Thai -air can stop flight expansion plans on airplane deficits

(Bloomberg) – Thai Airways International PCL can delay its flight and route expansion plans because the country’s flag defendant could not obtain enough passenger aircraft. The airline is hiring the aircraft aircraft for its extensive European service, CEO Chai Eamsiri said. He relying on rented aircraft as a bridge before delivery of aircraft began in 2027, he said. Airlines worldwide, with new aircraft shortages such as Boeing and Airbus struggling to meet demand, are forced to keep older aircraft in their fleet and pay for expensive leases. The issues of the aircraft serve as a restriction on the growth of the industry. Over the next two years, Thai Airways is watching a ‘significant shortage of seating capacity’ needed to meet his growth plan, Chai said in an interview on Wednesday. “We will have to stop the opening of new routes and flights if we rent new pilots in the broad body by the first half of 2026.” Thai Airways will add about 17 new passenger aircraft from the narrow body by the end of 2026, Chai said. The new aircraft will mostly be used for service in Asia, as the airline accelerates its pressure to make Bangkok a regional center to connect flights to European cities, he said. The carrier earns about half of his income from Asian routes, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. European flights represented a third of its revenue earnings from core operations in the second half of the year, according to Chai, Chai is expected to remain strong on the high demand for passengers to European, Indian and Australian flights. The net revenue of the flag defendant’s second quarter a year earlier a year earlier to 12.1 billion Baht ($ 373 million) rose from 306 million Baht on lower financing costs and several one -time items, including a profit from the termination of aircraft lease agreements. Revenue has risen to 51 billion baht, a 14% jump of a year earlier. More stories like these are available on Bloomberg.com © 2025 Bloomberg LP