Thai Airways News and Discussion - 2023

TheEuphorian · Sun May 07, 2023 2:59 pm

lawair wrote:
Just seeing all the expansion into BKK by other carriers, it's too bad TG can't easily expand capacity quickly right now. Lufthansa upgauging MUC-BKK to A380 (a route TG used to operate 744s to but is now just a daily 77W), Norse announcing OSL-BKK (a route TG served daily but hasn't brought back yet since the pandemic started), and SAS announcing the return of CPH-BKK (a route TG used to serve more than daily but is now only once daily). If TG were at its original capacity it's possible we wouldn't be seeing the expansion by other carriers, or TG would have at least been able to take advantage of the current state of demand and pricing.

It sounds like TG is only focusing expanded capacity at the moment on Japan, China, and maybe India at the moment.

Honestly, TG's pre-COVID network can only come back if they actually restructured their business model around connections, which they could easily do considering the fact that BKK itself is both suited in terms of geography and terminal design, and also a shift in its fleet to have more 787-9s from the current two they have.

bzcat · Mon May 08, 2023 7:01 pm

TheEuphorian wrote:
lawair wrote:
Just seeing all the expansion into BKK by other carriers, it's too bad TG can't easily expand capacity quickly right now. Lufthansa upgauging MUC-BKK to A380 (a route TG used to operate 744s to but is now just a daily 77W), Norse announcing OSL-BKK (a route TG served daily but hasn't brought back yet since the pandemic started), and SAS announcing the return of CPH-BKK (a route TG used to serve more than daily but is now only once daily). If TG were at its original capacity it's possible we wouldn't be seeing the expansion by other carriers, or TG would have at least been able to take advantage of the current state of demand and pricing.

It sounds like TG is only focusing expanded capacity at the moment on Japan, China, and maybe India at the moment.

Honestly, TG's pre-COVID network can only come back if they actually restructured their business model around connections, which they could easily do considering the fact that BKK itself is both suited in terms of geography and terminal design, and also a shift in its fleet to have more 787-9s from the current two they have.

There are other hubs that can offer connections, often with better geographic and cost advantages. Turning TG into a connecting airline is a gross misunderstanding of TG's main asset, which is namely that Thailand is a inbound tourist destination.

Going all in on connecting means competing with SQ on service quality, ME3 on frequency, and Chinese carriers on price. All three are losing proposition for TG.

The constant political interference is of course a problem but for the most part, TG's mission is clear even for its Govt minders: to bring tourist to Thailand since that is the most important industry in Thailand. Anything else is just gravy.

The hodge podge of aircraft type and fleet decisions are hallmark of political decision making. I think it's clear that for its size, TG has no business operating both A350 and 787 families. Either would be just fine for the mission.

lawair · Fri May 12, 2023 7:48 pm

THAI, Bangkok Airways earnings surge as tourists flock back

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/25 ... flock-back.

TG had net income of 12.51 billion THB ($368 million+) in Q1
PG had net income of 875 million THB ($25.8 million) in Q1

3AWM · Fri May 12, 2023 9:32 pm

lawair wrote:
THAI, Bangkok Airways earnings surge as tourists flock back

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/25 ... flock-back.

TG had net income of 12.51 billion THB ($368 million+) in Q1
PG had net income of 875 million THB ($25.8 million) in Q1

Really interesting post. I think there is a huge amount of potential for Thai Airways if they could get their act together.

I think it's wrong to silo the propositions of airlines as I think Thai can steal some connecting passengers from SQ. For a start it's geographically better for Europe passengers coming to SEA. Also Thai coudl have a lot lower costs if they were better organised.

An area I've not seem mentioned is LHR-HKT (Phuket) flights. These operated exclusively during the COVID sandbox scheme and they were full. I think there is a heap of demand to Phuket from London and there are some connection opportunities, including on SQ to Singapore.

Due to LHR slot rules Thai would have a very good chance of getting new slots into HKT as no other airline operates them. Even if these slots don't work, after a certain amount of time they could transfer them somewhere else or sell them for about $100m or thereabouts.

