Airline Identity
History
Thai Airways International was established in 1960 as a joint venture between Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and Thailand's domestic carrier, later becoming wholly Thai-owned and the country's flag carrier. It was one of five founding members of Star Alliance when the alliance launched on 14 May 1997, alongside Lufthansa, Air Canada, SAS and United Airlines. The airline filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2020 after accumulating roughly 240 billion baht in debt, triggering a multi-year court-supervised rehabilitation.
Current Operations
Thai Airways operates an international and domestic network from its Suvarnabhumi Airport hub in Bangkok, covering around 51 international and 9 domestic destinations with a mixed Airbus/Boeing widebody and narrowbody fleet of roughly 80 aircraft, with dozens more on order as part of a planned expansion to around 143 aircraft by 2029. The Central Bankruptcy Court approved Thai Airways' exit from its rehabilitation program on 16 June 2025, and the airline resumed trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand on 4 August 2025, marking a return to normal corporate status after five years of restructuring.
Last verified 2026-08-22· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.