Thai Airways International Routes Start To Return

Thai Airways is in preparation to resume a large number of their regular international services with a total of 36 destinations selected for flights which will operate several times per week.

Thai Airways has been in administration at a Bangkok bankruptcy court since Summer of 2020 but the airline upkeeps a bare bones schedule to a good handful of countries to maintain a lifeline and also operate repatriation flights for Thai citizens abroad.

Thailand will fully reopen its border to vaccinated tourists starting November 1st, allowing the hard-hit leisure economy to recover. One of the companies most excited by the announcement is debt-heavy Thai Airways, which unveiled its winter schedule for 2022 last week.

Thai Airways will resume eight connections to Europe starting October 30th, namely London, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels, Milan, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Zurich, and Munich (January 1st, 2022). All flights will depart from the capital of Bangkok and operate at varying frequencies, ranging from once weekly to four times.

Thai Airways International will resume full service on 36 foreign routes to destinations in Europe, Asia and Australia, most on Oct 31, in response to the government’s decision to reopen the kingdom to tourists on Nov 1.

Thai Airways executive vice president for commerce Non Kalinta announced the decision on Thursday.He said the resumption of international services was in the airline’s winter flight plan, to be implemented from Oct 31 to March 26.

The new flights that Thai Airways will operate through March 2022

Phuket routes:

1. Bangkok-Phuket-London and return, from Bangkok on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

2. Bangkok-Phuket-Frankfurt and return, from Bangkok on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

3. Bangkok-Munich-Phuket-Bangkok, from Bangkok on Fridays (from Jan 1).

4. Bangkok-Phuket-Paris and return, from Bangkok on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

5. Bangkok-Phuket-Copenhagen and return, from Bangkok on Thursdays.

6. Bangkok-Phuket-Stockholm and return, from Bangkok on Fridays.

7. Bangkok-Zurich-Phuket-Bangkok, from Bangkok on Fridays.

Routes to Europe and Australia:

1. Bangkok-London and return, from Bangkok on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

2. Bangkok-Frankfurt and return, from Bangkok on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

3. Bangkok-Munich and return, from Bangkok on Sundays (from Jan 1).

4. Bangkok-Paris and return, from Bangkok on Sundays.

5. Bangkok-Brussels and return, from Bangkok on Wednesdays and Fridays

6. Bangkok-Milan and return, from Bangkok on Thursdays and Saturdays (from Jan 1)

7. Bangkok-Copenhagen and return, from Bangkok on Wednesdays and Sundays.

8. Bangkok-Stockholm and return, from Bangkok on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

9. Bangkok-Zurich and return, from Bangkok on Mondays & Wednesdays (once a week from Oct 31 to Dec 31).

10. Bangkok-Sydney and return, from Bangkok on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Asian routes:

1. Bangkok-Manila and return, from Bangkok on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

2. Bangkok-Osaka and return, from Bangkok on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

3. Bangkok-Tokyo (Narita) and return, from Bangkok on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

4. Bangkok-Tokyo (Haneda) and return, from Bangkok on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (from Jan 1).

5. Bangkok-Nagoya and return, from Bangkok on Wednesday, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

6. Bangkok-Taipei and return, from Bangkok on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

7. Bangkok-Seoul and return, with one flight a day.

8. Bangkok-Hong Kong and return, from Bangkok on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

9. Bangkok-Singapore and return, from Bangkok on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

10. Bangkok-Jakarta and return, from Bangkok on Wednesdays.

11. Bangkok-New Delhi and return, with one flight a day (from Jan 1).

12. Bangkok-Mumbai and return, from Bangkok on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays (from Jan 1).

13. Bangkok-Bengaluru and return, from Bangkok on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays (from Jan 1).

14. Bangkok-Hyderabad and return, from Bangkok on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays (from Jan 1).

15. Bangkok-Chennai and return, from Bangkok on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays (from Jan 1)

16. Bangkok-Dhaka and return, from Bangkok on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (from Jan 1)

17. Bangkok-Karachi and return, from Bangkok on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays (from Jan 1)

18. Bangkok-Lahore and return, from Bangkok on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (from Jan 1)

19. Bangkok-Islamabad and return, from Bangkok on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays (from Jan 1).

Sydney is the only other intercontinental route making a comeback for the winter schedule, operating twice a week. It’s unclear when the carrier’s flights to Melbourne and Perth will resume. However, the border reopening also gives the airline access to its vast regional market once again.

Even though it’s possible to purchase tickets for these connections as soon as they’re fully loaded it’s by no means a guarantee that the flights will actually operate. I’d be very careful to purchase any ticket especially from destinations that are likely problematic in terms of either leaving the country or coming back. Lack of demand can also cause Thai Airways to cancel these flights and who knows if they’re able to refund your ticket this time around. If you want to book your ticket with miles from a partner frequent flyer program then sure, you can do so and worst case have it refunded easily.

Thai Airways has advised an update of their winter schedule, adding a total a 36 international destinations back to their regular schedule most of which will be served several times per week.