Thai Airways Aims to Bolster Its Services to India

A Thai Airways Airbus A380 taxis at London’s Heathrow Airport. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

[ Airlines ]September 20, 2023 6:17 am ET

By Pete Ainsley

Thai Airways continues to spread its wings after the pandemic. After announcing the increase in flight frequency to China, the flag carrier is aiming to expand its network in India.

Thailand is determined to lure more visitors from India. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin would negotiate with India to increase flight services between the two countries. Thai Airways will stand to benefit from the new flight operations.

“There aren’t that many incoming flights from India yet due to internal politics,” the Thai Prime Minister said.

Thai Airways and its subsidiary, Thai Smile, currently operate flights to the Indian cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Thailand Increasing Visa-Free Travel Options

Meanwhile, Thailand has announced that travelers from China and Kazakhstan would be granted a visa-free to the country during the coming peak season. In response to the visa waiver program for Chinese tourists, Thai Airways is set to scale up its weekly flight to China from 25 flights to 35, starting on December 1. The new program is paving the way for the travel boom as both countries’ citizens don’t need to apply for a visa to Thailand between September 25 and February 29.

In addition, Thailand’s Chiang Mai Airport, a travel hot spot, goes further in providing 24-hour operation from November 1.

After years of keeping its head above water, Thai Airways is finally in the black in 2023. It recorded a net profit of 2.2 billion baht ($61.8 million) in the second quarter of the year. Compared to the same time last year, the airline recorded a net loss of 3 billion baht.

Expand Its Fleet

In spite of the flag carrier being in the midst of bankruptcy-protected debt restructuring. Thai is considering expanding its fleet to meet travel demand in the future. According to Reuters, deals are in the pipeline as the airline is holding talks with Boeing and Airbus on a potential order of more than 90 aircraft.

The potential deal includes 15 narrow-body aircraft and up to 80 wide-bodies and it could be one of the largest orders from South Asia airlines in recent years. The airline said that it is still at the “very early stage.” Both aircraft manufacturers didn’t provide any information on the orders.

Earlier this year, Chai Eamsiri, the chief executive, revealed that the ambition of enhancing its fleet by acquiring 30 widebody aircraft and a number of narrowbodies by the end of the year.

Currently, Thai and its subsidiaries have a total of 67 active aircraft, consisting of 20 narrowbody aircraft and 47 widebody aircraft. According to its website, Thai owns a wide variety of aircraft, ranging from Airbus A350-900s, A320-200s to Boeing 777-300s and 787 Dreamliners.