According to Joanna Bailey's report in Simple Flying, Thai Airways, that has been struggling for a long time, has put up for sale 34 of its aircraft, including 32 widebodies, with its entire remaining fleet of Boeing 747s, as well as 12 of its older 777s, Airbus A340s, as well as a couple of 737-400s and alone A300 that has not flown for some time.
The report goes on to say that the airline has been forced to suspend normal operations for a long period of time with Thailand's borders still largely locked, with the airline losing $900 million in the first half of the year and undergoing a bankruptcy reorganization since May
"The market for second-hand aircraft is very limited, especially for four-engine jets, with demand not expected to be high due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the sales website, the airline says," Thai Airways International Public Company Limited ("THAI") would like to cordially invite you to participate in the bidding process for the sale of THAI Used Aircraft with registration.
Simple Flying says that while the aircraft is all ready for delivery in the first half of 2021, if they plan to fly them to their new owner, both of these aircraft will need serious overhauls, with the A300 been stored in Bangkok since 2013, for example, while the two 737-400s have been stored since 2017 and 2018 and none of the A340s has been flown since at least 2015.
All of the remaining 777-200s are being offered by the airline.
What's the Thai fleet going to look like now?
According to Planespotters.net, although the THAI fleet is still number 75 in theory, there are currently only 8 aircraft in use, including 3 777s, 3 A350-900s, and 2 A330-300s, with no narrow-body aircraft remaining in the fleet.
As a result of the Simple Flying sale, it seems that THAI will rely on its young fleet of 12 A350s for its long-haul operations, augmented by its 14 younger 777-300s, all under 10 years of age, as well as its eight Dreamliners and 15 A330s, with a total fleet size of 49, far beyond the 80s with which it began the crisis.
Source: Destination Thai News
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