Review: Thai Airways A320 Business Class To Myanmar 🇲🇲
- Konrad Tillman
- Oct 16
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 28
Intro
Hello again, and welcome back to another report. Yes, I have been inactive, and it’s completely on me due to some personal troubles I have been going through. After graduating from college, I am still finding my feet, and that’s probably one of the main things on my plate. Okay, I don’t want to bore you.
Back in January, I had the opportunity to visit Myanmar, as one of my good friends lives in Yangon. Well, when a fellow member from Flight Report reached out, talking about going on a trip together (most amazing guy), I suggested Myanmar. So off we went, and to say this trip was incredible would be the understatement of the year.
What I saw was hard to put into words. A full series will be coming of both January and now, but I went deep into Sagaing, deep into Shan, and went places no foreigner has been in 5 years. I cannot wait to share this series with you when the time comes!
Route- Bangkok (BKK)-Yangon (RGN)
Flight Number- TG402
Seat- 14K
Aircraft- Airbus A320
Date- September 28th , 2025
Flight Time- 1 Hours and 14 Minutes
Price Paid- 30K UA Miles+ 25 (ish) USD
How I Booked
Getting to Yangon at the last minute is tough. Mandalay is easy, as a matter of fact, I booked my return 6 hours before departure out of Mandalay. But Yangon? Phew, it’s easier to climb the Eiffel Tower with a dozen croissants.
So, back to the story. The day before I was in Bali, my visa hadn’t been approved because of (hmmm) yeah. So with my visa getting approved at 7 pm local time, I booked SQ J over to SIN, TG J over to BKK, and separately TG J over to Yangon.
I don’t care about business on a flight this short, but economy fares were higher than I was in Yangon (joking)(500 USD the day before), and Y award space was sold out. And with all the money I spend on overcooked UA short rib, I had more than enough miles to book this flight.
Good deal? No. Worth it? Yes, to go back to my favorite country in the world…
Check In
After one too many soapy massages 😉 (once again joking, I have become celibate (and illiterate with my spelling), it was off in a Grab to the airport. Seeing as I was living the high life, I was dropped off at door 1, where the dedicated business and first class check-ins are.
Side note: they do not offer this to *A gold annoys me, but that’s a story for another day. Another side note: TG has just placed an order to lease 3 EY 77Ws…
Okay, back to business. Visa checked, beer in hand, it was a quick process through the dedicated security and passport control. A cheeky warm up of “Mingaaaaalabar (extra A’s) and it was through to the lounge. I mean, bruh, so efficient, the lounge is right in front.
Lounge Situation
Now look, the TG Lounge is acceptable (I have a lovely inside source at TG), but it’s about to get good. But for now, SQ is like the Margot Robbie to my Kendall Jenner. TG is like a zoo, but the SQ Lounge is quiet in the AM. So, I grabbed a couple of bacon sandwiches and maybe a mimosa. Or 2. Or 3. Or 87. I plead the 5th here.
I digress becasue it was time to board…
Boarding
Not quite sure, I remember this one. I remember it was out of BKK, not ORD, as the taxi time wasn’t 173 minutes. Joking. We got lucky today as somehow, the gate was across from the SQ Lounge, and if you know anything about BKK, you can walk 5 hours and somehow still not be at your gate.
While I showed up a touch late, I still remained respectful and joined the back of the queue. Unfortunately, my 1K status doesn’t work here, so I can’t just nudge everyone out of the way, shouting “1K, 1K, please move,”!
The agents were simply lovely, and arriving at the door, it was heaven to be back on board my favorite airline in the world…
The Seat/Cabin
I love Thai Airways. Potentially love them more than I love my sisters, but this product on the A320 is DiAAbolical. I’ve already written a review on this product, but the seats are laid out in a 2-2 configuration across 3 rows, totalling 12 seats. Pitch is fine, but other than that? I’m out in terms of hard product…
Why? TG rushed this product so they could offer business class on connections. It took a total of 5 days to renovate these aircraft head to tail with new seats, becasue they didn’t want to waste the time putting in IFE screen, in-seat power, wifi, etc
So yeah, I’ll say it: I am disappointed by the hard product on the 320s. The 321s look a lot better, and their new business class (even old) is just wow. But this product is a letdown.
