BANGKOK—Thai Airways is reactivating some of the Airbus A330s that it had planned to retire, and the carrier is also now considering whether to bring any of its A380s back into service.
The airline cut its widebody fleet back during its restructuring process, intending to retain only its most efficient types such as the A350 and Boeing 787s and 777s, Thai chief commercial officer Korakot Chatasingha said. Some other types were expected to be sold or returned to lessors.
However, the airline has altered its plans for 2023 due to capacity shortages and surging demand, Chatasingha said on the sidelines of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) assembly Nov. 11.
Thai has six A380s, which have remained parked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Four of these are leased, and the airline is negotiating to return those aircraft to lessors.
The A380s are not in the current fleet plan, Chatasingha stressed. Thai is studying the feasibility of reactivating the two owned A380s on its network again, taking into account factors such as operating cost and the cost of returning them to service, he said.
Thai had also planned to dispose of its parked A330s. However, it decided to instead bring three back into its fleet, said Chatasingha. One has already returned to service, and another two will follow in December and January 2023. They will be used on routes to Japan and will also provide capacity for the China market if it reopens.
Plans were already in place to expand the widebody fleet through 2025, Chatasingha said. To this end, the airline has secured two additional leased A350s, which will arrive next year.
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