Airbus makes Thailand its Skywise Asia hub with 40 new skilled jobs

Airbus is expanding Thailand’s role in its Skywise digital aviation business, positioning Bangkok as a regional base for operations across Asia while preparing to recruit more than 40 additional highly skilled employees this year.

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the Board of Investment (BOI), disclosed the expansion following a visit to Airbus’s operations and talks with Bert Porteman, the president of Airbus Thailand.

The discussions focused on the growing role of Skywise in Thailand. Airbus’s digital solutions business develops tools for airlines covering areas ranging from pilot documentation, flight-data analysis and safety management to flight and crew planning and predictive aircraft maintenance.

The solutions use large-scale data platforms to help airlines improve operational efficiency.

Thailand to become key Skywise base in Asia

Airbus is expanding its Skywise software-testing team in Thailand, which will be responsible for quality control before software is delivered to airlines and other users.

Thailand is set to become the sole testing base for software serving Skywise customers worldwide, prompting Airbus to continue recruiting software engineers to support the operation.

Bangkok will also serve as the regional base for Skywise’s Asian business, covering ASEAN, China, India, Japan and South Korea.

“The decision by Airbus to give Thailand responsibility for digital activities serving customers worldwide, while using Bangkok as the base for managing Skywise across the region, reflects Thailand’s readiness to support advanced technology,” Narit noted.

He highlighted engineering, software testing and advanced aviation technology as areas requiring highly skilled workers, adding that the expansion would create quality jobs and give Thai professionals greater opportunities to participate in the global aviation industry.

Airbus currently employs more than 200 people in Thailand, more than three times the size of its workforce in 2022. About 85% are Thai nationals, including aerospace engineers, software engineers, graphic designers, technicians and other highly skilled professionals.

The company plans to add more than 40 employees in Thailand this year as its operations expand.

Airbus has also established a regional Flight Operations Centre of Excellence in Thailand under Skywise, supporting the development of aviation systems using digital and modern aerospace technologies.

Aircraft demand opens supply-chain opportunities

Airbus executives expect global passenger numbers and the size of the world’s aircraft fleet to double over the next 20 years, generating demand for more than 20,000 new aircraft.

Airbus itself has an order backlog exceeding 9,000 aircraft, equivalent to more than a decade of production at current capacity.

However, increasing output remains constrained by supply-chain disruption, workforce shortages, raw-material costs and geopolitical tensions. These pressures are encouraging aircraft manufacturers to diversify their supply chains and reduce their exposure to individual markets.

Airbus sees Thailand’s geopolitical neutrality and the quality of its workforce as important strengths that could help the country attract a greater share of the global aerospace supply chain.

The company believes Thailand should identify areas in which it wants to develop specialised expertise and build on existing capabilities, particularly in automotive components and high-precision parts, and extend these capabilities into aircraft structures, composite materials and cabin equipment.

Entering the aerospace supply chain, however, requires manufacturers to pass stringent certification processes and maintain demanding quality and safety standards.

It also depends on specialised skills, making long-term collaboration important between foreign companies bringing technology and expertise into Thailand and Thai manufacturers seeking to upgrade their capabilities.

Airbus currently works with about 80 Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers in Thailand.

Building skills for MRO and next-generation aviation

Airbus collaborates with several Thai universities, including King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Kasetsart University and Chulalongkorn University, to develop aerospace engineering courses that better match industry requirements.

The partnerships also cover digital technology, artificial intelligence and skills needed to work in an international environment.

In maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), Airbus already works with Thai Aviation Industries (TAI) on helicopter and military aircraft maintenance.

Developing a large-scale commercial MRO centre presents further challenges, particularly a shortage of maintenance technicians and increasingly stringent training standards.

Airbus has indicated that it is ready to contribute its expertise to support aviation workforce development in Thailand.

Thailand has potential to become a SAF production base

Airbus also sees significant potential for Thailand to become a leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), given the country’s abundant agricultural residues and established ethanol industry.

In the short term, SAF could be produced from used cooking oil. Thailand’s larger medium-term opportunity lies in converting ethanol into aviation fuel through alcohol-to-jet technology.

Over the longer term, the country could move towards synthetic fuel technologies that combine carbon dioxide and water using renewable energy.

Such technologies require substantial investment, however, creating a need for appropriate government support and greater co-ordination across the industry.

Government agencies, feedstock producers, energy companies, SAF producers and airlines would need to work together on a roadmap covering both production and consumption while providing investors with greater certainty.

Narit described the discussions with Airbus as highlighting Thailand’s opportunity to strengthen its position across several parts of the aviation industry, from digital technology and software to supply chains, workforce development, MRO and sustainable aviation fuel.

Airbus builds on four decades in Thailand

The BOI and Airbus also discussed broader plans to strengthen Thailand’s aviation industry, including helping automotive-component manufacturers move into aerospace supply chains, developing workers for the MRO sector and promoting Thailand as a SAF production base.

Airbus, Europe’s largest aircraft and defence systems manufacturer, has operated in Thailand for more than 40 years.

More than 150 Airbus commercial aircraft are currently in service in Thailand, with customers including Thai Airways International, Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia and Thai Vietjet.

There are also almost 80 Airbus helicopters in the country, most of which are operated by the military and government agencies.

Airbus has developed several other partnerships in Thailand.

Its space-sector collaboration with the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) has included the development, production and launch of the THEOS-1 and THEOS-2 Earth-observation satellites.

The company also works with TAI on military aircraft maintenance and has co-operated with the Charoen Pokphand Group on sustainable aviation fuel development.

These partnerships, together with the expansion of Skywise, are expected to deepen technology transfer and strengthen Thailand’s role in the global aerospace and digital aviation industries.