Thai Airways, trading as THAI, has begun the process of selling six of its Airbus A380s in an “as-is, where-is” condition.
The airline sent out an invitation to interested parties on August 23, 2023, offering them the opportunity to bid on six Airbus A380 aircraft, registered as HS-TUA, HS-TUB, HS-TUC, HS-TUD, HS-TUE, and HS-TUF. All six were stored during the beginning of the pandemic between March and April 2020, with THAI Airways never bringing them back to service.
Bidders interested in acquiring any of the aircraft are welcome to put forth their proposals as well as a $50,000 deposit (per aircraft) no later than 11:59 pm Bangkok time (UTC +7) on September 12, 2023.
“The Bidder is well aware that this sale is conducted under the Bankruptcy Court’s order. The sale of the Aircraft contemplated by [General Terms and Conditions (GTC)] shall be subject to final approval of THAI’s Plan Administrator, and only upon receipt of such approval shall the sale be considered final and contemplated,” the invitation letter read.
Furthermore, THAI outlined that it retains the right to reject any bids from unfit suitors, including those sanctioned by the United States (US) and/or the Thai government.
Flying Airbus A380s out of Thailand
By completing the purchase of the aircraft, the buyer would also have to fly their aircraft out of Thailand or would have them dismantled on site.
However, THAI said that no Airworthiness Directives (AD) or Service Bulletins (SB) were completed on the aircraft.
Four out of the six (HS-TUA, HS-TUB, HS-TUC, and HS-TUD) are currently stored at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK), while the other two (HS-TUE and HS-TUF) are located at Rayong-Pattaya U-Tapao International Airport (UTP).
According to THAI, none of the six had their most recent C-checks completed, including two with C3 checks scheduled in May and June 2019.
All aircraft of the type have a three-class layout, with 12 Royal First Class (Venus by Safran), 60 Royal Executive Class (Solstys by Stelia), and 435 Economy Class (CL3510 by Recaro) seats onboard.
While the airline considered bringing the type back as travel demand soared in 2022 and 2023, ultimately, THAI Airways chief executive officer Chai Eamsiri said that the carrier wanted to dump the A380s as part of a new wide-body aircraft order.