If I read this correctly, TG will release any available seats as award seats for gold members? It does not seem to make much business sense. If true, I will seriously consider switching from AA where I currently earn:
-100% elite bonus miles
-25-50%class-of-service bonus miles
-8 system-wide upgrades/year (which I use for the AA portion of BKK-NRT-JFK itin)
-unlimited domestic upgrades (north America and Carribean)

With the direct flight BKK-JFK, it is much more convenient for me to fly TG, but so far I have thought elite perks on AA are just too good to pass up. TG gold is also much easier to obtain and maintain, and, IMO, the service is far superior on TG.