THAI refocuses on expansion

BANGKOK Thai Airways International will operate a new service to Tehran this October and add more flights to Moscow.

News of the additional capacity to Moscow will be welcomed by Thailand’s travel industry that was concerned there was insufficient airline capacity between Moscow and Bangkok for the up-coming winter season.

THAI’s president, Charamporn Jotikastheira, commenting on plans to expand after two years of austerity on the sidelines of a media briefing, Monday, saying  the Tehran service would boost travel from the Middle East.

“Flights to Tehran in Iran will serve both leisure and business travel demand… the country has a population of 70 to 80 million …it is a relatively new market that the airline can tap.”

He added: “For the Moscow service after resuming services earlier with four flights a week we have now decided to increase frequency to daily to be more competitive.”

THAI suspended its Bangkok to Moscow service, 29 March 2015, much to the disquiet of the country’s travel industry.

The TG president was considerably more bullish on  the airline’s business outlook as tourism to Thailand booms and low fuel costs are now are making a positive impact on its balance sheet.  Also, he will have two brand new Airbus A350s in the fleet by late August and September, new generation aircraft that deliver an improved performance and bigger fuel savings.

Commenting on the likelihood of returning to the United States after ending flights to Los Angeles, last October, he confirmed that by the middle of 2017 the airline could be in a position to establish a new service.

However it will depend on the country’s aviation authorities’ ability to secure US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration Category I rating after it was downgraded to Category II last year.

“If Thailand can prove it has met all safety standard requirements we believe ICAO will reinstate our safety rating and this will lead to FAA reviewing Thailand’s Category I rating.”

The airline is considering two potential destinations for its return to the US market. They are Seattle and San Francisco.

“The new route will be a direct daily flight doing away with stops in South Korea or Japan …this will be our key selling point because no other airlines operate a direct flight from the US  to Bangkok,” he said.

THAI ceased operations to Los Angeles (via Seoul) 25 October 2015.

Returning to the US will also depend on the delivery of two Dreamliners (Boeing 787-900s) scheduled to enter service mid-2017.