Nimda · Fri May 12, 2023 11:49 pm

https://www.pptvhd36.com/news/หุ้น-การลงทุน/196287

A350 HS-THO arrived in Thailand on 12th May while HS-THP was scheduled for June. The other two will be coming within Q3

The merger of TG/WE is currently awaiting creditor's green light. If it passes, They will start transferring 4 A320s into TG fleet this year.

890345809 · Sat May 13, 2023 12:46 am

There are a variety of factors to why Thai Airways has struggled. Improper government management, the lack of business travel to Thailand, among other factors in the process.

Thai Airways will never become a Singapore Airlines. It's sad to say, but true. As much as it would be amazing to see Thai Airways become a major connecting airline, and flying to North America for example, it simply won't happen at all.

If the government of Thailand actually cared about making Thai Airways viable, they would at least try to limit foreign competition and seat capacity. Allowing Emirates to fly a 600 seat A380 to BKK is only going to hurt Thai Airways further. That is just one example of how foreign carriers drop large amounts of capacity on the Thailand market. How do you expect to protect Thai Airways by allowing excess foreign competition to overtake your flag carrier and giving fifth freedom rights to whoever wants it? The government of Thailand does not know how to properly run an airline.

UPlog · Sat May 13, 2023 2:56 am

3D101CA wrote:
If the government of Thailand actually cared about making Thai Airways viable, they would at least try to limit foreign competition and seat capacity. Allowing Emirates to fly a 600 seat A380 to BKK is only going to hurt Thai Airways further. That is just one example of how foreign carriers drop large amounts of capacity on the Thailand market. How do you expect to protect Thai Airways by allowing excess foreign competition to overtake your flag carrier and giving fifth freedom rights to whoever wants it? The government of Thailand does not know how to properly run an airline.

Thailand has long maintained liberal view air services and immigration policy as it seeks to encourage foreign visitors and the money they bring.
Clamping down on foreign traffic rights would likely backfire leading to a decline in arrivals and potentially retaliation against Thai air carrier opportunities in overseas markets also.

Frankly the cost of propping up TG is likely small versus benefit of broader tourism sector that EK and other foreign players deliver to the nation.

jbs2886 · Sat May 13, 2023 3:46 am

3D101CA wrote:
There are a variety of factors to why Thai Airways has struggled. Improper government management, the lack of business travel to Thailand, among other factors in the process.

Thai Airways will never become a Singapore Airlines. It's sad to say, but true. As much as it would be amazing to see Thai Airways become a major connecting airline, and flying to North America for example, it simply won't happen at all.

If the government of Thailand actually cared about making Thai Airways viable, they would at least try to limit foreign competition and seat capacity. Allowing Emirates to fly a 600 seat A380 to BKK is only going to hurt Thai Airways further. That is just one example of how foreign carriers drop large amounts of capacity on the Thailand market. How do you expect to protect Thai Airways by allowing excess foreign competition to overtake your flag carrier and giving fifth freedom rights to whoever wants it? The government of Thailand does not know how to properly run an airline.

I don’t think you properly run an airline by simply limiting its completion so passengers have to take it or pay a lot. You run an airline by getting passengers to want to fly you, offer competitive pricing, have cost controls, etc.

Fiend · Sat May 13, 2023 8:42 am

lawair wrote:
Just seeing all the expansion into BKK by other carriers, it's too bad TG can't easily expand capacity quickly right now. Lufthansa upgauging MUC-BKK to A380 (a route TG used to operate 744s to but is now just a daily 77W), Norse announcing OSL-BKK (a route TG served daily but hasn't brought back yet since the pandemic started), and SAS announcing the return of CPH-BKK (a route TG used to serve more than daily but is now only once daily). If TG were at its original capacity it's possible we wouldn't be seeing the expansion by other carriers, or TG would have at least been able to take advantage of the current state of demand and pricing.

It sounds like TG is only focusing expanded capacity at the moment on Japan, China, and maybe India at the moment.

And why focus on them? Most probably because those are the busiest routes...

NZ321 · Sun May 14, 2023 3:02 pm

Nimda wrote:
https://www.pptvhd36.com/news/หุ้น-การลงทุน/196287

A350 HS-THO arrived in Thailand on 12th May while HS-THP was scheduled for June. The other two will be coming within Q3

The merger of TG/WE is currently awaiting creditor's green light. If it passes, They will start transferring 4 A320s into TG fleet this year.

