Thai Airways First Class Going Away By 2033

Intro

Thanks to reader Alan for flagging this, much appreciated.

Since the 2000s, Thai Airways has long been known for its exceptional soft product in First Class. What first began with the A340 later expanded to select 747s, A380s, and eventually over to 777s. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, we saw Thai Airways retire almost all of their First Class fleet, with only 3 777s sticking around with F in a new cabin design.

Sadly, this is going away...

The Details

Multiple press conferences from the Thai Airways CEO have stated that as of 2033, when the lease of HS-TTA, HS-TTB, and HS-TTC expires, Thai Airways will once and for all remove First Class for good.

I have had some exceptional flights on board Thai Airways First Class

Originally, a lot of us believed that the 777s with First Class were ordered on behalf of the king, but according to a reader, Alan, this is actually inaccurate. As a matter of fact, I am just going to post what he wrote (thanks again):

The CEO says that they, along with the 787s, and A350s will offer a Business Premium first row product, that will have elevated service in its place, but will ultimately still be Business Class.

As for Royal Travel, The King has not ventured out of Thailand much in recent years, the last time he did so onboard THAI was in 2023 for King Charles' coronation, taking HS-TTA. But since then he has been only to Bhutan in which he flew on his personal 737-800. The Queen has also been known to travel abroad alone, most recently flying to Mallorca with THAI, but they used a 787-8 for her. But he seemed quite fine with flying on a Non-First Class 777 previously, so I guess it won't be too much of an issue. Plus the RTAF A340-500 is configured with First Class and a very interesting config overall (but I'm waffling now)

While the common misconception is that 3 777-300ERs were ordered for him, they were actually ordered pre-pandemic in around 2018, to compliment the A380s and replace some older outgoing 747s. But obviously COVID saw the retirement of all 4 engined jets at TG, but the 777 order was still on the books.

Thai Airways might be the launch customer for Thompson Aero's Seating Vantage Nova, although nothing is confirmed as of yet.

My Thoughts

I've gotta be honest, I was a little bit sad when I first heard about this. However, I am in no way surprised. When we look at how Thai Airways has been marketing the First Class, there wasn't a separate lounge for the longest time, just a sectioned part of the Royal Silk Lounge (this has now changed). Additionally, until 2023, there weren't any physical menus for First Class for food and beverage, but this has also now changed.

While I understand why this is occurring, since it is hard to drive First Class demand from Southeast Asia with the more extensive network that Singapore Airlines offers, it's still a shame. If you ever flew Thai Airways First on their 747s, you know how iconic Royal First was. It wasn't a flight, it was a full-on experience. With First Class on Garuda also going away (most likely soon), the carriers in Southeast Asia are getting limited for F.

So, yeah, I highly recommend giving this product a go while you can. Either by paying an upgrade fee of just over 1K from J (you can't book the original on miles), or by redeeming 220K miles through UA. It seems that UA is the only one with space as of now.

Final Thoughts

Today is a sad day for aviation, as one of the staples of First Class in Asia will be going away by 2033, when the lease of the three aircraft with F expires. While we still get 8 more years, I'd imagine that this is somewhat subject to change. In my wildest dreams, I wish TG would offer F to London (2x daily), Sydney (1x daily), and Los Angeles (1x daily). But that's why we call these dreams, not reality.

Anyone else feeling a bit sad about this?