18-Jul-2011 10:48 AM
Thai Airways' fleet improvement to challenge Middle East carriers
Thai Airways hopes its fleet improvement programme will out-manoeuvre rivals from the Middle East (The Nation, 18-Jul-2011). The carrier is spending THB5 billion (USD166 million) retrofitting 20 aircraft, which are expected to be in service by 3Q2012. Thai faces high competition on its European routes, where Middle East carriers can operate sector by sector, and new carriers are picking up Thai's passengers. Thai is eyeing new destinations including Athens, Madrid, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Sapporo and Hokkaido. Thai also plans to add more seats to busy routes such as Bangkok-Mumbai.