Do we know which frames the "other two" will be?

DCA350 · Sun May 14, 2023 10:35 pm

I didn't see this announced.. Thai sold 6 77Ws.. That's a big move.. I guess they will focus on just the 787/A350 WB combo eventually, which is great imo.. But Thai never makes it simple..

https://simpleflying.com/thai-airways-b ... eing-777s/

jbs2886 · Sun May 14, 2023 11:03 pm

DCA350 wrote:
I didn't see this announced.. Thai sold 6 77Ws.. That's a big move.. I guess they will focus on just the 787/A350 WB combo eventually, which is great imo.. But Thai never makes it simple..

https://simpleflying.com/thai-airways-b ... eing-777s/

I really question this article. Thai was selling six 777-200s. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/3262 ... oeing-777s

I can't find a single other source saying 77Ws were sold so I'm wondering if this is (another) Simple Flying error. Maybe it isn't, but it's not sitting right with me.

Polot · Sun May 14, 2023 11:22 pm

jbs2886 wrote:
DCA350 wrote:
I didn't see this announced.. Thai sold 6 77Ws.. That's a big move.. I guess they will focus on just the 787/A350 WB combo eventually, which is great imo.. But Thai never makes it simple..

https://simpleflying.com/thai-airways-b ... eing-777s/

I really question this article. Thai was selling six 777-200s. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/3262 ... oeing-777s

I can't find a single other source saying 77Ws were sold so I'm wondering if this is (another) Simple Flying error. Maybe it isn't, but it's not sitting right with me.

Yes simpleflying is unsurprisingly wrong. Thai is selling their 6 (parked) 777-300As, not 6 77Ws. See 2nd bullet point on page 2: https://ir.thaiairways.com/wp-content/u ... 023-EN.pdf

Thai is desperate for lift right now and is not getting rid of any of the 77Ws at the moment which are all operational.

jbs2886 · Sun May 14, 2023 11:43 pm

Polot wrote:
jbs2886 wrote:
DCA350 wrote:
I didn't see this announced.. Thai sold 6 77Ws.. That's a big move.. I guess they will focus on just the 787/A350 WB combo eventually, which is great imo.. But Thai never makes it simple..

https://simpleflying.com/thai-airways-b ... eing-777s/

I really question this article. Thai was selling six 777-200s. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/3262 ... oeing-777s

I can't find a single other source saying 77Ws were sold so I'm wondering if this is (another) Simple Flying error. Maybe it isn't, but it's not sitting right with me.

Yes simpleflying is unsurprisingly wrong. Thai is selling their 6 (parked) 777-300As, not 6 77Ws. See 2nd bullet point on page 2: https://ir.thaiairways.com/wp-content/u ... 023-EN.pdf

Thai is desperate for lift right now and is not getting rid of any of the 77Ws at the moment which are all operational.

Thanks! Looked quickly last night but couldn’t find this.

TheEuphorian · Mon May 15, 2023 2:23 am

Nimda wrote:
https://www.pptvhd36.com/news/หุ้น-การลงทุน/196287

A350 HS-THO arrived in Thailand on 12th May while HS-THP was scheduled for June. The other two will be coming within Q3

The merger of TG/WE is currently awaiting creditor's green light. If it passes, They will start transferring 4 A320s into TG fleet this year.

There are reports too that TG is looking to lease up to 11 more A350, which would bring up the fleet up to 25.

Currently unknown which A350 variant is TG looking for, but nonetheless, good for them to finally standardize the fleet.

Not sure if this would spell the end of the weird 787 subfleet that they have though.

ZK-NBT · Mon May 15, 2023 3:22 am

TheEuphorian wrote:
Nimda wrote:
https://www.pptvhd36.com/news/หุ้น-การลงทุน/196287

A350 HS-THO arrived in Thailand on 12th May while HS-THP was scheduled for June. The other two will be coming within Q3

The merger of TG/WE is currently awaiting creditor's green light. If it passes, They will start transferring 4 A320s into TG fleet this year.

There are reports too that TG is looking to lease up to 11 more A350, which would bring up the fleet up to 25.

