A350 arrives at THAI

BANGKOK Thai Airways International will assign its first A350, delivered last week, to fly the Melbourne route.

It is flying some domestic routes, this week, but will be permanently assigned to Australia routes later this month.

THAI has orders for 12 of the aircraft, but only four are firm orders with the balance acquired through lease agreements.

The Airbus 350 XWB will also be used on services to China later this year.

Airbus claims the aircraft is the most technologically advanced, modern, and efficient aircraft that will offer considerable cost savings to airline customers.

However, THAI has an excess of aircraft many of them due for retirement. It is still flying the Boeing 747-400s on some routes to China. It faces the urgent challenge of reducing aircraft and engine types, two factors that are keeping its operational costs high.

But it is not a new challenge for the national airline. Since the 1990s THAI bought aircraft from all three major players, Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and Airbus with an equally wide choice of engine types to further add to the cost of training and maintenance.