MADRID – Boarding a 747-400 these days brings on a feeling that you have somehow taken a step back in time.
Gas-guzzling 747-400s – the first of them flew commercially for Northwest Airlines in 1989 – have been eclipsed by new generation, fuel-efficient 777s, A330s, A340s and A380s with their mood-enhancing interiors, seatback videos and extensive in-flight entertainment systems.
THAI has 18 747-400s in its fleet and boarding the TG jumbo in Madrid for the near 12 hour flight to Bangkok heightened the sense that the airline is struggling to keep up with its rivals in Asia, notably Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.
On this aircraft, there was no seatback video. Just a main screen, which can be difficult to view from a dozen rows back.
I had already seen one of the movies shown on the outbound trip from Bangkok, so – with no choice of in-flight entertainment – I settled for reading a book. Except that the overhead light was not working which made that almost impossible.
Even sleeping was difficult given that the cabin lights were not fully dimmed at any point during the flight, and restless passengers were constantly on the move.
Boarding of the 400-plus passengers was slow but reasonably efficient and the aircraft pushed back on time. There was a 30-minute delay before take-off due to air traffic congestion, but the flight was incident free, arriving in Bangkok on time.
Food – a choice of chicken ragout and mushrooms, or beef in green curry, was just about par for the course.
VERDICT: THAI’s Smooth As Silk branding is under pressure while the airline awaits investment funds for new aircraft.