Currently unknown which A350 variant is TG looking for, but nonetheless, good for them to finally standardize the fleet.

Not sure if this would spell the end of the weird 787 subfleet that they have though.

Weren’t they looking at more 789s at one point? 2 is very odd but that is TG.

Bring back AKL please.

SCFlyer · Mon May 15, 2023 3:59 am

As long as there's some interference from other sources, sadly the WB fleet at TG will remain complicated. A shame as the A359 and A35K would've complimented TG for WB needs and easily rotate the aircraft between the smaller and larger long haul markets.

DCA350 · Mon May 15, 2023 4:32 am

Polot wrote:
jbs2886 wrote:
DCA350 wrote:
I didn't see this announced.. Thai sold 6 77Ws.. That's a big move.. I guess they will focus on just the 787/A350 WB combo eventually, which is great imo.. But Thai never makes it simple..

https://simpleflying.com/thai-airways-b ... eing-777s/

I really question this article. Thai was selling six 777-200s. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/3262 ... oeing-777s

I can't find a single other source saying 77Ws were sold so I'm wondering if this is (another) Simple Flying error. Maybe it isn't, but it's not sitting right with me.

Yes simpleflying is unsurprisingly wrong. Thai is selling their 6 (parked) 777-300As, not 6 77Ws. See 2nd bullet point on page 2: https://ir.thaiairways.com/wp-content/u ... 023-EN.pdf

Thai is desperate for lift right now and is not getting rid of any of the 77Ws at the moment which are all operational.

Thanks for the correction.. They just received some of the last 77Ws off the line so I was surprised when I saw the announcement.

bennett123 · Mon May 15, 2023 7:09 am

Who did they sell the B777 to?.

Polot · Mon May 15, 2023 10:24 am

bennett123 wrote:
Who did they sell the B777 to?.

I would assume a scrapper.

solracfunk14 · Mon May 15, 2023 7:48 pm

Rumors in Brazil that Thai will get 4x A359 from Azul

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsRY4GzO0dD/

Nimda · Mon May 15, 2023 7:50 pm

NZ321 wrote:
Do we know which frames the "other two" will be?

Sourcing is still not revealed by TG yet and there will be another 7 frames coming next year (a total of 11 for new batch just as TheEuphorian's mention)

Other than Azul's rumour, a guy in the A350 thread making a list showing there're 7 aircraft currently left available (5 from Hainan and 2 from SAS)
viewtopic.php?p=23796449#p23791885

TheEuphorian wrote:

There are reports too that TG is looking to lease up to 11 more A350, which would bring up the fleet up to 25.

Currently unknown which A350 variant is TG looking for, but nonetheless, good for them to finally standardize the fleet.

Not sure if this would spell the end of the weird 787 subfleet that they have though.

ZK-NBT wrote:
Weren’t they looking at more 789s at one point? 2 is very odd but that is TG.

Bring back AKL please.

I still think that TG will keep 787s (even 2 789s). Their fleet is messy but this isn't the right time for simplification considering they have a serious aircraft shortage, ordering a new one taking a long queue and a lot of retired frames during the pandemic were already found new home.

bennett123 wrote:
Who did they sell the B777 to?.

No buyer for 777 yet. All of them are still available.
http://thaiaircrafttrading.com/aircraft ... T=B777-300
More likely to be scrapped due to high hours/cycles and unpopular variant

DCA350 · Mon May 15, 2023 9:37 pm

Any word on if the A380s will be activated? You hear yes and no..

TC957 · Mon May 15, 2023 10:09 pm

DCA350 wrote:
Any word on if the A380s will be activated? You hear yes and no..

Latest I read is that TG were considering reactivating some, but baulked at the expected cost per frame of doing so.
If TG were seriously looking at future A380 services they should have flown them out of BKK's sticky climate. Now, the longer they leave them there the worse and even more expensive they'll be to reactivate.

Liski · Mon May 15, 2023 10:13 pm

They need more direct connections to let’s say HKT from Australian cities. Flying SYD-BKK and back tracking from BKK down to Phuket is a killer and it’s one of the major tourist destinations.

