Since I added a news blog to this site, I thought it might be a good opportunity to write some "in transit" updates as I make my way through the region’s airports. Today, I’m in the Thai Airways lounge at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport, on my way to Singapore. I haven’t been to Singapore since the new Terminal 3 opened, so I’m looking forward to it.
Now, since this is my first in-transit post, I probably ought to make something clear: I’m in the business lounge, but I’m not flying business class. I hardly ever do, and since most of my flights around Southeast Asia are less than four hours long, it’s no big deal. But, what my flying lacks in quality I make up for in quantity. I rack up 40,000 to 60,000 miles a year, and so have qualified for Star Alliance "Gold" status for over three years now, and the biggest perk to having a gold card is access to the lounges. Free Internet, free food, what’s not to love?
Today I’m in one of the lounges on Concourse E, because my departure gate is on F. These lounges tend to be less crowded, since Thai mostly uses gates on Concourse C, on the other side of the airport, but there are so many morning flights that they often have to use whatever is available. The lounge is nice, as all the lounges at Bangkok are, with plenty of comfortable seats, power points for laptops, and lots of reading material for those that aren’t surfing the web.
A thunderstorm hit just as I arrived at the airport. Hopefully it will all be cleared up before I leave, and it won’t have delayed things too much. Things are all back to normal after last year’s closure, and you wouldn’t know anything had happened.
More from Singapore…
A quick update:
When I got to the gate, they were already loading. When I presented my passport at the counter, they asked me step aside. Not to worry: I was bumped up to business class. Sweet!
Then, after the plane left the gate, the bad news from the cockpit: “We’re number 10 for takeoff.” Oh well, another 300 minutes to enjoy my big roomy seat. Sweet!
Got to Singapore, eventually. Took the MRT to my hotel, the Merchant Court. On checking in, the receptionist uttered those five words I love to hear: “Your rate includes free Internet.” Sweet!