Today, Thai Airways is receiving delivery of two new Boeing 777 aircraft, despite having spent much of the decade under bankruptcy protection and on the brink of destruction.
For a variety of reasons, Thai Airways receiving new aircraft deliveries at this time is quite unusual. For years, the airline has been under bankruptcy protection, but it has also faced liquidation, retired multiple planes, curtailed routes, lay off employees, and so on.Thai has ordered three Boeing 777s and was in talks with Boeing on the destiny of the three new wide-body planes in December 2020. The purchase was never cancelled, and two of the three planes are now in the process of being delivered.
Thai's Boeing 777 aircraft formerly had a business class cabin but never a first class cabin. Thai will provide a premier first product on the three new 777s, something it does not already offer on its current planes. According to One Mile At A Time, the new aircraft with first-class cabins are being built so that the king may continue to fly first and use the airlines' aircraft for his private journeys.
The two 777s are now on their way from Paine Field (PAE) in Everett, Washington, to Bangkok (BKK). The planes' registration numbers are HS-TTA and HS-TTB, and their names are "Alongkorn" (HS-TTA) and "Theparat" (HS-TTB) (HS-TTB). Both names have a regal ring to them, and "Alongkorn" is a component of the king's name, "Vajiralongkorn." The third 777 is now undergoing testing in the United States and will be delivered soon.
