Thai Airways has provided a sneak peak of the new and predictably rather purple 'Royal Silk' business class seats of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
This snap, shared via the airline's Instagram account, confirms the airline has gone with a different seat design to the rest of its fleet.
It's the B/E Aerospace Diamond business class seat, which some travellers will already be familiar with through its appearance on United Airlines' own Boeing 787s (below).
Thai's Boeing 787-8s will sport 24 of these Royal Silk business class seats which are 21 inches wide with a 60 inch pitch and recline to a 78 inch fully-flat bed.
The layout is a standard 2-2-2 abreast configuration, and each business class passenger will see a 16 inch video screen.
We're yet to see the economy seats but Thai tells us there will be 240 of them, "designed in vivid gold and purple and arranged in a 3-3-3 abreast configuration."
The economy seats will be 18 inches wide, with a 32 inch pitch and 11 inch video screen.
Thai expects to take delivert of its first Boeing 787 at the end of month, which will be followed by a series of domestic flights between Bangkok and Chang Mai to bed down the aircraft and train up its crew before the Dreamliner's planned international debut to Perth and Tokyo at the start of September.
Read: Thai Airways will launch Boeing 787 on Perth, Tokyo routes
Thai Airways will receive its full order of six Boeing 787-8s between July 2014 and June 2015, and also has signed for two of the longer 787-9.
However, rather than buying them outright from Boeing, all of the jets are being leased from International Leasing Finance (ILFC).
The US company is Boeing's largest Dreamliner customer with orders placed for 74 of the next-gen jet, ahead of the 71-plane deal inked by Etihad Airways.
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
31 Aug 2013
Total posts 60
So now they have another different type of business product... I was hoping to see some standard being formed by Thai, but this seems like a bit of a step backwards from their previous improvements.
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
14 Jan 2014
Total posts 340
My thoughts exactly....
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
01 Oct 2013
Total posts 92
I know the 787s arn't for their long-haul routes but it's slightly disappointing with Thai taking a step back with this cabin, considering their A380 J product seems more spacious.
BTW, off-topic - is it me or does it look like UA's 787 J seats *already* look outdated and old with that shocking cloth material & colour choice?!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 Apr 2014
Total posts 25
Yes, they do look outdated. You can ruin anything...
Cathay Pacific - Asia Miles
25 Apr 2013
Total posts 542
I was hoping for a staggered business class product (like EY) or a reverse herringbone product (like QR). A fully flat isn't bad but actually is only mediocre given Asia's current battle.
And why can't one non-JL airline fit a 2-4-2 economy configuration?!
21 Jul 2012
Total posts 128
A bit disappointing to be sure. I rather like the A380 business seat with the purple enclosure. This one seems a bit dull and gray.
Interesting that they say the economy seats will be 18" wide considering most airlines have 17.3" or so in the 3-3-3 configuration. Maybe it depends who's measuring and where.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 May 2012
Total posts 76
Come on Thai, you have had the perfect opertunity to standardise your J product, new A380s, 777-300ER's and now the 787. I love TG's soft product and there lounges in BKK, but you never know what you are going to get on there long haul flights (and short haul! Iv had full lie flat on SIN-BKK BKK-CNX)
20 Jul 2014
Total posts 1
Not so sure I agree with the complainers here. Why do you want every model of plane the same, when every model is far from ideal? Personally, I am not impressed by the plastic, hardshell boxes that we get stuck into on the A380. Privacy is nice, and so is a flat bed, but not when it comes at the price of being shoved into a claustophobic box that is not wide enough for one's upper body when it comes to sleeping comfortably. It "looks" as if the business seats on the 787 may be roomier, both for sitting and sleeping.
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