Thai Airways: with goodbye to 747 and A380s, no more first class

With the pandemic still showing no sign of abating, there are many limitations that the commercial aviation sector has to suffer. Many airlines are forced to cut costs and consequently the services offered.

Long-haul travel is still struggling to recover, and companies are focusing more on short-haul flights or flights National. Having a large fleet of aircraft sitting idle in hangars, not being used, becomes a burden that is difficult to sustain for a long time.

Numerous companies have said. farewell to the historic A380s, preferring aircraft that are more small for shorter routes in order to optimize costs and avoid waste. These include Thai Airways, which announced the retirement of all its Airbus A380s and A330s, along with Boeing 747s, in order to focus more on Airbuses such as the A350 and Boeing 787.

Thai Ariways fleet

Thai's total fleet amounts to about eighty aircraft purchased over the years, with the newest ones being delivered in 2017 while the oldest ones are an average of 10.2 years old. Let's look in detail at how the fleet is composed and the cuts that will be made in 2021.

The aircraft that Thai intends to retire Are:

• 11 Boeing 747-400s currently in storage
• 6 Airbus A380s also in storage
• 15 Airbus A330s

While those who will continue To ply the skies will be:

• 12 Airbus A350-900s
• 6 Boeing 787-8
• 2 Boeing 787-9s
• 20 Boeing 777-300s

In addition, the company has currently put 12 Boeing 777-200s up for sale.

The retirement of the First Class as well.

With the farewell to larger aircraft also goes a convenience that will turn the noses of all the serial mileage accumulators, or the service of First Class.

Thai Airways' A350s, Boeing 787s, and Boeing 777s, in fact, offer business class ("Royal Silk") but not first class.

Thai has always admitted that it did not have huge earnings from selling first class tickets, it was more of a service that made prestigious the company, so as to counter competitors that offered the same service to travelers.

The company offered the First Class only in its 747 e A380 which, as they retire, will leave passengers with a choice of "Royal Silk" i.e. business, premium and economy.

Farewell to the airport spa

In Bangkok's main hub there is also a Lounge property, namely the Royal Silk Lounge, in which all travelers can enjoy a range of convenient services In between flights.

Among them, one of the most popular was the Royal Orchid Spa, awarded in 2019 as the best airport spa in the world. The service was free for all First Class customers, and unfortunately, we currently do not know if it will still be usable given today's limitations. If it is, only customers belonging to the class will be able to access it. Premium and Elite Platinum, as stated on the official website.

Thai is not the only one to have retired these giants of the skies, but some companies are holding firm and indeed invest still in these models, such as Emirates which has decided to renew itself and offer the new service of Premium Economy on its A380s.

2020 left scars deep in the world of tourism and commercial aviation, let's hope we don't run into new revolutions if not for the better!

• A380
• B747