This is a Thai Airways International connecting flights guide.
In this guide, you’ll learn more about Thai Airways International connecting flight (and connecting flights in general), passenger rights, compensation regulations, baggage policy, and more. Thai Airways International is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. It is one of the founding members of the Star Alliance. The airline and its subsidiaries fly to over 100 destinations.
Did you miss a connecting flight? File a compensation claim online.
1
Is It Protected?
Yes, it’s a protected connection.
Traditional airlines sell airline-protected connecting flights. It’s more convenient and more safe than self-transfer flights. You don’t need a visa for connecting flights like this.
Unless you book flights separately.
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2
Baggage Rules
Airline takes care of your baggage.
Mostly, you will check in baggage only once — you won’t have to recheck baggage for every flight. This is how it works with full-service airlines and airline-protected connecting flights.
Baggage allowance depends on the ticket, destination and occasionally some other factors.
3
Travel Insurance
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Add travel insurance right away. Protect yourself against possible itinerary changes later right from the very beginning. Insurance must be for the duration of the trip.
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1. Thai Airways International Connecting Flights
Thai Airways is a full-service traditional airline.
Full-service traditional airlines offer airline-protected connecting flights. If you have an airline-protected flight, you are protected against missed connections. If you miss your flight due to the delay or cancellation of the previous flight, the airline will put you on a new flight free of charge. Full-service airlines provide their passengers safe transfer when there is no direct flight to the final destination (self-transfer flights are less safe).
Airline-protected connecting flights are:
- Safer. Your airline takes care of flight problems.
- More convenient. Baggage transfer is automatic.
- Easier to book. You book several flights as a single journey.
Yes, Thai Airways sells airline-protected connecting flights.
1.1 Connecting Flights, One Airline
In some situations you will fly only with Thai Airways.
You have a Thai Airways connecting flight which consists of two or more flights. In some cases, all of these flights will be operated by one airline — Thai Airways. These will be Thai Airways airplanes and Thai Airways staff. But it’s not always like that with Thai Airways.
1.2 Thai Airways Codeshare Partners
Sometimes airlines share their flights.
If an airline shares a flight with another airline, it can offer its passengers a wider flight network. Even to destinations it doesn’t have flights. So, you may book a connecting flight from Thai Airways, but it might be operated by another airline — its partner. Connecting flights with different airlines is a norm in aviation. These kind of flights are called codeshare flights, and airlines collaborating on these flights — codeshare partners.
What you should know is that:
- If you miss a connecting flight through no fault of your own, Thai Airways has to offer you a new flight free of charge. If you missed your flight because of the delay or cancellation of your previous flight, the airline has to deal with it. Contact Thai Airways to learn about your options.
- If your flight is heavily delayed, cancelled or overbooked, compensation is paid by airline operating this particular flight. If it’s operated by some other airline, not Thai Airways, then they are called operating airline — they have to pay compensation when it’s due.
See a list of Thai Airways codeshare partners here.
2. What If Thai Airways Cancels a Flight?
Why is Thai Airways cancelling flights?
Bad weather, security issues, technical problems, staffing shortages and several other reasons could lead to flight delays and cancellations. Some of these troubles are “extraordinary” (unrelated to the airline), but some of them the airline can and should try to avoid.
2.1 One of Your Flights Is Cancelled
Thai Airways is a Thai airline.
It’s not a European airline. But despite this fact, on some of its flights you are protected by European laws.
According to the EU Regulation 261/2004, they must:
- Offer you a choice between a new flight and full refund.
- Offer you assistance at the airport (you have a right to care).
This only applies to their flights departing from Europe.
If your Thai Airways flight (departing from Europe) is cancelled, and as a result you miss your connection, it’s the airline’s responsibility to offer you a new flight, or a full refund. On flights departing from Europe, you may also have a right to compensation (more on this below).
Did you miss a connecting flight? File a compensation claim online.
2.2 All Your Flights Are Cancelled
Overall, for you as a passenger, the options are the same.
According to the EU Regulation 261/2004, Thai Airways must:
- Offer you a choice between a new flight and full refund.
