How to Upgrade on Thai Airways

Just because you’ve booked an Economy ticket on Thailand’s national carrier doesn’t mean you can’t fly in a higher class instead. Thai Airways lets you upgrade your ticket with Royal Orchid Plus (ROP) miles, with Miles/ Points from other Star Alliance frequent flyer programs, as well as by cash/credit card at check-in through a stand-by upgrade. And if you’re a Thai Airways Gold or Platinum status member, you can receive a free upgrade every year you maintain your membership. This blog shows you how to upgrade on Thai Airways, whatever the circumstances.

An Overview of How to Upgrade on Thai Airways

When making a Thai Airways upgrade, remember the following points: 

• Any Thai Airways upgrade is subject to the availability of seats. Just because seats are available for sale doesn’t mean the upgrades are also available. 
• You can book your seat outright with Miles or upgrade to a higher class with Miles. 
• You can make a Thai Airways upgrade only on a Thai Airways flight with a Thai Airways flight number. 
• You can upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy (if available) or Business Class with Miles unless you’ve booked yourself on the lowest-priced or promotional fare.
• The number of Miles you’ll need to upgrade your ticket will depend on the original booking fare purchased by you. Lower-priced tickets will require more Miles and costlier tickets will require fewer Miles for the same upgrade. 
• Royal Orchid Plus (ROP) Gold and Platinum status members receive a complimentary paid Economy to Business upgrade return ticket each year to a destination of their choice. 
• Platinum status members additionally earn complimentary upgrades for accumulating every 50,000 Tier Miles flown in Royal First or Royal Silk Class.
• The following fare classes can’t be upgraded: T, K, S, Z, G, V, W, and L. 
• To be eligible for a Thai Airways upgrade, you must book a higher fare class—such as Y, B, M, H, Q, C, D, and J (and a few more if you’re making a standby upgrade at the airport).
• When flying on a paid fare, you can use Miles from other Star Alliance programs to upgrade from Economy to Business or First Class, or from Business to First Class. However, this option is available only for the highest-priced tickets (Economy: Y/B and Business: C/D). The number of Miles needed for an upgrade will vary, depending on which Star Alliance Frequent Flyer Program you’re using for the upgrade.
• If you don’t have enough Miles in your account, you can ask for a Thai Standby Upgrade at the airport check-in counter and purchase the upgrade with cash instead of Miles or Points. The standby upgrade fee is not the base price of the higher-class ticket but also not the full price (usually somewhere in-between) and the seats are subject to availability. THAI would rather have empty Business Class seats than sell them at a heavy discount. 

Thai Airways Business Class Upgrade

You can make a Thai Airways Business Class upgrade from Economy Class with the Miles from your ROP (Royal Orchid Program) or a Star Alliance program. You can upgrade to Business Class up to 24 hours before departure, though some programs may have an earlier deadline (and restrictions) for upgrade requests. 

A few points to remember when making a Thai Airways Business Class upgrade: 

• Thai Airways Business Class upgrades are subject to the availability of seats. 
• Just because a Business Class seat is available for sale on your flight doesn’t necessarily mean a Business Class upgrade is also available. 
• You can upgrade from an Economy Class paid ticket to a Business Class ticket with your Miles if the same Business Class seat can be booked outright with Miles. If you can’t book a seat with Miles, you can’t upgrade to Business Class with Miles either.
• To be eligible to upgrade to Business Class, you must fly Thai Airways with a TG number. If you’ve booked a codeshare flight (say SQ) operated by Thai Airways, your chances of an upgrade are close to nil.
• Thai Airways permits upgrades from Economy/Premium Economy to Business Class with Miles unless you’ve booked THAI’s lowest-priced fares, such as T, K, S, Z, G, V, W, and L (or promotional tickets).
• The number of Miles you’ll need to upgrade to Business Class will depend on what type of fare you’ve purchased. The lower the price of your ticket, the more Miles you’ll need to upgrade to Business Class. 
• If you’re a Gold or Platinum level ROP member, you’re entitled to a free upgrade to Business Class (return ticket) from an Economy Class ticket (paid) to any destination each year—including when you reach the Gold or Platinum level for the first time. 
• If you’re an ROP Platinum level member, you’re entitled to multiple complimentary upgrades every time you accumulate 50,000 Tier Miles when flying Business or First Class (i.e., Royal Silk or Royal First Class) on Thai Airways.
• How to upgrade on Thai Airways if you’re a Star Alliance member:
  • You can use your Miles to upgrade to Business Class from Economy Class, provided you’re flying on a paid fare. 
  • The Business Class upgrade option is available only if you’ve purchased the costliest Economy Class ticket, such as Y and B fares. 
  • How many Miles you’ll need to upgrade to Business Class will depend on the Frequent Flyer Program.
  • All upgrades are subject to seat availability. 
  • You can request and confirm the upgrade till the deadline set by your Frequent Flyer Program. 
• You can also pay for a Thai Airways Business Class upgrade
  • If you don’t have any Miles in your Frequent Flyer account, you can purchase a Standby Upgrade at the airport check-in counter with cash instead of Miles or Points. 
  • The price of a Thai Airways Business Class upgrade at check-in is lower for costlier fares and higher for cheaper fares. For example, if you’re travelling between Bangkok and Sydney, Brisbane, or Melbourne, the asking price for a Business Class standby upgrade at check-in is:
    • AUD 1,223 for upgrading from the costlier Economy Y/B fares
    • AUD 1,675 for upgrading from slightly cheaper Economy M/H/Q/T/K fares
    • AUD 1,942 for upgrading from the still-cheaper Economy S/V/W fares
  • Standby upgrades will depend on the seat and catering availability. If you couldn’t use your Miles for a Business Class upgrade, purchasing an upgrade at check-in may be worth a try.

