Historically, Thai Airways’ fleet has been all over the place, and the carrier has lacked any sort of a cohesive strategy. At one point, it almost felt like someone in the carrier’s fleet planning department was getting paid a bonus for acquiring as many different kinds of planes as possible.
The company’s management is now trying to be a bit more disciplined, and streamline its fleet. The airline has dozens of Boeing 787s on order, which will soon become the carrier’s flagship long haul aircraft. These planes are expected to feature an all-new business class, which should be pretty consistent across the fleet.
On top of that, the airline plans to go all-in on Airbus A321neos for narrow body flights, and the first of those planes has just been delivered. In this post, I’d like to go over all the details.
In this post:
Thai Airways has 32 Airbus A321neos on order
Thai Airways has a total of 32 Airbus A321neos on order, with the first plane having just been delivered. Specifically, the plane with the registration code HS-TOA has just been flown from Hamburg (XFW) to Bangkok (BKK) via Dubai (DWC).
This has all happened on fairly short notice — in early 2024 the airline signed lease agreements for these planes, and we saw the first of the planes delivered in under two years, which is pretty quick.
What’s interesting is that historically Thai Airways didn’t fly any narrow body aircraft in its mainline fleet. In 2024 we saw Thai Airways discontinue its Thai Smile subsidiary (which operated a fleet of around 20 Airbus A320s), and integrate those planes into the mainline fleet. As the airline has done this, it has also upgraded its passenger experience, adding real business class seats and Wi-Fi.
But the A321neos are supposed to serve a different purpose. Given the very high standard of passenger experience in Asia, the A321neos are intended to be planes that can actually operate in competitive markets, even those that might be a little longer.
Thai Airways has scheduled its first A321neo routes as of January 2026, as the airline plans to fly these planes from Bangkok (BKK) to Singapore (SIN), Hong Kong (HKG), and Phuket (HKT), among other destinations. Eventually, a good portion of Thai Airways’ services will be flown by these aircraft.
Thai Airways A321neos have 175 seats in two cabins
Thai Airways’ entire Airbus A321neo fleet will be equipped with 175 seats, including 16 business class seats and 159 economy class seats.
In business class, the airline is offering Thompson Aero’s Vantage product, featuring staggered seats, meaning the cabin alternates between a 2-2 and 1-1 configuration, with a total of five rows. You’ll find this product on several airlines operating A321-family aircraft, like Aer Lingus.
As you’d expect, economy is in a 3-3 configuration, with seat back entertainment and charging ports at all seats. There’s also Wi-Fi throughout the aircraft, available for purchase.
Bottom line
Thai Airways has 32 Airbus A321neos on order, and the airline has just taken delivery of its first of these planes. In recent times, this is Thai Airways’ first narrow body aircraft specifically intended for the airline, as the only other narrow bodies are ones that were inherited through the discontinuation of Thai Smile.
While these aren’t the most cutting edge narrow body jets we’ve seen, they’re certainly an upgrade over what you’ll otherwise largely find with the Thai Airways fleet. I also appreciate how many of these are on order, as the airline will finally offer some level of consistency.
What do you make of Thai Airways’ A321neo plans?
I have always been a fan of Thai Airways and was excited to hear of them investing in a proper narrow-body fleet.
I am flying with them in March from Delhi to Bangkok in business class. The equipment has been swapped a few times since booking, including the newly refurbished ex-Thai Smile A320, which has no IFE or lie-flat seats.
I was delighted to see it swapped again yesterday for one of these new...
I have always been a fan of Thai Airways and was excited to hear of them investing in a proper narrow-body fleet.
I am flying with them in March from Delhi to Bangkok in business class. The equipment has been swapped a few times since booking, including the newly refurbished ex-Thai Smile A320, which has no IFE or lie-flat seats.
I was delighted to see it swapped again yesterday for one of these new A321 Neos. Looking forward to trying the Vantage seat on a single aisle
@Ben
Historically Thai Airways did have narrowbody aircraft in their mainline fleet. They had 737-400s from 1991 to 2018.
Towards the end they mainly, if not exclusively, flew to Koh Samui. But at the height of the fleet Thai Airways operated 11 737-400
Beautiful livery too.
