Thai Airways International's 787 To Fly To Manila

According to the latest release of airline schedules, Thai Airways' first Boeing 787 aircraft will operate three daily round-trip flights between Bangkok and Chiang Mai from July 8 through to August 31. When the second aircraft arrives, it will be deployed on the Bangkok - Manila route from August 8 through to August 31.

This is only a temporary adjustment to the original deployment plan for the airline's first two 787 aircraft released earlier this year. Perth and Tokyo Narita will remain the first regularly scheduled destinations of the Thai 787 aircraft. However, unlike previously announced, Tokyo and Perth will be launched simultaneously on September 1 with the Manila flight being reverted back to the A330 or Boeing 777.

Image Source: Thai Airways International

It is believed that Manila will eventually become a regularly scheduled 787 destination for Thai Airways as the carrier accepts delivery of additional aircraft. The fact that Thai chose Manila for its initial trial runs demonstrates a vote of confidence that Manila is one of the prospective destinations being considered by the carrier as a future permanent 787 destination. Thai Airways will be closely observing the performance of the aircraft on the Manila route in August, which will play a deciding factor in the deployment of the third and fourth 787 aircraft that are scheduled to arrive in the fourth quarter of 2014.

If the trial goes well, Manila could become the third 787 destination for Thai Airways sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. Thai Airways will also be accepting delivery of a fifth and sixth 787 aircraft in 2015. Thai Airways has leased a total of eight Boeing 787 aircraft on a twelve year basis from the International Lease Finance Corporation of the United States. The new Boeing 787-8 fleet is expected to be deployed on regional routes replacing the A330-300. Thai Airways operates a fleet of ten A330-300 that range in age from 15 to 20 years old.

Image Source: Thai Airways International

The Thai Boeing 787 fleet will feature the new 'Thai Contemporary Concept' cabin design that was recently revealed on the carrier's Boeing 777 fleet. Each 787-8 will be configured with 264 seats with 240 in Economy Class and 24 in Business Class. The Economy cabin will feature nine-abreast seating, while the Business Class cabin will be configured in Thai's regional business class product with six-abreast seating.

The first Thai 787 is expected to arrive in Manila on August 8, 2014 operating flight TG620. The aircraft will touch down in Manila at 11:55am and depart back to Bangkok at 1:05pm as flight TG621. The 787 flights will continue on a daily basis until August 31, 2014. It remains unclear when Manila will see the Thai 787 again after that.