Retro Review: 2013 THAI B737-400 Business Class Bangkok to Chiang Mai
- Alan Harlow
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
Introduction
My 2nd retro review is actually a continuation of the trip from my QR A340 review. The final leg from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on a Thai Airways Boeing 737-400 in Business Class, oh how things have changed at TG!
This was rare even in 2013! As Chiang Mai was almost exclusively served by THAI's widebodies. With its modest fleet of by then 5 737-400s serving smaller secondary cities within Thailand such as Koh Samui, Chiang Rai and Khon Kaen. So It was a rare chance to get to fly this aircraft that rarely visited main domestic destinations like Chiang Mai.
Flight details (From what I can remember)
Route: Bangkok (BKK) to Chiang Mai (CNX)
Flight number: TG106
Seat: 14A
Aircraft: Boeing 737-400 (HS-TDG "Kalasin")
Date: August 8th, 2013
Flight Time: 1 Hour
The aircraft, boarding and the cabin
We had just arrived off of a Qatar 777-300ER from Doha, connecting on to Chiang Mai, my home town. Although our bags were checked through to CNX from LHR, we had to get a new boarding pass upon arrival in Bangkok, which we did easily. It was a tight layover, made tighter by a delayed arrival into BKK, so we were rushed straight to the plane by ground staff, no time for the lounge today.
Our aircraft today was a 1993 built Boeing 737-400, registered HS-TDG and given the name "Kalasin", a province in North-Eastern Thailand. It flew with TG up until 2018. Being the last 737-400 to be retired from their fleet. It was such an unusual experience to see this plane coming to CNX, as we were used to getting THAI's entire fleet of widebodies at the time, ranging from A300-600s to 747-400s, TG106 at the time was usually served by an A330-300.
We were soon onboard the small 12 seat Business Class on these 737-400s. The cabin was the original cabin that came with the plane back in 1993, with updated seat fabrics. It had a very retro feel but was more than sufficient on the short flights the 734s served at the time. I took my seat in 14A, the last row of the Business cabin.
Shortly after we sat down, the pre-departure drinks were served, yes in those days TG offered a PDB, where as today you just get a bottle of water left at your seat, the crew then confirmed whether we wanted to eat after take off, and we soon pushed back and headed out for departure.
The meal and service
While today, THAI serves a hot meal to all Business passengers on domestic flights, this was not the case in 2013. Hot meals were only served on flights falling into specific breakfast, lunch and dinner times. Our 10.50 departure did not qualify for that so we were served a cold light snack. I'm not quite sure what it was, I believe it was some sort of teriyaki chicken salad with a dessert. Although you still got a drink of choice as well as tea and coffee. I don't remember the meal being particularly memorable, especially after coming off of QR Business!
With it being a short flight and a full cabin, we did not have much of an interaction with the crew as they were super busy. But from what I can remember, they were standard TG, service with a smile and efficient. No complaints there at all.
Soon, the flight was on its descent into Chiang Mai not long after the tea and coffee was finished, and we made for a smooth approach and landing into Chiang Mai. This would be the last time CNX would ever see TG 737-400 service, as from 2014 onwards, a lot of services were taken over by Thai Smile, with around 5 flights being left to mainline TG, all flown with widebodies.
Conclusion
This was a perfectly fine short flight. I rare chance to try one of THAI's rarest aircraft. While the seats showed their age, they were definitely comfortable. The catering left a lot to be desired but its hard to complain on such a short flight, its really great to see how much better domestic Business on TG is in 2025 in general, but I did wish they would bring back the Pre Departure Drinks!!
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