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Thai has been growing its widebody fleet with leased Airbus A350s.
Thai Airways’ extensive restructuring efforts have spurred an impressive financial turnaround, and now the carrier is rapidly rebuilding its fleet to pursue its revised strategy.
The carrier revealed the scope of its ambitions a year ago, when it placed an order for 45 Boeing 787s. Since then, Thai has been leasing as many widebodies as it can in order to grow into its new opportunities before the 787s arrive.
- The airline has a large Boeing 787 order and Airbus A321neo lease deals in place
- CEO says Thai plans to lease more A350s or 777s next year
Financial results for the third quarter highlighted Thai’s financial improvement. The carrier reported a net profit of 12.5 billion Thai baht ($360.1 million) for the period, up from 1.5 billion Thai baht a year earlier. A return to consistent quarterly profits has prompted Thai to seek a relisting on the stock market in the second quarter of 2025, which would mark the end of its business rehabilitation process.
The financial recovery is even more notable, considering that the carrier was in fragile financial condition even before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. Thai suffered deepening losses in the three years through 2019 and accumulated substantial debt.
The airline has initiated a range of sweeping reforms since 2020, pruning many parts of its operation. It has reduced its workforce to about 17,000 from almost 30,000 before the pandemic, Thai CEO Chai Eamsiri told Aviation Week on the sidelines of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines annual meeting held in Brunei on Nov. 13. Workforce productivity has increased, and cost per employee has decreased, he said.
Eamsiri also highlighted the introduction of new digital tools and a new revenue management system, as well as the elimination of nonproductive processes. Thai Airways shut down its subsidiary Thai Smile in December 2023 and absorbed its narrowbodies. But perhaps the carrier’s most important move has been fleet rationalization.
Thai retired many widebodies during its restructuring, including all of its Airbus A380s and Boeing 747s. The carrier’s medium-term goal is to have just three widebody types and one narrowbody family in its fleet, Eamsiri said. This would be down from nine types before the pandemic.
Now Thai is rebuilding with models better suited to its network and fleet strategy. The carrier is looking to increase its fleet to 90 aircraft by the end of next year from its current 79, Eamsiri said.
Thai’s 787 orders are not due to begin arriving until 2027, so the carrier is aiming to secure more leased aircraft in the short term to meet its 2025 target.
Eamsiri said most of the additional aircraft will be widebodies. The specific models will depend on availability and whether the cabin products are suitable, but the carrier will be looking to lease more Boeing 777-300ERs or Airbus A350s. If Thai cannot find enough of these, it may also consider Airbus A330s, he said. Thai currently operates all three types.
Some narrowbody growth is also included in the 2025 fleet plan. Thai is due to take delivery of one or two Airbus A321neos late next year, which will be its first of that type. The carrier has secured a deal for 10 A321neos from lessor AerCap and intends to add another 22.
Thai is scheduled to begin cabin refurbishments on its existing Airbus narrowbody fleet in December to install a business-class product, Eamsiri said. All of these aircraft are expected to be completed by May. A cabin upgrade for the 777-300ER fleet is due to start in 2027 as the 787s begin arriving.
Thai also plans to continue phasing out its 777-200ERs, of which it has five, according to the Aviation Week Fleet Discovery database. The plan is to phase out two or three next year and the remainder in 2026. The carrier is keeping the -200ERs longer than expected due to supply chain issues that are constraining fleet availability. One of Thai’s 787s is grounded for this reason.
Another major plank in the airline’s restructuring is its revised network strategy. It relies on strong inbound tourism to the popular Thailand market, but the carrier also is looking to increase its focus on transit flows via its Bangkok hub, Eamsiri said.
Bangkok is well-located as a connecting point between several important markets, such as Europe and Australia, Europe and Southeast Asia, India and Australia, and India and Japan and China. Eamsiri said Thai’s share of point-to-point and connecting traffic has been increasing faster than its rivals’, and the new revenue management system is aiding its network strategy.
Merging Thai Smile into the parent carrier has allowed the subsidiary’s narrowbody aircraft to align more effectively with Thai’s long-haul flights, Eamsiri noted. This supports the connecting hub, as the A321neos’ range means they can reach Indian and Chinese points.
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