Nimda · Mon May 15, 2023 10:27 pm

Nimda wrote:
bennett123 wrote:
Who did they sell the B777 to?.

No buyer for 777 yet. All of them are still available.
http://thaiaircrafttrading.com/aircraft ... T=B777-300
More likely to be scrapped due to high hours/cycles and unpopular variant

Apologize for this reply, I didn't see Polot's document at #63 so those were actually sold to an undisclosed customer. So they just forgot to update their website.

DCA350 wrote:
Any word on if the A380s will be activated? You hear yes and no..

This may not answer your question as there's no official word but I spot some interesting notes from Thailand's SEC annual report. (full docs can be downloaded from: https://market.sec.or.th/public/idisc/t ... ymbol=THAI)

It was written in Thai so I have done some translation, The first table is future fleet plan and second for current aircraft inventory

A380 status was changed from 2021 "2 owned, 4 financial lease" to "6 owned" in 2022

Instead of keeping or terminating the contract (like A330), they acquired their lease aircraft.

TC957 · Tue May 16, 2023 6:36 am

Perhaps someone cleverer than me can explain the wisdom of acquiring the 380's off the leasing companies only to find out it's too expensive to reactivate them.

A330Inter · Tue May 16, 2023 7:43 am

TC957 wrote:
Perhaps someone cleverer than me can explain the wisdom of acquiring the 380's off the leasing companies only to find out it's too expensive to reactivate them.

The transaction could have been very cheap for TG, something like the purchase cost was cheaper than keep paying lease cost every months, assuming they are still unclear with what to do of the aircraft and decided to keep it for now for at least X couple of years... Also considering scrapyard value, etc...
No suggesting it was wise decision here, just stating some possibilities

chonetsao · Tue May 16, 2023 9:52 am

TC957 wrote:
Perhaps someone cleverer than me can explain the wisdom of acquiring the 380's off the leasing companies only to find out it's too expensive to reactivate them.

Maybe the penalty of returning A380 in the current shape of lacking airworthiness (assuming TG did not maintain the aircraft properly in the humid condition of Bangkok for 3 years) is even greater than buying it outright. At least now TG has lots of spare parts for other A380 operators.

Polot · Tue May 16, 2023 10:32 am

chonetsao wrote:
TC957 wrote:
Perhaps someone cleverer than me can explain the wisdom of acquiring the 380's off the leasing companies only to find out it's too expensive to reactivate them.

Maybe the penalty of returning A380 in the current shape of lacking airworthiness (assuming TG did not maintain the aircraft properly in the humid condition of Bangkok for 3 years) is even greater than buying it outright. At least now TG has lots of spare parts for other A380 operators.

Could also be part of negotiation of returning other leased aircraft (A333) early. I.e., take A380s no penalties on A330 which are easier to remarket, even if need to be converted to freighters first.

TheEuphorian · Tue May 16, 2023 2:19 pm

TheEuphorian wrote:
Nimda wrote:
https://www.pptvhd36.com/news/หุ้น-การลงทุน/196287

A350 HS-THO arrived in Thailand on 12th May while HS-THP was scheduled for June. The other two will be coming within Q3

The merger of TG/WE is currently awaiting creditor's green light. If it passes, They will start transferring 4 A320s into TG fleet this year.

There are reports too that TG is looking to lease up to 11 more A350, which would bring up the fleet up to 25.

Currently unknown which A350 variant is TG looking for, but nonetheless, good for them to finally standardize the fleet.

Not sure if this would spell the end of the weird 787 subfleet that they have though.

Update:

One of the possible sources for some of these 11 A350s might actually come from Azul.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsRY4GzO0dD/

Not really sure if this source is 100% legitimate, but still possible considering that Azul's A350 fleet are leased from Aercap, and if it materializes, TG will be the 3rd airline that will fly these A350s, after HNA and Azul.

JerseyFlyer · Tue May 16, 2023 2:49 pm

There may be more becoming available from HNA (behind paywall):

"China’s Hainan Airlines holdco to end A350 ops, lease A320s"

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news ... ease-a320s

Polot · Tue May 16, 2023 2:57 pm

JerseyFlyer wrote:
There may be more becoming available from HNA (behind paywall):

"China’s Hainan Airlines holdco to end A350 ops, lease A320s"

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news ... ease-a320s

HNA haven’t been operating the A350 for some time now, so not sure why that is being reported as something new or breaking by ch-aviation.

