Comparison

Emirates vs Thai Airways

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Emirates

Book flights to over 150 destinations, manage your trip details like meals and seats, and check in online. Receive real-time flight updates and access your loyalty program information.

Highlights
  • Search and book flights
  • Manage trip details (meals, seats)
  • Online check-in and digital boarding pass
  • Real-time flight updates
  • Loyalty program management (Skywards Miles)
  • Apple Watch integration for travel alerts
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Explore the world your way with the personalised Emirates App for iPhone and Apple Watch. 1. SEARCH AND BOOK YOUR NEXT GETAWAY Search for flights to over 150 destinations around the world, and complete your entire booking through the app. 2. MANAGE YOUR TRIP ON THE GO Choose your meal and seat preference, and add services such as Chauffeur-drive. It’s easy to update your details, and you can view your full itinerary at any time - even when you’re offline. 3. DOWNLOAD YOUR BOARDING PASS Check in online and download your boarding pass. You can print it, or send it to your phone via SMS or email to use it as a digital boarding pass. On The Emirates App for iPhone and iPad you can download your boarding pass directly to Wallet. 4. GET REAL-TIME FLIGHT UPDATES We’ll send you real-time information about your check-in, departure gate, boarding time, baggage belt and more, straight to your personal device. Tailor the app to your needs by choosing which notifications you want to receive. 5. GET THE MOST OUT OF EMIRATES SKYWARDS Explore ways to earn and spend your Skywards Miles directly within the app. Enjoy easy access to information about your tier status, benefits and Skywards Miles balance, and manage your account wherever you are. 6. THE EMIRATES APP FOR APPLE WATCH Get live travel updates at a glance. The app reminds you when it’s time to board, lets you know if there’s a change to your flight and tells you where to pick up your bags when you land – all without you reaching for your phone.

About

Thai Airways

Book flights, manage reservations, and access exclusive deals. Earn and redeem loyalty points, check flight status, and personalize your travel experience. Enjoy seamless booking and in-app services for a smooth journey.

Highlights
  • Explore deals and promotions
  • Book flights and manage reservations
  • Earn and spend loyalty miles
  • Real-time flight status notifications
  • In-app check-in and boarding pass
  • Book ancillary travel services
Features
Read full description

Discover the all-new THAI mobile app experience. Effortlessly explore deals and promotions, book flights, manage your check-in and reservation and earn and spend Royal Orchid Plus miles. With the new design, we will regularly enhance the app with new features to deliver the Smooth as Silk experience our travellers expect. In this first release we are starting with: * A new home screen showing your upcoming trips, a count-down to your check-in, promotions and fare deals and your Royal Orchid Plus membership status. * Intuitive flight booking for your next vacation, business trip or short getaway and now you can pay with cash + miles too! * Simple management of your booking, seat and meal selection and the ability to book special service requests with ease. * Real-time notifications for flight status, booking changes, fare deals, promotions and more. * Book a car, a hotel, travel insurance and other services to ensure your trip is a seamless experience (applicable for select markets). * Check-in as early as 24 hours prior to departure and download your boarding pass. * Access onboard magazines and preview inflight entertainment, all from the app. * Biometric sign-in to ensure secure and convenient access to your bookings, past trips and Royal Orchid Plus membership information. * Help and assistance whenever you need it, through our dedicated customer service features and virtual assistant. Welcome onboard and experience the Royal Orchid Service

Screenshots

Emirates4 screens
Thai Airways4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Emirates at 4.5 against Thai Airways's 3.3. Emirates also leads on review sentiment (56% vs 15%) and ratings volume (9.8K vs 226). Thai Airways's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Emirates holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Emirates has 9.8K ratings behind it against 226, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Emirates's written reviews are positive against 15% of Thai Airways's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Emirates ships an update every 3 weeks, Thai Airways monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Emirates versus Thai Airways: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmiratesThai Airways
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (9.8K ratings) — better3.3 (226 ratings)
Positive reviews56.5% of reviews — better14.9% of reviews
Number of ratings9.8K — better226
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#176 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size295 MB161 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEmiratesThai Airways International Public Company Limited

Customer experience

Emirates

All ratings9,794 ratings
Positive89.1%
Neutral3.0%
Negative7.9%
Written reviews1,510 reviews
Positive56.5%
Neutral8.0%
Negative35.5%

Thai Airways

All ratings225 ratings
Positive57.3%
Neutral2.7%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews523 reviews
Positive14.9%
Neutral7.8%
Negative77.2%

User reviews

Emirates

From 9.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Convenient features
  • 🚀 Smooth check-in process
  • 🚀 Informative and intuitive
  • 👍 Excellent app for frequent flyers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and technical issues
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🐛 Unreliable app performance
  • 🐛 Slow and unresponsive at times
  • 🐛 Session timeouts and login problems

Thai Airways

From 226 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to navigate
  • 👍 Smooth transactions
  • 🚀 Fast and simple booking
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 👍 Straightforward app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Unstable and unresponsive
  • 🐛 Glitches and errors
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with newer devices
  • 🐛 Lacks essential functionalities

Bugs and requests

Emirates

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Inability to complete check-in through the app
  • Passport and personal details not saving properly
  • Seat selection and upgrade functionality not working
  • Skywards miles not displaying correctly
  • Boarding pass not showing all necessary information

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to manage family/group bookings with shared miles
  • Improved seat selection and upgrade options
  • Better integration with loyalty program and account management
  • More language support, especially for Arabic
  • Streamlined check-in and boarding pass handling

Thai Airways

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Online check-in not working
  • Cannot log in to ROP account
  • Booking process often fails or gets stuck
  • Passenger details cannot be updated
  • App crashes when trying to search for flights

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to manage Royal Orchid Plus (ROP) account within the app
  • Implement e-tickets and Apple Wallet integration
  • Add multi-city booking option
  • Provide gate information and flight status updates
  • Support for multiple languages including Japanese

In-app purchases

None

Emirates

No in-app purchases

None

Thai Airways

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Emirates free?
Emirates is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Thai Airways free?
Thai Airways is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Emirates or Thai Airways?
Emirates is rated higher. Emirates averages 4.5 out of 5 from 9.8K ratings, while Thai Airways averages 3.3 from 226 ratings.
Do Emirates or Thai Airways have ads?
Emirates shows ads; Thai Airways does not.
Which is updated more often, Emirates or Thai Airways?
Emirates ships an update every 3 weeks, and Thai Airways monthly. Most recently, Emirates was updated on November 1, 2026 and Thai Airways on October 29, 2026.

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