Thai Airways Airport Upgrade

Thai Airways airport upgrade, also known as standby upgrade, is available for sale only at the airport check-in counter—it cannot be pre-booked online or otherwise. The upgrade charges (known as surcharges) in the tables below are per-passenger, based on the city of departure. The upgrade surcharges apply to all normal fares that have been ticketed as THAI 217 travel documents on THAI-operated flights bearing 3-digit flight numbers.

A few important points

• Thai Airways airport upgrades don’t apply to:
  • Discounted travel agent/travel industry fares
  • Frequent Flyer Redemption Tickets
  • ZED tickets
  • Barter tickets 
  • Tickets issued by interline partners or other airlines
• Infant or child discounts do not apply to airport upgrades
• Additional taxes, if any, must be paid by the passenger
• Frequent Flyer Miles for airport upgraded fares will accrue to the original fare and not to the upgraded ticket 
• Airport upgrade charges (surcharges) from Business Class (Royal Silk) to First Class (Royal First) will apply only on flights to Thailand having a First Class cabin. 

Thai Airways Bid for Upgrade

There’s no such thing as a “Thai Airways bid for upgrade”. Unlike other airlines, Thai Airways lets you upgrade with your ROP Miles, Star Alliance Miles, or cash through a standby upgrade at the airport. All you need to do is apply for an upgrade. Whether you get upgraded or not will depend on the seat availability on your aircraft. However, the earlier you upgrade the better your chances of getting upgraded.

Thai Airways Free Upgrade

Thai Airways free upgrades are rare to come by, except when:

• You maintain your ROP Gold or Platinum level status in one year, in which case you will receive a complimentary return ticket upgrade (each year you maintain such status) from Economy to Business Class to a destination of your choice.
• You accumulate 50K tier miles in a year as a Platinum level member when flying in First (Royal First) or Business Class (Royal Silk).
• The airline decides to bump you up to a higher class due to overbooking because you’re a very valued customer.
• You upgrade with your existing ROP/Star Alliance Miles without paying cash.

What is Thai Airways Mileage Upgrade?

Thai Airways Mileage upgrade means using your Royal Orchid Plus (ROP) Miles (or even Star Alliance Miles) to upgrade from a lower-class seat to a higher-class seat—such as from Economy/Premium Economy to Business Class or from Business Class to First Class.

How many Miles you’ll need to upgrade will depend on what type of fare you’ve purchased and your route. When using ROP Miles, the lowest fare classes (such as T, K, S, Z, G, V, W, and L) don’t qualify for an upgrade, whereas higher fare classes do (such as Y, B, M, H, Q, C, D, and J). 

If you’re using Star Alliance Miles to upgrade your flight on Thai Airways, only the highest classes (such as Economy Y and B) qualify for an upgrade and the Miles required for the upgrade will depend on which frequent flyer program you’re upgrading with.

Thai Airways Upgrade to Premium Economy

Thai Airways upgrade to Premium Economy (if offered on your flight) is available only to passengers travelling on higher-priced Economy Class tickets, such as Y, B, M, H, Q, C, D, and J fare classes. If you’ve purchased the lowest fare types, such as T, K, S, Z, G, V, W, and L (or a promotional fare), you will not be able to upgrade to Premium Economy. 

