Another airline intends to eliminate first class. The writing was on the wall for this, though it’s still kind of sad.
The history of Thai Airways first class
Back in the day, Thai Airways used to offer first class on a large number of its wide body aircraft. Earlier on in my flying days, I remember flying Thai Airways first class on the Airbus A340, Airbus A380, and Boeing 747 — ugh, fun times! It wasn’t clear if there was a commercial case for this, but if nothing else, the product was offered to shuttle the royals around.
Over the years, the airline has massively scaled back its first class network. At this point, the airline offers first class on just three aircraft, which are the Boeing 777s that the airline most recently took delivery of. The product is exclusively offered on select flights from Bangkok (BKK) to London (LHR) and Tokyo (NRT).
Personally, I think there’s a business case to be made for a well run airline to have first class. However, the current system makes no sense. With first class just available on three planes, it’s impossible to justify the product.
For one, there’s a lack of awareness around the product, given the small subfleet that offers the experience. Even more, there’s a lack of efficiency to operating a product with such a small footprint, in terms of investment in soft product, ground experience, etc.
Thai Airways will phase out first class in coming years
While Thai Airways was hemorrhaging money for years, the company is now being run with a lot more discipline than in the past. We’re also seeing the carrier undertake a massive fleet renewal project, which primarily consists of taking delivery of new Airbus A321neos (as of late 2025) and Boeing 787-9s (as of 2028).
Thai Airways has 45 Boeing 787-9s on order, and the plan is for this to become the backbone of the carrier’s long haul fleet for years to come. Thai Airways plans to introduce an all-new business class product on these planes. Exact details of what that product will look like haven’t yet been revealed.
The planes wouldn’t feature first class, though. Instead, they’ll feature a “business class plus” product in the first row, as that’s becoming an increasingly common feature.
As it turns out, this plan isn’t just exclusive to new planes, but existing Boeing 777-300ERs will also be reconfigured in this way. The company’s CEO has revealed that in the next two to three years, the long haul 777 fleet will be retrofitted with new business class suites, and when that happens, first class will also be eliminated. This way the airline can offer a more consistent experience across long haul flights.
Bottom line
Thai Airways’ first class product isn’t long for this world, as the airline intends to eliminate the cabin in the coming years. While Thai Airways had a huge first class footprint back in the day, that’s no longer the case, as it’s only available on three planes.
Going forward, Thai Airways’ plan is to offer a standardized business class product across the long haul fleet, including a front row “business class plus” product. However, this will come at the expense of first class. I can’t say that this decision is surprising, and frankly, it makes a lot of sense.
What do you make of Thai Airways eliminating first class?
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