I flew Thai a number of times between Mumbai & Shanghai. The first time was a real shocker. I had a confirmed Business Class ticket between Mumbai & Shanghai (via BKK). At check-in I was shocked to know that I had been bumped off the plane. I was informed that "your travel agent had not confirmed with us that you are travelling today" and so on. This was patently untrue but I could not prove it. Since the time was about 09:30 pm, the travel agent’s office was closed and unfortunately I did not have his mobile number.
There was another gentlemen ( a foreigner) who was also bumped off in a similar fashion. The Thai ground staff was very rude and offered to take me in Economy class, which I refused. They were not ready to listen to us at all and acted as if we were beggars. The ridiculous part was that they acknowledged that my onward flight to Shanghai from Bangkok had me as a confirmed passenger, whereas the Mumbai Bangkok reservation was apparently cancelled.Thankfully, the check -in staff was from Air India, who were more polite. The man signalled me to wait it out. At about 10:30, just one hour before the flight was to take off, they closed the check-in counter.
At this point of time, there were now FOUR vacant Business Class seats, which they then allotted to the two of us. I had to literally tear through immigration, customs and security checks to board the plane before they shut the doors! And there were two seats vacant!
What an experience!!
Anyhow, since this is the cheapest business class fare between Mum-Shanghai (other than maybe Air India), it does have an advantage, instead of the pricier Singapore Airlines, but as always in life, you get what you pay for.