Founded in 1960, Thai Airways International is Thailand's national air carrier, as well as a founding member of the Star Alliance airline network. It is owned by the Thai Ministry of Finance. The airline is certified with four stars.
Thai Airways runs flights to cities in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia/New Zealand. The airline's main hub is at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Thai Airways owns Boeing 747-400s, Boeing 777-300s, Boeing 777-200s, Boeing 777-200ERs and Boeing 737-400s. Its fleet includes ATR-72s and Airbuses.
Thai Airways has four travel classes. All planes have economy and Royal Silk classes, and select planes also include Royal First Class (the highest class) and Premium Economy Class (between economy and Royal Silk classes). Royal First Class service includes flat-bed seats with lumbar massage, and a touch-screen audio-video on demand (AVOD) and in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems. Customers are offered different meal options, available for pre-order.
Royal Silk Class includes fully reclining seats, also with lumbar massage, and AVOD and IFE systems. Depending on the plane, the seats have between 60 and 62 inches of leg room and are 20 to 21.5 inches wide.
Premium Economy Class, which are offered on some flights, have reclining seats that feature 42 inches of leg room, a foot rest, and AVOD and IFE systems.
Economy class passengers have between 34 and 36 inches of leg room. Seats in the Boeing 777-200ERs and 777-300s, as well as the newer Airbus 330-300 planes, are equipped with the AVOD systems.
Royal Orchid Plus is Thai Airways' frequent-flier program, the first one to be established in Thailand. Members can earn miles with flights on Thai Airways, as well as codeshare flights, Star Alliance Flights and Jet Airways flights. Miles can also be earned with hotel reservations.
There are three tiers of membership for the program: member, silver and gold. Members work up to silver or gold status by earning points. Silver status requires a frequent flier to accrue 10,000 miles in one year or 15,000 miles by December 31 of the same year he joined the program. Members who earn 50,000 miles in one year, 80,000 miles by December 31 or fly 40 international sectors on Thai Airways flights within one year receive gold status.
Airline review website Skytrax gave Thai Airways two awards in 2006: World's Best Cabin Staff and Best Airline. Thai Airways also earned second place in the site's 2007 Airline of the Year category.
In 2009, Skytrax awarded Thai Airways with World's Best First Class Lounge for its space at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
