Thai Airways denied planning to purchase 30 aircraft by the end of 2025. The president of Thailand’s flag carrier Chasin Treenuchagron said that if the flight demand increased, the air carrier would firstly consider an aircraft rental option.
Speaking to a local media outlet on February 23, 2021, Treenuchagron highlighted that Thai Airways would not submit any plan to buy new aircraft along with its business rehabilitation plan to the Central Bankruptcy Court in March 2021, as was previously reported by the media.
The head of the company clarified that before entering the rehabilitation process, Thai Airways already had a plan to decommission old planes that required high maintenance costs and had low fuel efficiency. This means that in the next five years the airline „aims to downsize its air fleet as well as reduce maintenance cost to only necessary level“ as well as „find new revenue sources and increase administration efficiency in accordance with the current market demand“, Treenuchagron said.
According to Thai Aircraft Trading, the airline currently has listed 18 Boeing 777 family aircraft, 10 Boeing 747s, two Boeing 737-400s, nine Airbus A340s, two Airbus A380-800s, and one Airbus A300-600 aircraft in order to find potential buyers.
However, when demand levels for air travel increase, the strategic committee of the airline will estimate aviation market trends and procure additional jets based on their cost-effectiveness. The airline will also consider plane rental options to keep „its competitive advantage in the industry“, Treenuchagron added.