Thai Airways resolves seating dispute following passenger complaint

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) convened with Thai Airways International Public Co. Ltd. yesterday, December 8 following a passenger’s complaint that surfaced on social media.

The disgruntled passenger had purchased a business-class ticket but was seated in the economy class.

An ensuing investigation revealed that Thai Airways had restructured its business model, replacing Thai Smile flights with continuous flights using Airbus A320. This resulted in a change of service format. Smile Plus tickets, previously offered by Thai Smile, were replaced with Silk Class tickets.

The revamped service now aligns with Thai Airways’ business class services, offering facilities such as a 40-kilogramme luggage allowance, check-in and gate services, lounge access at airports, and onboard food and beverage services. However, the seating remained economy class, with the middle seat left vacant for passenger convenience.

However, Thai Airways did not communicate the service details and seating arrangement during the initial launch of Silk Class tickets, confusing customers.

Upon receiving the passenger’s complaint, Thai Airways contacted those affected to offer solutions. The airline has also checked passengers who purchased Silk Class tickets from October 15 and found that only those who purchased until December 31 were affected. Thai Airways will be contacting these passengers regarding their travel information and service details. If the services do not meet the passengers’ expectations, the Thai airline will consider altering the conditions or refunding the ticket cost, starting with the Bangkok-Kaohsiung route.

For future services, Thai Airways is considering further clarifying its services, possibly including modifications to ticket sales, to maximise the use of Airbus A320 aircraft. The company will inform passengers about any changes. In this regard, CAAT has instructed the airline to comprehensively publicise any changes for the benefit of passengers, reported Sanook.

The Thai airline has rectified the ticket booking system on its website to ensure passengers are aware of the services and seating arrangements corresponding to the type of ticket purchased.

CAAT has emphasised the importance of Thai Airways informing passengers about ticket conditions during purchase. Therefore, CAAT has instructed the airline to improve its ticket sales method by clearly specifying services and preparing a passenger redress guideline for CAAT to review. Once approved, the company will publicise for passenger awareness.