of an aircraft, the A380 just doesn‘t compare to any other commercial aircraft!

The crew made a good first impression, they seemed very friendly. When we made it to our seats, 83J and 83K, respectively, I was impressed by the size of the cabin. Everything feels very spacious, especially when sitting at a window seat. The fuselage still curves outwards, so you get lots of room between the seat and the fuselage, perfect for me.

We pushed back and taxied to runway 26L, departing at 10:47, some 20 minutes behind schedule. The A380 is extremely quiet on takeoff, you barely notice the engines spooling up to takeoff thrust. The takeoff roll is very long, I was almost a bit scared we‘d never lift off…

After some time crew started dinner service. At this point I just wanted to sleep, but I felt obliged to try the meals to write about the experience here on my website. The crew was excellent, again. There was a choice between chicken with mashed potatoes and a vegetarian Thai curry. I got to try both, since my girlfriend had already fallen asleep.

The chicken dish was just alright but the curry wasn't any good unfortunately. I have to give some credits for the metal cutlery which always elevates the dining experience onboard. The dessert was pretty good and I was sad I „only“ had two…

It took a while for the crew to collect the trays. Afterwards I tried to catch some sleep but having a lot of room between the seat and the window turned out to be less than ideal to rest my head against, because my pillow would always drop and end up on the lap of the person sitting behind me. Overall I wasn't able to get proper sleep.

Anyway, after about five hours of on and off sleep, I woke up somewhere above Pakistan because my body had sensed that the sun had risen outside. There were still a good four hours to kill before landing in Bangkok. I used the time to scrool through the IFE, which is quite dated. The screen is not very large nor does it have great resolution, at least it is fairly responsive.

After exploring the IFE and reading for a bit, the crew started waking up the cabin and initiating their breakfast service. I went for the scrambled eggs, which honestly were among the worst airplane food I had in a while… You can do better, Lufthansa!

It again took quite a while for the crew to collect the trays, but they came around for a second round of tea and coffee, which I found the be a nice gesture.

I then took on my mission to get the perfect A380 wingview shot from the frontmost row in economy, where I had dreamt of sitting. Unfortunately these seats were more than 60€ to reserve, so I passed. I waited in the galley for the people sitting in that row to get up to use the lav, which they eventually did. Funnily, the guy sitting there also carried a camera, and he happily agreed to let me take my photos. I then returned to my seat, in great spirits.

By that time we were well into our descend into Bangkok, and soon the seatbelt signs turned on. We touched down at BKK right on time, at 2:55pm local time. I readied my camera, in case we‘d taxi past some interesting aircraft, and we sure did! Spotting a Mahan Air A340-600 was a great welcome to Thailand!

We waited for everyone to disembark. When passing the crew, I asked for a cockpit visit. The flight crew was more than happy to welcome us into the flightdeck, and my girlfriend and I had a nice chat with the caption and the first officer.

Arriving in Bangkok was uncomplicated, and soon our passports were stamped and our backpacks picked up and we made our way into the city centre by train.

Flying from Bangkok to Phuket

After spending three days in the wonderful capital of Thailand, it was time to head to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport again, this time by taxi. While taking public transportation is quite uncomplicated and also very cheap, it definitely takes a while to reach the airport. We decided to take a taxi becuase our flight would depart in the late evening and we were already very tired.

Once we had arrived at the airport, we headed to the bag drop, which was very uncomplicated. We then proceeded to the gate, while going through security on the way there. Flight TG225 at the time was usually always delayed, due to (in my opinion) bad fleet planning. The reason for the delays always seems to be the same, the aircraft coming in late from its proceeding flight. As we'd later find out it wouldn't be any different that day.

Since it took us only about ten minutes to go from taxi drop-off to the gate, we had quite a lot of time to kill. The gate area was honestly not the greatest. There were no stores nor were there any restaurants in the northeastern wing of the main terminal. At some point, the aircraft for our flight to Phuket showed up. HS-TXD, a 12 year old Airbus A320-232, which was first delivered to Thai Smile, a former subsidiary, before joining the mainline fleet of Thai Airways in 2023.

About half an hour later, boarding started. By the time we stepped on the aircraft, we were already well past our original departure time of 10:40pm. Our seats for this flight would be 59A and 59B in the very last row. I was almost not able to fit in the seat, the seat pitch was so terrible. No matter how upright I sat, my knees would always touch the seat in front. Fortunately for me this wasn't going to be a long flight. Otherwise the seats are very standard economy seats for a narrowbody aircraft. There is no personal IFE screen nor is there any power outlets.

At 11:22pm we finally pushed back from our gate. After some taxiing we lined up on runway 20L and took off with 57 minutes of delay. Soon after the seatbelt signs turned off, service stared. There was tea and coffee, as well as a snackbox which contained a bottle of water and some kind of sweet bun.

