Thai Airways to add A321neos and A350-900s

Speaking to FlightGlobal at the IATA annual general meeting in Istanbul, the CEO of Thai Airways International has said the airline is in the process of securing leases for additional aircraft to cope with the sharp increase in post-pandemic demand.

Five Airbus A321neos will be leased, with deliveries beginning in 2025. The airline is also working on securing leases on another five of the type. Interesting to note is that the aircraft will be operated by Thai Airways International itself and not by subsidiary Thai Smile, which means the introduction of a narrowbody aircraft in the mainline fleet.

Thai Airways has also secured leases for eleven additional A350-900s, of which two have been delivered. These two, HS-THO (351), and HS-THP (355) are leased from Avolon and were originally destined for Hainan Airlines.

Next to these leases, it's said that the airline is also in negotiations with both Airbus and Boeing for additional aircraft to boost capacity.

Thai Airways-fleet consists of three A330-300s, fourteen A350-900s, six Boeing B777-200ERs, seventeen B777-300ERs, six B787-8s, and two B787-9s. Subsidiary Thai Smile has a fleet of 20 A320s.

Picture by Airbus.