Like SQ, it's not beyond the realm to see narrowbodies as they've had narrowbodies in the past; we're just so used to them having an all-widebody fleet for some time. TG is also following the trend of its peers in the region (albeit 2 decades late) of transitioning from 737s to A320s. It's still somewhat awkward with CX as their last narrowbody was the 707.
Nice layout for A321! However Thai would do well to have a consistent business class product. Currently there are at least 5 different seat types across the wide body fleet. Thai have a long history of announcing a new seat, but only fitting it to new aircraft, and not retrofitting into current aircraft. Over the years this has built up to an incredibly variable business class experience, exacerbated by frequent aircraft swaps. They only show...
Nice layout for A321! However Thai would do well to have a consistent business class product. Currently there are at least 5 different seat types across the wide body fleet. Thai have a long history of announcing a new seat, but only fitting it to new aircraft, and not retrofitting into current aircraft. Over the years this has built up to an incredibly variable business class experience, exacerbated by frequent aircraft swaps. They only show photos of one version of business seating on the website, which is misleading. You can unexpectedly find yourself in a less than premium seat.
Yeah, the inconsistency is a major issue right now but it is being worked on, it's expected that by 2029-2030, almost if not every widebody aircraft in the fleet will feature the same seats, as the A330s, 777-200ERs, 787-8s and early RR 787-9s are retired. The airline is also shedding some of its leased A350s that they requited in 2023-2024.
In early 2027, the 777-300ERs will begin a retrofitting programme which will have them...
Yeah, the inconsistency is a major issue right now but it is being worked on, it's expected that by 2029-2030, almost if not every widebody aircraft in the fleet will feature the same seats, as the A330s, 777-200ERs, 787-8s and early RR 787-9s are retired. The airline is also shedding some of its leased A350s that they requited in 2023-2024.
In early 2027, the 777-300ERs will begin a retrofitting programme which will have them feature the same seats as the new 787-9s and 787-10s will receive, in 2028, the remaining A350s are also expected to receive the same seats, with all retrofits expected to be completed by 2029-2030.
Their fleet plans are very promising. The 787 and A320neo combo is very flexible, cost efficient, and decent range.
I've only flown Thai sporadically, but the service is always warm and pleasant. Give them consistent hardware and cabins and it should do well. I could see the improved product upselling a lot of people who might be using the local low cost carriers (there's a bunch in the region).
Tho it's sad to see all...
Their fleet plans are very promising. The 787 and A320neo combo is very flexible, cost efficient, and decent range.
I've only flown Thai sporadically, but the service is always warm and pleasant. Give them consistent hardware and cabins and it should do well. I could see the improved product upselling a lot of people who might be using the local low cost carriers (there's a bunch in the region).
Tho it's sad to see all the cool old airframes leaving the fleet, but that's true for everybody over the last decade.
This is the way! Thai Airways has finally understood the need of stepping up to its sworn archrival, Singapore Airlines, with a fully competent narrowbody product. This is the very first A321neo in Southeast Asia, not counting Philippine Airlines’ 2-2 full-flat product, to have a truly competitive J cabin. (A bit of an exaggeration perhaps, but TG and SQ are about as friendly in the Star Alliance as QF and QR are in Oneworld —...
This is the way! Thai Airways has finally understood the need of stepping up to its sworn archrival, Singapore Airlines, with a fully competent narrowbody product. This is the very first A321neo in Southeast Asia, not counting Philippine Airlines’ 2-2 full-flat product, to have a truly competitive J cabin. (A bit of an exaggeration perhaps, but TG and SQ are about as friendly in the Star Alliance as QF and QR are in Oneworld — in other words, not at all.)
Now it’s up to MH to show what it can do on the 737 MAX 10, seeing as TG and PR might remain the only full-flat A321neo operators in Southeast Asia. But purists will always prefer what the Taiwanese and Korean airlines are doing on their A321neos, and for them even TG may not be enough!
Meanwhile poor Garuda Indonesia can only dream of such things on its 737s, because neither does it have any natrowbodies on order nor is it even planning for a full-flat J product on them. The gap between GA, a once well-regarded 5-star airline, and the formerly struggling but now high-flying TG and MH will only keep widening, it seems. If only!
