Thai Airways in talks for large aircraft order

On 7 and 8 September 2023, media like the Bangkok Post and Reuters have been reporting that Thai Airways has started negotiations with both Airbus and Boeing for a significant order. According to the news-outlets, the order is for a total of up to 95 aircraft, consisting of fifteen narrow-bodies aircraft and eighty wide-bodies.

Airbus and Boeing declined to comment but Thai Airways has said the process is in the early stages. According to Reuters, a final decision could be expected before the end of the year.

Earlier this year, in June, Thai Airways already announced it was busy securing leases for ten A321neos and eleven additional A350-900s. Despite being in the middle of a bankruptcy protected debt restructuring, the airline wants to increase capacity to cope with the post-pandemic demand. Last quarter, Thai noted down its first profitable quarter since 2012.

The Thai Airways-fleet consists at the moment of three Airbus A330-300s, fourteen A350-900s, six Boeing B777-200ERs, seventeen B777-300ERs, six B787-8s, and two B787-9s. It is also in the process of closing down subsidiary Thai Smile and transferring the twenty A320s to the mainline.

Photo by Airbus.