JerseyFlyer · Tue May 16, 2023 3:04 pm

Polot wrote:
JerseyFlyer wrote:
There may be more becoming available from HNA (behind paywall):

"China’s Hainan Airlines holdco to end A350 ops, lease A320s"

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news ... ease-a320s

HNA haven’t been operating the A350 for some time now, so not sure why that is being reported as something new or breaking by ch-aviation.

Are there any other A350 operators within the wider HNA Group? The reference is to "holdco" which is suggestive of more than just Hainan airlines.

Polot · Tue May 16, 2023 3:07 pm

JerseyFlyer wrote:
Polot wrote:
JerseyFlyer wrote:
There may be more becoming available from HNA (behind paywall):

"China’s Hainan Airlines holdco to end A350 ops, lease A320s"

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news ... ease-a320s

HNA haven’t been operating the A350 for some time now, so not sure why that is being reported as something new or breaking by ch-aviation.

Are there any other A350 operators within the wider HNA Group? The reference is to "holdco" which is suggestive of more than just Hainan airlines.

No. Hainan and Hong Kong Airlines are the only HNA A350 operators that I know of and both have had their fleet out of operation for over 3 years.

NZ321 · Tue May 16, 2023 3:20 pm

jbs2886 wrote:
DCA350 wrote:
I didn't see this announced.. Thai sold 6 77Ws.. That's a big move.. I guess they will focus on just the 787/A350 WB combo eventually, which is great imo.. But Thai never makes it simple..

https://simpleflying.com/thai-airways-b ... eing-777s/

I really question this article. Thai was selling six 777-200s. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/3262 ... oeing-777s

I can't find a single other source saying 77Ws were sold so I'm wondering if this is (another) Simple Flying error. Maybe it isn't, but it's not sitting right with me.

Agreed. This seems like inaccurate reporting. More like TG is selling the 777-200ER which was already flagged and now going through. TG just purchased a couple of 777-300ER (among the last off the line). Unlikely they're going any time soon.

NZ321 · Tue May 16, 2023 3:27 pm

Any updates on when AKL might return to the network? This is a major gap - no connection between these geographically important Star Alliance hubs.

eta unknown · Tue May 16, 2023 6:13 pm

NZ321 wrote:
Any updates on when AKL might return to the network? This is a major gap - no connection between these geographically important Star Alliance hubs.

Let's call a spade a spade: BKK-AKL is not a major gap- this traffic flies via SIN. If this route was so important either NZ or TG would now be flying it. Reality is this is a long flight and airlines now need to justify their operations after the last 2 years.

Nimda · Tue May 16, 2023 9:17 pm

They would be very lucky if Azul chooses to return the A350s. Those aircraft still retain HNA's configuration.

However, their addiction of 10 narrowbodies within 2025 is also interesting. Wonder which model could be, other A320s or some NEOs?

MrHMSH · Wed May 17, 2023 2:32 am

Is there any update on the fate of WE? Saw another rumour that it will be incorporated into TG (can't find source again) a la CX/KA or SQ/MI, but nothing confirmed yet.

Nimda wrote:
They would be very lucky if Azul chooses to return the A350s. Those aircraft still retain HNA's configuration.

However, their addiction of 10 narrowbodies within 2025 is also interesting. Wonder which model could be, other A320s or some NEOs?

A32X seems a more natural fit, maybe some second hand IAE-powered ceos could be found, though if they could get the financing I think the A321neo would make most sense, with an option to go XLR if they choose (for Australia and Middle East maybe).

Sydscott · Wed May 17, 2023 3:59 am

MrHMSH wrote:
Is there any update on the fate of WE? Saw another rumour that it will be incorporated into TG (can't find source again) a la CX/KA or SQ/MI, but nothing confirmed yet.

There is apparently a creditors vote on it this week.

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news ... -this-week

So we should find out shortly if it's going to happen or not.

TheEuphorian · Wed May 17, 2023 4:14 am

Nimda wrote:
They would be very lucky if Azul chooses to return the A350s. Those aircraft still retain HNA's configuration.