Meanwhile poor Garuda Indonesia can only dream of such things on its 737s, because neither does it have any natrowbodies on order nor is it even planning for a full-flat J product on them. The gap between GA, a once well-regarded 5-star airline, and the formerly struggling but now high-flying TG and MH will only keep widening, it seems. If only!
This is the way. All airlines operating medium haul on narrow bodies should have this as a ‘premium’ feature especially for red-eyes on 5+ hour flights. A321neo/XLR have the capability as do some of the Max jets (SQ does this, too). US carriers are starting to ‘get it’ with B6 Mint and AA’s new XLR, but the old 757 with 2-2 lie-flat on DL/UA is getting old. Wonder what routes Thai will operate this one....
This is the way. All airlines operating medium haul on narrow bodies should have this as a ‘premium’ feature especially for red-eyes on 5+ hour flights. A321neo/XLR have the capability as do some of the Max jets (SQ does this, too). US carriers are starting to ‘get it’ with B6 Mint and AA’s new XLR, but the old 757 with 2-2 lie-flat on DL/UA is getting old. Wonder what routes Thai will operate this one. Hope their government stops fighting with Cambodia because tourism benefits both countries.
Back to topic, but I wonder if something like the Apex suites that you would find on select JAL and Korean aircraft would work for a narrowbody. It's still forward facing, 4-ab, but everybody still gets aisle access. Maybe a more compact version with lighter materials.
Another question for you, given that you’ve long advocated that CX’s A321neos are vastly inferior to those of Taiwanese and Korean airlines, or SQ’s 737 MAXes. All else equal, on a daytime HKG-BKK flight, would you take CX’s non-flat A321neo or TG’s full-flat A321neo — assuming that you’re flying ex-HKG where CX has massively better lounges? Would service play a factor, as well as the fact that CX has historically had a much more stellar...
Another question for you, given that you’ve long advocated that CX’s A321neos are vastly inferior to those of Taiwanese and Korean airlines, or SQ’s 737 MAXes. All else equal, on a daytime HKG-BKK flight, would you take CX’s non-flat A321neo or TG’s full-flat A321neo — assuming that you’re flying ex-HKG where CX has massively better lounges? Would service play a factor, as well as the fact that CX has historically had a much more stellar reputation than TG? I’d love to know!
Good question.
The business class seat is what I find inferior on CX. Look around CXs competition where everyone either has a flat bed or will have a flat bed e.g., BR. I would've preferred an angled lie-flat or at least a recliner with a deeper recline akin to a La-Z-Boy .
While I'm CX all day, I have yet to try Thai and would love to do so. It would have to depend...
Good question.
The business class seat is what I find inferior on CX. Look around CXs competition where everyone either has a flat bed or will have a flat bed e.g., BR. I would've preferred an angled lie-flat or at least a recliner with a deeper recline akin to a La-Z-Boy .
While I'm CX all day, I have yet to try Thai and would love to do so. It would have to depend on the price. And as far as service is concerned. all I ask is that you treat others the way you want to be treated and not some Yank going on a power trip. That's all I ask. Asians are known to be calm. And on regional flights, I just tend to switch between the map and camera (if available). For food & beverage, CX is hit-or-miss at times.
Apologies for getting off-fopic, but I figured I break the news avgeeks alike would be very pleased to know that CX is currently painting an A359 in the former "lettuce sandwich" colours!
B-LRJ is currently in the hangar for their 80th anniversary.
Cheers and all the best for the holiday season.
On or off topic, regardless, that’s cool to me. Cathay’s 747 in that old livery landing at Kai Tak is a whole ‘vibe’ for avgeeks, indeed.
“On or off topic, regardless, that’s cool to me” …. You slipped up Ben, yes?
14? Guest? Still imitating others, eh?
Ah.. but will their masters in Beijing allow the Union Jack on the tail? Without it, it’s just not the same.
Tim, clearly that ship has sailed, regrettably. Perhaps, we all should learn our lesson and not let Taiwan fall.
There were still some aircraft in the former colours sans Union Jack right after the handover, so the omission of the Union Jack would be perfectly fine.
Livery to unveiled in 2 weeks (6 Jan).
Some more intel that I have, a 748 (LJE) along with a 773 (non-ER) (HNJ) will be painted as well.