THAI to seek Cabinet approval  for acquiring 38 new planes

The procurement plan has already been forwarded by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) to the Ministry of Transport, THAI president Sumeth Damrongchaitham, said. The ministry in turn is expected to propose the matter to the office of secretary-general of the Cabinet within this week and then to the Cabinet within this month.
The procurement would be in two phases. About 25 new aircraft will be purchased in the first phase and 13 in the second phase. Of the total, 31 new aircraft would be used to replace older planes that will be gradually decommissioned over the next 10 years, while the remaining seven planes will be assigned to new routes in the future. Meanwhile, THAI is planning to open the Bangkok-Sendai (Japan) route this November, due to Japan’s growing popularity as a destination for Thai people.
Recently, Manchester airport, the UK’s fourth busiest airport by passenger traffic, met officials from THAI about increasing direct flights. Thai tourists have been travelling to the north of the United Kingdom, but experience some difficulty in obtaining visas to the country, said Sumeth. The airport authority will seek solutions to the visa-approval problem.
In regard to a solution to the Rolls-Royce engine problems that have affected six to seven of the airline’s planes, THAI is now negotiating with the British jet engine manufacturer for compensation.
The airline has hedged against global oil price fluctuations and has adjusted its ticket prices to reflect actual costs. But the Thai flagship airline has taken a cautious approach to adjusting ticket prices, given the high competition, and it believes now is not the right time to raise ticket prices. Sumeth, who is also chairman of Thai Smile Airways, said he has assigned both companies to connect their policies, merge administrative centres for cost reduction and have separate service and aviation sections without reducing staff.
“Merging the centres will allow connectivity of overseas routes of Thai Smile and THAI, to facilitate passengers’ transits in the country and abroad. Thai Smile is expected to have satisfactory performance at the end of this year, thanks to new cost management and resource sharing,” Sumeth said.
Meanwhile, THAI has reported total revenue of Bt200.58 billion, and a net loss of Bt11.62 billion for 2018 year-end, higher than its Bt2.10 billion net loss in 2017.