My “Travel Made Easy” posts are meant to provide easy access to new destinations, hotel groups or airlines, by providing a quick summary of the most important information and giving you access to more details via links to related posts. Today’s post provides a summary of all the information around Thai Airways, one of my favorite airlines!
The Airline: Thai Airways (airline code TG) is the flag carrier airline of Thailand, based out of Suvarnabhumi airport (BKK) in the capital Bangkok.
SkyTrax rates Thai as a 4 (out of 5) star airline, putting them ahead of United, Delta or American and in one class with Emirates or Lufthansa. AirlineRating gives them 6 (out of 7) stars for safety, with one star missing for Thailand as a country missing one of 8 criteria in the ICAO country audit.
TG serves 73 destinations in 35 countries, with the majority in Asia (46 destinations) and strong links to Europe (13 destinations). In the rest of the world, they only fly to Los Angeles, Johannesburg, Dubai and Muscat.
Thai Airways is part of Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance in the world, providing access to a global network of airlines and rewards programs. You can find more detail in my overview here!
The Experience: Thai Airways is a full-service carrier, offering an Economy, Business and FirstClass product. Regardless of class of service, you will receive excellent service on board, with flight attendants greeting you with a warm smile and in traditional Thai dresses. Their friendly service is a key differentiator and main reason why I always look forward to flying with them. TG is going through a fleet renewal program, resulting in different experiences not only by class, but by plane type. Their business and first class, especially on their Airbus A380, are excellent and can contribute to a dream vacation. It’s one of my favorite flight experiences and you can find my reviews here:
Thai Royal First Class
Thai Royal Silk (Business) Class
Thai also operates one of the best lounges at their hub in Bangkok. The Royal Orchid Lounge not only offers a quiet space to wait or have a snack, but a full spa to relax you from your long flight!
The Rewards Program: Thai Airways has its own reward program, Royal Orchid Awards. As a member of StarAlliance, you can earn miles on Thai and partner airline flights. It is distance based, making it a great alternative to United MileagePlus – you can earn more points on some United flights with Royal Orchid than MileagePlus! You can also earn points with hotel and car rental partners and even transfer points from Citibank’s ThankYou program and a number of credit cards! You can redeem your miles for fligths on Thai and StarAlliance partners – with flights on Thai Airways not only being more desirable, but generally cheaper! The Royal Orchid program has 4 elite levels for frequent travelers, offering benefits like priority treatment, upgrades and lounge access, although not as generous as most US programs. You can earn elite status over a period of 2 years, making it easier than the typical calendar year approach! You can read my detailed review and recommendations here!