Hello everyone! In this review, I would like to share my experience of flying from Bangkok to Zagreb with a stopover in Hong Kong and a connection in Amsterdam. For this itinerary, I used the services of three airlines: Emirates, KLM, and Croatia Airlines. I have also included several photos from my trip beyond just the flight itself, and I hope you won’t find that too tiring.
My visit to Bangkok and the surrounding area left me with quite a few photo memories, as well as many positive emotions. Over the past 10 years, Thailand has made a huge leap forward in terms of development. The city now has many new buildings, shopping malls, restaurants, and so on. I wish Europe could boast the same level of progress 🙂
Since I visited Bangkok mostly for business reasons, I only managed to take a limited number of photos.
For this itinerary, the tickets were purchased as two separate bookings. I bought the Bangkok – Hong Kong ticket with Emirates using Bank of America points: 9,296 points, or a cash equivalent of $116.20. During check-in, I was offered an upgrade to either first class or business class. I chose the business class option for $165. Emirates operates some Dubai – Hong Kong flights with a technical stop in Bangkok, where some passengers end their journey in Bangkok, while others board for the short two-hour flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong.
I arrived about three hours before departure, as I needed to claim back part of my shopping expenses through tax free. Sometimes there can be a long queue there, but this time I was lucky and all the formalities were completed fairly quickly.
After checking in my baggage, I proceeded to security. Business class passengers have separate security lanes at Suvarnabhumi Airport, allowing for a faster formalities process. As a result, I did not have to spend much time there either.
After passing through all the controls, you need to take a train to access the Satellite-1 terminal. This terminal was built relatively recently and features an eye-catching art installation inside.
Since the upgrade did not include access to the business lounge, I used my Priority Pass card for a complimentary visit to the Miracle First Class Lounge.
From the lounge, I saw an Emirates A380 operating the turnaround Bangkok–Dubai flight without any additional stops, painted in a special livery.
After having a snack and getting some rest, I headed to gate S112 for boarding. The flight EK 384 was also operated by an Airbus A380, with the registration A6-EUA.
I was assigned seat 25A on the upper deck.
The seat reclines fully into a proper bed and also offers plenty of legroom, as well as additional storage space.
Even on such short flights, Emirates offers a full menu, as well as a huge selection of drinks, including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, which you can also order at the bar.
Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of the menu, but I did photograph the dishes I chose. Both the taste and presentation were top-notch.
After lunch and a short rest, I went to the bar, where I ordered a Kir Royale cocktail, kindly prepared by a flight attendant from Serbia.
Emirates leaves truly unforgettable impressions. By the way, the A380 also has a shower available for first class passengers. Some influencers book first class on such short flights to create content and still manage to enjoy caviar and take a shower in less than two hours of flight time 🙂
After arriving in Hong Kong, I headed to my hotel. When planning this trip, I decided to visit Hong Kong, as I had never been there before, and made a four-day stopover here. Below, I have included a few photos that I managed to take during that time.
On one of the days, I decided to visit Macau, which is about an hour away from Hong Kong by ferry or car. I took a speedboat.
After visiting these two cities, it was time to return home to Zagreb. The ticket to Zagreb was purchased as part of a single booking for Zagreb–Bangkok and Hong Kong–Zagreb for 243,136 Bank of America points, or a cash equivalent of $3,039.20. Accordingly, this price should be divided by two to get the cost of this flight.
Flight KL 888 was operated by a Boeing 777-200ER with the registration PH-BQD, featuring KLM World Business Class in a 1-2-1 configuration. This time, I was assigned seat 6K by the window.
The dinner and breakfast menu seemed to me to be slightly shorter than on the Amsterdam–Bangkok flight.
For dinner, I chose the braised chicken thigh served with salsa verde, pumpkin purée, carrot and red cabbage. However, the presentation raised some questions. Sometimes it feels like KLM chose this approach on purpose, just to create more hype and discussion within the community.
For dessert, I chose the second option: petit grand dessert of lemon pastry, raspberry macaron and a mini opera cake.
For breakfast, among the available options, I chose special mix of granola and creamy yoghurt. The presentation was quite wild: you are given a cup of yoghurt and a package of granola, which you have to mix yourself. With other airlines, this option is usually served in a more presentable way. Perhaps the ceramic house I was given somewhat improved my overall impression.
After arriving in Amsterdam, I had a five-hour layover, which I spent in the Star Alliance lounge.
The flight OU451 to Zagreb was operated by Croatia Airlines on board an A220-300 with the registration 9A-CAI – the same aircraft I had flown on during the outbound journey.
My final conclusion after this trip is that Emirates is undoubtedly in first place – it is difficult for anyone to compete with them. KLM takes a well-deserved second place. Croatia Airlines, overall, feels a bit like a joke and was not included in the ranking.
