Thai Airways’ new 777, 787-10 business class & premium economy

Thai Airways is charting an ambitious course with its new Boeing 777 and 787-10 business class suites, which will debut alongside new premium economy seats.

Set to launch in mid-2027, the Bangkok-based carrier’s flagship Royal Silk business class will be based on the Vantage Nova platform from Thompson Aero Seating.

It’s a choice long speculated, and now confirmed in a Thai Airways presentation detailing how the Star Alliance member plans to reshape its fleet and its business, going “from turbulence to triumph, from rehabilitation to soaring success.”

Thai’s new ‘Business First’ class

As previously reported, Thai Airways will rip out the first class suites on its Boeing 777-300ER jets.

“Major international airlines have already abolished first class and left business class as the top tier,” airline CEO Chai Eamsiri has previously noted.

“This first row will be business class plus. More legroom, longer beds, bigger screens – it’s about giving the passengers a choice.”

In their place will be a set of four spacious ‘business plus’ suites in the front row of the Royal Silk business class cabin on every 777, as well as the new 787-10 Dreamliners.

Note that all images of the Vantage Nova in this article are from Thompson Aero Seating and show the Nova dressed in Thompson’s ‘show trim’, so they don’t reflect the eventual Thai Airways treatment, feature set or branding.

The airline’s presentation calls this ‘Business First’, although it might be marketed and sold as Royal Silk Plus or Royal Silk First.

These will offer maximum comfort and privacy for passengers willing to pay a premium over standard business class.

The Business First suites will boast 32-inch video screens, up from the 24-inch panels in the rest of the cabin – all of which will include Bluetooth audio streaming.

Each Row 1 suite will include companion seating…

… with the two middle suites able to be opened up in what Thompson terms a ‘star configuration’ to be shared by four passengers during the flight.

However, every Royal Silk business class suite on Thai’s 777s and 787-10s will be fitted with a sliding privacy door.

Airlines can configure the Vantage Nova so the window seats actually face the window – what it calls a ‘reverse herringbone outboard’ layout – or with them angled away from the window and into the aisle.

Thai’s presentation indicates it has opted for a window-facing orientation which will no doubt be popular with passengers, although at this stage the illustration should be considered only as a concept rather than a definitive treatment.

More broadly, Thompson describes the Vantage Nova as having “an emphasis on ‘residential’ style-cues and exceedingly high comfort levels.”

“The design team has spent many hours sculpting the surfaces to form an elegant and sophisticated silhouette.”

Slim ‘single-skin’ overhung doors maximise the passenger’s sense of space…

… while an optional ‘Zero-G’ position simultaneously tilts and lowers the body while raising the legs.

According to Thai Airways’ projections, the new business class will first appear on a refit of the Boeing 777-300ERs starting in May 2027 and running through to May 2028.

Shortly behind will be the factory-fresh Boeing 787-10, with Thai’s presentation indicating between 12 and 18 jets to be delivered  between July 2027 and the end of 2028.

Of course, Thai has a history of being shall we say ‘flexible’ with its plans. 

Fewer details are available on Thai Airways’ all-new premium economy offering, which will be introduced on the 777 and 787-10 fleets.

We know from the renders that these seats will have extended privacy wings around the headrest – something that’s very much in vogue on the latest premium economy seats from the likes of Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Riyadh Air.

Each premium economy seat will have a 16-inch screen, while economy screens will be a more modest 13 inches.

Also read: The ultimate fast-track to Star Alliance Gold status