Thai Airways
Boutique airline Bangkok Airways plans to purchase two Airbus A319s and retire one A320 this year, bringing its fleet to 25 aircraft, the company’s president said Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth.
He added that the airline aims to have a fleet of 30 aircraft in the next five years, of which at least 20 will be new aircraft.
Bangkok Airways will continue to focus on its flagship Bangkok-Samui route to better serve the demand of domestic and foreign tourists, he said.
Thai AirAsia
Low-cost airline Thai AirAsia expects to have a fleet of 60 aircraft by the end of the year, roughly equivalent to the pre-Covid fleet of 63, the airline’s CEO said. Santisuk Klongchaiya said.
Over the next five years, Thai AirAsia will acquire 25 to 30 new aircraft, including some leased aircraft that will be returned when their leases expire, he said.
The airline also plans to purchase three more Airbus A321neo aircraft, expanding its fleet from two to five by the end of the year. The 236-seat aircraft will help handle the rush of passengers during peak season. Thai AirAsia expects to carry around 22 million people this year, compared to 22.15 million in 2019.
Thai AirAsia X
CEO of Thai AirAsia X Tassapon Beilleveld said the airline plans to expand its fleet of Airbus A330 aircraft from eight to 11 by the end of the year, getting closer to the fleet of 12 aircraft it operated in 2019.
From December 1, the low-cost airline will also resume its six weekly direct flights from Bangkok to Sydney.
Thai AirAsia X expects to carry 2 million passengers this year, up from 1.3 million last year but still down from the 2.6 million passengers it carried in 2019.
“We plan to add more destinations over the next five years and acquire three to five new aircraft per year until our fleet grows to 30 and can carry up to 10 million passengers per year,” he said.
Thai Lion Air
Thai Lion Air is on track to restore its fleet to 35 aircraft, as it had before the Covid-19 pandemic brought the airline industry to a standstill, the CEO said Aswin Yangkirativorn said.
He said the current fleet of 20 vessels would be increased to 25 by the end of this year and another five would be added next year, bringing the total to 30.
“We attach utmost importance to resuming flights and services at Don Mueang International Airport,” he said. “We have to postpone our plan to move our main base to U-Tapao Airport in Rayong for various reasons and will re-evaluate this option after studying the market trend for 2025 and moving forward with the airport expansion project.”
Thai VietJet Air
The low-cost airline will lease two Airbus A320s this year, expanding its short-haul fleet to 20 aircraft.
CEO of an airline Woranate Laprabang He expects up to 8 million passengers this year, 10% more than last year.
Next year, the airline plans to purchase nine to 12 aircraft from Boeing to use in Asia, particularly for flights to undeveloped Chinese cities, he said.
“We remain on track with our long-term fleet expansion plan. Our goal is to have 50 Boeing aircraft by 2028 and to serve more long-haul routes, including to Japan and India,” he said.
