Thai Airways has resumed daily non-stop services between Bangkok and Amsterdam. This reconnects the two cities directly for the first time since late 1998.
The flights, TG396, run daily on an Airbus A350-900, the newest long haul aircraft in the Thai fleet. They operate between Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport and Amsterdam Schiphol.
CEO Chai Eamsiri attended a special launch ceremony at Suvarnabhumi Airport to see off the first flight. The airline is operating the non-stop route daily using the Airbus A350-900 aircraft which can carry 321 passengers. The aircraft is configured with two cabins: Royal Silk business class with fully flat beds and direct aisle access, and economy.
The airline said the resumed route aims to meet growing travel demand while improving connections between Thailand, the Asia-Pacific region and major European destinations through the Star Alliance network. The Bangkok–Amsterdam service will operate daily, with Flight TG936 departing Bangkok at 05:35 and arriving in Amsterdam at 12:40 local time, while Flight TG937 departs Amsterdam at 14:15 local time and arrives in Bangkok at 06:35 the following day.
Flight time is about 11 to 12 hours each way. The early morning arrival in Amsterdam is designed to feed onward European connections. Meanwhile, the dawn landing in Bangkok lines up with same day flights to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi and other domestic points.
Decision on new long-haul widebody aircraft in next one to two years
Thai Airways is to make a decision on new long-haul widebody aircraft within one to two years, says its CEO, in an interview with Flight Global sister publication Luchtvaartnieuws.
Speaking in Amsterdam on the sidelines of an event marking the launch of flights from Bangkok, Chai Eamsiri said the airline is assessing Airbus’s A350-1000 and the Boeing 777X programme, with the first aircraft expected to be delivered from 2036.
Thai currently operates the smaller A350-900 and holds options for 777X aircraft from a 2024 order for 45 787s.
Chai said the new widebodies will allow the airline to restart flights between Bangkok and North America, which it last operated in 2015. However, he has ruled out the ultra-long-haul variant of the A350-1000, which is set to enter service with launch customer Qantas in 2027. Chai notes that the “cost per seat…is too high” for the airline.
Thai’s current long-haul operations are supported by 777-300ERs, which Chai says are expected to remain in its fleet for “at least another 10 years”. However, Thai will be retiring its older 777-200ERs by the end of this year.
The airline is also expanding its fleet of 787s, having recently received its first factory-fresh 787-9 powered by GE Aerospace GEnx engines.
