THAI to replace ageing fleet to keep up with region’s carriers

THAI Airways is planning to purchase at least 46 new aircraft in order to compete with the new carriers in the Southeast Asia region, Bloomberg News has reported.

According to THAI’s 10-year business plan, the airline will be replacing 46 of its older aircraft between 2008 and 2017 with newer models. The new planes will also help THAI add new destinations to its service network.

''The company has to complete the business plan as soon as possible to maintain competitiveness in the regional airline industry,'' the airline’s president Apinan Sumanaseni was reported as saying after a board meeting yesterday.

In fact, THAI’s average fleet age is twice that of rival Singapore Airlines.

THAI will need greater capacity to compete with other carriers in Southeast Asia that are buying planes. However, expansion in Asian economies will be likely to lift passenger travel growth, according to the International Air Transport Association

Although Mr. Apinan did not disclose which aircraft THAI would buy, the airline reported in February that it would be ordering eight Airbus SAS A330-300 planes at a discount, in compensating for delays in the delivery of the six A380 superjumbos it ordered.

THAI will receive deliveries of the A330 from October next year, with the last order to be completed in 2010. These will be used to replace the six Airbus A300-600s and two Boeing 747-300s that it has been using for over 20 years.