- Offer you assistance at the airport if it’s a last-minute cancellation and you are already at the airport (you have a right to care).
This applies to all their flights departing from Europe.
Refund must be paid within seven days.
You may have a right to EU flight cancellation compensation.
2.3 Thai Airways Refund for Cancellation
Yes, you have a right to ask for a refund.
If your cancelled Thai Airways flight is departing from a European airport, you can choose either a new flight or full refund. The refund must be paid by bank transfer within 7 days. You don’t have to accept any coupons or points/ miles.
3. Thai Airways Missed Connecting Flight
Why do people miss connecting flights?
It could be a silly mistake — like falling asleep while waiting for your flight or waiting at the wrong gate. Or it could be due to late or cancelled previous flight. Airport congestions and long queues can affect your travel plans greatly, too.
3.1 What Happens If You Miss Thai Airways Connection?
If it’s your fault that it happened — it’s your responsibility.
If it’s not your fault, then your airline has to take care of that. If you booked a flight from Thai Airways, it doesn’t even matter if the flight is operated by Thai Airways or not, you should contact Thai Airways. It’s their responsibility to find a solution and to take you to your destination.
According to the EU Regulation 261/2004, they must:
- Take you to your final destination as soon as possible.
- Offer you assistance at the airport (you have a right to care).
Again, the last two points apply only to flights from Europe.
On other routes, the airline still has to offer you a new flight.
Read more: Missed Connecting Flight Due to Delay
3.2 Right to Compensation from Thai Airways
Sometimes you have a right to compensation.
If your Thai Airways flight:
- Departs from the EU, EEA or UK
- Is 3+ hours late and
- Is delayed or cancelled due to the fault of the airline
Then you may be entitled to compensation from Thai Airways. Don’t forget that this applies only to Thai Airways flights departing from Europe.
Flight cancelled less than 2 weeks before the trip?
You might be entitled to flight cancellation compensation.
GET FLIGHT COMPENSATION
File a Claim Online
3.3 Right to Care from Thai Airways
On all Thai Airways flights from Europe you have a right to care.
According to the EU Regulation 261/2004 airline should provide:
- Free food and drinks in a reasonable relation to the waiting time.
- Free hotel accommodation if a stay of one or more nights is necessary.
- Free airport transfer to hotel and back.
- Plus, two telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or e-mails. So you can notify your loved ones about the changes in your travel plans.
In case of Thai Airways, the regulation applies only to flights departing from European airports (EU, UK, EEA).
When it comes to air passenger rights, unless otherwise stated, we talk about air passenger rights in the EU, EEA and UK. When we say Europe or European, we mean EU, EEA or UK. This is done for the simplicity, since the according laws in these countries are about the same.
4. How to Book Connecting Flights with Thai Airways?
You can do it directly from Thai Airways or via a third-party.
The best way is to book directly from the airline. But it’s not always the cheapest option. Alternatively, you can use third party ticket sellers to book Thai Airways connecting flights. If you see a better deal. We would suggest using only well known sites for this. Such as kiwi.com or edreams.com.
How to Book?
Airline website (directly).
This is the easiest way to book a connecting flight. It’s also the safest way to book a connection. You make a single booking, have a single reservation code and the booking includes several flights. Sometimes they are all with one airline, other times – two or more. Anyway, in this case, you can be 100% sure that you have a proper connecting flight.
Other Option
Flight booking websites.
Few examples: skyscanner.net, expedia.com, momondo.com.
Pay attention to the details. Because some of these sites are only search engines, and sellers are other websites. Apart from that, they often sell both airline-protected connecting flights and self-transfer flights. If it’s a self-transfer, know that it comes with its own risks, and there are things you should take into account. Self-transfer is not the same thing as airline-protected transfer.
For extra protection, buy also a travel insurance covering flight disruptions, or book with sites like kiwi.com, who offer extra protection.
With kiwi.com you are more protected than normally.
Read more: How to Book Connecting Flights?
5. Thai Airways Connecting Flights: Baggage
Since Thai Airways is a traditional airline, everything’s very easy.
Baggage rules on connecting flights with Thai Airways are simple.
