Thai Airways has announced plans to reintroduce a Premium Economy cabin as part of its growth plans for 2025. In addition to bringing back a refreshed Premium Economy, the airline will also update its Business Class and introduce new fuel-efficient aircraft to its fleet.
The Star Alliance member used to have Premium Economy on some Boeing 777s and its older Airbus A340s but during the downturn in travel from COVID-19, the cabin class was removed during construction. Thai Airways will debut the new Premium Economy cabin across a fleet of refurbished Boeing 777-300ER jests as part of an extensive tip-to-tail makeover, which will also see upgrades to other cabin classes and the inflight entertainment system.
Why Bring Back Premium Economy?
This refresh is in response to consumers' growing demand for affordable yet comfortable air travel. Thai Airways is not the only airline introducing or updating its existing Premium Economy to match this growing demand. Emirates introduced Premium Economy in 2023 on selected routes and has plans to extend its Premium Economy network after reporting huge successes in the last two years. Similarly, Cathay Pacific has increased the size of its Premium Economy cabin on several of its Boeing 777s by around 50% as the demand for high-comfort levels among Economy Class travellers continues to build.