The flight was very uneventful and we soon found ourselves on final approach to runway 27, which I was quite excited about. This way, we overflew the famous Nai Yang beach just before touching down. We were finally on the ground 59 minutes after taking off, resulting in a final delay of 37 minutes. We deplaned a couple of minutes before 1am. I really hoped we wouldn't have to wait long for our backpacks to arrive, which we luckily didn't have to. Our hotel was in walking distance to the airport, so we didn't take a taxi. We only spent one quick night here at Phuket Airport, since we'd continue our travel the next day for another two weeks before returning to Phuket Airport for some planespotting for three days, which I'll go into in detail in the next chapter.

Planespotting at Phuket Airport

Phuket Airport (HKT/VTSP) is the third busiest airport in the country, behind both major Bangkok airports. The airport is roughly half an hour north of the city and serves around 16 million passengers annually. The airport operates a single runway (09/27) which is 3000m long. Most people will know the airport from their vacation in southern Thailand, but the airport is very famous among aviation enthusiasts due to the proximity of the runway end to the beach.

So, when deciding on going on a trip to Thailand, I had to convince my girlfriend to spend a few days near the airport to fulfil my childhood dream of watching planes land over the beach and do some planespotting. Luckily, we agreed on spending three days at the airport, at the end of our three week trip, just before flying back home. There are many hotels south and north the airport. I'd recommend staying to the south, as the hotels to the north are all resort-style hotels and you're limited to the beach spot only. South the airport, there are many cheap hotels, such as the Phuket Airport Hotel, where we stayed.

I went to three different spots, all of which I will explain in more detail and put my favorite photos.

Nai Yang Beach

Nai Yang beach is without question the most famous spot. Airplane photos taken at this beach are known to pretty much everyone who's at least a little bit into planes. This spot is also the main reason for most people to come here and it wasn't any different in my case.

The beach is easy to reach. Coming from the south, park your bicycle, motorbike or car at the kink of the road, just beyond the national park entrance. After 8am there is an entrance fee of 200 Baht for foreigners, but if you're an earlybird, you can avoid the fee. After that, it's a 15 minute walk along the beach, which unfortunately isn't very clean. When I visited, there was a lot of plastic waste everywhere, and it didn't seem to come from the ocean, since the water was beautiful.

You can either take photos from a bit farther away, or very close up, you decide.

Of course, Phuket Airport has some very interesting traffic as well. Thailand doesn't really follow the sanctions the west applies to its enemy states. This makes for some cool sights, such as Mahan Air's A340's, which serve the Tehran-Phuekt route twice a week, arriving early in the morning.

ATC Hill

The ATC tower at Phuket Airport is located outside the airport perimeter, on top of a hill south the airport. This spot is not really tolareted by airport police and you might get into trouble for staying here, though I never ran into police despite spending the majority of my time spotting at this spot. I'd recommend going as far uphill as possible and hiding behind the vegetation to avoid being spotted from the road just below.

This spot is great for westerly and easterly operation and offers a great view on the runway and especially on the taxiway below.

8/5 Runway Café

8/5 Runway Café is a great option for basically all movements, especially for planes taxiing by, as the taxiway is incredibly close. You pay 80 Baht to enter but you can use the receit to buy drinks or snacks afterwards. Especially around midday and in the early afternoon getting some shade and cool drinks are absolutely vital, therefore the café is a great option.

Flying from Phuket to Bangkok

After spending three lovely weeks in the wonderful country of Thailand, it was unfortunately time to go home. Our first flight, from Phuket to Bangkok would leave at 7:30am, resulting in a very early get up, which I was not very excited for. Since we‘d spent the last three nights in a hotel right next to the airport, we were there in no time.
Since this was a domestic flight and we‘d booked both flights separately, we went to check in at the domestic terminal. Once we‘d arrived at the counter, the lady asked us wether we had a connecting flight in Bangkok, which we did. She told us that they could check our bags through, all the way to Zürich, even though we had booked the flights separately and there was no code-sharing.
This was awesome news to us, since this would save us lots of time and effort when connecting in Bangkok. We made our way over to the international terminal to check in and go through passport control and security check. Everything went really smoothly, probably because there are not many departures around that time of the day.

After a short wait, we boarded our aircraft for this short flight, a nine year old Airbus A320-232(WL), registered as HS-TXT. This aircraft was delivered to Thai Smile in 2015, a former subsidiary of Thai Airways. Boarding went smoothly and I was delighted to find out that my seat, 38K, was actually in the eighth row since the first row is called row 31 for some odd reason.
This time around, the legroom was quite good, much more like I had expected from an A320 with only 168 seats. Maybe just the last row sucks…

We pushed back almost ten minutes ahead of schedule and after a short taxi to runway 09, we took off at 7:28am. Apart from the very bumpy and uneven runway, takeoff was very smooth. I enjoyed the view, as the sun had just risen above the horizon.
As soon as the seatbelt signs switched off, crew started their service. They handed out a bag, similar to the previous flight, this time containing a chicken and egg sandwich. Due to the early getup, I was looking forward to the coffee most, which tasted very good, contrary to my expectations. The sandwich was also more than acceptable, really not bad at all for such a short flight.
Soon after, we started our descend into Bangkok. Some ten minutes before landing, a strong odour started penetrating my nostrils. Someone probably puked or one of the kids behind my seat shat their pants.
Anyways, we touched down after overflying a couple of stored Thai Airways A380‘s, which was definitely a nice welcome to Bangkok.

