Thai Airways A330-300 Seat Selection Guide (2026)

Two aircraft wearing the same paint

Thai's A330-300 fleet is not one fleet. Three of the aircraft joined in 2024 from Virgin Atlantic and still carry the interior Virgin fitted them with. Four carry Thai's own Royal Silk cabin. They have the same type code, the same route network and the same number of business seats — thirty-one on both, which is exactly the coincidence that stops the headline numbers from warning you.

Everything else differs. The ex-Virgin aircraft have a 48-seat premium economy cabin that the Royal Silk aircraft do not have at all, and their business cabin is a completely different product: a Virgin-style inward-facing herringbone rather than a staggered lie-flat. Even the seat letters differ. Economy is A C | D E F G | H K on the ex-Virgin jets and A B | D E F G | J K on the others, so a seat number from one is not guaranteed to exist on the other.

The ex-Virgin business cabin, and what the herringbone costs you

Rows 11 to 22 hold thirty-one solo pods in a 1-1-1 arrangement, lettered A, G and K. Every one of them has direct aisle access with nobody to climb over, which is unusual generosity for an A330 and the single best reason to want this aircraft. There is no row 13.

The catch is the angle. This is an inward-facing herringbone: the seats point toward the centre of the cabin, so the window seats do not face the windows. If you book 15A expecting to look out of it, you will be looking over your shoulder. At 18A and 18K the angle points at a blank wall section entirely.

Pitch inside the cabin is not uniform either — the plan measures individual pods between about 32in and 35in depending on where they sit in the herringbone, and every one of them is flagged as tighter than the cabin norm. 11A, 11G and 11K lead the cabin at the bulkhead and are the pick.

Premium economy — ex-Virgin aircraft only

Forty-eight seats in a 2-3-2 layout over rows 23 to 30, lettered A C | D F G | H K. This is the cabin the Royal Silk aircraft do not have, and it is the reason the lottery matters most if you have bought a premium economy fare.

• Rows 26 to 29 are the clean rows and where you want to be, with the one exception that 26A and 26K have the window set behind the seat.
• 23A, 23C, 24H and 24K are the four to avoid. All of them back straight onto the forward lavatories, and 23C and 24H are bassinet positions on top of that. The cabin starts narrow: row 23 is two seats (23A and 23C) and row 24 is four.
• 24A is the exception and the best seat in the cabin — it sits in the same short front rows but has neither the lavatory nor a bassinet mount against it.
• Row 30 is the last row of the cabin and has limited recline on all seven seats.

Economy on the ex-Virgin aircraft

A 2-4-2 layout over rows 31 to 56, lettered A C | D E F G | H K — no B and no J. Row 31 is the bulkhead: extra legroom on all eight, with the tray in the armrest and no underseat storage.

Rows 38, 39 and 40 have no window seats at all, because the lavatories occupy the wall positions there and the cabin narrows to four centre seats for three rows. Row 41 is the exit row, and doors L3 and R3 curve into the legroom at 41A and 41K.

The best economy seats on this aircraft: rows 42 to 47, A/C/H/K

The outboard columns in rows 42 to 47 are drawn with noticeably more room than the cabin standard — about 34in against about 31in. It happens because the outboard blocks resume at the exit door while the centre block does not, and the outboard rows have to stretch to meet the same alignment further back. The four centre seats in those same rows get no such benefit, which is not something a booking map will ever show you.

At the back: rows 54 and 55 sit against the rear lavatories and row 56 is three centre seats that do not recline. Rows 52 to 55 lose a centre seat, which leaves 52D and 53D with an empty position beside them and nothing else against them — the pick of the rear cabin. 54D and 55D have the same empty seat but the lavatories too.

The Royal Silk aircraft

Business: thirty-one staggered seats, and three couples-only pairs

Rows 11 to 18, with no row 13, and the rows alternate. Rows 12, 15 and 17 hold five seats — A, D, F, H and K — while rows 11, 14, 16 and 18 hold four: B, E, G and J. Twenty-five of the thirty-one are solo seats with nobody beside you and direct aisle access.

The exceptions are the interesting part. 12H and 12K, 15H and 15K, and 17H and 17K sit as genuine side-by-side pairs on the right of the cabin, with no console between them. They are the only seats on either A330-300 that two people can actually share, and they are the obvious choice for a couple.

