THAI's July figures show improvement
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Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) saw an improvement in traffic, as the number of passengers in July increased to 1.74 million or 4.2 per cent from the same period last year. In July 2011, the airline carried 1.67 million passengers.
This is in line with most brokerage houses' views, which see a possible recovery in business in the second half after the Bt1.5 billion net loss in the second quarter. In the first six months, it managed to show the net profit of Bt2.19 billion.
According to the company's statement, Revenue Passenger–Kilometer (RPK) was 0.9 per cent higher than the same month last year, resulting from a higher cabin factor at an average of 79.8 per cent in the month as compared to the same month last year of 77.2 per cent. In the month, the airline saw an increase in cabin factor on intercontinental flights, to 82.2 per cent in July compared to 79.3 per cent in the same period last year. Cabin factor on regional flights also rose from 74.2 per cent in July 2011 to 77.5 per cent in July 2012.
Yet, global economic slowdown took a toll on its cargo operations. Freight load factor in the month dropped 5 per cent on year, bringing the average load factor to 52.6 per cent.
