Welcome to my trip report with Thai Smile!
For my previous trip report on this airline, click here
Introduction
For the return flight to Phuket, I had a few choices of airlines in mind but in the end, I ended up with Thai Smile as I find the timing and airfare the most attractive among the list of airlines I shortlisted. Flying from DMK airport was out of the question as my partner was not a fan of taxi so taking the train to the BKK airport was the only option. Once that was decided, I did the booking on the airline's website, you can also book with this airline on Thai Airways' website as the parent airline codeshares with this airline. However you are not able to earn miles with star alliance members as this airline, though is owned by Thai Airways, is not a member of the Star Alliance.
My short stay at Bangkok
Luncheon meat mixed in fried rice
Thai Curry noodle
The famous Tom yum seafood soup
I can't remember what this is but it was delicious.
Ice lemon tea drink
A delicious western style breakfast at a popular breakfast place nearby my hotel.
It is believed this hotel (Baiyoke Sky hotel) is haunted.
The train system that connects the airport to the city area
One of the streets in the heart of the city
Deliclous steam fish
Pineapple fried rice
Cold Stone Ice cream (Founder's favourite)
On the day of departure
After a few days of hanging around at Bangkok, it was time to leave. I can tell you we were a bit relunctant to leave as there we were getting used to the lavish hotel (photos below). I will a hotel review in my upcoming posts.
The beautiful view of the city with me enjoying every minute of my time at the hotel.
Once we were out of the hotel, we took the train to the airport with a connection.
We used the self service check-in to get our boarding passes and then drop our luggage at the counter.
At the airside
The design of the airport looks old and outdated. I am certainly not a fan of this airport.
This is certainly not a photography-friendly airport, it is better to take photos of aircraft outside the airport perimeter.
This is where my flight was departing.
My rode: HS-TXR
Aircraft owned
Airbus A320-232 with winglets
Configuration: Y180
Engines: 2 X IAE 2527-A5
Delivered to Thai Smile in December 2014
MSN: 6374
Built in Hamburg (XFW)
My flight route: BKK-HKT
Miles: 417
Date of departure: 21 September 2022
Airline: Thai Smile
Flight: WE 221
Route: BKK-HKT
Aircraft: Airbus A320CEO
Registration: HS-TXR
Seat number: 36A
Gate: A1
Announced flight duration: 1 hour 5 mins
Actual flight duration: 1 hour 10 mins
Load: 70%
Boarding: 1103
Push back: 1135
Take off: 1156
Scheduled arrival: 1255
Actual arrival: 1306
Departure runway: 01R
Arrival runway: 27
My In-Flight Experience
We boarded the aircraft early but I didn't have a good start to the flight for 2 reasons. An inconsiderate passenger sitting in front of me set her seat onto a reclined mode before the departure and it took a 2nd crew to get her to adjust her seat back to the normal position. Of course after departure, she set it back to the recline mode (This, I don't mind) but not before departure and after arrival. Secondly, a toddler sitting a few rows behind me was crying non-stop since boarding the aircraft and only stopped when the father and the kid moved to the empty row behind me. I thought it was hell going loose for me after they moved but surprisingly the kid stopped crying, I guess he wanted a window view and fortunately for me, the rest of the flight went uneventful.
After take off, the hardworking crew came about to serve us our snack with a paper bag. Of course this snack meal is not comparable to the Green Curry Thai rice which I enjoyed on my previous flight. Our flight arrived late at Phuket airport, but that didn't affect our transfer to our Singapore Airlines which took place about 4 hours after arrival. I could have picked the later flight but I didn't want to take a risk since both Thai Smiles flight and Singapore Airlines flight are on different tickets. Booking on different tickets on the same day has its own risk, so do ensure you have enough time for the flight transfer because none of the airlines will take responsiblity if anything goes wrong.
After touch down, we left the aircraft and made our way to the international terminal, the walk was about 5 minutes.
Interior of the aircraft
Premium economy class seats
The middle seat was blocked for Premium Economy Class passengers, I am sure the European frequent flyers are quite familar with this setup.
The bulkhead row had ample legroom space.
So anytime if the middle seat needs to be blocked, a tray holder can be placed there.
The legroom space was standard in the normal seat.
The sandwich tasted ok, nothing special about it.
Window shot photos
Goodbye BKK!
I hope to see those planes grounded to return to service in the near future.
The airport looks quite empty compare to pre-Covid times.
The flight had a few bumps along the way but overall it was a nice day for flying.
This was when we started our approach to Phuket. Our 1 hour flight went past very quickly.
We touched down nicely and taxiied to our assigned gate.
My flight summary
My rating
Airline's website/Mobile app: 2.5/5
Check-in Experience: 3.5/5
In-Flight Service: 3.5/5
Seat Comfort: 4/5
Cabin interior: 4.5/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
In-Flight snack: 3.5/5
Punctuality: 2/5
In-Flight Experience: 4/5
Overall rating: 31.5/45
Percentage: 70%
Verdict: Not bad!
Conclusion
Thai Smile is one of the domestic airlines in Thailand that has a good domestic network with adequate frequency to transport both local traffic and overseas traffic thanks to it's parent airline, Thai Airways. Thai used to operate wide-body on this route frequently before the existence of this airline and because of the economy, the airline was forced to downscale by reducing the fleet type and cutting cost by operating a smaller aircraft type, competiting with its rivals such as Nok Air, Thai Vietjetair and a few others.
I find this airline to be quite a pleasant airline to fly on with a nice cabin ambience and the typical Thai service which you get to enjoy. This hybrid carrier should consider installing Wi-Fi on its A320 fleet and perhaps upgrading its Premium Economy Class seats by installing larger width seat with better legroom space in a 2-2 configuration like those U.S Domestic First Class seats.
Overall, I won't hestitate to fly with this airline and would certainly recommend to anyone who is looking for which airline to fly in Thailand. Both Thai Vietjetair and Thai Smile are different types of airlines and between both, I would say go for the one that offers a better deal.
For my previous trip report (Thai Vietjetair), click here.
For my next trip report (Singapore Airlines flight home), click here.
Thanks for reading!
Charles
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