A few weeks ago Thai Airways have started accepting Priority Pass for access to their domestic lounges and I decided to give it a try this week, stopping first in Bangkok and then Phuket.
As the Priority Pass directory and actual lounge admission are sometimes not up to date, we tested it in both national THAI Royal Silk locations and there were no issues, everything went well (as Silk).
THAI has long operated most of its home network with Thai smile, their low-cost subsidiary which is not part of Star Alliance. Thus, Star Alliance Gold members of other carriers, except Thai Royal Orchid Plus, do not have access to the lounge when booking Thai Smile flights.
For a while there was an exception policy for Lufthansa MIles&More Senator/HON Circle members, but this has now also been removed, as I learned not too long ago. However, these members still receive priority check-in and priority baggage benefits.
I first wrote about the new partnership between THAI and Priority Pass a month ago:
Priority Pass partners with Thai Airways for domestic lounges in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket
I currently have two Priority Pass cards, one through Chase Sapphire Reserve and another through Amex Platinum. Customers based in Thailand can also obtain PP through a range of prime financial products issued by local banks.
Entry to Bangkok and Phuket was no problem:
As always they also offer you a receipt:
This is certainly a huge improvement for Priority Pass members in Thailand who can now use TG’s lounges at BKK, CNX and HKT.
However, THAI lounges are really not the best choice for Bangkok or Phuket.
There is now a brand new Miracle Domestic Lounge in Bangkok with an excellent food and drink selection that accepts Priority Pass (not yet in the directory).
Phuket also has a large coral executive contract lounge also available with Priority Pass which serves lots of hot food as well as young fresh coconuts and it also has a bar.
I’d rather go to one of these lounges than visit Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge. I did this this time to check them out and see if the PP system is already built in but left right after and went to Miracle/Coral.
THAI locations have already been loaded into the Priority Pass app and directory.
Bangkok – Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge
Chiang Mai – Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge
Phuket – Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge
Officially, the time allotted to visit is 2.5 hours although I doubt anyone will follow. And if so, swipe the card again.
There are a few ‘real’ Thai Airways flights between Bangkok and Phuket at the moment and sometimes also to Chiang Mai, but they are far apart, often with inconvenient flight times. Although these TG flights give me access to the lounge as a Star Gold member, I really enjoy using Thai Smile as the airline provides excellent service and has always been on time both in terms of boarding and departure. ‘arrival. With the addition of lobby access via PP, it’s a great choice now.
I’m sure THAI likes to collect the extra income from Priority Pass because they need every baht they can get. I don’t mind slipping it off and stopping for a few minutes. I often do this at various salons around the world just to see if anything remarkable has changed.
Conclusion
Thai Airways has now opened three of its domestic lounges in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket to Priority Pass members, which is a very positive development. Entry into the lounges was easy and hassle free. Both facilities were nearly empty when I visited.
Just like in many other countries, Priority Pass has grown a lot in presence here in Thailand and many premium credit cards now include a membership.
This also circumvents the lounge access issue on the THAI Smile flight as they are not Star Alliance members and to access the lounge on economy tickets one would need to be Thai ROP Gold/Platinum.
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