Thai Airways returns to Perth

Thai Airways is bringing back its flights between Perth and Bangkok. The move opens the door to more Asia-bound travel for Star Alliance frequent flyers, including those with KrisFlyer miles to spend.

It’s a big week for Perth, with the news coming as fellow Star Alliance member South African Airways also declared its intention to reconnect Perth and Johannesburg. Here’s what you need to know about Thai Airways’ return.

Thai Airways’ Perth-Bangkok flight schedule

From 31 March 2024, Thai Airways is running a daily service in both directions between Perth and Bangkok. Out of Perth, flights depart in the late afternoon on four days each week. It’s a daytime service on the other three days. From Bangkok, it’s an overnight run on three days per week and a daytime service on the remainder.

Flights will all be served by Thai Airways’ Boeing 787-8 jets. These offer 22 seats in Business Class, albeit in a 2-2-2 configuration. Economy Class follows a standard 3-3-3 layout.

Booking Thai Airways’ Perth flights

Thai Airways is a Star Alliance member airline, which makes it easy to book the carrier’s flights using miles. For many Australian travellers, Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program provides the easiest path to make these bookings. Here’s what you’d spend on a one-way ticket from Perth to Bangkok when redeeming KrisFlyer miles.

• Business Class: 81,500 KrisFlyer miles + AU$103.99
• Economy Class: 35,000 KrisFlyer miles + AU$103.99

A return journey costs double the miles above and roughly double the taxes. But with KrisFlyer, it’s worth pointing out that these redemption rates on Thai are particularly high. It costs significantly fewer miles to travel between Perth and Bangkok on Singapore Airlines – albeit with an obligatory connection through Singapore.

When using KrisFlyer miles to fly Perth-Singapore-Bangkok, here’s what you’d part with for a one-way ticket:

• Business Class (Saver): 40,500 KrisFlyer miles + $96.01
• Business Class (Advantage): 65,000 KrisFlyer miles + $96.01
• Economy Class (Saver): 21,500 KrisFlyer miles + $96.01

In other words, if you’re willing to fly via Singapore, you could fly return in Business Class on Singapore Airlines for fewer miles than a one-way ticket on Thai Airways. Even if reward seats weren’t as plentiful and you had to book the higher Advantage Business Class rate, you’d still be spending fewer miles than on Thai’s direct service.

For those seeking a quick and easy journey though, the non-stop Thai Airways flight does bring a level of convenience.

Summing up

Given its geographical location, Perth Airport sees an interesting mix of airlines and destinations. And even though Thai’s route is expensive to book using KrisFlyer miles, it’s still a great option for those buying tickets in the normal way. It’s also a good move for those seeking further connectivity beyond Bangkok across Thai’s global network.

At launch, Thai Airways will be the only airline directly linking Perth with Thailand. But later in the year, Jetstar will bring some competition between the two destinations. Jetstar is launching its own Perth-Bangkok services from 6 September 2024, along with Perth-Phuket the month prior, kicking off from 6 August.

As for Thai Airways, the airline also serves Sydney and Melbourne in Australia. The carriers’ pre-pandemic Brisbane-Bangkok flights, however, remain off the schedule for now. It’s unknown when – or if – these will come back.

Also read: Thai Airways Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge review, Bangkok

Feature image courtesy of Thai Airways, picturing the airline’s Airbus A350 cabin as available from Melbourne. This differs from the Boeing 787 Business Class cabin that will fly to Perth, of which media images are not available.