Thai Airways has approved a six-year investment programme, which involves the acquisition of 37 new aircraft and delivery of 26 aircraft.
The plan, first proposed late last year, will now proceed, after the carrier announced that record earnings were expected from its 2010 performance. It revealed that US$4 million profits were made in the first nine months of last year.
Thai intends to retire 46 planes and take delivery of 26 new aircraft between 2011 and 2017: 12 Airbus A330-300s, eight Boeing B777-300ERs and six A380-800s. It will also purchase 37 more new aircraft in order to expand its fleet of 85 planes to 105 planes by the end of 2017. Such action will enable Thai to boost efficiency and introduce new routes.
The initiative will also see will the airline raising its stake in the budget airline, Nok Air, by 10 percent and paying employees a three-months’ salary bonus.
Last year, Thai announced it was going into partnership with Tiger Airways to start up a new low-cost carrier Thai Tiger.
For more information, visit www.thaiair.com
Alisha Haridasani