In short, Thai Airways takes care of your baggage. Check in your baggage at the origin airport. In most cases, your bag will be sent to your final destination. And you won’t need to recheck it every flight. It will be done by airport staff. Unless you have a self-transfer, or you’re traveling through a country that requires everyone to collect and recheck their baggage (e.g., US).
If you aren’t sure ask at the airport when checking in your bag.
5.1 Baggage Transfer: Different Airlines
What happens if there are several airlines?
What if one of your flights is operated by different airline, not Thai Airways? As we already talked, you may experience this, because Thai Airways does share some of its flights with its codeshare partners. In this situation the rules are the same — your baggage is being taken care of by an airline. With, Thai Airways in most situations you won’t have to worry about it.
Read more:
- Connecting Flight Baggage Transfer: Different Airlines
- Lost Baggage on Connecting Flights
- Delayed Baggage on Connecting Flights
- What is Checked Baggage?
5.2 Thai Airways Free Baggage Allowance
Baggage allowance varies — it’s not the same on all flights.
It depends on the airline, travel class, ticket type and destination.
Your baggage allowance is shown in booking confirmation.
When booking a flight, you can see how much bags you can take with you, when you choose your travel class and ticket type. If you need more generous baggage allowance, choose a better ticket type or travel class, or add an extra bag.
5.3 Economy Light
This is the cheapest option for long-haul flights.
Economy Light comes without free baggage allowance.
We see this all across the industry. Full-service traditional airlines are offering also tickets without free checked baggage allowance. The wording is also often the same — Economy Light. So, if you see this, most likely it’s without checked baggage (carry on baggage only).
Thai Airways doesn’t offer cabin-bag-only Economy Light fares (for now). But airline baggage policy can change. Make sure you check what is your baggage allowance, if there’s any, when you are booking a flight with any airline!
Read more: What Is Carry-on Bag / Baggage?
6. Connecting Flight Examples
Here are two connecting flight examples with Thai Airways International.
6.1 Protected Connecting Flights with Thai Airways International (Most Common)
For this example I’ll use the website of Thai Airways.
Let’s assume that want to fly from Bangkok to Vienna.
You have found flights for October 4, and these are some of the options:
On their website, Thai Airways sells protected connecting flights. However, as we can see, not all of the flights are operated by Thai Airways. For example, the last leg of every option you see is operated by Austrian Airlines, one of Thai’s partner airlines. Let’s say you are taking the cheapest option (the one that costs 18765 baht, or about 520 EUR). There are two flights, and a layover in Frankfurt. Total flight duration is 13 hours 50 minutes.
Don’t forget to pay attention to total flight duration, number of stops and price. It may vary for every flight.
6.2 Self-Transfer Flights with Thai Airways International
Now, let’s assume, that your itinerary is slightly more complex.
You want to fly to Graz after spending a couple of days in Vienna.
- You can book a connecting flight to Vienna, like in the example above. For example, you’re taking one of the cheapest options, the 2nd one, which arrives in Vienna at 9:15 pm.
- And then you go to kiwi.com, or some flight search engine, and book a flight from Vienna to Graz. Leaving yourself, let’s say, 30 hours in Vienna (a nice stopover in Vienna). You may also book this flight directly from airline.
Until Vienna you have an airline-protected connecting flight. If your first flight is delayed or cancelled, the airline will put you on another flight for free. However, the last leg, Vienna – Graz is a self-transfer with a stopover in Vienna (it’s not a layover, because it’s more than 24 hours). It’s a separate flight. You will need to check in for this flight separately, and check in your bag too.
What is your experience with Thai Airways? Have you ever missed a connecting flight with Thai Airways? How did the airline solve this? Did you receive compensation from Thai Airways?
Featured photo by Jeffry Surianto
About the author:
Una is an organized globetrotter and foodie who’s been living a digital nomad lifestyle since 2013. She always starts her day early with a good book before diving into work. Apart from traveling and aviation, her other passions include gym, hiking and cycling. Una is also a strong proponent of AI technology. She firmly believes in its potential to simplify life and has often advocated for its wider adoption in our day-to-day activities. Her favorite airlines are Qatar Airways, Emirates, and KLM.
