Thai Airways First A321Neo Painted: Fuels Expansion To Amsterdam/Rome

Intro

Okay, I know I basically only speak about Thai Airways at this point, but if you want to read about United expanding to some small US destination, feel free to go read somewhere else. To me, what is more important is that Thai Airways is about to take delivery of its first A321Neo, and this resembles much more than just a plane.

The Details

Thai Airways is in a predicament at the moment. Their 787 orders have been pushed back to Q4 of 2028, and a lot of their widebody leases are set to expire this year or early next year. They have the demand for flights and are looking to expand, but the aircraft are hard to come by.

Bring in the A321Neo, the new staple piece of the TG fleet. Why? Well, Thai Airways routinely has widebodies on short-hauls to China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and more, when they could be serving these on longer routes. Come early 2026, Thai Airways is set to start operating these A321Neos on short-haul markets, which in turn, will free up space for widebodies.

HS-TOB (First A321Neo) has been painted

So, while we are still a little bit away from seeing the first A321Neo flight, it is extremely positive to see this bird painted. As a reference, TG has 19 firm orders of the A321Neo and 8 leased orders. The aircraft will be outfitted with 16 lie-flat seats and 159 economy seats.

TG Expanding To Amsterdam

You might think: "How does the A321Neo have anything to do with Thai Airways expanding to Amsterdam?", but let me explain here.

TG operates quite a large market in Europe, but two key missing destinations were Amsterdam and Rome. With the addition of their A321Neo and 787 (Air Europa cancelled orders (more on this tomorrow)), this has opened up widebodies to expand routes come late 2026.

TG will also be leasing a few widebodies as well...

So, yeah, these A321Neos are going to be an important factor in the revival of the airline, as it finally means they can serve more destinations in Europe, while still offering lie-flat seats on short-haul flights. Just like Singapore Airlines...

Just one issue: they will serve the small flutes on the A321Neo in Business. GRRR.

Final Thoughts

The first Thai Airways A321Neo has just been painted and is set to be delivered shortly. While this might just seem like one plane, this variant is going to be key for the future of Thai Airways, freeing up the widebodies they have left in their fleet to serve new destinations such as Amsterdam and Rome (also Vienna). It's a good time to be a TG flyer, and thanks, once again, to Alan for flagging this.