However, their addiction of 10 narrowbodies within 2025 is also interesting. Wonder which model could be, other A320s or some NEOs?

Hoping it would be some A32xNEOs considering that two large operators, Viva Air, and GoAir (GoFirst), recently collapsed, which may give TG a chance at getting a few of these A32xNeos.

SCFlyer · Wed May 17, 2023 8:03 am

Liski wrote:
They need more direct connections to let’s say HKT from Australian cities. Flying SYD-BKK and back tracking from BKK down to Phuket is a killer and it’s one of the major tourist destinations.

If TG couldn't make PER-BKK work post COVID, there's probably little chance of HKT to Australia in general, especially when there is also the JQ non stops on a split SYD/MEL schedule and the AirAsia X carriers from Australia via BKK and KUL respectively.

chonetsao · Wed May 17, 2023 9:31 am

A question not exclusively about TG, but anyone here knows if midfield satellite terminal in BKK is in full use now? And is TG using the satellite terminal at all?

Liski · Wed May 17, 2023 12:42 pm

SCFlyer wrote:
Liski wrote:
They need more direct connections to let’s say HKT from Australian cities. Flying SYD-BKK and back tracking from BKK down to Phuket is a killer and it’s one of the major tourist destinations.

If TG couldn't make PER-BKK work post COVID, there's probably little chance of HKT to Australia in general, especially when there is also the JQ non stops on a split SYD/MEL schedule and the AirAsia X carriers from Australia via BKK and KUL respectively.

PER I understand but SYD would be a killer. I believe just after COVID TG did do a SYD-HKT-BKK route but stopped it.

HECA · Wed May 17, 2023 1:08 pm

chonetsao wrote:
A question not exclusively about TG, but anyone here knows if midfield satellite terminal in BKK is in full use now? And is TG using the satellite terminal at all?

It wasn't in use when I flew out of BKK end April. In some sections the lights were on at night, and in the main terminal the entry to the underground passenger mover is clearly visible.

chonetsao · Wed May 17, 2023 1:34 pm

HECA wrote:
chonetsao wrote:
It wasn't in use when I flew out of BKK end April. In some sections the lights were on at night, and in the main terminal the entry to the underground passenger mover is clearly visible.

Thank you. Very disappointing as the new terminal is much nicer. I wonder when it will be fully operational. Thanks again.

NZ321 · Wed May 17, 2023 3:49 pm

eta unknown wrote:
NZ321 wrote:
Any updates on when AKL might return to the network? This is a major gap - no connection between these geographically important Star Alliance hubs.

Let's call a spade a spade: BKK-AKL is not a major gap- this traffic flies via SIN. If this route was so important either NZ or TG would now be flying it. Reality is this is a long flight and airlines now need to justify their operations after the last 2 years.

I think you're right about the traffic flowing through SIN among others (btw have you had a look at airfares and seat availability SIN-AKL lately?). However, seems you missed my point. The BKK-AKL route needs serving. It sustained service for 25+ years simply because there is demand. I am not asking "if" BKK-AKL would resume - I am asking "when". If you research PPDEW on relevant routes you could be more in the loop.

TheEuphorian · Wed May 17, 2023 4:01 pm

Sydscott wrote:
MrHMSH wrote:
Is there any update on the fate of WE? Saw another rumour that it will be incorporated into TG (can't find source again) a la CX/KA or SQ/MI, but nothing confirmed yet.

There is apparently a creditors vote on it this week.

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news ... -this-week

So we should find out shortly if it's going to happen or not.

Seems the creditor vote has already happened from sources on Facebook; they greenlit WE's dissolution.

If anyone can link a more credible source, please do so

Nimda · Wed May 17, 2023 6:17 pm

chonetsao wrote:
A question not exclusively about TG, but anyone here knows if midfield satellite terminal in BKK is in full use now? And is TG using the satellite terminal at all?

Scheduled to be open in late 2023 according to last year's news

Not sure If TG unused aircraft have to be cleared before opening or not. Their maintenance hangar area at the northeast of main terminal seems too small to store all of them and several A380/747s still obstruct SAT-1 parking space.

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