Layover at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Intl. Airport

At first, I was not very excited about spending more than four hours at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi. It didn’t seem to be an airport with many opportunities to spot planes from the inside. This soon turned out to be a very wrong prejudice.
After disembarking our domestic flight from Phuket, it was only a quick security check and a short train ride to the new remote terminal where our Swiss flight would depart from gate S112 in the early afternoon.

Once in the remote terminal, I was extremely pleasantly surprised when I saw the windows were nearly clear, not very thick and seemed to cause no distortion effects. I whipped out my camera and shot a few test photos. They seemed quite perfect. No distortion, no heat haze and very acceptable lighting conditions. Our four hour layover wouldn‘t be so awful!

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi is a huge airport with many very interesting airlines and aircraft. At first I photographed every single aircraft parked at our terminal. Here are my favorite shots:

Of course, I had to photograph the aircraft taking us back home as it arrived from Zürich.

Flying on Swiss Boeing 777 from Bangkok to Zürich

Swiss flight 181 was operated by HB-JNJ today, a seven year old Boeing 777-3DE(ER), which has been flying for Swiss ever since its delivery in 2018.
Boarding started on time, and as always we were among the last people to board, I don‘t get why everyone seems to enjoy queuing before boarding…
Obviously, being greeted by the flight attendants in Swiss German was a nice welcome and felt a bit like home already. The business class seats looked very tempting, as usual, but of course our seats would be further back, more precisely 42B and 42C.

Swiss has a 10-abreast economy class cabin, which is in my opinion quite a squeeze on the 777. This is luckily not such a big issue if you travel with your partner, otherwise I find it quite awkward. Seat pitch is good, very similar to the Lufthansa A380.
Apart from the width, I really like the Swiss economy class seats. They are quite comfortable and recline very far, also the IFE screen is big and not as ancient as on other airlines. Swiss uses Airshow 3D maps, which is in my opinion the best on the market. There is a USB type A power outlet (unfortunately no type C), which does charge your phone though at a very slow pace.

Once boarding was completed, we pushed back some ten minutes behind schedule and taxied to runway 02R, where we’d take off with with a delay of about 20 minutes. There were strong winds forecasted that day, resulting in an estimated flight time of 12:08 hours…
Soon after the seatbelt signs turned off, the crew started handing out a snack and drinks, before the meal service would start later.

There was a choice between a chicken dish with potatoes and a vegetarian lasagna. I went for chicken, which was alright. The potatoes lacked flavour and the greens were definitely not very tasty (and I‘m definitely not a picky eater). The salad was really tasty as well as the cake. Overall the dining experience was okay. I‘m definitely a harsh critique, but Swiss does brand themselves as kind of a premium airline. Once again, I loved the metal cutlery, just like on the Lufthansa flight three weeks ago.

After having lunch, many pasengers went to sleep and the cabin lights were dimmed. I didn't plan on getting any sleep, since I wanted to wait to get back into central European timezone to avoid jetlag as good as possible. For the next eight hours or so, I went through the several thousand photos I shot on this trip. I also checked out the lavatory, which seemed very nice. Swiss even offers hand lotion as well as face mist, which I find to be a nice gesture. In the galley adjacent to the lavatory, there were snacks and all kinds of drink for self-service. I helped myself with some cookies (which were absolutely lovely), as well as water.

Around the middle of the flight, the crew handed out ice cream, which I couldn't say no to and tasted very good. Some three hours before landing, the crew went around handing out sandwiches. While these sandwiches may not have looked very appealing, they actually tasted great and very fresh, thus exceeding my expectations. An hour or so later, dinner service stared. In the menu that was handed out in the beginning of the flight, it did not appear like there would be a full meal for dinner, though that would turn out to be wrong. There was only one option, asian noodles, which both my girlfriend and I happily passed, since we were looking forward to my mother's lasagna once we were home, so I can't judge on how that meal tasted. Obviously, Swiss seems to care a lot about keeping everyone fed and happy, which stood out very positively. I haven't been on many flights were the crew goes around the cabin so frequently offering food or snacks, and eveing handing out a second meal if anyone was still hungry.

Anyways, the sun had now set and we were closing in on Zürich. We touched down with a tiny delay of ten minutes after a flighttime of 12:05 hours. We did have some very bad lucky with winds today, always fighting strong headwinds, therefore increasing our flight time by about half an hour compared to the average flighttime. We were very happy to get off the aircraft and headed straight to baggage claim after clearing passport control. Luckily it didn't take long for our backpacks to show up. This set the end to our wonderful three-week trip.