Whatever, the bad parts out of the way, let’s get groovy with how TG shines on their A320s. With everything but the hard product…
Departure
Now where was I? Ahh, yes, departure… Thankfully, TG is relatively on time to Yangon. MAI? Might as well book an extra night at the hotel LOL. We pushed back ahead of schedule to Yangon, with no PDB (only widebodies get it, talked with the FA), and motored our way out on a fine Bangkok day.
A few minutes behind schedule, we were wheels up, and I was more excited than a kid on Christmas day. I mean, come on, Myanmar? My favorite country in the world? And I get to go back? Phewwww.
IFE+WIFI+Amenities
Perhaps the disappointment of the year: the IFE. As previously talked about, Thai did not install any IFE screens on these 320s, so the only thing available is streaming entertainment. However, on this flight, it didn’t work for me. Not so much of an issue as it’s an hour-long flight, but come on… It’s not about not having IFE on these 320s; it makes me sad because I want to see TG do well, and it feels like a rushed product.
But amenities-wise? I am pleased to announce that TG now offers the standard regional Royal Silk pillow and blanket on the A320s. Something that helped get me a touch more comfy.
Meal Service
Once we got out of a little bit of chop, just a weeeee little bit, the cabin crew quickly snapped into action to serve the 11/12 passengers in J. Off topic, but it was mainly Myanmar businessmen up in J, and I lucked out with an empty seat next to me for the short run.
Within 20 minutes after takeoff, my main course was presented to me. There were 2 options on the verbal menu, and I was pleased to find steak as one of them. And if you know anything about me, I really dislike breakfasts on planes, so steak was a very pleasant surprise…
And can we just appreciate how beautifully cooked this steak is? This isn’t an anomaly; every time I order the beef on TG, it is cooked extremely well. SQ could use some tips from the TG kitchen…
I digress, plenty of Laurent Perrier was brought around to enjoy, as well as Perrier sparkling water. Talk about the high life, huh. The only small thing that annoys me about the meal service on the A320 is the baby flutes, as they barely hold any champagne. Thai offers some of the best champagne flutes on the widebodies, but these narrowbodies, let’s just say I hope they stick with the big flutes for the 321s.
Service
Now, of course, we get to service, and this is where I have actually seen improvement with Thai Airways. Even a mate of mine was on the A320 recently domestically, and he was greeted by name, which didn’t use to be the case. Here were a few things that stood out to me:
Upon boarding, the lovely purser came to introduce herself and addressed me as “Mr. XXX, welcome back on board Thai Airways”
Continuing on, we had a laugh about the smaller champagne flutes midflight, and she offered me a larger glass.
Throughout the meal service, they were more than happy to accommodate by placing my meal on the tray table next to me.
And to top it off, before landing, I was presented with a to-go cup of champagne. It’s the small details that Thai Airways does extremely well, and with the airline going fully private, I have to imagine it will only get better.
Reflecting on the service, it might have been the best I have experienced on any narrowbody flight in my life. So a huge thank you to the crew.
Arrival
With Yangon being relatively close to Bangkok, it wasn’t long before we were descending through the outskirts. It was a gorgeous day as we touched down in Yangon, and pulled in next to MAI A319 (business review coming soon, and economy, but my fellow flight reporter is reviewing that now as well).
Stepping off the plane, it was hot. Brutally hot. Wow. Down the stairs and turning right, I found the immigration I have come to know very well (ha).
I could immediately tell that there was a different vibe in the air, which is hard to describe. A quick smile and laugh with the lovely woman at immigration, I was through on my way with no checked bags.
For those wondering, there is an ATOM shop right outside arrivals, and grab works really well (5 USD to Novotel). All in all, a very easy experience to get into the city!
Final Thoughts
While the A320 Business Class product on Thai Airways is far from cutting edge, and I truly mean that, the rest of the experience was pleasant. With regional amenities, exceptional steak, free-flowing Laurent Perrier, and a relatively good on-time performance, I would happily fly Thai Airways again. With that being said, try and seek out their widebodies, as they are far better. Welcome to Myanmar!
Sorry again for being so inactive. Hopefully back to the Russia series shortly! Here are a few pics from Myanmar for the time being!
