What are the best visa options for a year-long stay in Thailand for a couple, one over 50 and the other under?

Hi all,

First of all: thanks everyone for this group and for the useful advice given by many of you.

Next year (2018) my spouse and I would like to spend the entire year in Thailand; perhaps we will spend a couple of months during that year in another country in Asia.

We have no intention of working in Thailand (we can afford just to "be" there for a year), I am 52 by that time, my spouse is under 50. We are married but both non-Thai. We intend to buy a return ticket from The Netherlands (where we live) to Bangkok departure early January 2018, return late December/early January 2019.

In my current thinking I guess it would be best if we try to get an ME tourist visa for 6 months, then after that period do visa runs or apply for 2-month extensions a number of times.

Questions:

1) Would the airline except this given the fact that, on departure, we would only have a 6-month visa but stay for a year?

2) Do you think the visa schedule I propose is doable/the most appropriate one in this case?

Thanks for your help in this,

Nico