Thai Airways has expanded its fleet after receiving two brand-new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft despite continuing to go through a bankruptcy protected restructuring process.
Two new Boeing 777s (registration HS-TTA and HS-TTB), painted in Thai Airways livery, flew from Boeing’s aircraft manufacturing facility in Everett and touched down at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) on April 5, 2022, according to Flightradar24.com tracking data.
The airline is also in the process of receiving a third Boeing 777 aircraft. Flightradar24.com data indicates that the third Boeing 777-300ER, wearing Thai Airways livery, registered HS-TTC, was conducting test flights at Boeing’s aircraft production site.
The airline was committed to adding three new Boeing 777s to its fleet back in 2018. However, the fate of the airline’s order was unknown due to its financial struggles.
It seems that Thailand’s flag carrier will take deliveries of three Boeing 777s despite the challenges it faced long before and throughout the pandemic. The airline, which has been losing money since 2012, filed for bankruptcy protection to rehabilitate the business in 2020.
As part of its restructuring plan, which was approved by the Central Bankruptcy Court of Thailand in 2021, the airline announced plans to sell 42 planes and cut nearly a third of its workforce.
The restructuring process will be considered complete when Thai Airways reports earnings before interest and tax (EBITDA) “in an average amount not less than 20 million baht ($591,541) per annum for two years prior to the successful outcome of the Business Rehabilitation Plan”. Thai Airways must fully implement the plan in five years, according to local rehabilitation law.
Thai Airways posted a full year net profit reaching more than 55 billion baht (around $1.6 billion) in 2021, indicating that some success in tackling the carrier’s expenses has been achieved.
According to Planspotters.net data, the airline currently operates 42 aircraft. The carrier’s fleet consists of 22 Boeing 777s, 12 Airbus A350s, and eight Boeing 787 Dreamliners.