Thai Airways International is considering the purchase of Airbus A350s or Boeing 777X jets as part of a plan to renew its widebody fleet, a senior executive said Friday. The airline submitted a plan to its government to buy 23 jets worth 100b baht ($3.07b) including some widebodies, but it was last month sent back to the new Thai Airways leadership team for a three-month review. “Hopefully the figures will not change too much because we need room for expansion,” Thai Airways VP Alliances and Commercial Strategy Krittaphon Chantalitanon said of the order size. A decision is expected before Christmas, he said, with the widebody jets to replace aging 747s, 777-200s and 777-300s. It would also give the airline the capacity to relaunch U.S. flights assuming Thailand’s safety rating is upgraded by the Federal Aviation Administration. “We also have to do proper market studies whether it is the east coast, the west coast or whatever,” Chantalitanon said of US flights. “At the moment we have not decided where our metal is going to land and we also need the delivery of our future fleet.” The flights would compete against non-stop US flights from Southeast Asian rivals Singapore Airlines and Philippine Airlines. Chantalitanon said there was enough premium traffic from Thailand and neighboring countries to make the flights viable.<br/>