BANGKOK – Thai Airways is still awaiting government approval of its 10-year plan – and it will need to be patient for a while yet.
Under the plan, 45 older aircraft will be decommissioned and replaced with 65 new aircraft. THAI officials had hoped for the plan to gain approval before the end of the month but this now appears unlikely.
Reports from Bangkok suggest that the military government will not make any decision until after elections next month.
THAI should have been receiving its first A380 this month under the original Airbus schedule but production delays have pushed back delivery of the first three THAI A380s until October 2010. A further three A380s will be delivered in 2011.
Pandit Chanapai, THAI’s executive vice-president commercial, said the carrier would operate the A380s on originally planned routes to Frankfurt, London and Paris but studies were being undertaken to utilise the aircraft on routes to Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Pandit said that despite industry-wide escalation of operating and fuel costs, “THAI cannot take a conservative wait-and-see position, but will be aggressive in improving efficiency and cutting costs where appropriate to reach out fiscal year revenue target of US$5 billion”.
Pandit said Thai’s branding and product is “stronger than it has ever been”.
THAI will also benefit from a new terminal being planned for Suvarnabhumi airport. Work is expected to start at the end of next year to relieve congestion at the new airport.
In the meantime, more non-connecting domestic services and possibly some international services, involving up to two million passengers a year, will be moved back to Don Muang airport.