The number of ROP Miles, Star Alliance Miles, or cash you’ll need to upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy will depend on your fare type and route. If you’ve purchased a low-priced ticket, you’ll need to pay more Miles or cash for the same destination than if you’ve purchased a higher-priced ticket. 

Thai Airways Upgrade Cost

The Thai Airways upgrade cost will depend on how you’re upgrading: 

• With ROP Miles, or
• With Star Alliance Miles, or
• With Cash, i.e., standby upgrade at the airport check-in counter

For details, refer to the following sections/charts below: 

• Thai Airways Upgrade Chart for Award Tickets (for upgrades with ROP Miles)
• Thai Airways Upgrade with Star Alliance
• Thai Airways Upgrade Fee (Airport)

Thai Airways Seat Upgrade

Thai Airways seat upgrades can be made by phone, online via My Booking, at sales office, at the airport ticket counter, or through a travel agent. Seat upgrades can be made till check-in, though seat choices at this stage can be rather limited. The best time to upgrade your seat is as early as possible.

When upgrading your seat, be sure to have your THAI booking reference number readily available with you as you will need to provide it to the agent or enter it online on the My Booking page of Thai Airways’ website. 

How to Make a Thai Airways Upgrade

You can make a Thai Airways upgrade online through your Thai Airways account (or your Star Alliance member account at least 24 hours before departure), by phone call center in your city, at a Thai Airways city office or an airline ticket counter (only if you’re paying for the upgrade by cash/card at the airport ticket counter.

How to upgrade Thai Airways flight online?

To make a Thai Airways upgrade online through the airline’s website, follow the steps below: 

1. Go to Thai Airways official website.
2. Select My Booking 
3. Enter your THAI booking reference and last name 
4. Hit the Find Booking button 
5. Select your flight booking 
6. Select the Upgrade option to upgrade with Miles 
7. From the Select Class option, choose your business class 
8. On the payments page, pay with your Miles 

After you have upgraded your flight booking, you will receive a booking confirmation mail at your registered email address. 

Note. If you don’t have enough Miles in your Frequent Flyer account, you can request a standby upgrade at the airport check-in counter on the day of travel and pay by card or cash. 

Thai Airways Upgrade Charts

The Thai Airways upgrade charts for Award Tickets (THAI/Thai Smile) are presented below by geographic zones. 

Thai Airways Upgrade with Star Alliance (by Zones)

Star Alliance members can use their Miles to upgrade their tickets on Thai Airways as follows: 

• From Economy Class (Y/B fares only) to Business Class 
• From Business Class (C/D fares only) to First Class

Note

• Some Star Alliance partners may provide additional booking classes or restrict the upgrade, so you must review their terms and conditions for full details.  
• ROP has suspended Star Alliance Upgrades temporarily, so do check before applying whether the upgrade service has been restored.

Thai Airways Upgrade Fee (Airport)

The Thai Airways airport upgrade fee from Economy to Business Class or Business to First Class can be requested only after the original ticket’s issuance, subject to the following conditions:

• The upgrade can only be done at the departure airport at check-in, subject to seat availability. 
• The upgrade fee can only be paid at the departure airport’s check-in counter on the date of departure.
• The upgrade option is available for one-way trips, round trips, circle trips, and open-jaw trips.
• Discounts for unaccompanied minors, children, infants, tour conductors, and agents are not permitted. 
• Additional taxes and/or surcharges must be borne by the passenger. 
• The Miles earned will be on the original fares. 
• The upgrade fees are non-refundable (unless your flight is cancelled).
• The upgrade fees apply to all TG documents and carriers, incl. normal and/or special fares, as long as you’re travelling on flights operated flights with 3-digit flight numbers. 
• The following fares cannot be upgraded: 
  • Agent discount fares
  • ZED Fares
  • ROP Award Redemption fares 
  • Barter ticket fares 
• You will be entitled to the following privileges (of the upgraded travel class) if you upgrade:
  • Baggage allowance
  • Lounge access 
  • Meal service (if you complete the upgrade at least 2 hours before departure) 

Thai Airways Baggage Allowance Upgrade

Regardless of how you upgrade, after you’ve upgraded from Economy to Business Class or from Business to First Class, the new and upgraded baggage allowance will apply. In other words:

• When you upgrade from Economy to Business Class, you will be entitled to the (increased) Business Class baggage allowance.
• If you upgrade from Business to First Class, you will be entitled to the (increased) First Class baggage allowance.

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Upgrade on Thai Airways

The FAQs section below answers some of the most frequently asked questions on how to upgrade on Thai Airways, Thai Airways Business Class upgrade, etc.