Thailand Contrasts (2022): Days 18-19: Modern Art & Homeward Bound

Bangkok’s MOCA

Our final day in Thailand began with the familiar routine of hotel breakfast and showers, followed by the last packing of the trip. The main sightseeing objective today was something that was new to both of us: Bangkok’s impressive Museum of Contemporary Art (“MOCA”), which had actually been around for over ten years. Privately owned and occupying five spacious floors, the museum is home to a priceless collection of Thai artworks. We used a cab – an exceptionally slow and hesitant one! – for the 16km journey.

On returning to the DoubleTree, we had time for some relaxation by the pool before making final preparations for the long journey home.

The journey home begins

The third cab of the day took us to the present-day BKK: Suvarnabhumi, where we began proceedings by installing ourselves in the JAL lounge. Following an abortive attempt to do a spot of lounge-hopping, we returned to JAL for a second stay. Soon enough, it was time to board our overnight flight to Helsinki, which – like the outbound – was operated by an Airbus A350-900 with ‘reverse herringbone’ seats. Other than the two meal services (dinner and breakfast), the flight was largely given over to sleeping. The route to avoid Russian and Ukrainian airspace seemed even longer than demanded by those constraints: the flight took 14hrs, and to my astonishment, we overflew part of Egypt at one point!

Featured Flight: AY1331 (HEL-LHR)

FLIGHT DATA for AY1331
Date: 13 June 2022	Aircraft: Airbus A350-900
From: Helsinki (HEL)	To: London Heathrow (LHR)
Scheduled departure: 0800 (EEST)	Actual departure: 0853
Scheduled arrival: 0910 (BST)	Actual arrival: 0932
Cabin: Business Class	Seat: 3L

Just like on the Helsinki stop of my outbound journey, today’s continuing Finnair experience began with a visit to the airline’s superb Business Lounge at its home airport. And once again, my level of consumption there was minimal, as I was completely satisfied from the preceding sector.

As I have commented several times in the past, one thing guaranteed to quicken the pulse of any avgeek is a short-haul route being operated by long-haul equipment. We had known for a while that today’s HEL-LHR flight would be the latest example of this phenomenon, but on this occasion the level of excitement ran even deeper: our aircraft was scheduled to do its London rotation after arriving from Singapore, and this little factoid meant that it was virtually guaranteed to feature Finnair’s new Business Class seat offering, the AirLounge. This product had caused huge controversy among frequent-flyer cognoscenti when it was announced, because pretty much uniquely in premium long-haul, the seat does not recline. Instead, passengers are invited to make themselves comfortable using soft furnishings. Bruce and I couldn’t wait to try out such a revolutionary concept.

Late arrival of the aircraft from Singapore meant that boarding could not get underway until 0825. First impressions were extremely positive: the new product looked spacious, private and comfortable. We settled in quickly and explored what the seat had to offer, taking lots of photographs. One thing I noticed immediately on sitting down was that the seat is incredibly private. I did not have line-of-sight to any other passenger. ‘Boarding complete’ was announced at 0846 and we pushed back seven minutes after that. The estimated flying time was given as 2hrs 25mins. Take-off followed at 0905 and in due course, as ever, service began with the distribution of hot towels.

My second airborne breakfast of the day followed in short order, and once again it was a bit if a whopper. I washed it down with champagne and ice water. The route saw us overflying both Stockholm and Gothenburg – our next two destinations! From there, we would cross the Kattegat to Aalborg in Jutland, Denmark. At this point, it seemed like time for another champagne. 😀

We crossed the UK coast over East Anglia and flew roughly in line with the Thames Estuary towards Central London, where it turned out to be a wonderfully clear day. Touchdown on Runway 27L came at 0927 UK time, and arrival at Terminal 3 was a mere five minutes thereafter.

So the verdict on the controversial new seat remained positive, but of course we need to remember that this was on a two-and-a-half-hour flight. Would I think the same for a much longer intercontinental flight? What about an overnight journey, where I would want to settle down for a decent night’s sleep? These judgments will have to wait for another day. From the airline’s point of view, the new seats are lighter and simpler, with far less to get jammed or otherwise go wrong. It costs less to fly them around the globe and a high standard of privacy is achieved without the need for doors.

The last leg

All that remained for me now was immigration processing at Heathrow, the ‘parting of the ways’ as Bruce landed himself and I remained airside, a visit to BA’s ‘First’ lounge, a routine shuttle flight to Edinburgh and a tram ride back to the West End. All progressed smoothly and I was home by late afternoon.

And finally …

• After arriving home, it took me weeks to get around to the task of assembling and submitting my insurance claim for the Amsterdam food-poisoning incident. This didn’t matter as I had informed the company and obtained a claim number the day after the event occurred.
• My claim, which consisted entirely of excess expenditure incurred in order to preserve the remainder of the trip, was settled in full, less (of course) the policy excess/deductible.
• Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa is due to leave the Hilton portfolio at the end of 2022.
• Upon arrival home, we were due to have our next Finnair A350 experience in … let me see now … 17 days! 😉