Airline Themed Movie Theater – no joke

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to the movies at a theater in Bangkok. It’s one of the most unbelievable movie theaters I’ve ever seen in my whole life. Scratch that, it is the most incredible movie theater I’ve ever seen! An airline themed movie theater.

The theater is inside the Siam Paragon mall in central Bangkok.  There are lots of things to do, see, eat and buy once you’re in the theater area.  There’s a Starbucks, a McDonalds, traditional concession stands, a dessert cart, and more.   We went to the 8pm showing of Olympus Has Fallen and bought tickets via the kiosk.  We must have looked completely confused, because a hostess came over to assist us – and thank goodness she did.

We bought 2 tickets and were directed over to the Bangkok Airways Blue Ribbon Theater #3.  We had no idea that the 8pm showing was in the Blue Ribbon Theater or what that meant.  Each ticket was $30 USD and included a drink and small popcorn, a coffee or tea and dessert, an 18 minute massage at the Bangkok Airways Theater spa and the movie, of course.

Bangkok Airways blue ribbon screens

Seats are assigned at this theater, so there was no need to rush in and save seats.  Before the movie started, we were shown into the Bangkok Airways VIP Lounge. The lounge, which looked like it could double as a nightclub, was decorated with Bangkok Airways planes and logos.

Bangkok Airways Lounge Bar

Orders were placed on an iPad

Decorations in the Lounge

Wall of Airplanes

Once inside the theater, I was overwhelmed. There were only 30 seats, this was a very VIP movie watching experience.  Each seat looked exactly like an airplane business class seat and was outfitted in the same way – the seats were almost fully lie-flat, there was a pillow and blanket, there was a cup holder, small area for your personal effects, a small table in front of the seat and a call button.  The seats were in sets of two separated by a center console.

Movie Seats

Before the movie starts, there are dozens of ads, just like you would expect, however, most were in Thai and not subtitled so we had no clue what they were saying. Even so, they seemed pretty funny.   After the ads, the national anthem plays and everyone stands up and a video of the King plays.  After that completes, everyone is seated and the movie starts.

The movie itself was okay, but the experience overall was amazing! I wish I had known about this while I was here for three straight months!  This is one of the most unique moving going experiences I’ve ever had.