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Sumeth Damrongchaitham, president of THAI, has said that THAI is looking into the shutting down of 6 flight routes to 4 Indochinese countries, namely Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. These routes, which all emanate from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, are to Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Phnom Penh, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Yangon. “These routes are all covered by a small number of flights and have low customer capacity,” he said. “Once the cancellation plan is finalised, THAI will assign Thai Smile Airways to cover these routes instead.” Sumeth further explained that competition had become fiercer, with every airline dropping prices to stay ahead of its rivals. “THAI needs to adjust our strategies too to preserve our reservation rate. We will focus on rolling out promotional campaigns until year end.” <br/>

Investigators are probing an apparent uncontained engine failure involving a THAI Boeing 777-300ER during departure from Bangkok. The aircraft had been operating flight TG970 to Zurich Sunday. THAI says the aircraft had been rolling for take-off when the left-hand General Electric GE90 powerplant failed, prompting the crew to abort the departure. The aircraft – provisionally identified as HS-TKL, a 2012 airframe – had been transporting 339 passengers and 20 crew members. Images circulating on social media, purportedly showing the aircraft's engine, indicate substantial damage to the powerplant's aft right-hand side. THAI says the 777 needed to undergo repair and the passengers had to be accommodated overnight owing to the lack of a spare aircraft. <br/>