Review: Thai Airways First Class Bangkok to Tokyo

As I began to make my way back to North America from Bangkok, I was fortunate to have back-to-back aspirational flying experiences lined up. For the first leg, I had a flight onboard Thai Airways First Class from Bangkok to Tokyo Narita.

Flying in Thai Airways First Class was a particularly novel experience for me, and one that had long intrigued me ever since I first delved into Miles & Points back in 2017.

Furthermore, Thai Airways’s newest First Class product hasn’t received a lot of coverage in the recent past, since it’s only offered on a select few routes, and award availability is quite difficult to come by.

Thai Airways First Class – Booking

I booked this flight as part of a larger itinerary using Aeroplan points.

The first leg took me from Bangkok to Tokyo in Thai Airways First Class. After a three-day stopover in Tokyo, I’d continue onward to Chicago in ANA “The Suite” First Class, before making my way to Montreal in Air Canada business class.

In sum, I parted ways with 135,000 Aeroplan points and around $100 (CAD) in taxes and fees for the entire journey. While that’s surely a handsome amount of points to spend on a few flights, I was very pleased with the value, as well as getting to tick a few aspirational flying experiences off of my list.

If you were to just book this flight on its own, a First Class ticket would cost 60,000 Aeroplan points.

It’s worth noting that award availability was much better when I made the booking in Spring 2022, since much Asia was still closed off due the pandemic.

However, as of late, award seats for Thai Airways First Class, and ANA First Class for that matter, have become exceedingly difficult to come by. Seats are inconsistently released, and when they are, they’re quickly snatched up.

If you’re looking to score a seat in Thai Airways First Class, consider the Bangkok–Osaka route instead of the Bangkok–Tokyo route, as it seems to have better availability.

Nevertheless, it’s a challenge to book, so be diligent with your searches, and consider using an ExpertFlyer alert to monitor award space.

Thai Airways First Class – Ground Experience

On the morning of my flight, I was delighted to head to the airport and see what Thai Airways had in store for me.

Check-in was quick and painless. As a Thai Airways First Class passenger, there’s a separate dedicated check-in area after proceeding through a separate airport…