Row 18 is the row to avoid: 18B and 18J have a lavatory behind them, 18E and 18G have the galley. 11G and 11J are bassinet positions.

Economy: two bulkheads, and the roomier one is a trap

Rows 31 to 64 in 2-4-2, lettered A B | D E F G | J K. Row 31 is the forward bulkhead and the one to take: extra legroom on all eight seats, with the usual costs of no underseat storage and the tray in the armrest, and nothing structural against it.

Row 48 has more raw space and is the worse row. It follows the mid-cabin doors, and 48D, 48E, 48F and 48G measure about 28in to the wall, which is exceptional for an economy seat — and all four sit directly against the lavatories, with the noise, the odours and the queue. 48A and 48K escape that but take doors L3 and R3 into about 45% of the seat width, 10in ahead. There is no seat in row 48 that gets the space without a penalty, so unless you specifically want stretch-out room more than you want quiet, take row 31 or move back to rows 49 to 53, which are the cleanest stretch of the cabin.

Row 47 is the worst row on the aircraft — all eight seats back onto the mid-cabin lavatories with limited recline — and row 46 catches the queuing traffic. At the back, rows 60 to 63 lose their G seat, which leaves 60F, 61F and 62F with an empty position beside them and no other complaint; 63F has the same empty seat but backs straight onto the rear lavatories. Row 64 is three centre seats with no recline. Windows sit out of line at 54A/K, 56A/K and 58A/K.

Quick picks by traveller

How to tell which A330-300 you are booked on

• Is premium economy sold on the flight? If yes, it is one of the three ex-Virgin aircraft. This is the fastest check and it happens before you even open the seat map.
• Last row number. 56 means the ex-Virgin cabin; 64 means Royal Silk.
• Business seat letters. A, G and K only means the herringbone. A, D, F, H and K on some rows and B, E, G and J on others means the staggered Royal Silk cabin.
• Economy seat letters. A C | D E F G | H K is ex-Virgin; A B | D E F G | J K is Royal Silk.
• What will not help: the business seat count. Both cabins have exactly thirty-one.

Comparable guides

• Thai Airways 787-9 seat guide
• Thai Airways A350 seat guide
• Thai Airways 777-300ER seat guide
• Philippine Airlines A330-300 seat guide
• Malaysia Airlines A330-300 seat guide

Frequently asked questions

Do all Thai A330-300s have premium economy?

No. Only the three ex-Virgin Atlantic aircraft, which carry 48 premium economy seats in rows 23 to 30. The four Royal Silk aircraft go straight from business to economy. If premium economy is offered on your flight, you are on one of the three.

Are the ex-Virgin Upper Class seats any good?

They are solo pods with direct aisle access on all thirty-one, which is genuinely generous. The trade-off is that the herringbone faces inward, so the window seats do not face the windows — and at 18A and 18K the seat points at a blank wall section. Measured pitch varies pod by pod between about 32in and 35in. 11A, 11G and 11K at the bulkhead are the best of them.

Which Thai A330-300 business seats work for a couple?

Only on the Royal Silk aircraft: 12H and 12K, 15H and 15K, and 17H and 17K sit as true side-by-side pairs with no console between them. Everything else on both aircraft is a solo seat. The ex-Virgin herringbone has no paired seats at all.

Which is the best economy seat?

On the ex-Virgin aircraft, the outboard seats in rows 42 to 47 — A, C, H and K — at about 34in against a 31in cabin standard. The centre seats in the same rows do not get it. On the Royal Silk aircraft, row 31 is the bulkhead worth having; row 48 measures more space but every seat in it pays for the space, with the lavatories against D to G and the exit doors cutting into 48A and 48K. Rows 49 to 53 are the cleanest ordinary seats.

Which seats have no window?

Rows 38, 39 and 40 on the ex-Virgin aircraft have no window seats at all — the lavatories occupy those wall positions, so the cabin narrows to four centre seats for three rows. Neither aircraft has a windowless seat in the sense of a seat sold beside a blank wall, but several window seats on both have the glass set behind the seat.

How many A330-300s does Thai Airways operate?

Three in the 264-seat ex-Virgin cabin and four in the 294-seat Royal Silk cabin. The fleet is assembled from several previous operators, which is why two aircraft of the same type can be this different — and why the last row number is a better check than any fleet total.