Thai Just Downgraded Virgin Atlantic's Business Class to Premium Economy: The Ultimate Burn
- Sam
- Oct 6
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 14
Thai Airways has just delivered the most savage airline product review possible: they've taken the ex-Virgin Atlantic A330 that they bought, left in Virgin's old business class seats, and have now officially downgraded them to Premium Economy Plus.
They literally won't call it business class anymore.
Bear in mind that Virgin will still charge thousands of pounds for these seats...
What Happened - Why Did Thai Downgrade Business Class Seats?
Starting 26th October, Thai Airways will reclassify these seats as Premium Economy Plus on five routes: Chennai, Dhaka, Hyderabad, Jakarta, and Kathmandu. The decision came after passengers and influencers slammed the product on Thai social media for its lack of privacy and cramped conditions.
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The Problem with Virgin's Seats
The seats are Virgin Atlantic's infamous herringbone "coffin seats" that debuted in 2002, older than some of you reading...
They're arranged diagonally with every seat angled away from windows, offering virtually no privacy, with the entire configuration feeling claustrophobic compared to modern business class.
Virgin knows these seats are outdated. Virgin Atlantic's 787s are an average of only 10 years old, with the first jet joining the fleet in 2014, and even then the herringbone business class was already outdated. They're finally retiring the A330-300s with this configuration by Q1 2028, and the 787's are going to be refitted from 2028 onwards, but it's too little, too late. The aviation community has mocked these seats for years, customers have had complaints for years, and now Thai has delivered the ultimate insult.
Why This Is So Savage
Airlines don't do this. When carriers acquire used aircraft, they either keep the cabin as-is or refurbish it completely. Thai chose a nuclear third option: publicly acknowledge the product isn't good enough for business class.
Another airline acquired your business class seats and concluded they cannot, in good conscience, sell them as business class. That's not criticism - that's complete rejection.
For anyone who booked business class on these routes after 26th October, you now technically have Premium Economy Plus. Questions about refunds, lounge access, and compensation remain unanswered.
The Bottom Line
Thai Airways hasn't just criticised Virgin's seats - they've refused to associate them with business class travel. When another airline won't even market your business class as business class, that's not feedback. That's a verdict.
In an age where passengers instantly compare products and share experiences online, you can't slap a "business class" label on 20-year-old seats and hope nobody notices. Virgin's herringbone product might have been acceptable in 2002, but it's laughably outdated in 2025.
Thai's decision is brutal, but it's honest.
Sam
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